Biz Smarts: Make your company’s website a critical asset

Sarah Travis, Google’s director of commercial and industrial marketing, recently released some eye-opening data showing how B2B buyers have dramatically changed their research and buying behavior over the past five years.

Her and my conclusions point to the importance of the company’s website.

Twenty years ago, most CEOs thought their website was not just a company fact sheet, so it was not a high priority. Today, too many CEOs don’t realize that their website may be their company’s most important revenue-generating asset – and the only 24-7 job site.

Buyers first research you online

Travis claims that two-thirds of purchasing decisions are first influenced by the digital world and that this is growing. When we are looking for something, we all go to Google. The first search is usually done on a generic product name and descriptor, after which only the buyer begins to hone on a particular brand.

Where is your product displayed on Google? why?

Google’s business goals are simple: complete all searches on Google. This happens only when Google can quickly find the best answer to the search bar somewhere on the Internet.

The key is: For sites that are interested in your business being the best answer, your site must make it easy for Google to provide you with one of the best (page 1) answers. Are you doing everything you need to do to achieve this? If not, you really need some competent SEO advice, and better yet, the ongoing SEO service relationship.

By the way, Amazon is changing something. Mary Meeker’s latest Internet Trends report shows that more people are doing product searches on Amazon, not Google and other search engines, because B2C customers can now buy.

If/when they arrive at your website, will they stay?

Google is critical to potential customers requesting all of Google’s terms/phrases/questions to reach the “first page” rating, but this is only the first step. What happens when your potential customers arrive?