In October I became a cat owner. I’d like to think that I’m not one of those freaky obsessed “cat ladies” but the hundreds and hundreds of digital pictures on my computer of my “girls” would probably convince you otherwise. Nevertheless, one of the first things I had to do when we got the kittens was to find a good veterinarian.

Being relatively new to the area, I had no prior experience with local vets and I didn’t really even have anyone that I could ask. I wanted some place that was close to my home and that looked decent. I went to Google. I searched, as just about any reasonable person would, for “veterinarian” + my city and state. Only about three results came up (I live in the sticks) and I selected the one closest to my house.

In the end it turned out to be a great little place called Homestead Animal Hospital. I’d highly recommend them – but I won’t be doing it with a link because they don’t have a Web site.

I understand that small and local businesses often don’t have huge Web development budgets or in-house staff that knows how to create a Web site. But this is 2009. There’s really no reason to not have claimed out a little portion of the Web. Maybe you don’t want to be bothered with a domain name and Web hosting. Fine. Get a Tumblr or Posterous page. Make a simple WordPress.com blog. Do something so that people can get some basic information about your business and share it with their friends. It’s as critical today as the sign post on the front of the business or listing in the yellow pages used to be 20 years ago.

I need information in order to make my decision. If I do a Google search and am confronted with businesses who have a Web site versus those who don’t, I’m much more likely to investigate, and ultimately patronize, the one with a Web site. Even if it’s not a particularly good one.

With a business like an animal hospital, just think of the existing engaged community you could tap into. Run a photo contest where your customers submit their favorite pet pictures. Add some links to resources on animal behavior. At the very least, post profiles and photos of each doctor or technician and the location and the hours of the practice. It would hardly take more skills or knowledge than knowing how to type and upload a picture for someone in the practice to maintain a simple site.

In the end, Homestead Animal Hospital got my business (likely for life) because they were pretty much the only result returned for my town. But if I had lived in a bigger area and conducted the same search and Homestead had been one of five or eight or 20 results, they wouldn’t have even made the cut for me to investigate further. And that’s a shame, because they’re an outstanding veterinary practice.

No one can afford to ignore the Web anymore, no matter how small or local your business is. And with so many simple tools out there, no one needs to.

Photo credit: Me. That’s my baby girl Tonks.