The Small Business Website

Your website is your business’s second storefront, or in some cases, it may be your only storefront. As such, the homepage of your site serves as many people’s first impression of your business. Done right, a powerful website design, one that factors in search engine optimization (SEO) for national and local search through the use of keywords, can attract more online attention and potential for business than a competitor ten times your size. 

To build a website that does that, start by taking advantage of many website hosting options available. You can find a host for just your website or as part of a bundled package from business phone and high speed Internet providers. They’ll set you up with the basics: a URL that matches the domain name of your email (e.g., www.yourbusiness.com; yourname@yourbusiness.com); space on their servers to host your website; and some supply easy-to-use design templates for you to help build your website.

From there, think about your brand. What is it that’s unique about your business? What do your customers want from you that they can’t get elsewhere? Once you figure this out—and ask your customers to help—think about the words you will use to describe your business. The right words used in the right places enhance your visibility on the Web. Be clear and local, not clever or vague about what you do and where you are. Use these keywords throughout your site’s pages.

Understand that a small business website, like a storefront, requires regular maintenance. Just as you’d never let the windows get dirty or the light bulbs go unreplaced in your store or office, you need to keep your website fresh and updated. This attention does two things: it keeps your customers informed and it boosts your SEO rankings since fresh online content performs better than a stale and static website. 

You can keep your website updated through a blog, where you post regular (daily is best) announcements, sale notices, or other information relevant to your business and customers. Many social media tools allow you to connect, say, a Facebook page or Twitter account to your website and generate new online content. 

If this Internet marketing sounds like work, it is. But your success online depends on it. To help you create your first website or re-energize your existing one, contact our Community Representative.