The sections of a local business’s website that consumers find valuable:
List of prices: 65%
List of services: 55%
Contact information: 43%
Physical address: 42%
Driving directions: 24%
Customer testimonials: 17%
Photos of the business: 15%
Links to the company’s social media profiles: 5%
So what’s it all mean?
List of prices: 65%
List of services: 55%
You don’t have to sell on your site, but you do need to tell folks what’s available.
Contact information: 43%
Physical address: 42%
Driving directions: 24%
Consumers want to find you—it’s your responsibility to make that as easy as possible. If you offer email on your website, check it frequently. Add your business hours to the Contact page so they aren’t surprised when voice mail picks up.
Customer testimonials: 17%
Sure, the testimonials make you happy, but are consumers really reading them? Apparently, not many.
Photos of the business: 15%
This, you need to see as one piece of a larger puzzle. For sites that sell online, store photos are secondary to product shots. For sites that don’t sell online, however, store photos are critically important, showing not only an appealing atmosphere, but demonstrating that you’re fully stocked (i.e., have a broad selection to fit their needs).
Links to the company’s social media profiles: 5%
This doesn’t mean you should remove that Facebook or LinkedIn widget—just don’t rely on it to bring in new faces. Most of your social media fans will come after they’ve visited your store (read: after you’ve proven to be an appealing “friend”).
When was the last time you looked at your website? Reeeeeeally looked at it? Might be a good time to step back, into a potential customers’ shoes, and see it through their eyes.
Might be a good time to spiff up the place.
Percentages courtesy Inc. Magazine…explanations are all mine.
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“…List of prices…. List of services.” Thank you!
Editor’s Note: Agreed. As noted at the end, the list came from Inc. Magazine—category names are theirs, not mine.