WordPress for small business ted360

As a small business, you probably have a nice little Website. And that Website was probably built a while ago.

“Hmmm, when was that, 2003?” you may be thinking. And if that’s the case, it’s time for a heart-to-heart discussion about your small business Website.

[sourceL AdTaxi] I know, you love your Website and it has everything anyone could ever need to know about your business. But it might be time to ask yourself if your Website is working for today’s online users or if it’s working against them. A lot has changed over the last several years when it comes to Web use. Small business Websites have to keep up with changing customer behaviors in order to stay relevant and competitive.

According to a Pew study from May 2013, 85% of American adults use the Internet. And 78% of Internet users go online to research products and services they are looking to buy. That’s more than 273 million people doing Web research for stuff to buy! Many users will not wait more than ten seconds for a Web page to load. (The ideal load time for a Web page is 3 seconds!) They also want highly relevant results. Google is continually evolving to ensure that their users get the most relevant search results every time. And finally, today’s consumers are using their smart phones to do online searches. If your Website is not mobile optimized, users will bounce.

In a nutshell, today’s consumers research products and services online, they want their information fast, they want it relevant and they want it on their mobile device.

So how will your small business Website withstand the demand for speed, relevance and mobile capability? Here are a few fundamentals to help you compete:

  • Test your Website’s speed and make the easy fixes. Sometimes large image files or downloadable documents prevent your main content from loading as quickly as it could. Images can be optimized for the Web, often your HTML code, Java Script and CSS code can be compacted to minimize load times. Test your Website load times on tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and ask your Webmaster to optimize the content on your site.
  • Make sure you are using relevant “keywords” in your content. Think about what a customer might ask in a search inquiry and use those words in your Website content. For example, a user might do a search like “What are the best trees for small spaces?” If you are a landscape contractor and you’ve written a blog or have “Best Trees for Small Spaces” on a product page, you’ve got a great chance of appearing in organic search results. Major search engines crawl Websites looking for very relevant answers to match each search question. Structure your Web content to answer questions a potential customer might ask.
  • Make sure that your Website is mobile optimized. Mobile usage has skyrocketed. Soon more people will conduct searches on their phones than on their desktop computers. If your Website is not “responsive” or “flexible”, look into upgrading your Website for the coming mobile tsunami. Even if your SEO is working great, the user will bounce if they can’t read your fast, relevant content on their smart phone. Talk to your Webmaster or a new developer about upgrading to a responsive site design.