In these times of cut backs and businesses watching every penny they spend I was astonished to see that so many small businesses were still neglecting the opportunity that the online world can provide.
The losses are doubled when I then realised that if they were skimping on their website then they certainly wouldn’t be making use of Search Engine Optimisation [SEO] either.
A survey taken by British Telecom has indicated that as many as six out of ten small businesses in the UK are missing out on their portion of the £20 million online market. Despite the fact that 69% of people shop online at least once a month 67% of these businesses don’t believe that the right customers for them are online.
The survey taken out by the BT Tradespace department had noted that the number of small businesses with a website had at least risen 20% between 2007 and 2008.
Of these businesses that have sites, only 13% of them believe that the website is an integral tool to their marketing strategy. Mick Hegarty, head of BT Tradespace commented that, “during these challenging times a professional online presence can open up a world of opportunities.”
A professional website should only be the start of a small businesses online presence. To make sure it is seen by the internet consumer a strong SEO campaign will help it to establish an advantage over its competitors.
An SEO campaign will place importance on tools such as blogs and links to increase your presence with search engines. The Tradespace survey found out that 92% of these businesses were aware of blogging but that only 18% were using it for business purposes. Blogging is a great way to attract people to your site, especially if you have something interesting to say or are very knowledgeable in your field.
The majority of online shoppers will enter a site through a search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Live Search so you need to make sure your company is visible on these. An SEO campaign run by a reputable company such as White Hat Media can give you the best opportunity to ensure that your company’s name is the first one seen on a results page and give you that head start over the competition.
With people finding greater value on the internet it should be imperative that a professional website alongside a thorough SEO campaign can help tap into that £20 million online market. If it is still a secret amongst small businesses, which it shouldn’t be then contact White Hat Media before the competition catches on.
