Still Don't Have a Website? Here's What Your Competitors Are Doing While You Wait
Jeriel Isaiah Layantara
CEO & Founder of Round Bytes
Remember a time when brochures were king, or a phone call was the only way customers discovered your business? Those days are long gone, the business landscape has fundamentally shifted. Now, if you're not visible online, it's almost certain you're not visible at all.
Many of us, especially small business owners and professionals still feel that having a website is like owning a luxury car: something for 'later' or 'once we're really big'. Perhaps there's hesitation, a fear of technological complexity, or even the thought, "Oh, social media is enough, right?"
However, how often have you actually looked and asked yourself: what are your competitors doing? While you sit back questioning and procrastinating others are already light-years ahead. Imagine this, while you're still figuring out the color of your logo, your competitors are consistently reaching and building thousands of new potential customers daily and creating trust and even closing sales because there's are digital presences.
This article is not here to judge you; it is here to open your eyes. We will break down in detail what your competitors are actually doing with their websites, why a website is not an option in the 2020s but a must, and most importantly, how you can take your digital leap of faith without the fear. Let’s get started!
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Why a website is no longer optional, but a requirement
With the recent explosion of social media and the age of instant gratification, many may wonder, "Why do I really need a website?" The answer is simple; your website is your base, digital headquarters, and long-term piece of online real estate.
Your website is your 24/7 digital business card and much more!
Your website is your store, office, and marketing staff all rolled into one that never closes. Your physical store may be closed, or you may be sleeping peacefully, but your website is still 'open' to potential customers.
No matter what your industry is, credibility is critical in a global market. A professional website instantly enhances your business's credibility and professionalism in the eyes of your new potential customers, indicating you are serious and modern; you are willing to invest in your endeavor. Think of the difference between having a website and just a social media account. There is a much more assured and trustworthy appearance between the two.
Your Website: The Ultimate Information & Education Hub
Your website serves as your business's digital library. It's where your customers can get all the information they want about your products or services, whether that's price lists, specifications, image galleries, or testimonials. It'll take a lot of stress off manual customer service. For example, if you have a good FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page, many typical questions can be answered straight away.
Also, a website is the ideal place to post educational content. You can post to a blog, or post articles to answer customer's typical questions, or for tips and suggestions, or to explore topics in your space. This establishes trust and can show you are knowledgeable in your space.
Your Website: A Powerful Marketing Tool (Organic & Paid)
Your website is the basis of almost every successful digital marketing initiative.
- Foundation for SEO (Search Engine Optimization): This is the core of your ability to get found on Google. When potential customers are searching online for the products or services you offer, your SEO-optimized site can show up on the search results page front bill. This is 'free traffic', which is allot of $$ in real terms. In fact, think of this as a digital sign for your company to point to your business when someone is seeking the products or services you provide.
- The Landing Pad for Digital Ads: Regardless of whether it be Google Ads or social media ads on Facebook and Instagram, you're ultimately trying to divert traffic somewhere. And the best place to divert that traffic is to your website. Your own website controls your message, user experience and the end goal (like filling a form or making a purchase). Your website is your digital "home" while social media is your "stall" in a mall. Everyone needs their own home, right?
Your Website: For Data Collection and Analysis
Arguably the biggest benefit of a website is the information it can collect. Whether you use Google Analytics or other tools, of you can know who your visitors are, where they are coming from, how long they stay, what pages are the most frequent, etc.. All of this data will help your understand your customer behavior and to make better business decision.
And it doesn't stop there. It's not just data. This is gold. You can find out what your top selling products are, where you can improve, or just what kind of content is best.
Your Website: For Sales & Conversion (E-commerce)
If you sell any form of physical or digital product, your website can directly become your sales vehicle. Depending on the e-commerce capabilities of your website, your customers can browse your products, add them to a cart, and pay - all in one place. Many small businesses have leveraged their own online store to find new markets and dramatically increase their turnover simply by doing so.
Why Just a Social Media Presence Is Not Enough
Having a social media presence is great and might even be necessary. However, depending on social media by itself can be limiting in some very important ways:
- Platform control: You do not control the platform - you need to operate under the social media platform's rules and algorithms. If the settings change, your reach could change overnight. If the platform shuts down altogether, which has happened before (remember MySpace?), you can lose all of your data and audience.
- Lack of ownership over data: All customer data on social media is technically owned by the platform and not by you.
- Functional limitations: Social media was never meant to be a complete storefront or sales system.
In short, social media should be viewed as promotional and engagement platforms. Your website is your base for the product/service, where you build and maintain total control of your digital presence.
Your Competitors' Digital Strategy Revealed: What They're Doing with Their Websites
While you are still wondering, "Do I really need a website?" your competitors are not "if or not." They are past the point of no "if" and are into the smart, strategic use of their websites. Let's take a look at what your competitors' digital strategy looks like.
Competitors Have a Strong (and Measurable) Digital Presence
Your successful competitors in the digital space already have a professional and responsive website (meaning it looks good on desktop, tablet, and phone) that is easy to navigate. They know the importance of first impressions. Their website's first impression is positive.
Take for example a specialized consulting firm with its online appointment scheduling system on its website, showcasing team member profiles and client testimonials. Or, take for example a small crafts studio which now uses its website to facilitate custom orders and online workshops and can reach customers anywhere in the world. They have taken the leap and are already that much further ahead.
They Invest in Content (Content Marketing)
This is not just "having a blog" but "having a blog that works". Your smart competitors understand the importance of content.
- Educational Blog Posts: They create articles that answer potential customers' questions, provide solutions to their problems, or even simply educate them about the latest trends in the industry. For instance, a tech gadget store might write an article titled "7 Tips for Choosing the Best Noise Cancelling Headphones," indirectly guiding readers toward their products. This type of content builds trust and positions them as experts.
- Video Marketing: Whether through product tutorials, customer testimonials, or office/studio virtual tours, they embed video on their website. Video is also very engaging and is a very effective format.
- Infographics & E-books: They develop "snackable" or more robust visual content that may be downloaded for free in exchange for an email address or only for contact details. You certainly got attention with this clever approach and collected some potential customer information along the way.
- SEO Optimized Content: They write for humans and robots. This is where your competitor performs keyword research, determines what the target audience is searching on Google, and then naturally integrates those words into their content.
They Build Authority and Trust
With the amount of information available today, trust is the most important currency of all. Your competition clearly establishes trust with their website:
- Testimonials and Reviews: They display testimonials with pictures or prominently post good reviews on their homepage or a dedicated page on their site. This is solid social proof.
- Case Studies / Portfolio: Service based businesses display actual results from projects they have conducted, including the story and history behind each project. This clearly shows their experience and capabilities.
- A Strong 'About Us' Page: They don't just write a brief description; they tell their business's story, their vision, mission, and company values. This builds an emotional connection with visitors.
- Website Security (SSL): They ensure their websites use an SSL certificate (indicated by 'https://' in the URL), which guarantees the security of visitor data. This is vital for building trust, especially if transactions or data submissions are involved.
They Actively Collect Customer Data (Lead Generation)
Your competitors understand that website visitors do not just come for the information, to purchase or sign up for something. They actively collect data for future marketing:
- Contact forms & newsletter signups. This is the most common way of collecting email addresses or phone numbers from potential customers. They offer value (updates, discounts, exclusive content) in exchange for your contact info.
- Smart pop-ups & CTA's (Call to action). They use pop-ups that show at opportune times or compelling CTA buttons ("Download Free E-book," "Get special offer," "Register for Free Webinar") to keep visitors engaged.
- Data analytics with Google Analytics. They regularly check the data in GA (Google Analytics) to keep an eye on visitor behavior, and based on those data, the websites can help show which pages are reporting more leads, or reasons for abandoning the website.
They Invest in User Experience (UX)
An amazing website is not only about aesthetics but more importantly, the experience. Your competitors know this:
- Website Load Speed: They have great website speed. No matter what internet speed their visitors are working, every second counts. Website speed is one of the biggest reasons visitors bounce off of a website.
- Easy to Navigate: The visitor can navigate the website without thinking. They won't struggle to find what they are searching for because they have organized their website using menus, search features, and an easier way for visitors to understand their structure.
- Good Looking, and Looks Good on Phones/Tablets: Their website looks amazing meaningful they implement a responsive and attractive design for all screen sizes, not just the computer.
They Strategize with SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Your competitors use SEO as a strategy to 'win' Google.
- Keyword Optimization: They know what keywords their targeted audience is typing into search engines and places them in their website titles, description, and content.
- SEO Friendly Website Structure: They have structured their website for ease of crawling for the robots on Google.
- Backlink Building (very brief introduction): They are creating links from other relevant and trusted websites. In a very general sense, these links are 'votes' saying other websites find value in your website and build your websites value in Google.
They Utilize Their Website for Paid Marketing
SEO is a long-term organic Marketing Strategy and, of course, your competitors are also using their websites as a launching pad for paid advertising campaigns:
- Advertising Landing Pages: For example, when your competitors run Google Ads or social media ads, that traffic will not go to a general homepage, they will create dedicated "landing pages" to funnel traffic to that are specifically oriented towards the goal of that ad campaign e.g., to gather some data or sell a single product.
- Tracking/Retailoring: A website gives your competitors the ability to track visitors (mostly anonymously), and show them relevant ads on other sites or platforms. An example: Have you ever gone to a website and seen the exact product you were just looking at on their website a number of times after visiting that page? This is re-targeting.
Ultimately, your successful competitors are well ahead of you by using their website (or digital headquarters) as a centralized operation that helps locate, engage, and ultimately convert potential customers into repeat customers.
Don't Wait Any Longer! Your Practical Guide to Building Your Own Website
Doing some research on what your competitors are doing may cause you to feel anxious, but don't! Please don't forget, it's not about being first – it's about starting now and doing it right. Building your own website is a lot easier now than it has ever been!
Starting Your Digital Journey: Step-by-Step
Before going further, let's define your goals.
- Define Your Website's Goals= What do you want the website to do? -Branding & Information: Just sharing info on your business and contact information -Sales (E-commerce): Selling goods or services -Lead Generation: Collecting data from potential clients (emails, phone numbers, etc.) for follow-up -Education & Authority: Sharing your knowledge as a recognized expert in your field
- Choose the Right Platform= This is one of the most critical decisions. You have several options: -Website Builders (Wix, Squarespace): These are the easiest options for beginners. Pros: Easy to use with drag-and-drop features, no coding knowledge required, and usually includes hosting. Cons: Limitations on customization and no real control. Good for small businesses. -WordPress (Self-Hosted): This is the top recommendation for most of businesses. Pros: It is highly flexible, powerful, with thousands of themes and plugins (add-on features) and large support community. You will have full control over your site. Cons: Some learning curve at the start and some responsibility for hosting. -E-commerce Platforms (Shopify, BigCommerce): If you plan to sell mostly physical products online, they may be your best solution as they are purely designed for e-commerce merchants. Pros: full sales features, easy payments, and simple bulk product management. Cons: Not as flexible as WP when blogging or not selling anything.
- Choose the Right Domain Name & Hosting-Domain Name: Address of your website (e.g., yourbusiness.com). Your domain name should be related to your business, easy to remember, and easy to type. You should check that it's available. -Hosting: Where your website content is stored so that it can be accessed online. Make sure you choose a reputable hosting company that provides high uptime and good customer support. -SSL Certificate (HTTPS): This is amandatory. Make sure that your hosting either provides free SSL, or you can get one from a provider that sells SSL certificates. SSL ensures that the connection between your visitors and your website is secure. Google is flagging websites as 'not secure' without SSL.
The Website Development Phases
With your digital foundation in place, it's time to build its 'home'.
- Plan Content and Structure: Before you start the visual design, it’s a good idea to create a simple 'sitemap.' What pages will you need? Examples of pages, Home, About Us, Services/Products, Portfolio/Gallery, Blog, Contact, etc. Identify the content you have for those pages.
- Design & User Experience (UX): Choose a professional, clean, and responsive theme or template. Ensure navigation is easy and intuitive. Visitors should be able to find the information they're looking for within a few clicks. Also, use high quality images and videos relevant to your business.
- Compose Your Website Content: Here is where you establish your business's voice. Write engaging and informative copy for all the main web pages. Homepage: Write a powerful leading statement that, right off the bat, explains what products or services you offer. About Us: Tell your business story, your mission, and your values. Services/Products: Clearly articulate what you offer, the benefits of those offers, and details necessary for the sale. Contact Page: Have a form you can fill out, a phone number, an email address, and a map if you have a physical address.
- Add All Pertinent Features: Contact Form: So visitors can contact you. Social Media Buttons: So visitors can connect with your social media accounts. Google Maps: If you have a physical location. Live Chat (optional): If you want direct interaction with visitors.
- Optimize Your Website Speed: Make sure that the images you use on your website aren't huge, include a caching system, and choose fast hosting.
Basic SEO for Beginners (On-Page SEO)
To get found on Google, your website must:
- Optimize Page Titles and Meta Descriptions: This is the text that pops up in Google searches, so make them good, within your main keywords, and encourage someone to click those links.
- Use Keywords in the Text: Now that you have relevant keywords, use them in your article or your page text as naturally as possible. DO NOT keyword stuff! Google does NOT like it.
- Optimize Images: Make sure you give your images descriptive filenames and relevant 'Alt Text.' This information tells Google what your images are about and may make them visible in image searches.
- Internal Links: Link to relevant pages from your website. For example, you do not reference shoes in a blog article called 'tips for choosing shoes,' and in the article, you would link to the 'shoes' category page on your online store.
After Your Website is Complete: The Work is Not over!
A website is not a website once you've 'done' it; it is always evolving.
- Launch Your The Website (Go Live): After you have clicked 'publish' make sure you double-check all links, images, and text. You do not want any typos or broken links on your site.
- Promote Your Website: -Share it on all your social media accounts. -Add your website address on business cards, brochures, email signatures, and any other of your marketing materials. -Register your business on Google My Business.
- Analyze Performance (Google Analytics): Install Google Analytics as soon as your website is live. Learn to read basic data: number of visitors, visit duration, most popular pages.
- Continue Updating & Maintaining Your Website: -Keep creating new content (blog articles, new products, news). This keeps your website 'alive' and favored by Google. -Continue to do security updates, especially for Wordpress. -Fix bugs or problems if they occur (and they will!).
- Be Consistent: If you are consistent adding content and developing your website, it will grow in effectiveness over time.
Don't Wait Any Longer! Your Digital Future Starts Now
Will you stand by while your competition makes strides in accumulating customers and gaining authority in the digital space? Or will you be proactive, snatch the available opportunities, and create a digital base for your business?
Time is money, and every passing day is a day you're missing profits. Delegating everything about creating a website can be hard at first, costs and technologies scare you, but you should trust me. The time and effort you invest in your own website will bring you massive returns on your investment.
At the end of the day, your website is an asset. It's working for you 24/7 building trust and credibility, reaching new customers, and giving valuable insights into your business. Your competitors are doing it and reaping the rewards.
Don't let yourself fall behind. Get started on your first step today!
