What you need to do?
First things first, you will need to complete an audit of what your business looks like online. This will tell you if your business does have multiple websites. What you need to look out for is you can see variations of your business’s domain name when you search for it online i.e. www.johnspizza.com.au + www.johnspizzas.com.au + www.johnpizza.com.au and so on.
Click on the websites you think may be related to your business. If they are not, contact the company who created the website asap and demand they take it down immediately.
If it turns out they are - scroll to the bottom of the website and check which online ordering company the website is powered by. Then give this company a call and request they take the website down or re-direct it to your official domain. You will need to be firm and assertive, and not take ‘no’ and ‘we’ll get back to you’ for an answer. They can remove it, so don’t think twice about it. At the end of the day, it’s your business - not theirs and the final say should always be with you.
So what does having one website mean?
One website means that your business will have one great website that clearly and effectively represents your business. Your customers will not be confused about which website to click on (which can also lead to them going to your competitor instead!). Instead, they’ll know and trust your one, official website.
- All your customer traffic will go to one website,
- All of your marketing efforts will be centralised to one website,
- Updating product and business information will be done in one place (not 3!),
- Your brand awareness will increase
Can you think of any great businesses that have more than one website? Yeah, we can’t either.
At the end of the day, it’s a no-brainer - so make sure your business only has one, well-looked after website that your customers love and trust.
As always, when in doubt - consult a professional.