Sometimes we meet business owners who say, I don’t want or need my own website. I’ll just use websites like Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, Amazon, and other online third-party platforms to promote our business or sell online.
Stop, collaborate and listen to quote Vanilla Ice.
You Need Your Own Website
Here are eight reasons why:
Maybe your Etsy store is doing great. Keep selling on it but have your own site.
Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest, Amazon and any other third-party sites can:
- Change how visible your products are to followers. (Example, Facebook just curtailed how much your organic content is seen by followers.)
- Change how high you present in their specific search
- Change how much markup they take off each sale
- Cease to exist as an entity or become irrelevant (remember MySpace?)
02. You can’t do Search Engine Optimization as effectively to their site.
And even when you do, competitors are right next to you.
Yes, that third-party site like Etsy has tons of authority. But when someone searches for your product or service keyword, you can’t control whether you or a competitor shows up above you on a search.
When you have your own site, you can optimize so that when a potential customer searches for a product or service you provide, your site shows up and when they click into it there is no competitor in sight. You now have captured their attention.
03. Your account can be suspended on a third-party platform.
If the third-party site doesn’t agree with what you say, how you say it, or even the products you sell, they can, with a simple click, take down your whole store or service on their site.
When you have your own website, this can’t happen unless you are selling blatantly illegal items (arms, illegal drugs, etc.) in which a hosting company might suspend your account. But if you are simply selling conservative political merchandise, liberal-progressive products or something else that carries a bit of controversy, the hosting isn’t going to eliminate your site.
04. Third-party marketplaces can radically shift to a pay-more-to-play model.
At any time, any of the third-party platforms you depend on can change their pricing structure. You might have to start paying to show up in their search, give up a percentage of sales, or have to pay to get your content in front of potential customers and constituents (hello, Facebook!).
05. Control the look of your brand.
The look and layout limitations of a third-party site like Pinterest, Facebook, Etsy, Amazon, and others might not match your brand. These platforms also constantly change their layout so just when you get your store or page on their site dialed in, everything can change.
With your own website, you are in control of the look and feel of your brand. There are no limits on your creativity, look or amount of web text you can use. When you have a website of your own, you have a blank canvas that can be anything you dream of.
06. Create unlimited content.
Some third-party sites are great for posting ongoing articles (Medium and Tumblr, for example) but don’t allow you to put up your catalog or service pages. Other sites allow a great catalog display (Etsy) but don’t allow you to post articles are blogs.
Your own website
When you rely on a third-party marketplace, often you’ll see a text field with a limit on the word or character count. You can’t get the right amount of content to the people who need to see if when you are using only third-party sites.
07. People Expect Consistency
So you have an email that is yourname@yourcompanyname.com. (Please tell me you aren’t using, companyname@gmail.com or Hotmail, or AOL.com. You are a professional outfit, after all.) People will grab that companyname.com and paste it in the search if you send an email to check out your credibility. Imagine going to that URL and not seeing a site. This is easy to fix when you have your own site.
08. Look Credible and Larger than You Might Be (Yet)
With a great site, you can compete with the big boys and girls even if you are operating out of your bedroom for now. Couple a great site with better customer service and innovation than large companies provide and soon you’ll be growing. Just be forewarned, with a Moon & Owl Marketing site don’t expect to stay small for long.
Let’s Go!
So get with it. Let’s get your business or organization its own site. Yes, keep those third-party platforms stocked full of great content and products but also have something you can call your own, that you control. Leverage those sites to your site, where you call the shots.
We are a web design agency based in Fort Worth, TX. We have clients across the United States representing a diverse portfolio of services and products. We have the experience and know-how to build your site in a manner that converts visitors to customers–whether you use e-commerce, a brick and mortar store, or offer professional or other services.
Your site will perform well at a website cost that is a true value for your business.
We’ll bring our full breadth of marketing expertise to provide you with a stellar website!
