Small Business Technology News
Business Website Mistakes
Written by Tim Morral
Published: 1/31/2014
MyCase infographic reveals some of the most common -- and most costly -- mistakes found in many small business websites.
Your website is the anchor of your company's online presence. In today's digital marketplace, customers rely on business websites to connect with the products, services and brands that are important to them.
But according to a recent infographic created by MyCase, a provider of Web-based practice management software for lawyers, nearly one-third of small business owners manage their own websites and ultimately neglect features that are essential to their customers.
"Business websites play an incredibly important role in connecting customers to businesses of all sizes," said John Fairley, director of Web Services and Social Media at Walker Sands Digital. "Unless they have expertise in digital services, most businesses are leaving money on the table simply because their sites are lacking in one or more key areas."
Some of the most common business website mistakes detailed in the MyCase study and infographic include:
- No Calls to Action. Site visitors can't act if they aren't directed to the next step. Yet, 93% of small businesses do not display contact email addressed and 49% lack any phone numbers on their homepages.
- Bad Design. Do-it-yourself design often results in poorly performing business websites. Nearly half of all business owners who plan to improve their sites intend to focus on design and aesthetics.
- Poor SEO. SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) helps potential customers discover your business, products and services. But more than a quarter of all websites can't be found in online searches because they have no Google Page Rank.
- No Social Media Links. Customers value the unstructured feedback they receive via social media. However, 91% of the business websites surveyed lack Facebook widgets; 94% lack Twitter widgets and 83% lack Twitter links.
- No Metrics. Metrics help companies track their progress and improve online impact. Three out of four business websites don't use analytics to measure performance and 60% said they lack the tools to understand their site analytics even if they did.
Another concern for smaller companies is the lack of IT resources in-house. By outsourcing certain site functions, small and medium-sized businesses can level the playing field by tapping into the expertise of business website specialists.
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