Is Your Business Invisible?

Many businesses still don’t have a web site, rendering them virtually invisible to potential customers.

For a couple of years now, I (and other Duct Tape Marketing coaches) have been referencing research from the Kelsey Group that showed 70% of US adults use the internet as an information source when shopping for local goods and services. Now, updated research indicates that number is as high as 90%.

Last year, 1 & 1 Internet conducted a survey of of 1,800 small and medium sized business. That survey revealed that 2 out of 5 of those businesses did not have a website. By the way, of those SMBs that did have a website, 83 percent report that their website was essential to their company’s success.

Let’s summarize, and generalize a bit. Almost all of your potential customers search the internet for local goods and services before they buy. Only a little more than half of local businesses have a chance of showing up in that search. I say a chance because it is important to do the work to make sure your site is showing up in the search results for the way your customers search. It seems to me that those businesses who have a website optimized for local search enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.

Which side of the playground does your business have to line up on – the visible or the invisible?