Everybody says you need a professional website. Not everybody says why, in terms that mean anything to a business owner.
So here are five, and I’ll keep them concrete.
1. You Get Judged Before You Get Called
People look you up first. That’s just the order things happen in now.
A site that looks like somebody cares about it says the work will be the same way. A site that looks abandoned says the opposite, whether that’s fair or not. You don’t get to argue the point, because you’re not in the room.
2. You’re Open When You’re Not
Somebody decides to hire you at nine on a Sunday night.
If your site answers their questions, you’re in the running Monday morning. If there’s nothing to find, they’ve already moved on to the next name on the list.
3. It Reaches Past Your Town
Most local businesses serve a wider area than they think, and never say so anywhere.
Put your service area on the site in plain words. I’ve watched clients get calls from two counties over for work they’d been doing all along… nobody knew they’d travel.
4. It Makes Search Possible
You cannot show up in search results without a website. There’s nothing to show.
Once you have one, ordinary things start working in your favor. Real pages about real services, in the words your customers actually use. That’s most of local SEO right there.
5. Half Your Competition Still Hasn’t Bothered
This is the one people underestimate.
Go look at three competitors right now. At least one has no site, or one from 2014 that doesn’t work on a phone. That’s the whole opening, and it’s sitting there.
What It Comes Down To
A professional site isn’t about looking impressive. It’s about not losing work you’d have won if they could just find you.
Want a straight read on where yours stands? Call me.