In today’s digital age, most of us view the internet as the ultimate source of information which helps us make wiser purchasing decisions. In fact, a study conducted by the e-commerce foundation revealed that 88% consumers look up a product online before they decide to buy it. This trend in consumer behaviour underlines why it’s critical for businesses to have a website.

In today’s hyper-connected marketplace, a professional website is imperative to the success of your business. It’s the beating heart of your company, and is the underlying support system of all your digital marketing endeavours. Over the course of this blog, we’ll underline why a professional website is critical for the growth and progress of your company.

The Important Role a Website Plays in Marketing

The website is the center-point of all aspects of a company’s digital marketing strategy. It acts as the face of your business’s online presence, and all the content, advertisement and other forms of communication you post online directs consumers straight to your website. It’s your website that provides the consumers with a clear understanding of the products you offer and what your brand is all about.

For example, let’s take a look at how your website is linked with your social media marketing efforts. Although businesses use third-party websites such as Facebook and Twitter to interact with their audience, all the content they post on social media platforms links back to their website. A website serves as your company’s online ‘headquarters’, a place you can send consumers if they are interested in buying your products or want to know more about your brand.

A website is also critical for content marketing. All the expert content you create for your business needs to have a home. Content such as blog posts, product descriptions and videos need to have a place to display the information your potential buyers need. A website provides a perfect home to the expert content you create to engage, inform and educate your customers. This blog that you’re reading at the moment provides the perfect example.

A website also has an important role with regards to email marketing. Lots of companies and business use email marketing as their primary marketing strategy. It’s an effective way to engage and interact with ideal buyers. However, you need a place to send your leads to if you want to convert them into sales. This is where a website comes in. It’s the perfect place to send your subscribers if they are interested in making a purchase and want further details on your products and services. Lots of companies do this in their weekly newsletters. Every week, they send out more information to subscribers regarding their products. These newsletters contain links which direct back to the company’s website.

Your company’s Pay-per-Link (PPC) ads also need somewhere to direct consumers to. PPC advertising presents arguably the best way to interact with leads that are most likely to buy your products. However, there needs to be a place which your PPC ads link to. Can you imagine the use of a PPC ad that tells you what to buy but doesn’t tell you where you can get it? PPC ads are required to have a leading destination, whether it’s a dedicated landing page or a specific product page on your website. PPC ads can also link to multiple pages so even more information can be provided to the user. A website’s aim should be to be able to address all the questions and queries of users.

Just like all other forms of digital marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) also requires a business to have a website. Although the reasons are obvious, here is some elaboration. When consumers look up products, services, brands and solutions on search engines, they are provided with a list of the web pages that are most relevant to their search. T5herefore, if you want to attract the virtually limitless traffic on search engines to your business, you first need to have an online presence. The more search-engine-optimized your website is the higher are your chances of attracting new leads and traffic.

Why a Website is Important for Sales

You don’t need us to tell you how important sales are to a business. No business can survive without sales, and improving sales is at the top of every company’s to-do list. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of a website when it comes to sales.

A website provides you with an online presence, through which you are able to interact with more consumers. It’s only logical that the more consumers you interact with, the more likely you are to improve sales. It’s important to note that just developing a website is not going to guarantee paying customers for your business. However, through effective content marketing and search engine-optimizing your website, you can boost the likelihood of drawing in quality leads to your business.

In addition to increases your company’s sales opportunities, a website also enhances your availability to make sales. A website is like a shop that never closes. You can continue to make sales round the clock, seven days a week. Moreover, a website eliminates the need for you to actively interact with potential customers, as all the information they require is available on your website.

Furthermore, a business website provides you with an additional sales channel. Not only does it sell your services and products to consumers, it also helps them make educated buying decisions. The content on your website, such as product descriptions and blogs, effectively act as salespersons, and drive the consumers towards your products. It gives consumers the information they need as well as reasons why they need to purchase your products and services.

A Website is Important for Your Business’s Credibility

Having a professional website is an absolute must if you want your brand to be taken seriously in the modern digital marketplace. Lack of a professional website can have a major impact on your company’s credibility. Consumers nowadays have become increasingly tech-savvy, and are less likely to trust businesses that don’t have an online presence. In fact, studies reveal that 36% of consumers are likely to contact a local business that has a website.

But how exactly does a website boost your brand’s credibility? Well, the first thing is that it enables your customers to know what your brand is all about. A website not only showcases your services and products, but it also tells the consumers about your company’s origins, goals and values. This online transparency helps you establish long-lasting relationships of trust with your customers.

A business website can also be used to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Before consumers make a purchase decision, they are likely to research a company’s reputation online and find out where it stands in the industry. The content that you post on your website showcases your expertise and inspires trust in consumers. By consistently creating and publishing informative content, you can establish a solid relationship with your audience and drive conversions.

Furthermore, not only does a website help you build credibility and establish authority, it also provides you with the opportunity to stand out from the competition. Every brand’s website content is different, which means that you have the chance to develop a unique personality for your brand through customized content. The key for business success is to stay level with (if not ahead of) the curve. If your rivals have something that you don’t, you’re already losing potential customers.

A Website Makes You Accessible Round the Clock

Although we’ve already discussed this briefly earlier in the post, it’s a point worth elaborating. A website makes your business accessible 24/7. Even when the sales team and the marketing team have clocked out, your website continues to work tirelessly to attract new customers to your business. It’s like having a sales and marketing team that never sleeps.

Through your website, potential customers can learn about your brand, and browse your services and products at any hour of the day. A website also provides a more convenient way of trade for both businesses and consumers. Customers can explore and purchase your products online and you don’t have to physically be there during the transaction! Your website will do everything. It will market your products, make the sales, and collect the payments.

A Good First Impression Counts

In the digital age, your website is virtually the face of your company, and consumers often form a first impression of your brand from your website. Even if you run a small restaurant that relies on local traffic, chances are that your customers have already looked up your business online before they walked in. This means that consumers have already formed a first impression of your business before they even visited your premises. This is why a professional website is critical for your business.

Just having a website is not enough to guarantee a good first impression. If your website is slow, unattractive and difficult to navigate, it could drive way customers instead of attracting them. A survey conducted by Business 2 Community reveals that 94% of website users’ first impressions are design related.

Professional website should place special focus on the following aspects:

• Easy Navigation: It should be easy for visitors to explore your website. If the navigation menus on your site are complex and convoluted, it will discourage and drive away consumers.
• Attractive Design: You may have heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Well, when it comes to web design, it truly does. Using colors and images that go with your brand personality can go a long way to keep visitors engaged. However, it’s important not to go over the top. After all, you want your consumers to take you seriously. Professional web design should have a balanced combination of attractive design and easy to read content.
• Quality Content: Your website’s content should be designed to educate and help visitors to understand your brand and your products.
• SEO: It’s highly beneficial to optimize your website structure and content for search engines like Google. Many companies enlist the services of a professional digital agency to ensure that customers can easily find them online.

• Fast Load Times: Broadband internet has increased our expectations and reduced our patience. If you’re website loads at slow and ponderous speeds, your visitors may switch to those that are fast. Websites that are professionally designed are user optimized and guarantee quick load times.

• Streamlined Transactions: Your website should be designed in such a way that it makes it easy for leads to convert. The ‘shopping cart’ should be easy to use and the transaction process should be quick, simple and efficient.

Provides Lasting Value

The beauty of a website is that it is a one shot investment. Once you have it, you get to keep it forever and it’ll continue to work for you forever. Can you think of any other advertising methods that provide such everlasting value? There aren’t many (if any). For example, when you invest in a newspaper ad, you get just that one ad after which your investment is gone and you’ll never see it again. You get just one chance for a return on your investment. If you don’t get it then, you never will. The same goes for Facebook ads, magazine ads, yellow page listings, etc. However, a website is a gift that keeps on giving. Sooner or later, you are guaranteed to get an ROI from a website.

 

If you’re seeking professional help in designing an attractive website that is search engine optimized, functional and easy to navigate, reach out to our web design experts at Devebyte. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, we are one of Canada’s premier digital marketing agencies. You can contact us online or call us at 1-780-445-4359.