With 35% of product searches starting on Google, it’s not surprising that having an online presence is an essential part of every modern business’s playbook.
However, when you’re starting up your business on a budget, the cost of a website might be something you’re tempted to cut down. With social media being free and already having a native platform, you might wonder why you need to bother with a website at all for the first year of your business.
You couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a sleek, modern, and professional website is one of the most important investments you’ll ever make, and here’s why.
Are you considering increasing your digital marketing budget? Are you unsure of how you should spend your money to see the greatest results?
Listed below are some of the best digital marketing strategies you can utilize to accelerate your business in 2020 and beyond.
It’s no wonder businesses are spending so much on digital marketing — because it works. Digital marketing is a highly effective tool that businesses can use to stand out from their competitors and meet their target audiences online, where they’re already spending their time.
Digital marketing has a lot to offer businesses, including the following benefits:
Budget-Friendly
You have control over your budget, and small business websites can cost as much or as little as you’d like. To get started with your website, all you need is to register your domain and source professional hosting, and you can adapt both of those to fit your budget at the outset.
Web design can also vary depending on what budget you have available. While there are free and pay-monthly editors on the market, many website owners often feel like there is limited room for growth once they’ve reached a certain level in their business. So, for small business websites and startup-friendly web design, there is a wide range of professional web developers who can help scale your design to your budget.
Increase Your Revenue
Thanks to developments in modern technology, it’s never been easier to create a simple and elegant online shop for your business. Whether you’re a business that focuses on in-store product sales, or your main product is a service, an online shop can help you diversify your income stream and reach a wider customer base.
eCommerce isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a worthwhile investment to ensure that your business develops a consistent (and sometimes passive) revenue stream.
Unlimited Potential
The internet is vast and without borders, so nothing is stopping you from finding success with your website. Using digital marketing tools like SEO and social media marketing, your website can easily climb to the front page of Google for your chosen keywords, and there’s no limits as to how much traffic your website can generate for you. Whether you want to find new target audiences, improve your conversion rates, or even just generate more revenue, your website is endlessly customizable to your specific needs.
Your Competitors Already Have Websites
No matter which industry your small business or startup is operating in, your competitors will already have their own websites. By not having one, you’re limiting how much stake you have in competing in your industry. After all, how can you expect your customers to learn more about you, and particularly trust you, if you’re not willing to pay for a website?
The websites of your competitors are also a great place to start when you’re looking at ideas for your own website. With nearly every modern customer expecting businesses to have a website, the internet has become an arms race of who has the slickest, fastest-loading, most modern website. And, research shows that 70% of users don’t trust businesses with bad websites. So, if your competitor has a dated website, then you can get ahead of the game by simply investing in modern web design.
Building Your Brand
When you’re new to the business scene, whether you’re a small business or a startup, customers don’t know who you are, what you do, or what you sell. That’s where branding comes in.
Your website is your most valuable branding asset. It has unlimited potential for you to tell your brand story in any way you see fit, whether that’s through video, audio, or articles. Modern web design often encompasses various visual mediums to help businesses like yours create a unique brand voice, and that uniqueness puts you ahead of the competition.
When you’re weighing up whether it’s worth investing in a website for your small business or startup, it’s valuable to know that free website builders don’t often offer you the same branding opportunities. Even popular website builders like WordPress and Wix limit you to set UX/UI interfaces on their free plan, which means that your branding is confined to a handful of preset options.
Small Business Websites Based out of Southern California
At APX Ventures, we can help you build the perfect website to elevate your brand voice, open up your business to new markets, and put you ahead of your competitors. No matter the size of your small business or startup, we’ll work with you to create a stunning, modern, and mobile-optimized website that your customers will love. So, if you’re looking for a website, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly development team and we’d be happy to talk through your ideas with you!