In these uncomfortable financial times, it would seem that more and more people are moving towards the internet for purchases and away from old fashioned high street shops. But does every organisation need to have a web site?

There will be those firms that most likely do not need a web site, such as a small food supplier who may well have stock that is only on the shelf for a day or two and so does not lend itself to online marketing. Possibly the best option for businesses such as this is to have a listing in Yell.com or another of the local listing websites, so that anyone looking for a local company will find them there. They will also be able to find out basic details such as opening times, telephone number etc. This should prove satisfactory for such a business.

The large supermarkets all have web sites that can be used for Online Marketing and have capable delivery services to make certain that groceries arrive quickly. However this sort of service may well be beyond the resources of a small local greengrocer, or the like and is possibly unnecessary.

Another sort of business that may need a minimal web presence is bespoke clothing, such as wedding dresses. Their web site may well be a showcase of a range of styles and prices to tempt the user, in the hope that they will come to the boutique and take the next steps such as measurements, fittings and final purchase. It does not seem feasible to offer these aspects of their service online, although contact details are crucial and customer feedback would also be helpful.

There is a valid argument that for small local companies, an advert in the local free newspaper and word of mouth recommendations may well bring in enough local trade to keep the firm going. But what about the future, as more and more people look online for their key purchases, it is really only a matter of time before they look for more and more of their daily necessities online in numbers.

What is really attractive about even just a small showcase web site is that once it is up and running, it’s available day and night for potential customers to find whenever they do a web search. So in that context, it would seem like a good idea for the bulk of firms to have a web site to show that they are being up to date and so should look more appealing to modern day customers.

Where organisations do have web sites it will be critical that these are optimised so that when a user carries out a search in Google, for example, their Search Engine Placement will be on the first page of the organic listings, in the hope that this will result in an order, or an email or a phone call for a meeting.

The company would need to use the services of a reputable SEO Company to undertake the work, and various checks can be made to make certain that the company is able to deliver the right results.