Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. According to The U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for more than half of all private sector jobs and generate 64% of new jobs annually. So it's no wonder many people want to start a small business.
The problem is that starting a small business can be expensive, and many small business owners don't have the money to invest in a website. In this article, we'll show you how to build a website for your small business without spending much money. You don't need to be a tech expert to do this; you only need basic knowledge and a few tools readily available online. Let's get started!
1. What is a small business website, and why do you need one
A small business website is a digital representation of your small business, allowing customers and potential customers to discover more information about your company and the services or products you offer. It’s also an effective way to boost online exposure and establish credibility. Having a small business website helps small businesses stand out in the increasingly crowded world of eCommerce, giving small businesses a way to showcase their unique offerings and gain an edge over the competition.
2. How to choose the right platform for your small business website
A small business website is a great way to reach customers and create an online presence. However, it can be expensive and difficult to set up if you don't have the right tools. Fortunately, plenty of webmaster tools are available online to help small business owners create their websites without breaking the bank. Ownership of a website is easier than ever.
Choosing the right platform for your small business website is essential. There are a few key points to consider when selecting a platform:
- Budget - Can you afford to pay for web hosting, domain registration, and advanced features?
- Intent- What do you want from your small business website? Do you need e-commerce capabilities or just basic information?
- Technical know-how - Do you have any web design skills or will you need to find a web designer?
The right platform for small business owners depends on their budget, goals, and technical abilities. Several options are available, such as WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, and Wix. Each has its pros and cons. For example, WordPress is a popular platform that offers users plenty of free options, but it requires more technical know-how to build a website. Shopify is another popular choice for small business owners because it offers an easy-to-use interface and plenty of features to help create a great small business website.
Some platforms offer tools that help with ranking google search console. These platforms help gather SEO data to help you rank your website. Finding one that is easy for you to implement is a good idea. WordPress has widgets that let you add google analytics to your site. You can also use Yoast SEO to help you generate content that will rank on google. Social media integrations are another factor to look for.
No matter which platform you choose, small business owners should remember to register a domain name and purchase web hosting. This will ensure that your website is accessible online and can be found by potential customers. Once you've chosen the right platform for your small business website, it's time to start building!
3. The basics of website design - how to make your small business website look professional
Building a website for your small business can seem intimidating, but with the proper knowledge and tools, it doesn’t have to be. With a little effort, you can create a professional-looking site that will help you promote your business and attract potential customers.
The first step in creating a website is picking a site name (URL) or domain, which is the address people will type to find your site. When choosing a domain, try to make it as short and memorable as possible – this can help potential customers find you easily.
Once you’ve chosen a site name, it’s time to start designing it. If you’re comfortable with HTML and CSS, you may want to try designing your site yourself. Otherwise, plenty of web design tools are available online to help you create a site quickly and easily. Make sure to include meta descriptions for all pages – this will help search engine algorithms find and rank your site in their results.
Or you can contact us at MARZ Web Solutions, and we can build you the perfect website at a very affordable price. Our plans start at $29 a month plus a one-time set-up fee of $99 per page, and all websites are hosted on our AWS server. We build a website that is SEO optimized. It will help with your google ranking. We create the perfect meta tag for each page we build. Each page will have keywords created to rank. We link each page to other pages within your site, which is helpful for ranking. These are a few steps we take to create the perfect website with the keyword or keywords you want to rank for.
Finally, once your site is complete, it’s time to ensure everything works correctly. Check for broken links and images, test the site on different browsers, and ensure all contact forms work correctly. This step is crucial for ensuring potential customers have a smooth experience visiting your site. We make sure the core web vitals are checked before we go live.
Building a website for your small business doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. With the proper knowledge and tools, you can create a site that looks professional and easy for your customers. So if building your site by yourself seems like a difficult task, call us at 956-468-3111, so we can discuss your project.
4. Creating content for your small business website
Creating content for your small business website is essential to ensure traffic, organic traffic and long-term success. Content should be of high quality to capture the attention of potential customers and convince them to engage with your business online. Here are a few tips on how you can create content that will help grow your small business:
• Focus on topics that are relevant to your audience and provide value. Doing this will help you create content that resonates with them.
• Keep it simple, informative, and easy to read. Utilize subheadings, bullets, and lists so readers can quickly digest the presented information. Your word count is a factor. The more, the better.
• Use visuals such as infographics and videos to bring your content to life. This will help engage readers and keep them interested in your website.
• Utilize keywords in content titles and throughout the body of text to maximize visibility on search engines.
Creating content for your small business website doesn’t have to be daunting. As long as you focus on topics relevant to your audience and create content that is easy to read, you should be able to increase traffic and organic traffic in no time!
If you feel that you can not write content for your website. There are other ways you can get this content done for you. Fiver is an excellent place to get writing services. Make sure you choose the right freelancer.
5. SEO tips for small business websites
Websites are invaluable assets for small businesses. They provide a platform to showcase their services and products, offer customers an easy way to contact the business, and optimize their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs). Furthermore, a website is no longer just a tool for businesses with the resources and budget to build one—many small business owners are creating their websites, often with little to no technical knowledge.
To optimize your website and make sure it ranks high in SERPs, you need to take a few simple steps. First, create meaningful titles and descriptions for each page on your website. Make sure the titles contain relevant keywords—these are words or phrases people would use to search for your business. It’s also essential to optimize the content on each page by including as many relevant keywords as possible in the body copy. Use Google Analytics and other tracking tools to monitor website traffic and optimize your pages accordingly.
Last but not least, optimize your website for mobile users. Many people use their mobile devices to browse the web, so making sure your website is mobile-friendly can help you reach a wider audience and boost your search engine visibility. By implementing these simple SEO tips, you can optimize your website and increase its ranking in SERPs.
Building a website for your small business doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. With a little knowledge and some of the tools available online, you can create an effective website for your business without spending a fortune. Following our tips above, you can optimize your website for search engines and increase its visibility in SERPs. Best of luck with building your small business website!
6. Marketing your small business website
You've put a lot of work into your small business website – now it's time to make sure it works hard for you. You want to ensure your website's google ranking is on page 1. It will take time, but you can get it there with hard work. These six marketing tips will help get you the leads and sales you need to take your business to the next level.
Update your website regularly: You don't have to update it daily, but make sure you take the time to keep it fresh and relevant. Add new content, update existing pages, or create a blog or email newsletter. This will help attract visitors and show that you are an active business. Verify that all your work is taking effect with google search console.
Optimize for search engines: This is an essential step for ensuring that your business website can be found easily. Ensure the content and HTML code are optimized for keywords related to your business, use relevant page titles, ensure images contain alt-tags, and add a sitemap.
Utilize social media: Social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube are powerful tools for connecting with potential customers. Create business profiles on these sites and update them regularly with information about your business, services, and promotions.
Reach out to influencers: Find influential bloggers in your industry and reach out to them. Ask them to review or feature your product or service on their sites. This can help you reach a much larger audience.
Advertise: Advertising on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing is a great way to reach potential customers. When setting up your campaign, be sure to use keywords that are relevant to your target market.
Track results: Make sure you set up tracking systems such as Google Analytics to measure the performance of your website. This will help you make informed decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts so that you can get better results and more leads and sales.
By following these six tips, you'll be well on your way to making sure that your small business website is working hard for you. Good luck
7. Measuring the success of your small business website
Writing a website for a small business is an excellent way to reach out and engage with potential customers online. But how can you measure the success of your website? By using tools to see results from your SEO and marketing work, you can gauge the success of your website in real-time and make adjustments as necessary to improve its performance.
Google Search Console is a great tool to use to measure the success of your small business website. This free service from Google allows you to monitor and maintain your site’s presence in Google Search results. It also provides insights into how users are finding and interacting with your website, including what search queries they used to find it and what pages and content are popular. You can use this information to gain insights and adjust your website’s SEO strategies, such as updating titles and meta-descriptions to target the right keywords better.
Another excellent tool for measuring the success of your small business website is a Google Analytics account. This free service from Google allows you to track and monitor your site’s traffic, including the sources of where visitors come from, how long they stay on a page, what pages they visit most often, and more. Tracking this data over time allows you to identify trends and opportunities to improve your website’s performance and engage with potential customers better.
Finally, you can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to measure how quickly your website loads. This can impact your site’s ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and overall user experience and engagement. If you find areas of improvement needed, you can use this information to make adjustments such as optimizing.
A small business website can be an extremely valuable tool for engaging with potential customers online. By following the tips in this article, you'll be well on your way to creating a website that effectively reaches and converts leads into sales. Remember to measure the success of your site regularly using tools such as Google Search Console and Google Analytics so you can make informed decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts for even better results. If you need support, reach us atsupport@marzws.com, and we can guide you.