Running a small business is no easy task, but there is no denying that a well-made website can make all the difference if it attracts the right consumers.
In this article, we are going to be looking at twenty-seven statistics directly related to running a business online so that you can increase your chances of growing the presence of your small, online business brand in the most effective way possible.
Let’s get started.
Running An Internet Business
It is clear that growing an online presence is becoming more of a necessity when it comes to creating your own business, as this statistic is up from 50% back in 2018.
Building a website is a necessity if you want to spread recognition of your brand as well as make your business name known.
Not only that, but some of the statistics that we will be looking at here suggest that having your own website can also lead to conversion and generation for your business.
This is an interesting statistic from Status Lab that suggests that the vast majority of businesses have an online presence that is made up of more than only their own domain
The next few stats are surrounding the costs when it comes to setting up your business online.
Although the average is between $2,000 and $10,000, around 66% of businesses will spend less than $10,000 when it comes to building, designing and ultimately launching their website.
This is a pretty huge portion of businesses, suggesting that building a website for your small business is a more financially solvent choice.
Emphasizing that previous statistic, 28% of small businesses develop and set up their websites with less than $500.
As a one-off cost, less than $500 is only a small amount compared to the difference that establishing your online presence with a well-designed website can make.
That being said, this next statistic suggests that the costs are too hefty when it comes to building a website for your online business, with 26% of small businesses opting to not set up a business at all because of the costs.
When it comes to finding the working capital in order to cover those upfront costs, there are options such as small loans via short term financing choices, so try not to let this hold you back when it comes to creating a website for your business.
The State Of Internet Business
When we discuss the click-through rate of a website, we are referring to the percentage of people who view a website and click on a certain advertisement that is on the page.
4.23% might not sound like a high percentage, but it is higher than the click-through rate for Google Ads- 3.17%- as well as being a cheaper choice.
There are various ways that you can improve the click-through rate for your site, such as researching the most effective way to attract attention with your buttons, such as via color and shape.
Whilst we are on the subject of color, a whopping 39% of users will be focused on the color of your website whilst perusing!
This is more than any other element of a webpage, such as typography or images.
In terms of specific colors, blue is a particularly popular choice, with 46% of users preferring a blue color scheme when it comes to the design of a website.
Research from The Pew Research Center shows that around 64% of American shoppers would still prefer to buy their goods in stores rather than online or from an online business.
Some of the factors that contribute to this include being able to see and try out a product in person first.
That being said, a huge percentage of millennials make purchases online through online businesses, with a study from Digital Commerce showing that as many as 60% of millennials prefer to do business online.
When it comes to optimizing your webpage for search engines, small businesses need to be taking note of how to best align with the search engine algorithm for Google, as a huge 70% of all web traffic- from around the world- goes through the Google search engine!
It is important to establish a positive relationship with customers by not only producing the service or product that you are offering in a timely manner, but also by doing so with excellent customer service, as consumers will do their research beforehand.
Not only do you want to provide the best possible service or product to build your reputation and brand, but if you have users with positive experiences than they might leave reviews which will be taken into account by those considering using your business, as suggested by the statistic of 81% of consumers researching a business online before purchasing.
Out of these consumers, 47% will search for the webpage, but 55% will search via online reviews, meaning that a positive user experience is sure to lead to positive results for your business’s webpage.
General Small Business Website Statistics
There is no doubting the power that the internet holds, with 85% of consumers finding local businesses by searching online.
These statistics show just how effective it is to build your business online in order to attract more consumers.
That isn’t to say that building an online business doesn’t have its pitfalls, as suggested by the next statistics.
If you find that you have issues with the loading speeds of your websites, even something as little as a delay of one second, conversion rates can reduce by as much as 7%.
Consumers can be unforgiving when it comes to having to wait, so make sure that you keep this in mind.
Low traffic can negatively impact an online business, as shown by the statistic that one in five businesses struggle with low traffic issues and believe it to be the main problem in regard to their lack of success.
Loading speeds and site designs are important, but you also need to keep up to date on search engine optimization and marketing to attract as much traffic as possible.
Much like positive reviews of a website, consumers sharing your page is another important way to attract more traffic, as this statistic suggests.
Try and keep any text on your webpage condensed to a readable length, as a huge 94% of users want a reading time that is under six minutes. Anything longer could cause a drop in traffic.
Small Business User Experience Website Statistics
The user experience is vital to building a strong online business, with 80% of consumers refusing to return to a brand after bad experiences.
To avoid this, optimize your webpage for easy navigation and faster load times.
You might also want to consider engaging visitors more so by adding live chats or chatbots to help consumers with queries in a timely manner.
Continuing on from the previous statistic, almost half of consumers will stop engaging with a slow website, so optimize the UX of your site to help increase speeds.
First impressions are everything, and this goes for websites too, so designing a website that is both user-friendly and visually appealing- whilst also being relevant to your business- is a must to keep consumers interested enough to come back.
One way to increase your traffic is to create interesting and relevant video content for your small business, as suggested by this stat that shows how popular video content is for any small business.
Blogs are a great accompaniment to a website for an online business, as consumers often make purchases based on recommendations from blogs.
As well as leading to the generation of direct sales, it can also help those wishing to start a blog to make money via sponsored content or affiliate marketing.
Web Design Statistics For A Small Business
We’ve discussed design a few times beforehand, but the importance of a well-designed website cannot be underestimated.
38% of people will click off of a bad-looking website, so it is imperative that you put the right amount of time and resources into a good design.
This same can be said for the design of your website on mobile devices, so consider an all-in-one website builder as they tend to offer templates that are optimized for mobiles.
When you are going through your design process, keep things as consistent across all the pages features- and consistent to your brand- as possible, as this is a key element that will keep consumers coming back.
You will notice that most websites have their menu bars on the left-hand side, and this is because the majority of people read from left to right.
This leads to our gaze being immediately drawn to the left, and that is where your consumer’s eyes will be.
Make sure that the most important information is on the left, preferably high up, to ensure a good response from visitors.
With millions of webpages out there offering similar products and services, it is essential to try and stand out.
You are more likely to receive an investment if you have an interesting and unique web design, which can be incredibly helpful for startup companies that do not have as many funds as larger competitors.
Statistics For Small Businesses Without Websites
Interestingly enough, one in five small businesses- over 20%- rely purely on social media rather than a website.
Social media is free so, of course, it is a beneficial platform for businesses, but it is one that should be used alongside a website due to social media alone lacking business credibility and diminishing branding.
Some of the reasons why some small businesses do not want a website range from expenses to feeling that their business is simply too small to benefit.
This is far from the case, though, as a reputable and well-designed website can propel any business.
Final Thoughts
So there you have twenty-seven statistics that are sure to help you on your way to learning how to grow your online business, from the design to the user interface and experience, optimization, and more.
Hopefully, we have included enough information for you to start building on your brand in the most thorough and effective way possible.
Paul Martinez is the founder of EcomSidekick.com. He is an expert in the areas of finance, real estate, eCommerce, traffic and conversion.
Join him on EcomSidekick.com to learn how to improve your financial life and excel in these areas. Before starting this media site, Paul built from scratch and managed two multi-million dollar companies. One in the real estate sector and one in the eCommerce sector.