4 reasons you avoid digital marketing and why it’s costing you business

There are a few truths that I am aware of within the environment of running a business. The one that typically costs us the most grief in business is not being active in a very active digital world.  Your website can confirm most suspicions about your business that people may formulate.  As a heavy web user, my first thoughts when I am looking for good or services is to always check the first box and review your website. 

Google is the world-leading Search Engine (90% of searches)

Regardless of your industry most of your views are going to be organic search results through Google or Bing (Check out this article regarding Organic Search Results).  Yet if you are glad to find a home on Google my business you checked the first box and I am able to read the thoughts of previous customers who have used your business in the past.  The skeptic in me is slowly melting away as I read your 5 and 1-star reviews.  It’s a naked truth but it’s important. That one and four-star reviews tell me your good days and bad days, and believe me, a one-star here and there indicates a truth regarding your business.  As my concerns are swept away it’s time to check your website for more details and imagery. No website or a forwarding link to your Facebook page returns a sense of distrust.

Your business can succeed using this technique but will see very little growth from it.  Google my business is helpful and will extend your reach, but the lack of a website is a denial of who you are.  A website is a minimal expectation in the digital world for people to learn more about your business and the products you supply.  This can do the most damage to your business without you realizing it.

DIY websites

You spent a weekend diving into your Wix or Squarespace setup, sold on truths of how easy it is to build your own website. The smirky twins who build their site before you on their commercials never the less exposing the time spent manufacturing photos and ideas, yet you boldly go into code and uniformity only to be sifting through the hundreds of regurgitated templates that further removed you from the identity you want.  Your images lack the alt tags, hrefs missing no-follow attributes, and your navigation flooded by links that lack the organization that customers regard as contemporary formality causes your bounce rate to soar.  The 20-minute search you invested in “how to build a website” did not properly prepare you for the SEO and responsive techniques.  You realize after hours spent on this journey that you are no closer to the look you visioned.  You now realize the cost analysis prepared by a marketing agency seems more reasonable. 

My rock-solid website

If you did not identify as the DIYer above, and you found faith in a web designer or agency your one step closer to your goals.  But you are not out of the woods yet.  A website is like a tiny human, you have to feed it, nurture it, and give it lots of attention.  Content can go sour if left unattended.  The design and development steps are now behind you, but you are now against the tide of the web.  Your data regarding visits are now your only way to determine how well your site is doing. Your bounce rate (Learn about Bounce Rate more in detail) may be the first indication of an issue with your site.  Your site’s conversion issue could be a simple one.  A bad link structure, or a poorly built content in the above the fold section of your site.  A critical eye can be the only difference to solving your website conundrum.

Social market place

Your website woes never end, you suddenly realize that a whole day is spent looking at comments and engineering content to pull users to your site.  The social environment is its own challenge that denotes mental sharpness and out of box thinking.  Viewers have been swept away in an instant avoiding the ad that you spent ten minutes that morning hustling together has now been scrolled/swiped over at least a hundred times spending your $25 allotment within minutes.