I’ve also just gone online with this site www.pi-inspect.com
Comments/critiques welcome.
I (tried to) use a specific marketing startegy – but I’ll wait and see if it comes across rather than mention it.
BTW, I’m especially interesting in DL times, esp for dialups –
The first night it was up, it was really slow loading for me, but I _think_ that was the host server
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Replies
Looks good to me. Cannot speak about speed because I am on cable.
Do you get involved with the appraisers in your area? A very good friend of mine, a colleague when we both were with Therma-Tru, lives in Perrysburg and is now doing appraisal work.
"Our inspection process and the report of the inspection which we generate breaks the home into 8 operating systems:
* Structure
* Exterior and Roof
* Heating System
* Electrical System
* Plumbing System
* Kitchen
* Interior
* Basement/Crawl/Slab
"
Curious, two areas often talked about in adding value in remodel are kitchen and baths.
you cover plumbing system, kitchen, but not bath
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
Thanks - I include the baths in the "plumbing section" but that is a very useful comment
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Loaded quickly. Nice and clean, not cluttered. You have a little white space ... how about a few more house pics, showing different kinds of houses ... or do you only do the tudor kind shown in the pic? I know you don't but maybe show a pic of a very modern McMansion and one of a simple ranch house.
Thee are two links on the page. In the upper part they are called Tools & Tips (I think) and Information. In the lower part the Info link is named Paradign Inspecion LLC. So I would wonder what happened to the Information link.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
>>You have a little white space ..Thanks - what browser are you using and what screen size & resolutionI'll check out the "info" links.Trying to keep the links all striaght is like trying to choreograph a litter of kittens <G>
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
I like it. Clean, quick load. Informative. The only thing I kind of like to see is a "who we are" section. Maybe a photo of yourself and mini bio or something. Just a get to know you type areas. Maybe not important to all but a number of people have commented on that area of our site. Of course maybe I am just unusually handsome and thats it, or maybe just unusual. Well, anyway thats my thoughts. DanT
>>Of course maybe I am just unusually handsome and thats it,So am I, except when there's a camerra around <G>
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
The link for Old House Journal and the Title of the link for both still screwed up.The whole thing still seems a little syncold between the Inspectons and Home buyers hints. Starting with the double links on the home page.And if you are on the inspection side you have a button for "Tools and Tips For House Hunting" which takes you to an information page for downloading a House Hunters Guide.But if you click on "Tools and Tips" from the home page it takes you to a completely different area.And if you are in the inspection side the last Button is "Home Page For Tools & Tips CD".A) What CD. B) How many different Tools and Tips do you have? But it does not take you to the Tips and Tools section, but rather to the home page. But you already have a Different Home Button.And on the house buyers side you have the same button, less the CD, but again it does not go to tips and tools.If you are going to keep the syncold layout then make the inital page the Introduction and use Introduction on the last button. And Home for the the first page in the Inspection side or the Home buyers sided, as appropraite.
Bill, thx for the close look,Those references to the CD were a left over - this site was originally on a CD which I distribute to homebuyers and sellers - they load it in their PC and it automatically starts their browser and displays like a web site.I forgot to clean out those references. (I think I have them all ....)I've been trying to think of some way to better visually separate the two "halves" of the site: the "Tools & Tips" half from the "Paradigm promotional" half.The title(s) at the top don't seem to do it - I'm wondering if I should change the color schemes on the buttons to differentiate them.I'm trying to enlist my 14 year old as my webmaster - she's pretty good at html and that would be a good project for herthx again
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Thanks to all for the observations and critiques.Invaluable!I didn't have an AM inspection today, so I thought I'd spend a half hour or so tweaking per the comments.3 1/2 hours later - I'm getting there!
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Ok, looking at it again thios morning after your revisions ...
Front page, you have dividing lines between a couple of the sections, but you didn't divide Pricing from Consider other factors and I think it's needed. Also, just by chance, "Inspection Report" is in bold letters and happens to start a new line under Consider Other Factors, and it appears to be another section, but I don't think it is.
As you will see, we seek to provide you with the range Try this section without "seek to"
Our inspection process and the report of the inspection which Maybe delete "of the inspection"
On the page "Paragim Inspection Report", some paragraphs end with periods and some don't. And I gave up waiting for the sample report to load.
I like the sample pics on the "Procedure and scope of work" page. But is the pic of the electrical panel supposed to be showing a problem? The pic of the chimney is obvious.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Much cleaner.But there still is an odd one.On the inspection pages you have "Home Page For Tools & Tips" link which takes you to the Home Page for Home Buyer T&T.But you also have the "Tools and Tips For House Hunting" link which takes you to a transistion page and then to the Home Page for T&T.Also on the home buyers section you have a Link/Banner with I think the graphic "Images/Curtesytop2.jpg" (Courstey of PI). That is very fuzzy on my screen (1280 x 1024).
For some reason, the text is running across the pictures on the left side of the screen. Could be my settings. but maybe not. Anyone else getting that?
Bob
Bob what browser are you using? And screen res?
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
It was the screen res. On my wife's computer, for some reason the res goes way down in IE. On my laptop this morning, everything looks fine.
Bob
I'm using IE 6.0.something, no idea what the resoilution is. I too am on dialup. I had the same thought as someone else about deleting the duplicate links, but at least keep the names consistent.
I'm not sure I would use testimonials or horror stories. Maybe a partial list of common faults. And a line: references upon request (maybe that's already there, I didn't look real hard).
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
The idea was a reference point as to the importance of thoroughness in the inspection report. If a less thorough inspection costs less, what's the point of spending more? Is there one?
-----------------
edited to add: the testimonials serve to point out what customers liked about the service. Again, to distinguish from the competition. Or is there any distinction?
Edited 5/8/2005 11:13 pm ET by Huck
Yeah, but I just imagine a bunch of stuff like I see on the Lumber Liquidators site:
"Bob really saved us from a disaster when he inspected a house we were looking at" Mary B., Toledo Ohio
"He was the cheapest inspector we could find, and he saved us thousands in possible repairs" Joe R., Akron Ohio
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
>>The idea was a reference point as to the importance of thoroughness in the inspection report. If a less thorough inspection costs less, what's the point of spending more? Is there one?The practical reality is that no one will pay for the time it would take to do a "thorough" inspection.In the time available, HI's concentrate on looking for major problems - we catch a lot of minors, of course. but in the 2/12 - 3 hours available, you just cannot get everything.I offer a "standard" and an "inspection plus" at a higher fee. It is more thorough and doesn't have a limitation on liability. No one has ever asked for the "inspection plus"
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
So it sounds like any inspection service is as good as another? Guess you just have to sell on lowest price if thats the case. Best wishes with the new website.
I like the website. I think you should add some testimonials, maybe include some "horror stories" from going with an unqualified inspector, or show how you caught things that could have been a nightmare if they had gone unnoticed by a less-qualified or less detail-oriented inspector. And drop the silly $25 off for finding a typo promo. Just my .02 But overall very impressive and confidence-inducing
- Huck
>> And drop the silly $25 off for finding a typo promo.When I thought of it it seemed brilliant, but I've been having second thoughts much closer to yours.Thx
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Nice site Bob. I like the homebuyer's guide, useful info there and a great marketing tool. Very professional. Well written. I like how you position your services in the home buying process.
Great looking site, quick loading out here in the boonies on dial-up, and it would probably induce me to hire you.
The only quibble I have is that the four links on the front page only go to two places. I would combine the front page sections so that one link goes to the 'about' info and one link goes to the 'tools/tips' info. When I'm surfing I want each link to go someplace different.
How long have you been around Toledo? When I was living in Ann Arbor (80s and earlier) we used to come down to Toledo or Columbus to see a band called the Raisins. Don't suppose you ever saw them...
Good call on the double links.I've been here about 8 years, but haven't gottern into the band scene much, other than the summer wed night open mike blues at Nick & Jimmies
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
esp for dialups - ..
Make the first home page without a picture.. Text only.. Faster loads but not as pretty..
It's very clean. Your search tags are very thorough, even including real estate terms. I would encourage link backs to your site, so it raises your organic search response.
I like that you failed to position on price. In a price sensitive band, it's always better to position on value. You could also encourage referrals from past clients by threading a value-added onto the site.
I also like that you didn't go personal ---- Meet, Bob and his golden retriever pics make it look like a one man shop and your site indicates a bigger business. that makes me feel better as a client, because I won't have scheduling problems.
Some client testimonials, perhaps?
What's this marketing strategy you aren't mentioning? ;)
-c
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. ~ Rumi
>>What's this marketing strategy you aren't mentioning? ;)Nothing nefarious (although the subliminal message did get you to unknowingly send my your bank account and pin number <G>)Actually, just a variation on the old concept that if a marketing program gives something of value to the potential customer, the customer is more likely going to use the serviceThus the "Tools & Tips" section of the sitre (esp the monthly carry cost calculator.)
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LOL. Good site. Be sure to deposit the cash in my account by Friday, luv.
-c
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. ~ Rumi
Hope you dont mind my input.... I create ebusiness websites for a local hosting company(I do the database side stuff). Hope I dont offend, because most of my stuff is cosmetic related... Dont get overwhelmed either please... none of this is meant to be offensive, and you have a great start to a nice website.... sounds like you are getting some enjoyment out of making it(or suckering your 14year old for help)... hehe
I like the angle you are going for... you want to make the customer feel warm and fuzzy.. That makes them call you instead of the cheap flunkie guy down the street... I can tell you spent a good amount of time working on this site and trying to make it very nice...
Okay, enough of my sucking up.. on with the "what you dont want to see/hear"....
Customize the titles of your pages to be more search engine friendly.. Short and sweet, and with your main keyword(s) for each page....
HOLY COW.. your keywords metaname is CRAZY!!!! hehehe You going for the dictionary there? Not to mention your misspellings in both the description and key words sections.... (do I get $25.00 for finding all the misspellings?!?) Concentrate on words people will look for.... "Toledo Home Inspection", "Toledo House Inspection", "Toledo Mold Inspection"... Keep it small and tight.... Make your description small and tight... concentrate on the handful of keywords, but dont go crazy..... Search engines just ignore you if you go crazy with keywords.... Note: Ask some neighbors what keywords they would type in if they went looking for a home inspector in their area... what you think is the norm, might not be... if that makes sense...
Put Keywords from your meta names in your page(s) themself... In the title, in the description, in the keywords, on picture names, on links to other pages, in the body of text you are showing etc.... dont go crazy, but definitely concentrate on 3-5 keyword phrases....
I noticed your Banner at the top "Paradigm Inspections, LLC" doesnt fit a standard screen size ratio(i.e.- 800x600 is just a bit too small)... Thus some users might get annoyed by the 1/4" Scrolly bar along the bottom of their browser(plus the scroll bar takes away a line of text that could be shown). Maybe also lock in the Banner portion and the left panel so they dont move and just the text in the lower right corner scrolls... ps- the machine I was running 800x600 on was ie5.5.. I checked it with firefox and ie6.0 on my other machine.
On your "tools and tips" banner you have the adjusting for screensize(800x600, etc) working, but are you using a different color scheme in the banner?
Something is bothering me on the two sections of your website, I think its the "little" gray bar above the "home", "General Info", etc gray buttons.... Maybe grow the "Courtesy of Paradigm Inspections, LLC" to go all the way across the screen instead of that little bar? or just get rid of that little bar altogether?!?!?! Regardless, the gray of the buttons should match up with the banner without that "little" bar.... I would have to see it.. /snicker
As someone else stated, the flow of the site seems a bit off... Why not make the "paradigm Inspections, LLC" side of the site be the front page, and have a link to the tools and tips section from there.... If you are going to stay with two sections, I would HIGHLY recommend that your HOME button go back to your HOME page(http://www.pi-inspect.com), and not to the home page of each section.
Try to narrow down the number of buttons you offer... seems like you go to the same pages from multiple buttons.. I was getting confused with all the titles of buttons and where they were "actually" taking me....
Avoid what I call "Cutesy" terms(e.g.-"House Hunters").. I was confused... thought it was a link to a company called "House Hunters"... would "Links for home buyers" be better? Shoot at the point in time you have people looking at your website, dont they already have a house in mind they want you to inspect?
Sorry if I am a momo, but I didnt even know what "Monthly Carrying Costs" are/were.. From your description it's what the average home maintenance is going to be on a home?!?! But it is also a mortgage calculator?!?! Do people actually ask for that stuff? I have had 3 homes so far, and never really cared(well, I cared, but....). Guess I am oblivious that way.. /snicker
Your pictures seem to all be small(keep them under 40k in size)... Thats great! Put some names on the pictures(helps with search engines), and name the pictures with keywords that search engines will pick up.
I noticed some of your email links go to a buckeye-express.com email address... that might throw up a warning flag to some people...
Dont be afraid to go pay per click on google/yahoo/etc... you can specify you only want to pay 5 cents a click, and dont want to spend more than $1.00 a day... but this could definitely put you on the hit list for googlers looking for "Toledo Home Inspection".... Go to google and type in your keywords to see what other businesses in your area are showing up with your keywords....
Overall, I think you have a very nice site... Just a few more tweaks.... Okay, so maybe I am just anal.... /snicker
Hope it helps.... Hope I didnt offend.... I know I get anal about websites.. /snicker
>>HOLY COW.. your keywords metaname is CRAZY!!!! hehehe You going for the dictionary there?Yeah - I had them short and sweet but some of the "how to position articles suggested using the google "people searching for that term also searched for these phrases" lists.And the typos come straight from those lists.I'm probably going to pay for the Yahoo get it indexed fast option - sveral of the advisors say that is a good way to spread the listings fast, as well.Any views on that approach?And I very much appreciate the other comments as well - they are docketed for the next round of editing.
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
"You could also encourage referrals from past clients... Some client testimonials, perhaps?"
My thoughts exactly!
>>"You could also encourage referrals from past clients... Some client testimonials, perhaps?">>My thoughts exactly!I did an inspection today for a "babe" (excuse me feminists, I'm really on your side <G> and I probably would have said "eyecandy" except she was really bright - a sockologist, for you southerners - which elevates her to "babe!" status <G,D&R!>)She was really effusive in her compliments - I'm toying with the idea of asking to videotape her and posting it as an mpeg!
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
As a homeowner, I was impressed with the detail of your home inspection, especially the inclusion of photos to further document your findings. Very professional web site and report, nice job.
Hi Bob,
Very nice job on the content and format. Looks great at 1024 x 768 using the latest rev of FireFox (1.0.3).
Ron Rappel
No dialup here either but the images on the home page are just about right to allow it to load quickly. Considering this is an extensive hobby of mine I'll offer some ideas. Drop the keyword stuffing in the meta tags. Search engines don't look there thesedays anyway. Index page should have a more attractive title--drop Paradigm Inspections unless it's a well known name-- it's taking up valuable title tag space.When people surf they don't read--they scan. Be as brief as possible on the home page with bulleted page links or similar and brief descriptions. Catch them quickly or you'll lose them. I think you'd be better off putting the navigational bar on every page, especially the home page. I agree with Dan--who we are or us "about us" Nice to see you have each page titled differently. I see many professional webmasters miss that valuable source--important in Yahoo and MSN."I would encourage link backs to your site" Real important if you want to be seen in the search engines! Have you been listed at dmoz.org? Very important in my opinion and especially the TITLE when you go for a listing. Don't list it as "Paradigm Inspections" I learned the hard way and it took a year to get my title changed. List it as best descibes your business or what the most likley audience will be using as keywords.Don't bother with paying Yahoo--complete waste of money. I never have and rank #1 with two very competitive phrases in my industry--hardwood floors and hardwood flooring. Now if Google could only come around--they're the one that REALLY counts!Good Luck--it's a hard uphill battle thesedays in search engines.
Thx!
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace