I know I know, I know what you are thinking. It’s 2019, is this even a question? Apparently, it is, we still have a lot of people asking if they need questions. Now for my readers out in Canada/US/etc, I am not really talking to you in this blog as you guys already know the deal. No website, in your markets means you are a fly by night business. This article is talking to my Caribbean users who are still asking the question, do I need a website?
Let’s get this out of the way immediately. Yes! Anybody that says different probably doesn’t have a website in their business and just doesn’t know better or doesn’t want you to leapfrog their business. Now, I am almost positive you done kissed your teeth or shook your head and said, “I got Facebook.”
Yes, you got Facebook and while that’s good, I am almost certain you are probably not even utilizing Facebook properly to grow your business and move towards automating the processes of your business. So I want to talk about why you should have a website from a technical aspect. I also want to debug a few myths about having a website in 2019.
Here are the 2 biggest myths I keep hearing from people without a website:
- It’s too expensive
- Only big companies should have one
Let’s deal with myth #1. In 2019, it has never been cheaper to get a website. If I am being frank, you can simply sign up with one of the many hosting companies that specialize in WordPress or Squarespace, purchase a theme and customize it for your purposes and do all this for less than a $100usd (it can be done even cheaper).
#2) Because websites and setting e-commerce is extremely easy and cheap to do now, having a website isn’t just for the big companies anymore. Having a website is how you can turn your small business and start going up against the giants in your own market.
Really what I wanted to put out there are the top 3 reasons why you need a website from a technical standpoint. There are more many more reasons but I just wanted to highlight these 3 today & ill get into more reasons, in another blog.
- Your website works 24/7
- Your website attracts clients
- SEO allows you to be found for the right things
Your Website Works 24/7
As a business owner, you probably wish your business could run 24/7, that you could have people working for you, every minute of every day, that could go out there and get peoples money, ALL THE TIME!
Well, you can! Your #1 employee in your organization is your website. It works round the clock, and if you have set it upright, not only is it showing up at the right time, at the end of the right search, it should also be processing payments and selling items/services for you while you sleep.
I remember the first time I set up Wipay on my website and I woke up to use the bathroom at 2 am, checked my phone and seen an email I had never seen before (New Order). I was astonished! Clicked the email and I seen an order for 2 new smartphones and because I dropship, that means I had collected all of my profit upfront! I was so excited and it’s one of the most satisfying feelings ever. As Warren Buffet says, “if you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die!”
Your website will allow you to sell products and get your bookings, without anybody having to talk to you or your staff. Get your website in order!
Your Website Attracts Clients
Whoever invented SEO, I want to hug you. No seriously, you deserve everything you could ever want. SEO is your best friend. It allows people to type something in search engines & if you have done your job creating content or products and tagged them correctly amongst other things, the page to the answer of your prospective client’s questions should be what pops up on the first page.
This is one of the most, if not THEE most powerful thing to date. When someone has a problem or is looking for a product and your solution to that problem pops up via a search engine, the chances of you making a sale have skyrocketed.
There have been so many times I have gotten sales because I am the only brand that pops up for certain products, even though I know other companies have similar products because they do not have a website and cannot be found, they lost out.
SEO Allows You To Be Found
SEO is basically the path that allows the Search Engines to guide prospective users back to your landing pages. The more you look at search data and see what people are searching for and create content or offer products that people are looking for, you will crush the competition that simply doesn’t have a website.
Since most companies in the Caribbean do not have websites, you stand to gain a lot of market share and sales, just for having a website and a basic SEO strategy over the people that have neither.
It’s extremely important to look at tools that present you with the keywords that are based on search engine data and create content around those keywords so that you can generate tons of traffic but also show up for the things that matter most to your specific audience and country.
So when people ask in Facebook groups or throw this question to me in my DM’s, do I need a website? The answer is yes. It’s not expensive, it’s never been easier to DIY it and save tons of money & if you are strapped for cash, I recommend putting in the time to learn about basic SEO. 2 of my favourite sources for SEO knowledge are Neil Patel & Yoast. The best thing I ever did was to learn how to build my own website and learn the basics of SEO. It has saved me so much from spending on marketing, because now I focus on creating content that has been backed by data and that gets a big boost from the Search Engines.
If you want a good book to help you get started on building a WordPress website, hit the link for this book below. It’s a great step by step on putting together a website.
You need a website for your business, this is how you are going to be able to attract more clients to your business but also sell without having to speak to people. There is a lot more that goes into it and we shall continue to dive into this topic in future blogs.
If you are interested in building your very own website or you already have one that needs some work, I am having a workshop on building your WordPress website in the coming weeks. Hit the link and check it out (Create: How to Build a WordPress Website).