Top 10 reasons your website might be costing you money
Whether you own a Whitefish retail shop, a Kalispell service business, or a restaurant in Libby or Bigfork, one fact remains true: your website is likely the most visited storefront you have. And if it’s not built to perform, you may be losing customers before you even know they’re looking.
Here are 10 reasons your website matters, and how a weak one might be costing you money.
1. More people visit your website than your storefront
Your brick-and-mortar location might see a few dozen — or even a few hundred — people a day. But your online storefront is open 24/7 and can reach thousands. The question is: what are they seeing when they get there?
2. If you’re not showing up online, someone else is
Consumers search when they’re ready to buy. If your competitors show up and you don’t, you’re not just missing clicks — you’re missing out on real revenue.
3. A poor website signals a poor business
According to a Stanford study, 75% of users judge a company’s credibility based on its website design. Outdated design, broken links, or missing information can give potential customers the wrong impression. Even if your product or service is excellent, your website might be saying otherwise.
4. You might be invisible on Google
Statistics have shown that a large portion of website visits originate from the first page of Google's results. If your site isn’t optimized for search engines, you’re practically invisible.
5. Mobile users are bouncing
As of 2024, more than 60% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices (Statista). Locally, our Hagadone Media mobile percentages are much higher. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, users are likely to leave fast and not come back.
6. Speed matters more than you think
Website bounce rates increase by 32% as page load time moves from one second to three seconds (Google). If your site loads slowly, you are actively driving customers away.
7. A strong website converts visitors into customers
An attractive, easy-to-navigate website increases the chance that visitors will take action — call, email, stop in, or make a purchase. Every second and click counts.
8. Organic traffic means free, ongoing visibility
Search engine optimization (SEO) brings in high-value visitors without paying for every click. According to research, organic search accounts for more than half of all website traffic (BrightEdge). Unlike paid ads, once your SEO is optimized and working, it keeps driving traffic without big ad spends.
9. Digital ads are wasted without a solid website
If you’re investing in paid search, social media, or digital display ads, but sending people to an outdated or hard-to-navigate site, your ROI is taking a major hit. According to Unbounce, 70% of ad dollars are lost due to poorly optimized landing pages.
10. You’re losing customers you never knew were looking
Many customers decide who to contact before they ever step foot in a store or make a call. If your competitor’s website is easier to find, more modern, or more engaging, they’ll win that business. You won’t even know you were in the running, and that’s the real loss.
Bonus Tip: Unlock revenue by adding AI-powered personalization
Integrating AI-driven tools such as chatbots, product recommendation engines or personalized content modules into your website doesn’t just improve user experience. It can also boost your bottom line.
According to McKinsey & Co., fast-growing companies that use AI-powered personalization generate 40% more revenue from those activities than slower-growing peers. Other businesses report revenue increases of 10% to 15% on average, with some achieving gains of up to 25%.
Here’s how it works:
• AI chatbots can answer questions instantly, capture contact information and qualify leads even outside business hours.
• Recommendation engines suggest relevant products or services based on a user’s behavior, encouraging visitors to explore more and buy more.
These tools continuously learn and optimize without adding to your payroll. By helping the right customer find the right product or service at the right time, they turn your website into a smarter, higher-converting sales platform.
Bottom line:
Your website isn’t just a digital brochure — it’s your most important salesperson, often doing more customer-facing work than your physical location. In a community like Northwest Montana, loyalty to local business is strong, but digital decision-making is stronger; your website needs to work just as hard as you do. It’s essential.
To learn more about building a stronger digital presence, contact Whitney Spencer at wspencer@dailyinterlake.com or 406-758-4410.
• • •
AI was used to research data for this story.
