When did you last redesign your local business’s website? One, two, five, ten years ago? If you’re still rocking a website template from 2015, it’s time for a website redesign!
So what’s the big deal? Why can’t you just use the same template from a few years ago and just update relevant information? Well, a website is more than just an evergreen online brochure of what you do.
In fact, you only have 5 seconds to make a good impression on someone who is visiting your website for the first time. Your website is a part of who you are and it also helps people find you, helping you tap into your local audience.
That’s why we wanted to give you five reasons why a website redesign is so important and show why it contributes to the success of your locally-owned business. Let’s get to it.
#1 Your Website Is Your Digital Voice
Your website shows your customers and potential customers who you are. It’s your voice. Sadly, the voices of badly designed websites are shouting: “Beware!” As a local business you don’t want potential customers’ first form of contact to be a warning message, and yes, your website is the majority of peoples’ first exposure to your business in this digital age.
97% of users use search engines to find local businesses, and 70% of users will visit a business because of what they found online. Which means your business website is how some people are discovering you.
What is your website design telling visitors about your locally-owned business? Inexperienced? Dated? Not helpful?
#2 Your Website is Old and At-Risk
The average website lifespan is 2 years and 7 months. That puts a lot of local businesses at risk for being digitally behind.
Why is the lifespan so short? The digital world is progressing at a very fast rate, and as more enhancements take place, older website versions and technologies become more at risk.
It’s important to update information about your business while also keeping website designs or themes up to date as well. Outdated themes on website developing platforms are targets for hackers because the technology can’t be supported or protected anymore.
Another essential update is to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. The majority of your traffic is probably coming from someone searching on their mobile phone. If your website layout isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, then that potential customer will leave and find a website that is easier to navigate.
#3 Your Website Content is Repelling
There’s been a shift in the past few years that has aided in the decrease of users’ attention spans: short-form video. It is no longer effective to develop website pages full of text.
Users want information as quick as possible, and it needs to be the information they came to the website in search of. How do you answer to such a daunting task? Video.
Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by 80%, and your website is 53x more likely to reach the first page of Google if it has video content as well.
Your beautifully-crafted words mean nothing to users that have an attention span 2 seconds shorter than a goldfish. Boost conversion rates and local search engine optimization (SEO) placement by making your website videolicious.
#4 Your Website Is Hidden
While most user searches have local intent behind them, if your website is slow to load or has missing images or broken links, Google is going to put other businesses in front of yours in the search results.
We know; we’re getting too techy. You just want to change peoples’ tires and oil. Lucky for you, ADsmith has a few nerds that can help your business with your local SEO needs. You just need to know that the speed of your website is important and the content on your website gives you better authority which ultimately increases your visibility to people searching for your product or services.
#5 Social Media Isn’t a Sufficient Website Replacement
Too many times we’ve seen locally owned businesses turn to a Facebook page to give their customers updates or to show who they are. A Facebook page is a great support tool to increase your digital footprint and connect with the community, but your social media page won’t reach people who are searching in Google for a nearby restaurant, oil change, etc.
Your Facebook page has limits to its search engine visibility, and, more importantly, you don’t own the page. This is a huge problem because it could be taken away tomorrow and you wouldn’t have an existing digital presence.
An updated small business website is more credible, secure, and visible to users. Okay, enough of that. Thank you for attending “Local SEO for Small Businesses 101.”
ADsmith Makes Website Redesign Easy on You
All the reasons we listed above fall back on users’ decreasing attention spans, the growing digital world, and what happens when we put those two things together. Presenting yourself as relevant and giving users what they want as fast and as efficiently as possible is essential when you market your local business online.
We get it, developing a new website is a lot of work. Good news! ADsmith can help with the coding, content creation, copywriting, site designing, developing, and publishing. We can even test different designs, copy and navigation in focus groups.
Website redesign services are only a click away. Contact us today to start the process of turning your outdated website into a beautiful and effective masterpiece.
