Marketing & GROWTH // Website Results
WEBSITE IS YOUR DOING ITS JOB? TURNING TRAFFIC INTO BUSINESS
By Stephanie Davis
Y our website can look good and still not be doing much for your business. Zach Boulanger of Bowling Marketing Solutions uses one question to gauge whether that work is happening: How many people did your website add to your customer database last month? That shifts the conversation from how a website looks to what it is actually accomplishing. Carey Tosello, founder of eBowl.biz and BowlRX,
you a way to reach them again. “When we build a site, our number one goal is to collect as much data as possible,” he says. A compelling sign-up offer gives visitors a reason to share their information. Once they do, the relationship no longer depends on getting that customer back to your website or hoping they see your next social post. An email address or mobile number can be added to a customer database you control. That differs from building a Facebook following, where the platform determines how many followers see an unpaid post. Social media remains useful, but it doesn’t provide the same direct connection. Tosello saw the difference during COVID, when centers needed to communicate changing hours, reopening information, and procedures. Those with established customer databases already had people they could contact directly. Those starting One common website shortcut can make useful information nearly invisible to search: posting a flyer instead of creating webpage content. You likely already have flyers promoting parties, specials, and events, so uploading the same artwork to your website seems efficient. The problem is that information within the image doesn’t provide search engines with the same usable text as content built into the webpage. “Don’t use the same thing that’s on your front desk on your website,” Boulanger says. “Pull the content from it, but it should be redesigned for the web.” The same applies to keeping content current. Prices, packages, and holiday hours should be updated online so customers don’t find outdated information. without one, he says, faced “a longer comeback.” GIVE SEARCH SOMETHING TO FIND As more consumers use AI tools to find information, another question is coming up: Will websites still matter? Boulanger points to where AI
compares a website to an iceberg. The photos, colors, pages, and design are only part of what matters. “You see the one-third,” he says. “You don’t see the two- thirds that actually do all the work.” Underneath are the pieces that help people find your business, collect customer information, and keep the site functioning. H ELP THEM FIND YOU
Social media makes it easy to share events, specials, photos, and last-minute information, but a website serves a different purpose. Someone looking for a place to bowl, host a birthday party, or plan a company event typically starts with Google, often without knowing your center’s name. Website structure matters here. Giving birthday parties, company events, fundraisers, and school outings their own pages provide more specific content for search engines than putting everything on a general events page. Tip! Search “birthday party ideas” with your city or market instead of your center’s name. Is your center showing up? KEEP THE CONNECTION Getting someone to your website is only the beginning. One of the biggest missed opportunities Boulanger sees is letting visitors leave without giving
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