The online world is fast-moving and constantly changing. One of the biggest, ever-growing changes is its popularity itself. While in its beginnings it was more for nerds and young teenagers to network, it has developed into a wonderful information network. The Internet is not only accessible for desktops, smartphones, tablets – now even the fridge – they can all easily connect to the World Wide Web.
This results in an ever-increasing need to enter information quickly into a search engine and find the answer in the first search results. For this reason, almost no company is present without a website, which can lead to you being overtaken by the competition. After all, a website is the basic prerequisite for all subsequent effective digital marketing measures.
Of course, these are very generalized facts, which is why we want to show in this article exactly why a website is so important and why professional web design is required to be truly successful digitally.
1. marketing and customer service 24/7
Certainly, anyone living in your area will have noticed your store and will visit it as usual. But do you know what people are doing in your area who may be on vacation, visiting friends and family or simply in the area for work or leisure? If it is your service/product that these people need, then they will not wander aimlessly through the streets for long. Things often have to be done quickly, even in your free time. What is then done is as follows: The smartphone is taken out, Google (or optionally another search engine) is opened and the search term is entered.
The first websites that appear there are the best optimized ones and if the rating is also right, the goal is set. So you see, from a local perspective alone, this is an essential marketing measure to make all visitors aware of you.
But it doesn’t stop at local marketing. At the same time, you can be available to your customers 24/7 with a website. A website does not need any downtime and must close at 10 p.m. at the latest. A website is also available for those who are not on site or are active outside opening hours.
No matter what the customer wants, you can build your website in such a way that it can already fulfill all important and potential needs and it is already possible to convince him for you. Which brings us to the next point.
2. all information for your customers
Not only are you available 24/7, but your customers can obtain information about your company at any time within the same time frame. Be as transparent as possible and put all your persuasive power into the website.
What we mean by this is your unique selling point; what makes you so special in contrast to the competition? What makes your products/services so special? Your time has come to establish yourself as an expert on the market, present special certificates, offer FAQs such as contact options and show what sets you apart.
90% of website visitors first visit the company website in order to then explore the other areas in more detail and gather important information. Use the opportunity to build a better connection with your target market and secure customers and possibly intercept others from the competition who would otherwise go to them.
It is important to position your company as the leader in the industry. For example, integrate support calls to directly improve customer satisfaction or enable real-time communication via chat and increase customer loyalty at the same time. Your website is the biggest authority when it comes to your customers and new customers.
3. the website brings leads
92% of total searchers select a business within the first page of local search results. The smaller the spaces, the less attractively you position yourself. There is therefore a constant battle for the first and top attractive places. Therefore, do not underestimate the importance of a high ranking. The further down you appear on the first page of the search results, the lower the click-through rate. The majority of users click on the first three results of the organic search. After that, the percentage click rates are alarmingly marginal. In Google’s desktop search, the click-through rate in first place is 35%.
But what does a CTR of 35% mean for you? Simply put, these are your leads and a high turnover that you can count on. All you need is a keyword you want to rank for and a well-implemented SEO measure to successfully occupy the top positions. The advantage over SEA? Generating these leads costs you nothing. No click, no visit. All you do is generate sales. A real gold mine that you can imagine as an ever-growing system. The more traffic, the more sales – and Google recognizes all this and ranks you even more relevantly. Earning money goes hand in hand with the Google ranking.
Own, not lease, an asset
For example, many companies only need to lease Facebook or other platforms to establish an online presence. This means that you have bought into an entire platform without owning even a small part of it yourself. You own nothing. An online presence can disappear completely overnight at any time. Together with followers and likes. In addition, a platform like Facebook is hardly sufficient to package all information clearly. You regularly pay amounts that could have recently been invested in a good website, for example.
The same applies to popular and highly advertised website builders such as Wix. With Wix, you also “rent” your property instead of owning it. For example, if Wix increases its fees, you can’t just take your website elsewhere. Without question, Wix offers beautiful templates, but once you have chosen a template, you cannot change it.
So not only are you financially tied and have no control over potential changes to the amounts due, but you are also completely restricted in your organization. This is not ideal given the daily changing requirements of the online world. Take the current pandemic, for example, which requires special information. Or mobile SEO, which is becoming increasingly important.
Instead, take a look at WordPress. WordPress is the most popular website builder. 30% of the internet uses WordPress. Wix and Co. account for less than 1 %. It is much more valuable to learn and understand WordPress. You can easily get the help you need. It is open source, which means that nobody owns WordPress (free software). It has a huge theme (design) and plugin(functionality) system.
WordPress offers a better sense of security. It’s better in the long run. The options and control are far superior to other website builders. It is a comprehensive solution that is constantly being expanded and improved over time.
The design of the website is crucial
We have just talked about how limited you are in terms of design via Wix, for example. This can have fatal consequences, because the design of the website is crucial for user-friendliness. Comprehensible navigation and supporting elements, combined in a pleasant design that represents your company and is not a fixed template, have an enormous influence on user-friendliness. If a page does not meet visitors’ expectations, 38% turn away from it immediately. This sends negative signals to Google, for whom user experience is one of the most important features of a relevant website. A good design alone can bring you far ahead in the rankings!
Another important factor for the user experience is a mobile-first design. 63% of all traffic now comes from a mobile device. It is of utmost importance that a website is optimized for mobile devices (i.e. mobile responsive). This allows a website to be designed in such a way that it appeals to users and Google.
One last tip
Having a website in this day and age is essential for great business success. Web design supported by a solid strategy is essential to stand up to the competition and position your brand with confidence. It is the basic foundation par excellence for further online marketing measures and is itself a form of digital marketing. You can then concentrate on landing pages, for example, place banner ads, organize further campaigns and much more.
If you have read these points and are swallowing hard because you have a lot to do and many companies to contact, we can reassure you and give you one last tip along the way: search engine optimization.
SEO deals with everything to do with your website and beyond. This starts from scratch and extends to support during campaigns. An SEO agency takes care of your keywords, analyzes the competition, builds a stable link profile and implements web design on the desktop and responsive design for mobile devices. These are just some of the things an SEO agency can do. Because it knows exactly what the search engine wants and gets you the top positions – in the long term.
So if your site still needs some fine-tuning or you don’t have a website yet, now is the time.