Myrtle Beach business websites in 2027: a 9-point checklist
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The Grand Strand drew 18.2 million visitors who spent $13.2 billion in 2024, with an average stay of 4.5 days, according to Visit Myrtle Beach. That’s a huge audience, and it’s shopping around. Most of it arrives from North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, with Atlanta, Washington, New York, Pittsburgh and Cleveland leading outside the Carolinas, per the bureau’s 2024 annual report. These visitors compare you with dozens of competitors in a few taps.
Here’s the checklist we use at _luma when we look at a local business site. Every item starts with what we usually find.
1. Can a visitor tell what you do in five seconds?
What we usually find: a big slideshow and a slogan, but no clear line on what you sell and where.
What to do: put it in one sentence at the top: “Family seafood restaurant on Ocean Boulevard, open daily until 10 p.m.” Then one button: call, book or get directions.
2. Does it load fast on a phone?
What we usually find: heavy photos and pop-ups that take forever on hotel Wi-Fi.
What to do: run your homepage through Google’s free PageSpeed Insights and fix what it flags. A good target is about three seconds.
3. Is the full price clear from the start?
What we usually find: a nightly rate that grows at checkout.
What to do: show the total. For lodging and event tickets, the Federal Trade Commission has required it since May 12, 2025, under its rule on unfair or deceptive fees. Value-minded travelers reward businesses that are upfront.
4. Can people book without calling?
What we usually find: “Call for availability.”
What to do: online booking, tee times, orders or at least a request form that confirms right away. Visitors who plan close to their dates won’t wait for business hours.
5. Do you speak to groups?
What we usually find: nothing for the golf foursome, the family reunion or the bachelorette weekend.
What to do: give each group its own page with what they need: group rates, how far in advance to book and what’s included.
6. Does your site sell the off-season?
What we usually find: the same summer homepage in January.
What to do: build landing pages for spring golf, fall weekends and the holidays, each with its own offer and dates.
7. Can everyone use it?
What we usually find: low-contrast text and tiny buttons.
What to do: readable type, strong contrast and alt text on images. Many Grand Strand visitors and new residents are retirees.
8. Is it ready for AI search?
What we usually find: key details buried in images or PDFs.
What to do: travelers now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Mode for recommendations. That’s GEO, or generative engine optimization. AI tools read your site, so spell out in plain text what you offer, for whom, at what price and when. Google says its AI features rely on the same fundamentals as regular search, per its guidance for site owners.
9. Is it time to start over?
If you can’t update your own hours, your site breaks on a phone or it was built years ago on an old platform, a fresh build with today’s practices often costs less than another round of patches.
Check your site for free
_luma’s free website analyzer shows how your site looks, what to improve and what it could look like, in seconds. Questions? Email [email protected].
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Questions and answers
- What should a Myrtle Beach business put at the top of its homepage?
- One sentence that says what you sell and where, plus one clear button to call, book or get directions.
- Do I need separate pages for golf groups or families?
- If those groups are a big part of your business, yes. A page made for them answers their specific questions and converts better than a general homepage.
- Is a website still worth it if most customers find me on Google Maps?
- Yes. Your website is the one place you control, and Google and AI tools use it to describe your business.