Why is a Website Important for Your Business?
Website is important! Social Media has evolved over the years to the point where it is now an item on the marketing budget. And most businesses understand that having a page on social media like Facebook for example, will not significantly increase website visitors.
If you have implemented a marketing strategy through social media, you feel there is an increase in the number of visitors to your website. Of course, marketers still have to learn more about the effectiveness of using social media as a marketing tool.
However, one thing that has not changed is that the website is still important and the strategy for delivering information on the website is crucial. Social media is about conversation and your website is about conversions. This is where you make connections that lead to business transactions.
It’s not that you can’t make business connections on social media channels. Of course you can, but your website is where you can easily convert prospects into clients.
To illustrate this point, focus on the following 3 reasons why a website is important for your business as a marketing strategy:
1. Ownership
2. Target search engines (search engines)
3. Media for Content Marketing
1. Ownership
We all know that Facebook is popular, and there’s no denying that LinkedIn is still the best professional social network out there, and neither is Twitter or Instagram. But does this mean it’s time to abandon your website for this? Certainly not.
You do not own it, this page does not belong to you, and the terms and conditions are subject to change from time to time. This is not your site and you have limited control even on a rental basis.
That’s why a website is important, you have it! You can design it and control your look and message there. You can also do more there to control the user experience to drive better conversions. Website content contains everything about you, your business, no interests of others, advertisements or anything else that obscures your message.
Take Advantage of Ownership
- Make your website unique with a design that strengthens your marketing efforts. Your content will look different and stand out from website content which is only a profile page on Facebook.
- Consult with web designers and online marketing consultants so that your website architecture gets high visitors.
- Set goals, you have more control here, so focus on what your goals are and how you can use navigation and design to drive conversions.
2. Target for Search Engines
Yes, social media is getting integrated into search every day. Search engines crawl these pages in an attempt to identify your social authority and what reach and influence you have online.
More importantly, search engines are still looking for your website, because the website is important as the main reference. They seek the best answers to their search questions. Do you think Google wants to show a top 10 results page full of Facebook links? They want the search results page to be diverse yet effective and relevant.
Search engines will list social media pages but especially when you search for the exact name associated with them (ex: if you search for my name you will see my LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles). For more specific keyword terms you will find results listing blogs, forums, etc. So include this on your website:
If you have videos, podcasts, or webinars, add an archive section to your website. You can and should post this on sites like YouTube and SlideShare, but you also want this content on your site.
You can also post those videos and video reviews on your Blog. It is more ranking keywords that drive content for your site.
Your website should be content driven. Develop a strong content strategy starting with your website as the primary content repository and you’ll have your editorial calendar to keep you moving forward – placing quality keyword-rich content on your site on a regular basis.
It is important from a search perspective for your company to have a well-built website with targeted landing pages and a solid content marketing strategy.
3. Media for Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a new term for an old idea. If you push useful content, become a resource for potential clients and demonstrate yourself as a trusted expert, you will win business.
The basic premise means that you provide quality content that is of immediate value to users. You can do this on social media sites like LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, etc. And you have to.
But your website should be the central source of all this content. You want your website to be your primary content marketing hub, the goal of your outreach efforts and the source of your content push.
Why? Because, as discussed earlier, you control the user experience on your site. You can bring users with valuable content and through smart design and effective navigation you can turn them into clients. This is not easy to control on social media outlets because there are too many distractions standing in your way. Marketing on social media can sometimes be like herding a cat.
Your site must contain a Blog with entries appearing on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. It must have a video feed from your YouTube channel. This should be the source of every ebook you promote. And most of the information you promote in your email marketing should stay here.
Websites are important for the continuity of your product marketing which sometimes changes and you must be able to change them according to developments. But this does not mean that you should give up control.
Marketing is still about crafting the message and controlling its delivery. Sure, it gets easier for users to control but in the end, content still needs resources. Make sure the source is your website!
Tips for Content Marketing
- Start a Blog and write useful content for readers
- Hold seminars and webinars, record these and post them on your site
- Post White Papers, eBooks, research and articles published with reference to certain sources
- Ask people to write Blogs, hold seminars or webinars, and post them on your site
- Holding contests integrated with certain social media channels
- Be creative, think from the user’s point of view
What’s important is that all of this is focused and goal-bound. Your marketing approach needs to be targeted. And the best foundation for Content Marketing and marketing in general is your website.
These are the factors that why website is important for your business. Also read about “5 Things You Need to Know When Launching a Website” for your business interests.
