One in three small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France still does not have a website. More surprisingly, the Afnic study “Succeeding with the Web” 2025 reveals that the online presence of these companies has declined for the first time: 61% report having a website compared to 70% a year earlier. Boosting your company’s online presence through the web therefore requires concrete choices, not just good intentions.
Decline in the online presence of SMEs: what the numbers show
The reflex would be to think that each year, businesses are more connected. Recent data says otherwise.
Afnic also measures a marked decline on social media: 64% of companies are present there in 2025 compared to 75% in 2024, a drop of 11 points. The France Num Barometer 2025 confirms a similar trend: social media accounts now precede the showcase website as the main visibility solution.
Why this decline? Several SMEs abandon their website due to a lack of time to update it, or because the return on investment seems unclear. Publishing regular content requires a discipline that many underestimate. According to the same Afnic study, the frequency of publication on social media is sharply decreasing among small structures.
This observation changes the game: it’s not enough to exist online; you need to remain active. A dormant Facebook page or a showcase website that hasn’t changed in two years adds nothing to visibility. You can also learn more about Esceri.net to explore web levers suited to small structures.
Google Business Profile: the often underutilized local lever
You may have noticed that some businesses appear on Google Maps with photos, hours, and reviews, while others only display a name and an approximate address? The difference often comes down to one thing: the Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).
This is not a gimmick. It is the first point of contact between a local internet user and your business. When a potential customer types “plumber Nantes” or “bakery open Sunday,” Google first displays local listings, even before websites.
What makes a difference on a Google listing
Creating the listing takes ten minutes. Optimizing it requires a bit more diligence. Here are the elements that really matter:
- Recent photos of your establishment, your products, or your team. Listings with up-to-date visuals receive significantly more interactions than those without images.
- Always accurate hours, including holidays. A customer who travels and finds the door closed will not return.
- Systematic responses to customer reviews, whether positive or negative. This shows that the business is alive and attentive.
- A clear description of your activity, using the words your customers use (not internal jargon).
The Google listing is free. Not claiming it means letting Google fill in the information for you, sometimes with errors.
Web content and SEO: publish less but publish effectively
Many guides recommend “regularly publishing content.” The advice is vague. In practice, an SME neither has the time nor the budget of an online media outlet. The right approach is to create a few pages that precisely answer your customers’ questions.
Let’s take an example. A carpenter in Lyon could write a page titled “What wood to choose for a terrace in Lyon.” This page targets a local search, provides a concrete answer, and positions the craftsman as a reference in his area.
The basics of natural SEO for a small business
SEO (natural referencing) refers to the set of techniques that allow your site to appear in Google’s results without paying for advertising. Three axes are important for a small structure:
Choosing the right keywords: not the most generic terms, but those that your customers actually type. A hairdresser benefits more from targeting “men’s barber Toulouse” than just “hairdresser.”
Structuring each page with a clear title, subtitles, and readable text. Google analyzes the structure of your pages to understand what they are about.
Obtaining links from other local sites (directory of your municipality, partners, suppliers). An incoming link from a trusted site is worth more than ten pages of mediocre content.
Social media: choose one platform rather than spreading thin
Should you be on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest at the same time? No. It’s better to have an active presence on one network than five abandoned accounts.
The choice depends on your clientele. A restaurant or florist benefits from Instagram due to its visual nature. A consulting firm or B2B provider will find more clients on LinkedIn. Consistency matters more than the platform itself.
What works on social media for a small business:
- Show behind-the-scenes (workshop, preparation, team). Authentic content generates more interactions than a generic image.
- Respond to comments and messages within the day. The algorithm favors accounts that engage.
- Post two to three times a week rather than one post a day for two weeks and then nothing for a month.
The France Num Barometer 2025 also highlights that social media accounts are now seen as the primary visibility solution by SMEs, ahead of the showcase website. However, it still needs to be fed.
Boosting your company’s online presence does not come from accumulating tools. A complete Google listing, a website with a few well-targeted pages, and an updated social network cover most needs. The real challenge remains consistency: a quarter of an hour a day is better than an annual overhaul that is never finished.
