As evident by the figures, many pest control companies are hesitant to set up a website for themselves. The reasons can be varying, but the consequence is the same: losing out on customers who are looking for local businesses like yours online.
Local businesses, which are vital for the economy, must get a website in 2021. Your competition does and right now it’s getting them new customers. In this article, we explain some of the reasons why it’s important.
Your Website is Your Identity on the Internet
A website is not just a collection of web pages, images, and content. It’s an identity for a particular person or organization. When you come across a website called ABC.com, then you know there is something called an ABC. This can later turn out to be a company, an athletic association, a political group, a celebrity, or a blogger.
Similarly, a website will serve as an online identity for your local business. Domain names once purchased cannot be duplicated. So there won’t be two ABC.coms, there will only be one.
Just like we identify people with their ID cards, people on the internet identify businesses and organizations with their official website. Yes, official social media pages do offer an identity, but they can remove them at any time. It’s at their sole discretion. But your website is in your hands and your control.
By getting a well-designed website, you can establish credibility for your local business. People will be more open to do business with you and refer you to their friends.
Provide Relevant Information to Users
The majority of the searches conducted on search engines is informational. This implies people search to find information about something. Perhaps a problem they’re trying to solve, the product they’ve seen on TV, or simply trying to catch up with some news.
But people are increasingly using search to find information about their neighborhood. As per Google, nearly 46% of the searches have local intent. Searches like “Near me,” “within 10 miles”, “pest control near me” show local intent.
By providing relevant information to the users, you earn their trust. Through your website, you can let people know the area you serve, the products/services you have to offer, operating hours, contact information, exact address, among others.
These kinds of information will help people know how and when to reach out to you. Without a website, do you think people would have got such rich information about your local business? Of course, not. So get your small business a professional website at the earliest.
Generate Continuous Leads
A website can serve as a lead generation tool for a local business. What flyers, banners, brochures have done in the past, a website will do the same in this digital world.
But local business owners have this misconception that generating leads is hard and expensive. While that might be true in some cases, there are some incredibly cheaper ways to generate leads for your local business.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an excellent marketing channel for local businesses. With SEO, your local business website can show up for searches related to your services. So if you’re a bakery in Salem, Oregon, you can target keywords like “bakery in Salem,” “best bakery in Salem.” Searchers will then see your local bakery business and drive down for some cupcakes.
Marketing on social media is another great way to generate leads. You can target a local demographic with your offer, drive visitors to your website, and then let them contact you for more information.
Since you do not have to target people outside your serving area, you can reduce the cost drastically.
Sell Products Online (Without Paying for Commissions)
With a website, you don’t have to limit yourself to just provide the details and hope that they’ll walk into your store. You can let them purchase the products online and have them delivered to their doorstep. For this, you’d need an e-commerce website for your local business.
If that sounds expensive, then it doesn’t have to be. You can get a fully-functioning e-commerce website within your budget range. You just need to find the right web development company.
Another benefit of selling through your website instead of aggregators or marketplaces is that you don’t have to pay commissions. For example, Amazon charges somewhere between 10%-20% of the total price. If you’re a local restaurant and selling through Uber Eats, then it charges a similar commission.
By selling through your own website, you can keep all of the money to yourself. Of course, you’d have to take care of logistics, but the benefits of selling directly are there.
Make Your Local Business Look Trustworthy
Buyers want to ensure that they’re purchasing their products from a reliable business. A website can make you look reliable and trustworthy. You can display reviews and testimonials that your customers have put out on the home page itself. So whenever a user lands on your website, he/she can get a sense of what the experience has been of other people dealing with your business.
Consider the reviews as Social Proof. Many of the decisions we make in life are based on the concept of social proof.
You can also display reviews from third-party review sites. Sites like Yelp, Yellowpages, and even Facebook allows you to integrate the reviews on your website. Along with reviews, you can display the 5-star ratings.
All of these things make your website look customer-centric and trustworthy.
Make Sure You Have A Website
With the evolution and proliferation of internet technologies, more people will rely on online media to source the information and services they need. This will challenge the conventional way of thinking and doing business. Only those organizations will survive who can adapt to the customer’s taste and preference.
In the coming years, a professional website will become compulsory for small, local businesses. Without you, they’ll find it extremely difficult to do business and serve customers. So if your business lacks a website, it’s time to consider getting one in 2021.
