Actually, 70% of Consumers Think a Smart Website Gives a Local Business More Credibility
Aly Kurtz | 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?
- I am more likely to contact a local business if they have a website.
- I think that a clear and smart website gives a local business credibility.
- It doesn’t make a difference to me if a local business has a website or not.
- 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:
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?
- Yes
- 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.