b'This helps the business owner to understand a typical cus- watching, and a variety of sightseeing tours, so, naturally, FOGHORN FOCUS tomers preferences to aid in future marketing and helpswe include high resolution images or videos of whales, to foster stronger relationships with customers via directpuffins, and lighthouses, along with these keywords in communication.Clearly,thereareseveralreasonswhybold on our websites homepage. direct bookings are so important for a small business, so how can a business owner increase their direct bookings?Additionally, providing a trip calendar right on your home-One tool that plays a major part in this is your companypage can allow customers to easily find what trip they are website. In fact, over 90 percent of travelers will do theirlooking for and book it, thus creating a good first impres-trip research online, and 82 percent will end up makingsion of your business. The better impression your homep-their booking online as well, further validating the im- age leaves for a customer, the more likely they are to book portance of websites in small business 1 . Outlined belowa tour directly on your website, leading to an increase in are the key factors in having a functional and successfuldirect bookings and, ultimately, revenue.website that will drive your direct bookings up and help your business to grow. KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGYA functional website that is successful in increasing a busi-ness direct bookings also is mobile-friendly. What is the Consider how easy it isone piece of technology that almost everyone is carrying with them at all times? Cellphones! This is especially true to navigate through yourof your average tourist looking to buy tickets for a boat tour. They are not likely to be carrying their laptops or websites booking path.desktops around with them, so short of buying tickets in person, they turn to using their cellphone. An important Ideally, you want your aspect of a mobile-friendly website is readability. This is done using large text and easy to read fonts, as well as con-customers to spend as tent that is straightforward and not cluttered. An important aspect of a mobile-friendly website is fast little time as possible loading times. A typical tourist is, most likely, lacking in time and patience, so the longer it takes to load your home-on your website while page, booking page, FAQs, or any other aspect of your website, the more likely the customer will leave without still purchasing whateverbuying anything. your business is offering. Consider how easy it is to navigate through your websites bookingpath.Usingtoolslikedropdownmenus,book now buttons, a trip calendar, etc., you can lessen the num-ber of clicks it takes a customer to purchase tickets which MARKETING ON YOUR WEBSITE is also handy in dealing with an impatient tourist. Ideally, Itisimportanttothinkaboutyourwebsiteasyouryou want your customers to spend as little time as possible digital dock, meaning that you want the same amounton your website while still purchasing whatever your busi-of marketing power as you have at the physical site ofness is offering.your business. Step one to achieving this is a good first impression,i.e.yourwebsiteshomepage.AhomepageBUILDING TRUST AND thatprovidesagoodfirstimpressiontoacustomerisCREATING A REPEAT CUSTOMERone that provides high resolution images and videos, asIt is important that your website is transparent in what well as keywords that are representative of a business andyou are offering to help build trust with your potential that highlight its most popular offerings. For example,customers. One way to do this is to include on your web-at Capn Fishs Cruises we offer whale watching, puffinsites homepage some of your favorite five-star reviews that FOGHORN 10'