Updated: Feb. 2015
There seems to be a misconception by many businesses that a website is an expense. Of course this is true to the extent that a properly built and marketed website costs a decent amount of money, but so does a new building to facilitate your employees and day-to-day business. As a CEO or business owner, it is easy to see why a building, the equipment used, and your brand name and logo are assets to your business, but a properly optimized business website is now just as important for your business growth.
Attracting New Traffic
Probably the biggest benefit to a website for your business is it’s ability to attract and convert new customers. There are a few ways that a website begins to bring in new revenue, the first being its design. Web design and development is a task that should not be taken lightly. If done incorrectly your site could easily break or not preform as well as it should. The layout and site architecture for your website can mean everything from guiding your customers through the sales funnel, and shoving them right back out.
The next step in bringing in new customers is with search engine optimization (SEO). This takes your beautiful and functional website and enhances it so that it can be found easily by your customers through search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. For more information about SEO, read some of our other articles that focus on only SEO.
Another step in drawing in more customers is content marketing and social media. While these are separate in theory, they combine with SEO efforts to bring your website and off-site marketing efforts together. Content marketing can be everything from blogging to creating whitepapers, and it’s becoming more and more essential as part of your Digital marketing plan. Social media marketing is also an important aspect in driving traffic back to your website.
How Your Website Is an Asset
If you don’t think that driving new business is enough to make your website an asset, consider this; the land the building sits on is an asset. The same is true for your website. A website sits on a domain or URL rather than land. There is an expense associated with buildings: electricity, taxes, water, and upkeep. Just like there are expenses associated with owning a website: domain registration, hosting, and upkeep. Buildings are sold for a lot of money. Websites are sold for A LOT of money. Both a business’ building and a business’ website can increase the value of the business.
So remember, a well built, search engine friendly, properly marketed, and high-ranking website can not only increase your business’ sales, but also increase the value of your business; sometimes more so than any other business asset. To start building your business website, contact Sales & Marketing Technologies today for a free consultation.