Social media, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube; the buzz words floating around the heads of most business owners these days. More than just buzz words, these can all be crucial pieces of your company’s success online, but none are as important as your website.

A recent report from KubasPrimedia points out that although 27% of Canadian Consumers use social media to gather information, 77% of consumers “often” or “sometimes” visit retailer websites to obtain information about a specific product, and with 71% visiting manufacturer websites.

The one important thing about these stats are that people still rely on a company’s website above all else. Sure social media may have driven them to the website but they end up there researching the product. How is this important to you the business owner? Don’t forget to keep your website in top form, update content, make sure prices are current, report news with your products or your industry and keep it fresh!

The marketing industry is definitely evolving, but to the point where all of the traditional and non-traditional outlets are contributing to a steady stream of traffic to the company’s biggest online asset, it’s website. Without a current and functioning website, your company’s brand runs the risk of being left in the dust by your competition.

So what can you do to increase the appeal of your website to visitors? There are many things that will drive people to your site, but as this report shows, 63% of consumers “often” or “sometimes” search for online coupons and promotions. Our experience proves that customers who provide online deals or promotions tremendously increase the traffic to their sites by provided customers a “reward” for visiting. Customer loyalty programs have been around for decades and the online market is no exception.

Take a look at your website and that of your competitors and ask yourself: are they getting more traffic to their site? Are people commenting and talking about this company online? Google the competition, see where their name pops up. Should your company’s name be popping up on the same sites? Look at ways to make that happen.

An interactive website is the key to your company’s online success, check out our site for ideas vsgroup.ca