4 Biggest Website Mistakes Made by Small Businesses
A study published by SMB DigitalScape earlier this year points out alarming shortfalls of the majority of small business websites.
While the study suggests that many small business websites are not technically sound from a search engine optimization point of view there are some bigger blunders at hand that can be fixed in less than an hour.
Does you website pass the test and enjoy the benefit in being among the minority of small business sites?
1. Is Your Phone Number Clearly Displayed on Each Page?
“60% of websites are missing a toll free or local phone number on their home page.”
The purpose of most small business websites is to establish an online presence and provide information for searching customers. A lot of small business websites do not have an e-commerce platform and the only way they make money is to have their customers make a phone call to purchase a product or service or visit their brick and mortar location.
Placing your phone number on the home page and all other pages makes it easy for your visitors to contact you about placing an order, booking a service or inquiring about products.
2. Is Your Email Address Clickable?
“75% of websites are missing an email link on their home page for quick contact.”
Some visitors are more inclined to send off a quick email to your company rather than pick up the phone. For the younger and computer saavy generation sending emails and text messages can be a preferable way to get in touch.
Make sure you have a “Quick Click” email option on your website pages
3. Do You have a quick and easy Contact Form?
“66% of websites are missing a form-fill option to request more information from the business.”
Other visitors are more comfortable with completing an online contact form where they enter their name, email address and a quick note or check off the areas they need more information on.
4. Is your site Mobile Friendly?
“93% of websites are not mobile friendly and will not render on mobile devices and smartphones.”
Considering that most consumers own a mobile phone and most use a mobile browser to search for information, new businesses and even make purchases this is one of the most alarming statistics of them all. Not only does a potential visitor not see your phone number or email address but they don’t even see your website.
If you are in an industry where your customers are more likely searching for you from their mobile phone, such as a restaurant or a rental shop, then it’s time to seriously consider how mobile friendly your website really is. Generally, busy and on-the-go type customers such as mothers, office works, professionals and teens are likely to complete a purchase on their phone. Last minute products or services that do not need a lot of research also lend themselves well to mobile phone searches.
Fixing any one of these four issues is quite simple and can provide astonishing improvements for your small business. What are you waiting for?
(Results are published by SMB DigitalScape and promoted by BIA Kelsey)
