According to new data from the website creation experts at Basekit, a massive 91% of small and medium-sized businesses are not configured to allow access from mobile devices, meaning new brands are losing out on potential consumers.
Carried out in Q4 2013, the research is based on data taken from 510 SMEs which found that only half of SMEs actively use social media to promote their sites, with only two thirds saying they understood how to update their one site.
As well as this, only 18% of the sites surveyed were SEO optimised.
Basekit’s CEO, Juan Lobato, told The Drum: “In this day and age, a website that can only be accessed via PC is positively prehistoric – consumers are now accessing websites on-the-go, especially on the high street, and businesses with no mobile offering are simply missing out.
“Our research showed that over 50 per cent of new traffic now comes via mobile, and so it is essential that SME websites should be designed with mobile in mind.”
By not allowing mobile access to their websites, failing to enhance their sites through SEO and not understanding the power that social media can have on an online reputation, SMEs will only fall further behind their tech-savvy competitors.
Businesses and brands of all shapes and sizes are therefore encouraged to make the most of everything that cost-effective technology and marketing can offer them if they want to succeed in this most rewarding of digital landscapes, and starting with creating a decent website and effective social media plan is a good first step.