As an independent travel agent, you have many things to sift through in terms of what is important to market yourself, to run your business, and to close sales. You are likely bombarded with information and technology that may or may not be useful.

And today, more than ever, you need to keep up with consumer trends including social media and the Internet. Yes some of your clients may prefer e-mail, or regular mail, or the phone, but you won’t reach everyone that way anymore.

And, what about your potential customers – new customers – who might want to check you out? Or customers who are sitting on the fence?

Believe it or not, that is one of the main reasons you need a website. And not just any website, but a website that is yours. It is worth the investment in time and money.

The number one reason you need a website is to give you credibility. When potential customers, or your own customers, go online to check you out, you need a professional site that promotes you and your services.

Don’t send your customers elsewhere!

And you do need a bookable site. Why? So that your clients can search for packages, cruises, hotels and cars and whatever they want on your site, and not have to go elsewhere! Offer them as much as possible on your site. If they wander away, they might book elsewhere. Be sure to look for the most complete product offering you can find.

Find out what your options are with your host agency. How easily can their site be customized for you. Will you have your own site with your own branding, or just a page on the host agency’s site? All of these can work, but having your very own site is optimal.

Is this your own URL or a shared site? These are all questions you need to ask and understand.

Your website is your face on the Internet, the place where increasingly, more and more people are shopping for travel. Think of it as your own free advertisement, your way to attract new business and your way to retain the customers you already have.