Part of operating a small business requires adapting to a changing environment on the internet. The internet is a growing and adaptive market—always presenting new opportunities to connect with customers and maintaining a strong web presence. Even during an economic shutdown, the statistics for e-commerce were encouraging. According to Digital Commerce 360, in May of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study showed a 554% increase in consumers choosing to purchase products online and pick them up at stores. A month prior, during the peak of lockdown for most states, these numbers topped out even higher at 563%. However, as physical locations of businesses begin to re-open, there have been declines in e-commerce sales week after week, and it is returning to typical trends. This information shows two things of importance to any small business: e-commerce is essential regardless of what the economy is doing; also, those sales done on the internet are a significant source of income for small businesses.

 

 

The Grand Scale of the Internet

 

Your website is one of the millions of sites, in fact, one out of 1.7 billion and growing sites on the internet, according to Internet Live Stats. Not all these sites may be your direct competitors, but this should give a sense of the internet’s vastness and the access to data it provides. When it comes to getting out there and getting noticed, this can feel almost impossible. But the internet offers a fantastic way to advertise. According to a report published by KPMG International, about 55% of people shopping online search for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase. Social media is essential, whether it encourages followers to leave a review, tag your business in a post, and tag their friends. The concept of “word of mouth” reaches a whole new level with social media. The investment in social media is time, but the payoff is significant. Take the time to create the platforms, gain followers, and build a community.

 

Additionally, 47% of consumers visit a website after reading a review about it, and 26% go to the websites’ online store. Moreover, 30% of people would return to a website they have purchased from in the past. Most of the reasons people decide to buy are because of competitive pricing, preferred website, best delivery options, price, and stock availability. Most people share feedback on the seller’s website, followed by Facebook, brand website, WhatsApp, and Instagram, per the online business statistics. Everything begins with a community, and online communities are massive. The costs are minimal and affordable for any small business compared to traditional methods of accessing communities and advertising.

 

The defining metric that separates traditional marketing from social media is the cost per thousand impressions or CPM. In a cross channel media cost comparison, direct mail cost $56.50 to reach 1000 people, while every cost for online marketing was under $20 to reach 1000 people. Social media is cheaper than any form of traditional marketing. However, most small businesses must manage their social media accounts, which means time, and this is the hidden fixed cost. A workaround is encouraging your employees to use their platforms to promote the business, or budgeting time as the owner of the company to one hour of social media per day—something simple as posting a daily post or activating an online ad.

 

Consider the Rank of your Website Before Making Sweeping Changes

 

The website traffic and the number of visitors are significant numbers to look at, yet the website’s rank becomes crucial. The number of visitors to your site may drop or go up depending on what the economy is doing, but this should not be used to gauge how well your site is doing. The best example of this is the travel industry, where weekly visitations to travel categories have steadily declined since the pandemic hit the United States in March of 2020.

 

According to WebFX, the five things you can do to improve your search engine ranking is:

 

1. Making link building a priority.
2. Write skyscraper, SEO friendly content.
3. Build a responsive website.
4. Maximize click-through rates in search results.
5. Use SEO, friendly videos, and images.

 

Most small businesses are managing their website, and again, the cost is time. Anyone can write their content or hire freelance writers, which are relatively affordable. The social media community will help you attract links from reputable and trustworthy sites, such as people and businesses you know. This is why it is essential to be active on social media rather than make an account to have one and never use it. The social media presence also helps your click-through rates, which improves your search engine ranking.

 

The cost of time is valuable for a small business; however, weigh the cost of hiring others to accomplish these things to the amount of time and effort it will take you, and what this could be detracting from. You may find that it is more cost-effective at the beginning for you to complete the simple tasks like content writing and creating links, especially after spending time building a social media platform.

 

A Reduction in Web Traffic Does Have a Silver Lining

 

The silver lining with a brief decline in web traffic means you can dedicate time to web site repairs, new advertising, social media, and implement new strategies you never had time to do because of constant web traffic. For example, guest blogging, referral traffic, posting content to social media, linking internally, interviewing industry thought leaders, and making sure your site is responsive and fast are just a few things you can do with down-time. A decline in web traffic means you focus on your ranking and building your social media network.

 

Focus on Your Current Customers to Also Gain New Customers and Customer Retention

 

Retaining customers is vital for the long-term success of any small business. It becomes more expensive and challenging to acquire new customers than retain a current one, according to The Value of Online Customer Loyalty, a publication by Bain and Company. This report shows how it is virtually impossible to do anything but lose money on one-time shoppers. Another report published by the same group shows that a 5% increase in customer retention results in a 25% increase in profits.

 

There is an increased focus on customer retention during an economic decline as buying patterns change, but loyal customers will still buy from the business. Recruiting first-time buyers may not be a viable option for small businesses and could be more costly. According to Baremetrics, regarding retention rate, which is the proportion of customers the company has retained over a specific time—the retention rate is easily calculated.

 

Customer Retention Rate = ((CE-CN)/CS)*100

 

• CE equals the number of customers at the end of the period, for example, the end of one month, two months, or three months.
• CN equals the number of new customers acquired during the period, for instance, during one month, two months, or three months.
• CS equals the number of customers at the start of the period, for example, the beginning of one of the month, two months, or three months.

 

Baremetrics provides an excellent example to reference, which helps you determine where the money is spent on marketing and web ranking. Specific cohorts offer a better insight into what is being done right and what things you need to continue to work on.

 

 

Take Cost-Effective Steps to Make Small Business Website Grow

 

Use social media and take advantage of massive communities and people interested in the product. Pay attention to the number of visitors but focus on maintaining a substantial ranking on Google. Take advantage of any decline in website traffic to implement new social media strategies, SEO plans, and increase website ranking. Always focus on current clients and retaining clients and let your website and social medial bring in new clients. Time is the fixed hidden cost for any small business, but a small business owner easily does so many of these steps at little cost besides time.

 

In summary, small businesses with limited income, time, and staff can utilize these tips to manage their website during an economic downturn:

 

• Social media and online communities are essential, and gaining followers takes a little time but is far more affordable than traditional methods. You can do this yourself for very cheap.
• The number of visitors and the website ranking is equally important, but focus your efforts on getting your ranking higher, and the rest will follow.
• Take advantage of a reduction in website traffic as it provides ample opportunity to implement new strategies that you did not have time to do before.

Focus on your current clients or customers and how you can retain even 5% more of them.

• This could include customer satisfaction surveys if you don’t know the problem or where you are losing customers.

 

Although it can seem complicated and scary, managing your business website and social media platforms is key to success. Any time or energy invested in this direction or educating yourself about the subject could pay incalculable dividends in future profit and success.