Is your website doing the job you expect of it? Is it being the dutiful sales tool you paid for and helping your build your business? If not don’t feel bad, most websites are sitting out there and nobody but the owners has ever see them. Once in a while, you read about a website with millions of visitors. That is such a small percentage of the internet world, it has created and industry of thousands of businesses like the Bourquin Group where I work.
Last week I was referred to a business by a current client. Since the business was local, I stopped in. Not something I normally do, the owner didn't know who I was and asked what I did. I explained that I ran an online marketing company. The response was clear that he didn’t understand. I said we do SEO or Search Engine Optimization. Still a blank look.
Then I said, I help people find your website when they are looking for your kind of business, and he got it. Every day there are 300,000 new websites added to the internet. Most of them will get less than 1000 visitors in the next year. Many will get less than 100 unique visitors. Why would a business spend the time and money to build a website that nobody sees? It happens more often than not. In most cases the website becomes an expensive digital brochure and nothing more.
If you are going to spend the time and money to build a decent website, why not spend the time and money to market it? Don’t you want to get more potential customers to find it online? So how is your traffic? Do you know? I am amazed at how many business owners I talk to have no idea. They just see the site out there. Some look at Google Analytics, and know their traffic, but have no idea how to influence it.
Recently I offered to double the monthly unique visitors for a businesses website for $1500 a month. The owner had no idea that was only 12 people. We ended up growing the site 100% per week for 8 weeks straight. Now he has 200 unique visitors each week, many of them are potential new customers and call for information. He pays $875 per month, not the $1500 I initially presented. It is still growing double digits each month. Just one new customer from that group pays my bill, and the rest is gravy.
When you started your business, why did you do it? Freedom, Happiness and Income are the three biggest reasons I hear when I interview new potential customers. And yet most of them tell me they feel trapped by their business, and more importantly trapped by their online marketing efforts. One guy was spending six hours each day on his website, social media and e mail marketing. How can you run a business doing that?
Before you go out and hire an online marketing company spend $15 and take a look at our books. Even if you don't choose to do it yourself, you will know the right questions to ask. Any or them or all of them will help you better understand what companies like mine do. It will help you make better choices when hiring a company or deciding to do it yourself.
Build it and they will come doesn’t happen online. You have to reach out and make sure you are in front of them where ever they are and lead them to your site. Don’t let them get away.
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