Lately, I’ve been frustrated with the lack of presence some local businesses have on the Internet. The sites often have scant information and are rarely updated. It’s important as a business owner to not overlook the value of a good website. Here are some tips to follow.
Have your hours posted
This is the most common frustration. I often cannot find the hours the business is open on their own website. Some businesses may not include the hours on their site because they change seasonally. But it doesn’t take that much effort to make those changes.
Make a Google Places and Facebook page
Be sure to own your Google Places page and make a Facebook page too. Include all the information you can about the business on both. It’s another way to ensure that customers can find your business and the information they need.
Keep it basic
Don’t include any fancy videos, flash animations or anything else complex. Your customers just came to your site for information, and such things only act as a hurdle. I see many restaurant websites have their menus in PDF format. This is lazy! All information should be available on the site in the most basic form possible.
Give me an electronic method of contact
Email, Twitter, Facebook… I want to be able to contact you without having to call you.
As always, I’m willing to help most people in the area. Send me a tweet or leave a comment if you need more advice.