Web Development Blog

Is Your Small Business Website Built to Attract Visitors or Buyers?

In a way, Internet marketing for small businesses these days looks less like a friendly competition and more like an arms race. Even in industries where people didn’t used to pay much attention to online strategies – like pet stores or bakeries, for example – search engine optimization, social media, and other topics are catching on quick. It seems that everyone is scrambling as quickly as they can to gobble up as much web traffic as possible.

But is that necessarily the best approach for your company?

It might be, but only if you keep your focus where it matters. You see, for all the attention paid to finding visitors for your company’s website, it’s worth remembering that they are only valuable to you if they become customers… and vice versa. Too many web pages, pay per click ads, and social media profiles are designed to attract hits rather than actual buyers. That doesn’t help you or the people who visit your pages.

The most efficient websites – and the ones that remain profitable year after year – are the ones that speak to a very specific kind of potential customer. The people who buy from you now do so because of something unique that you offer, whether it’s your location, selection of products, shipping policies, and so on. Never get so caught up in looking for visitors that you forget who you really need to bring in, and why they should buy from you.

If you want to get past “buying websites” and start building a stronger future for your company, call Geek Power today. We can help you break through the stumbling blocks that hold back most businesses – and their online marketing plans.

“Keep your eyes on your own paper” is advice most of us have heard since we were kids, and it still applies pretty well in the business world. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to worry about what the “other guy” is doing, especially if their business has been more successful than yours.

There are a couple of exceptions, however, and one of them has to do with web design.

Why? Because you absolutely should take the time to look through any potential web designer or team’s past portfolio and current client list. Two things should jump out at you: whether you’re familiar with any of the names or companies on the list, and whether there are any that you would consider to be leaders in their field or industry.

Obviously, having a few well-known clients doesn’t necessarily mean that your designers are going to do a fantastic job for you, but it does point you in the right direction. After all, no large, successful company is going to pick someone terrible to construct one of their organizations most important marketing and public relations materials. So, in a way, they have done a lot of your vetting and background checks for you.

Are we making this claim simply because Geek Power has a lot of great clients on our resume? Partly, we suppose, but not for the reasons you’d think. We already know how much hard work it took us to earn that business, much less keep those clients satisfied every step of the way. That’s not something everyone can do, or is willing to put forth the effort for. And so, we don’t just feel proud of our accomplishments, but also respect the handful of others who have found the same kind of success.

There aren’t any surer bets in web design, or any other business for that matter. When you choose a company with a long track record of profile success, however, you’re tilting the odds strongly in your favor.

While you’re here, check out Geek Power’s portfolio page. It won’t take long to see why we’re Toronto’s favorite web design and development team for businesses of all sizes.

This is a fairly common question, and not a surprising one given that a new small business website can require a significant investment of time and money. But once you’ve chosen a designer, given your input, and signed the checks, how long can you expect your new website to last?

Read the rest of this entry »