The importance of having a strong online presence for your business in the modern world cannot be overstated. If you’ve been hesitant to update your digital presence, or are skeptical of its impact, in this issue of The Pulse, we look at some of the statistics that show just how critical it is.  

Nearly a third of all business is conducted online.  

In our current digital age, 28-29% of all business is conducted online. This number has only been on the rise since 2020, and shows no sign of slowing down. As of 2023, approximately 71% of all businesses have a website, most of which utilize various tools and hosting platforms that make implementing a brand vision possible, without the required design expertise.  

This means, if you’re not active online or using a website to attract customers and build credibility, you’re not only missing a huge amount of potential business but allowing your competitors to fill that gap.  

Social media isn’t enough. 

While having a social media presence increases brand awareness, and generates consumer transactions, social media engagement does not replace the value of a website. Rather, both can work together to drive customer loyalty and business legitimacy through a well-rounded, and accessible presence. Unsurprisingly, nearly 92% of global web traffic comes from Google, further emphasizing the importance of meeting the potential customer where they already are, or rather, where their cursor is. 

This matters for small businesses, too. 

If you’re operating a smaller business, you might be thinking that you can rely on word of mouth or a Facebook page to get by. And, sure, that can be sustainable for a time. However, in the long run, you are missing opportunities to better market yourself. A lot of this boils down to credibility and trustworthiness. Customers want to make informed decisions when spending money; a reliable digital presence is one of the best tools to make choosing your business easy.   

In 2023, 43% of small businesses invested in the performance of their website. Once again, if you won’t, your competitors will.  

Convenience is key for consumers.  

Part of the reason online business is so important in this day and age, is that your customers are going to be prioritizing convenience and accessibility more than ever. Being able to find information, answer questions, and make purchasing decisions easily, on any size screen, in any place.   

This applies, especially, if you have the capacity to sell products or services online. In this case, not only is the quality of your website presence critical to having a leg up over your competitors, but the seamlessness of your online payment portal is too.  

Quality matters.  

If your website is outdated or dysfunctional, it’s important to invest the funds and effort to resolve that. Here are some things you should know about user experience when it comes to a business’ website: 

• It takes users just 0.05 seconds to form an opinion of your business based on your website.  
• Users will only spend an average of 5.59 seconds looking at written content on a site.  
• Videos on a website can increase user retention by 88%. 
• 47% of users won’t wait longer than two seconds for a website to load. 
• Slow-to-load websites cost retailers an estimated $2.6 billion USD in sales each year. 

Likewise, with 54% of web traffic in North America coming from mobile devices, ensuring your website is mobile-compatible is essential.  

In conclusion… 

Establishing and maintaining an accessible, informative website is crucial to your business’ success, especially when nearly a third of all business occurs digitally. Failure to do so might literally cost you.