A typical 405 Commute

While driving up the 405 freeway today in Southern California, I had some time to think about the answer to a particular question that I was recently asked.

If you’ve ever driven Southern California freeways, you’ll understand how time was something I had plenty of during my stop-and-go commute, as well as why the topic of traffic was on my mind.

In this case, however, the type of traffic in question was not the sun-soaked SoCal kind, but the online kind. The questioner wanted to know whether he needed to build a website for his small consulting business, or if it was enough to have a URL on Facebook and direct potential clients there.

The answer is pretty simple: While having a Facebook page is a critical part of your Web strategy, it’s not enough. You still need a ‘real’ website that contains information about you, your company, and how to contact you. The site can be super simple — one or two pages only — but should have well-written content, a strong IA, a compelling call to action, and be well-prepared for Google’s spiders.

It doesn’t have to be huge and expensive, but it does have to be ‘there’. Without it, you are not realizing your online potential.