Is Your Website a Waste of Your Money?

Most small businesses these days have a website. Many of them have had one for years.

It is also sadly true that huge numbers of those websites cannot be found by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing, even if you type the actual business name into the search box, let alone if you type in keywords relating to the business.

To me this situation is a plain and simple waste of money… your money… and you may as well have put a match to the money and burnt it instead!

Why?

Because if your business is like the vast majority of small businesses, your website will either generate new enquiries, leads and sales, or it is a completely pointless waste of web space.

To a small business, a website is a marketing tool… plain and simple. Just like your Yellow Pages ad, local newspaper ads, leaflets, flyers and all manner of other promotional materials that you spend your hard-earned cash on, a website should pay for itself.

Still need convincing?

A Licence to Print Money

Would you pay a local printing company £500 to print thousands of glossy leaflets for your business and then be happy if they sat in a box under your desk for years and never saw the light of day? Of course you wouldn’t! So why would you pay for a website that nobody will ever see?

Simple really isn’t it.

Yet hundreds of thousands of small businesses still do this ALL THE TIME!!

So why does this happen?

The short answer is simple…

Web Designers

Most small businesses engage someone to write their website who is either a graphic designer or computer technician who has branched out into writing websites. Now of course, at first this seems like a great idea. Here is someone who can write you a website at a reasonable price and you probably already know and trust them.

Don’t get me wrong here; I’m not knocking them as people, or even as graphic designers or computer technicians. Most graphic designers and computer technicians I have met are not only great people; they are also extremely good at what they do. But ask yourself this… what do these people know about marketing? And more importantly, what do they know about internet marketing?

• Do they understand how search engines work? Most have only a vague idea at best
• Do these people understand how to build inbound links effectively? Most have very sketchy ideas about this
• Do they understand search engine optimisation (SEO)? Most will openly admit they don’t have a clue
• Do they understand that thorough keyword research is vital and have the necessary tools to carry it out? No
• Can they build you a website that harnesses the amazing power of Web 2.0? No
• Can they build a blog and an RSS feed into your new site, show you how to use them and explain why they matter? No

With SEO in particular, some will suggest techniques which are either 10 years out-of-date, or worse still, will get your new website banned from the search engines in the blink of an eye.

While others will suggest you throw endless amounts of cash at pay-per-click advertising (which they then offer to administer for you in return for a hefty monthly admin fee).

• As good as they are at graphic design; graphic designers are not effective web designers
• And as good as they are at computer repairs; computer technicians are not effective web designers either

Effective web designers understand search engines, search engine optimisation and link building. They know how to create a call to action, how to leverage the vast potential of social media and how to build an email list effectively too.

• Would you ask a dentist to take a look at your ingrowing toenail?
• Would you ask a lawyer to build you a house extension?
• Would you ask a garage mechanic to make you a wedding dress?

Of course not – they are all absurd ideas.

So please, for your own sake and the sake of your small business, wake up and smell the coffee…

Stop Wasting Your Hard-Earned Money

Stop wasting your hard-earned money on the wrong people for the job and engage a web designer who is capable of creating you a website that actually creates new customers for your business.

Because anything less is tantamount to burning your cash! 

Related posts:

1. The 6 Golden Rules of Website Design
2. Google Loves You: 10 Top Tips for a Google-Friendly Website
3. Your Website: does it resemble Barbie or Stephen Hawking?
4. How to Submit Your Website URL to the Search Engines
5. Good Web Design: Looks Are Not Enough