Ian Bowen-Morris, Chief Marketing Officer at Telnames, explains why it pays to have a mobile website

If, like many of us, you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve probably used it to find directions to a shop you couldn’t locate, looked up train times, or Googled the phone number of a local taxi firm. And the chances are that your target customers are doing something similar every single day.

In today’s connected world, consumers have become used to searching for the services they need online. Indeed, according to Google, 95% of smartphone users regularly search for – and, as a result, get in contact with – local service providers online. What’s more, Google’s research reveals that when people use mobile search they tend to take action immediately, with one in five making an instant phone call (source: Google Research, September 2012).

But here’s the shocking part. Google’s research also reveals that less than 10% of small businesses currently have a mobile site. That means that, every day, a vast number of small companies are missing out on a major opportunity to grow their business.

So, what’s the problem? Well, for many small companies and local businesses, it’s all about time, effort, cost and perception. Because many companies think you need a heavyweight site that’s complicated to build and a hassle to maintain.

But, unless you’re selling a lot of stuff online, most people who want to find out about your business probably don’t want much more than your contact information and a basic overview of what you do.

All of which means it’s probably enough to just ‘mobilise’ your ‘contact us’ or ‘about us’ page of your traditional website (if you have one). And if you’re in the restaurant business, for example, you may want to make your menu available too. Or you may want to feature the opening hours of your business, include a map, offer customers the opportunity to follow you on social media, or promote a special offer.

That’s exactly what a new service from Telnames makes possible. In just minutes you can create a mobile-friendly .tel site that looks good and gives people all your essential contact information in one easy-to-view location. Everything is included – a top level domain name to get found in search, a smart page where you can upload all your contact information and a business profile and hosting – for one small annual fee of £14.95. A Telnames.tel site works in parallel with your existing site (if you have one), so you really can have the best of both worlds and ensure that your online presence is covered – whether customers are searching on the move or from their desktop.

Now any small business can create a mobile-friendly website that displays perfectly on a smartphone – making it easy for mobile information searchers to find you and make that all-important call. For some great examples of a number of independent businesses are using the Telnames service, just visit http://www.telnames.com


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