There is little doubt that local business, regardless if you are a plumber or a lawyer, requires an online presence. This fact has become increasingly evident over the past few years as more and more Australians join the online revolution. However, the majority of local businesses are still paying a large amount of money for their paper directory subscription with little to no results.
Below are a few reasons why all Australian businesses need an online presence.
Users are constantly online
As you have probably noticed larger corporations when running their advertisements on TVs or on Billboards are pushing users to visit them online either via a web address or asking users to search for them on Google. This is not because they have spare money to spend on useless marketing, but the fact that these companies have spent millions of dollars researching user behaviour and one out standing fact about Australians is that they are constantly online.
On top of being constantly online, they are also searching for information based on things they want or need at that specific time. For example, Australians are becoming more and more focused on searching for products and services they require within their local area. Unfortunately, most businesses fail to capture this traffic as most Australian businesses do not have an online presence as they have used their marketing budget on paper directories.
Paper directories are no longer useful
Despite the alarming fact that users are constantly online, local Australian businesses are not embracing this knowledge and are still spending valuable advertising dollar on paper directories that are slowly but surely becoming less useful.
It is true that the need for paper directory will never completely disappear, however as less and less people use paper directories, would it still make sense to invest your hard earn cash there? As pointed out before, users are online searching on their favourite search engine (Google owns approximately 96% share in Australia) for the product or service they require.
For serious business owners who wish to grow their business, investing in their online presence is the best and most cost effective way to increase business.
Customers will search for what they want close to where they live
For online users, time is money and to make sure that they get what they want, where they want, they are likely to search for it on Google. This action is equivalent to people in the 90s searching through their paper directory for the local plumber. Unfortunately, physically looking through a paper directory is time consuming and Australians in this day and age are very time poor.
To illustrate this, try searching for “plumbers in *area you live*” to see how quickly you can find a local plumber. Now try searching for plumbers in the area you live through a paper directory, keep in mind that you also don’t have an interactive map to help you figure out which plumber is the closest to you.
Alternatively, try searching for a service you offer in the area you service and check if your contact details appear on Google. If not, then you have an issue at hand as your competitors will be receiving all the calls for the service you provide. Do you really want to be invisible to users who are actively searching for you?
Are you online?
Now that you know Australians are constantly online and searching for services or products that YOU offer but are currently choosing your competitor as a supplier, then Locafy online is here to help change that.
Still not convinced? Then visit Locafy Australian Business Directory now to find out how you can get online today and gain the competitive edge you require to grow your business.