You may not realise it, but many of your business contacts, colleagues and associates are making use of virtual offices.
The reason you may not realise this is actually one of their main benefits – because virtual offices give you a physical address for people to contact, even if you can’t afford or don’t need office space.
But what exactly is a virtual office?
This is a question that is often asked about virtual offices, and not everyone has the correct answer to what a virtual office actually is. As we explored in an earlier blog about virtual offices, this type of office space not just a post box, but access to a full range of facilities – from a manned reception and call answering service to desk space and access to fully equipped conference and meeting spaces. In a normal leased office, you would need to pay for all of these services all of the time, even if you only needed them occasionally. As our ‘Top Ten Reasons to Choose a Virtual Office’ blog highlighted, one of the main reasons to choose a virtual office is that it gives you access to these services when you need them, and you only pay for what you use.
Exploring the SEO benefits of a virtual office address
However, there is another very important benefit of using virtual offices – improved search engine optimisation (SEO). You may have a fantastic website, optimised for high rankings in Google and other search engines, as well investing in many other ways to improve your SEO, but there are some parts of Google that you simply can’t access without a physical address.
A key example of this is Google Local, a service designed to help users search within their local area. This localised service makes it difficult for search engine users to find businesses who don’t have a physical address, which of course shows up on other services such as Google Maps. Google Local relies on maps in order to place your business, and it gives priority to listings with a physical address that can easily be read.
So, what does this ultimately mean for businesses without a fixed and permanent office address? Without a virtual office from a provider such as Carrwood Park, which gives you an all-important address and one in a central location near a large city, you may not even be able to reach potential customers in your local area – never mind being able to extend your reach to the rest of the country. A local listing is an essential building block, helping to establish a strong presence in your area before reaching further afield.
5 businesses who could find virtual offices very useful
As we mentioned in a blog about who should use a virtual office, there are a few obvious candidates. For example:
1.Businesses wanting to expand and test the market in a new region might want a virtual office for the reasons already listed – namely, getting a Google Local listing.
2.Growing SMEs wanting to keep their finances flexible while getting their business off the ground.
3.E-commerce websites often find that virtual offices are great alternatives to regional call centres, with the added benefit of extra credibility.
4.Sole traders and freelancers needing to keep on top of all calls, correspondence and orders but without committing to full-time office space, as self-employed business owners can never be sure where their next business is coming from.
5.Start-up companies wanting a prestigious physical address in a strong business location (i.e. near a big business hub such as Leeds or London) that lends them credibility and a highly professional image.
To find out more about virtual offices at Carrwood Park in Leeds, see our range of virtual office packages.
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