Name, Address, and Phone numbers are first requirements in any locally listed business, but they are often forgotten in many websites for small businesses.

As the world switches from Yellow Pages to Google for finding local businesses, you’d think majority of local business websites won’t forget this. But most of them do. Over half, in fact do not have their phone numbers on their websites.

The facts

According to the latest data from 1 million websites collected by data collection and analysis giant SMB DigitalScape:

  • 6 out of 10 US SMB (small and medium business) websites don’t have either a local or toll-free telephone contact numbers on the home page.
  • 74.7% of SMB websites don’t have a contact email link on their home page.
  • 65.7% of SMB websites don’t have a form-fill option for consumers wanting to request information.
  • Only 19.5% of SMB websites have a link to a Facebook page
  • Even fewer have links to Twitter and LinkedIn.
  • 93.3% of SMB websites are not mobile compatible and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones.

The last three points are understandable—the social media trend is still growing, while mobile compatibility is being superseded by the popularity of the iPad and other tablet devices (not to mention maintaining two versions of your website takes too much effort and expense). But the first 2 points—contact telephone numbers and email address—should be commonsense.  It’s business 101!

It all boils down to common business sense

Websites (especially the first upper half of the homepage) should be treated as a kind of electronic ‘business card.’ You wouldn’t give out business cards with only your name on it, would you? Why would people forget such a very basic requirement like providing a method of contact for someone to do business with them? Does it have something to do with the web designer hired to create the site? (if it does make sure to contact us)

Whatever the reason is, make sure your website does not make the same mistake. If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, don’t forget to prominently place your phone number on your home page—your address too. If you’re a purely online business, don’t forget to put a conspicuous contact email address on your home page. And make sure these three: Name, Address, Phone (or email address) are consistent throughout your website, print ads, business cards, stationary, or any other marketing collateral.

Without these basics on your website, you’ll just be giving away your business to your competitors who do have them. Don’t get caught sleeping. Have a proper NAP.