When you consider making a purchase, what’s the first thing you do? If you are anything like us, you open a web browser and search for the name of a product, service, or company. You read websites and reviews to learn more and make a decision. 

So if you run a business and you want people to find you online to learn about your products or services, what do you think you should do? Have a website, a presence on social media, and listings on tools like Google My Business (this drives Google Maps).

While you can get found online with a social media presence and a Google My Business listing, a website is more important than both of those, and both should be driving traffic to your website. Each of these tools should work together to help you get connected and stay connected with customers.

There are so many reasons why your business should have a website. In this article, we are going to talk about the top five!

A website acts like a digital business card and brochure for a business, all bundled up together. It helps people confirm that you are a real business.

If someone wants to learn more about your business, products, or services, they most likely will go to your website and explore.

It gives you a chance to make a first impression, tell your story, answer FAQs, and establish credibility for your business. Without a website, people may assume you aren’t a legitimate business.

While you can connect with people and tell your story through social media, it has limitations. 

For example, while a Facebook page is a great marketing tool, you shouldn’t rely on it alone. There are limitations in the placement and size of graphics, their algorithm determines who sees your content, you don’t get contact information for people who like and interact with your posts, and people can easily click away from your posts or page as they get distracted by content from other sources. And it’s also really important to remember that not everyone uses Facebook. 

With a website you have full creative control over the look, feel, and function. You control what people see, what options they have, and anyone can visit (without having to log in)!

Even when you aren’t working, your website is working for you. People can visit it at any time to learn more about your business and to find your contact information. So make it easy to find! 

List your phone number and address prominently (if you want people to call and/or visit a physical location). 

Include a contact form that people can fill out to ask questions, share feedback, and get in touch with you. And make sure you use this form to collect contact information and consent so you can build contacts or leads list. 

As you build an email list, then you can market to these contacts directly to share information about upcoming events, promotions, or just to learn more about people and encourage them to make a purchase. 

Need ideas for emails? Here are 6 ways you can use email marketing.

A website should be at the center of your marketing efforts. When you send out emails, include a call to action that drives people to your website. When you post on social media, include links to learn more on your website. When you set up listings in online tools like Google My Business, Yelp, the Knot, NextDoor, and more, include a link to your website. When you run advertisements, include your website URL. Are you noticing a pattern? 

Where on your website you send people will differ depending on what you want people to do, but your goal should be to get people to your website to make a purchase, sign up for an email list, and/or contact you. 

A website can also help people find your business through organic searches on Google, Bing, and more. You can strategically optimize your website to help people find you when they search for specific terms or phrases. 

This gives your business more visibility, which can help you build your leads list, which in turn can help you grow your business.

To learn more about optimizing your website, check out these 10 quick ways to improve your SEO.

With PhotoBiz’s powerhouse platform, you can easily build your own website using our customizable templates. And you get so much more than a website. You get tools for ecommerce, proofing, online appointment booking, email marketing, and more. Check out our full feature index.

But we also recognize that not everyone wants to or has the time to build a website themselves. That’s why we also offer Pro Services to build and optimize your website for you. 

Give us a call at 866.463.7620 or visit photobiz.com to chat with us about how we can help with your website.