Why Everyone Needs a Website – Including Local Businesses

We decided to pop the question into Google “How many Google searches are for local businesses UK”. The answer? “Research by Google, highlights 70% of searches are for buyers with local intent”. Wow. 70%. That stat even surprised us.

Still think you don’t need a website as a local business?

Often a website will be the first place a customer will find you, but also where they go to check you out. They may have seen your van, shop front, or even advert, but in a time of scam wariness, and high competition, they will check you out before doing business with you. And your website is a great way to do that.

They may want to check out what specific services or products you offer. How to purchase from you.  What people say about you and who you have worked with. They may be interested in your culture, your ethics, and your approach. They may simply want to check that you are real. And people trust a website.

If they can’t find you online, they are likely to quickly move on to an alternative solution. They will doubt that you are still trading, that you are “worth” doing business with, or that you are trustworthy.

Do your competitors have a website? If they do, and someone searches for your offer, in your area, your potential customer is immediately going to find your competitor before they find you. They are very unlikely to spend more time and effort searching for you just because they vaguely remember seeing an ad somewhere, or drove past your building last week.

If your competitor doesn’t have a website, then fantastic! It leaves the online search wide open for you to step in and get all those potential customers who are looking for what you offer.

Of course, we understand that not everyone is online, or will do an online search but again various research would indicate that around 98% of people are online.  With less than 40% of the population on Facebook, if you only rely on Facebook, you are immediately hiding from quite a chunk of your potential market.

Still not convinced? A website can do so many things for your company. Just six reasons are:

• Attract new customers
• Attract employees
• Communicate your offer
• Show you as the expert and go-to place for a customer’s problem
• Improve your credibility and reputation
• Easy contact and self-help 24/7 allowing potential customers to find out more at a time convenient for them

It doesn’t need to be complex, or fancy. It doesn’t even have to be very big, or hard work. Your website can be designed to suit your business, your offer and your marketplace. The team at Popcorn will work with you to identify exactly what is best for you. That could be an online shop, with content to back up your expertise and market positioning, or it could be a one-page overview.

Why not give us a call, and take advantage of all the benefits of having a website for your local business?