Not so long ago, a small business could get by on a strictly do-it-yourself basis when handling its digital needs. You only needed to get your 13-year-old nephew to build your website, and you could ensure your company’s electronic safety by writing your passwords on a Post-It note or deleting the money-offer emails from Africa. All done, right?
The exponential growth of the internet has changed the way we interact with the world, and even small- to medium-sized businesses now require a bit of professional help to keep themselves safe and prosperous.
A competitive and increasingly challenging online universe is one of the reason northern Colorado businesses have turned to local experts to provide comprehensive IT support, as well as figuring out an aggressive and modern website strategy to draw more customers with search engine optimization.
Scott Warner, vice president of sales with Greeley-based Connecting Point, 2401 17th St., offers outsourced IT, management, support and consulting services and says a company such as his can help smaller businesses avoid the technology-related pitfalls that can plague a small office.
“We can help people learn how to focus and keep ahead of the IT power curve,” Warner said. “It’s not so much about technology itself as much as understanding where your business is going, and what’s important to you. How does a small business stay ahead of security challenges?”
While it once was relatively easy to install and administer a small business’s computer system, rapid changes in technology and the reality of constant online security threats mean these are often no longer areas companies in the 20- to 40-employee range can adequately handle themselves, Warner suggested.
An outsourced IT provider can concentrate on two key areas: layered security protocols, which will help protect your files, your customers and your data from online predators, as well as comprehensive password management, providing an additional level of safety among your employees.
“More and more, we’re fighting a reactive game against online threats,” he said. “Cyber crime is now practically like a service and people can even buy a package of threats and tools they can use against you and your business.”
Warner says professional IT services also can help in cases where you and your employees are running your business on a combination of work computers and personal phones and tablets, as is increasingly common.
“We still see so many users who write down all their internet passwords on a spreadsheet or simply use the same password for everything,” Warner said. “We also suggest a very strong password policy, especially for organizations with a ‘bring your own device’ strategy.”
Up-to-date tools also can scan your incoming email or even websites you access to find potential threats, building an effective firewall against a world full of prying eyes.
And your website itself, as fancy or relatively recently updated as it may seem, can probably also use a touch of the modern age – something that a regional web specialist like Fort Collins’ Red Rocket Web Specialists can provide some help doing.
Owner Chadd Bryant says it’s no longer simply a case of building a website and hoping customers will visit. A contemporary approach means optimizing your site to get the best responses on search engines such as Google, which will be a direct pipeline to more customers.
“A lot of our customers have outgrown the website they have and are frustrated by the results,” he said. “They fell into the trap of thinking, ‘If they build it, customers will come.’ And they end up with a site that’s not very Google-friendly.”
Just like your IT concerns, Bryant said a small business should consider partnering with a web developer who starts with a defensive approach to web presence and can strategize ways to have you pop up first on a simple Google search.
In Red Rocket’s case, that means examining even the promotional copy in your website. While it might have been elegantly written in the first place, if it also shows up on your Facebook page or is even marginally close to material that appears on another webpage, Bryant says the all-powerful Google can “punish” a business for plagiarism and suppress its results on a customer’s casual web search.
“Unfortunately, all those people who know just enough about web design to be dangerous are pretty dangerous — it’s a case of self-sabotage,” he said. “And SEO is kind of like going the wrong way up an escalator. It’s not a one-time fix, or you just slide back to the bottom.”
Bryant says a winning website is one that features lots of good content people will link to and share on their own sites or on social media.
“So much of this is about building credibility with Google,” he adds. “When we started in the late ’90s, very few people had websites and print advertising was the biggest thing. We watched that transition, and one-man web design shops have trouble offering what you need nowadays — writers, design, marketing and programming.”
Modern web experts can also delve into the tricky world of “reputation management” — helping a company that’s been unfairly burned by online reviews offer a more positive spin on their business.
For more information
To contact Connecting Point, go to 2401 17th St., in Greeley or call (970) 356-7224.
To contact Red Rocket Web Specialists, call (970) 674-0079.