Why Building a Website Does Not Guarantee Success

Featured article by Calvin Paige, Independent Technology Author

There are very few businesses these days that don’t have some kind of online presence, whether it is a website or a social media page. The sad truth is that if you are not online, your marketing opportunities are limited. People do still read the local newspaper and pay attention to radio ads, but most of us turn to Google when we need the name of a plumber or the number for a local florist. Google has become our new BFF. However, it is important to realize that having a website is not a guarantee of success.

Whilst larger businesses were relatively quick to catch on to the benefits of having a company website, many SMEs were slower on the uptake. In some cases, it was a case of ‘ignorance is bliss’, but for others, the cost was a mitigating factor.

The Evolution of Website Design

Technology has now evolved to the point where anyone can create a website using popular content management systems such as WordPress. You don’t need to have in-depth knowledge of HTML, CSS, or anything technical whatsoever. CMS platforms such as WordPress are intuitive and easy to personalize. You can look up WordPress knowledgebase theme resources online if you have any questions, or just play around with the different options. However, what you may not realize is that a website is effectively invisible unless you make an effort to promote it online.

The Importance of SEO

There are billions of websites. The vast majority are effectively invisible because their owners don’t have a clue about SEO or have mothballed them in a dark corner of the internet. Search engines rely on SEO to decide whether your website is a good fit for a user’s search query. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how creative your website is, unless you follow the latest SEO guidelines, it will be invisible in the search engine rankings.

It is hard enough managing a business without having to worry about things like SEO, yet you can’t afford to ignore the principles of search engine optimization. You really have two choices. One is to read up on SEO and learn more about how SEO affects your search engine rankings, and the other is to outsource the job to an expert.

There is a ton of information out there if you are interested in the enigma of SEO, but if you create good content, update your website regularly, and include keywords in the content, you are on the right path. Google likes websites that are user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and do what they say on the tin. Backlinks are also important, so link your blog posts to social media and encourage readers to share.

If, on the other hand, you are far too busy running a business to care about the finer points of website design or SEO, consider paying an expert to handle your online marketing. At the end of the day, think about how much your time is worth, and if it doesn’t make financial sense to waste hours doing SEO when you could be dealing with valuable clients, outsource the job.