Did you know that 99% website uptime still breaks down to almost seven hours per month that your site is out of commission? Scary thought, no? It’s a frightening prospect, but the unfortunate news is that most website hosting companies can’t promise 100% uptime, even under the most favorable of conditions.
That’s why it’s vital – imperative – to utilize a service that keeps a close eye on the uptime of your online biz 24/7. When you do, you increase your chances of minimizing downtime by correcting problems that may exist on your end swiftly and decisively before they spiral out of control.
#1 – You Have a Reputation to Protect
It doesn’t matter whether your business is a local mom-and-pop shop, a corporate enterprise, or a fully online venture. Branding is a crucial component of making it on the Web today, and it’s your job to do everything in your power to protect your online image.
The Internet has a funny way of spreading information virally. You don’t want news of a downed website to travel to your potential customers’ ears. It’s the equivalent of a brick-and-mortar shop that’s closed for business during peak hours – your company risks appearing unprofessional to visitors who stop by your site.
#2 – Confident Consumers are Happy Customers
When it comes to your existing and repeat customers, nothing shakes the faith like a website that’s out of commission. This holds especially true for customers who have subscriptions to your products and services that they can only access through your website. Frequent unresolved downtime is a recipe for a refund-demanding mob. Hence, monitoring your website’s uptime is a must if you have ongoing memberships on your site.
#3 – Lost Money? Bad for Your Bottom Line.
Website downtime costs your business money. Let’s do a little math, shall we? In 2007, Amazon reported a net revenue of $14.8 billion. That breaks down to about $29,000 per minute. In June ’07, Amazon had a period of downtime that lasted a mere two hours. Guess how much those 180 minutes cost the megasite?
$3.48 million.
You likely don’t have sales of this magnitude (yet), but even scaled down, outages that last even a short time can cost you major bucks in the long run.
#4 – Your SEO Can’t Afford to Suffer
Google doesn’t like downtime. In fact, if your website experiences consistent downtime for a day or more at a stretch, your website will take a rankings hit – a big one. Google is very transparent about frequent website downtime. In fact, the search giant lists it openly as one of the biggest negative ranking factors in the book.
#5 – Hackers Are More Sophisticated Than Ever
If your website is down, even for just a few minutes, it could be happening for a variety of reasons. One reason on the rise is hackers. If a hacker derails your site’s uptime and injects some malicious code, you may have no idea that the event has even happened if you’re not monitoring your site closely for blips on the radar.
Using a service like SiteUptime can keep your website safe from the horrors of downtime through free and advanced remote monitoring services. We instantly notify webmasters by both email and text the second downtime occurs. When you have a service like SiteUptime keeping vigilant watch over your website, you can sidestep downtime woes and confidently focus on what’s most important – your business.
