One in four Australian small businesses do not have a website. Hard to believe, given that we are among the most tech-savvy consumers in the world.
Small business, no website?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that one in four small businesses do not have a website. It is hard to believe given that Australians are among the most tech-savvy consumers in the world. Per capita we have more smartphones, social-media accounts and pirated episodes of Game of Thrones than anywhere else.
So why do so many small businesses still not have a web presence?
Australia’s internet usage isn’t restricted to Facebook and The Pirate Bay either. Ecommerce catered for $250 billion last year. That figure grew by $10 billion, and there is no reason to suggest it will stop growing anytime soon.
Many small business operators feel that websites aren’t relevant to their industry because they don’t sell anything online or direct to consumers.
What they might not know is that Search Engine Land’s annual local consumer survey found 85% of people use the internet to search a local business once a month.
Australia has 13 million active internet users. Every month there are an estimated 110,000 people searching for a local business. If you don’t have a website, then you are hiding from your potential customers.
Social media
Some small businesses use social media as an alternative to having a website. Unfortunately, social media isn’t an adequate substitute for having a webpage. It’s highly unlikely that your Facebook page will outrank a competitor’s website in search engines. As a result, even with a Facebook page you are missing out on customers by not having a website.
It’s highly unlikely that your Facebook page will outrank a competitor’s website in search engines.
An added bonus of a website is that it makes it easier to keep key information visible. Making answers to frequently asked questions available on your website is a good way to help your business to operate more efficiently.
Online brochures
Another alternative to a dedicated website is online brochures. Obviously, any web presence is better than none.
Online brochures provide an independent web presence that could potentially be picked up by search engines.
The downfall is that they will be poorly optimised and low on words, making it likely that they won’t appear till late in search engines.
The other possible setback is that they don’t feel very personal. If a customer has gone to the effort of searching for a business, it’s likely the quality of the website will play a part in their decision-making and a proper website is going to be easier to use and more appealing every time.
Misconceptions
Surprisingly, there are still a number of small businesses who think that their customers are not internet users. It’s highly unlikely; in fact, currently the demographic that has the biggest growth in adopting the internet is aged between 50 and 75. So even if your customers are not currently using the internet, it will not be long before they are.
Cost
The most common reason for businesses to not have a website is cost. New content-management systems have made it cheaper and easier to manage your own website than ever before. It is lucky, because businesses with a website take in 20% more revenue than those without.
The clincher
In fact, not having a website can hurt all your other marketing efforts. Merrill Research found 60% of consumers don’t trust a business that doesn’t have a website.
David Neilson, Principal, Charles Elena Brand Agency
