Actually, 70% of Consumers Think a Smart Website Gives a Local Business More Credibility

admin | Apr 25, 2016

 

BrightLocal conducts a lot of helpful research in the local search industry. In February, they shared the results of a survey of 800 U.S. consumers.

What brought me to the article was the headline: “34% of consumers think a Smart Website gives a local business more credibility.”

That number seemed low to me, so I did some digging to find out where that “34%” comes from.

In their survey, the first question BrightLocal asks is:

Which statement best applies to you?

1. I am more likely to contact a local business if they have a website.
2. I think that a clear and smart website gives a local business credibility.
3. It doesn’t make a difference to me if a local business has a website or not.
4. A bad or ugly website can really put me off using a local business.

It turns out that 34% of people chose option #2.

I had to wonder, though, how many people would agree with #2 if it was asked as a yes or no question, rather than given as one of three options.

It turns out:

70% of online U.S. adult consumers think a smart and clear website gives a local business more credibility. {tweet this}

We know this because we ran a survey with 844 respondents in the Unites States — a respondent pool closely matching the one BrightLocal used. The only difference is, we asked the question this way:

Does a clear and smart website give a local business credibility?

1. Yes
2. No

Why the difference in results? Why 70% instead of just 34%?

It’s simple: The way BrightLocal asked the question, a single respondent may agree with two or more answers, but is only able to select one. For example, I personally think that a clear and smart website gives a local business credibility and that a bad or ugly website can really put me off using a local business. So which do I vote for?

Go ahead and update your sales pitches. If your business has a clear and smart website, 70% of consumers say that gives you more credibility.