I Have a Website, Now What?
Your website isn't doing anything for you. I'm just going to say it.
You paid for it. Probably a few grand. Maybe more. It's got your logo, some nice photos, an "About Us" page. Looks professional enough.
And it's sitting there. Dead. No calls. No emails. No customers walking in saying "I found you online."
Here's what nobody told you when you wrote that check: a website by itself doesn't bring customers. It never did. That's not how any of this works.
27% of small businesses still have zero online presence. But here's the thing: having a website that does nothing is barely better than having nothing at all. You're just paying for a fancy business card that nobody sees.
So what actually works?
Reputation. Same thing that's always worked.
What It Means to Be a Vegas Local
I'm a Florida transplant. Showed up here and had to earn my place like everyone else who wasn't born in this city.
If you've lived here any real amount of time, you know there's a difference between someone who lives in Vegas and someone who's actually from here.
Living here is easy. Nevada ID, lease signed, done.
Being a local? That takes work. You've built relationships. People know your name. You've contributed something real, not just existed.
Your business works the same damn way online.
You can exist. Website up. Google listing claimed. Instagram account created. Boxes checked.
But existing isn't the same as mattering. Existing doesn't make you the first name that comes to mind when someone needs what you sell.
The Vegas Reality: Two Audiences, One Business
The businesses that make it here, the ones that last, become staples. And that's harder than it sounds because you're not just serving one group. You're serving two.
Locals who need someone they can trust and come back to.
Tourists who have three days, no idea where anything is, and are searching "best [whatever] near me" from their hotel at 4 PM.
You've got to matter to both. That's the game.
The Spots That Actually Get It
Think about the places in this city that feel like Vegas.
Drinks at The BAR. Dinner at Herbs & Rye. Coffee at The Parlour. Shoutout to Antonio and his family.
These aren't just businesses with good products. They're spaces. Walk in and you feel something. The vibe is intentional. The people are real. You don't just visit. You come back, bring friends, post about it without anyone asking.
That's reputation. That's what people actually respond to.
Here's what's wild: that's also marketing. The best marketing you can do is build something people genuinely want to talk about.
14 Years of Watching Businesses Waste Money
Here's why I see this differently than most people talking about "digital marketing."
I've spent 14 years setting up the tech that makes businesses run. POS systems. Networks. Payment processing. The stuff behind the counter that customers never see but owners can't function without.
I've been inside hundreds of businesses. Crawled under counters running cables. Fixed crashed systems at 11 PM during dinner rush. Seen the invoices. Watched owners write checks for "solutions" that ended up collecting dust.
The pattern repeats:
- They buy software they don't need
- Miss tools that would actually help
- Pay for marketing packages with 47 deliverables nobody looks at
- Sign up for platforms because some sales rep made it sound essential
Meanwhile, the basic stuff (the stuff that actually brings customers) gets ignored.
Most businesses don't have a tech problem. They have a wrong-tech problem. Wrong priorities, wrong tools, wrong spend.
What Actually Matters (The Short Version)
I'm not going to bury you in tactics right now. But here's the reality:
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81% of consumers research businesses online before buying. (National Business Association)
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78% of local mobile searches result in an offline purchase within 24 hours. (LocaliQ)
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96.55% of web pages get zero traffic from Google. (Ahrefs via Aira)
That last one should scare you. Almost every website out there is invisible. Including, probably, yours.
The businesses winning online aren't the ones with the fanciest websites. They're the ones who:
- Show up where people are actually searching
- Have reviews that prove they're legit
- Speak their customers' language
- Make it stupid easy to find and contact them
- Look like real businesses run by real people, not generic template sites
That's it. No secret sauce. Just doing the fundamentals right.
The Real Question
Having a website doesn't make you a business any more than moving to Vegas makes you a local.
It's what you do with it. The work you put in. The reputation you build.
That coffee shop on Fremont with the line out the door? They didn't get there by having a website. They got there by making great coffee, building a real space, treating people right, and showing up every day.
The website just helps more people find them.
So here's the question: Where should you actually be spending your time online?
Instagram? Google? Your website? All of them? None of them?
Different platforms serve different purposes. Different audiences find you in different places. And if you're spread too thin doing everything half-assed, you're wasting effort.
Next up: I put together a complete breakdown of every platform that matters for local Vegas businesses. What each one is actually for, who's using it, and exactly what to do there.
Read Part 2: Las Vegas Local Marketing Guide →
About the Author
I'm Bryan, a Florida transplant who landed in Vegas and is still actively earning my spot in this community.
14 years setting up the tech that makes businesses run. POS systems. Networks. Payment processing. I've crawled under counters running cables at 11 PM during dinner rush. Watched owners write checks for "solutions" that ended up collecting dust.
I'm not a marketing guy. I'm a tech specialist who's seen what actually works and what's a waste of money. Now I help Vegas businesses cut through the noise and use the right tools to grow. No fluff. No bullshit.