Just a thought for all those just starting websites.
Quality links are tough to get and they are necessary for any ranking on the search engines–so starting another website with differing content is feasible for driving traffic to your main site–or reciprocally.
I know from my 9 years of internet marketing and actually being out there selling jobs that you earn clientele respect by sharing information. The act of teaching creates confidence in you and your products–just look at FH for an example.
When I was able to teach customers what details indicated quality and teach them the logic behind those details, things like drip edges and flashings and footings, the guys that would visit that client after I was gone often had their chances sabotaged by my sharing these trade secrets with potential clients.
I think there is a real chance for renovators, restoration guys, trim specialists and framers to create extra traffic and earn future clientele with this kind of site.
Yes, keep your site a portfolio–presentation and slick phone call maker, but create a “Blog” to create a secondary source of traffic for other keywords.
The best part of it is that it is free. Blogspot.com
I’ve only had mine up for a couple of months… it’s already seeing a couple of thousand visits a month… And google has given it a Page Rank of 4/10 already.
Here’s the blog I’ve been playing with… Critiques and Criticisms welcome!
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
Replies
I personally don't want the business I would get online, thus I don't have a link from my Xanga blog to my portfolio website, or vice versa. But I do enjoy adding posts about my ongoing work. I can certainly see how one could generate a lot of business that way. One fellow blogger makes kid-safe playhouses, and he created his Xanga blog just for promoting his small business. By leaving comments and "eProps" on other blogs, mostly those of mothers, they in turn go to his blog and leave comments. Hes getting quite a thing going. He doesn't have a website yet.
I use my blog to post about all sorts of things, home improvement being just one topic. I also created the Xanga blog ring called ! Absolute Home ! (yes, it's spelled exactly like that) in which members are into all sorts of crafts. There are only 8 members so far, including the kid-safe playhouses guy.
BTW Lawrence, I really like the Garden Structures business model, and of course the structures themselves. I'd thought of exactly that business before, would really enjoy it. If only I had any working capitol I'd license the Chicago/North Shore branch. Maybe one day we might discuss it. Also, the website is very impressive. Do you have a blog? :o)
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FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
Edited 3/14/2006 11:58 pm by Ted W.
Hi Ted-- the link to my blog is in the first post.
Blogs each have their own flavor... My favorite and kind of the model for the one I created is Matt Cutts. This is the guy who kicks sites out of Google and also creates the software that does it automatically... Sarcastic, cutting and brilliant guy. Really enjoy his writing. If only I were that good.
You are doing great work Ted--I like the site too, clean and effective. You have to get that into your marketing materials. I really think that if people see it you will be too busy to look at any other opportunities! ;o)
Thanks for the kind words, and keep up the good work!
We can talk about Chicago any time you like.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
"...the link to my blog is in the first post."
Duh, I can be a bit dense at times...lol
Webmaster's version of the old carpenter's saying - "Read twice, click once."-----------------------------------------------------------
FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs. http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/14091134.htm
"The bottom line on blogging
Companies find all that Web talk builds business"
"Within the last month or so, both Sprint Nextel and Garmin formally launched corporate blogs, joining a handful of smaller area businesses that have been blogging for a year or more.
Nationally, Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors, blogs about automobile design. B oeing pilots blogged about test flights on the new Boeing 777. Monster employees blog with career advice. Google, Yahoo and even the Park City Mountain Resort are blogging.
“It’s become an expectation that if you have a business, you have a blog,†said John Jantsch, a Kansas City marketing coach and active blogger for several years. “Consumers are looking to find a community around your service. They’re looking to have conversations with companies about the products they’re using.â€
For companies, especially smaller or growing businesses, a blog can level the playing field.
“Blogs are wonderful for helping small companies build a national footprint,†said Steve Rubel, New York City-based author of the Micro Persuasion blog and a senior vice president with marketing public relations firm Edelman.
Just as the estimates of bloggers worldwide vary wildly from 8 million to 23 million, there are no hard and fast statistics on corporate blogging.
But blog watchers — and yes, there are blogs that track business bloggers — say 23 of the Fortune 500 companies now have formal blogs. The practice has been institutionalized at companies such as Microsoft and IBM.
Smaller businesses with blogs probably number in the hundreds.
Companies are using blogs to build good will, to push their Web sites higher up on search engine lists and to get consumers talking about their brand."
The kicker is that it is free...
I started mine initially to force myself to write and sort of as an experiment. I wanted to know if it would rank like a regular web page--yes it does.
On the writing side I have 3 documents on the go (for the company), and not so specific content makes for fascinating material for the blog. The elaborated and specific version goes in the books.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
Lawrence, your blog looks and feels great. The topics I read were interesting and concise. The blog didn't drive me away.
I agree that teaching is a form of giving value, but it also sets you up as an expert. That is a very valuable asset and automatically gives you the right to set a proper price for your services. That one detail alone will make the business of carpentry either fun, or dreadfully painful.
Keep up the good work. Keep an eye on the ball though and don't grow too fast.
blue
Thanks Blue,
Not worried about growing too fast. Organic, sustainable growth. Remember, I designed this thing, and it was a very long term kind of project It may look unwieldy, but for the first time in about 10 years I am catching up, actually not booked 3-8 weeks ahead. I have the gap closed to about 3 days work ahead of me-- I just may get a couple of days off!
My largest problem right now is due to the furnace going out in the shop/office, I've moved it back into the house for a week or so until it gets fixed. This is a pain.
We'll talk.
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
Blogs are great if you can maintain them. ;o)
And they can drive traffic. That said, a lot of industries put WAY too much emphasis on google rank. In fact, I'd say most businesses put too much emphasis on google rank.
While it's good that people can find you on Google, people need to remember there's only 10 spots available on google's home page. Every Search Engine Optimization/Marketing firm promises a top 10 ranking, but, obviously, that's impossible.
It's better to target your customers via other methods. Like being a poster in these forums. Or google ads. Or 'sponsor' some local ads/columns in local media online.
And while it varies, IMHO, for most professional service industries, I think we prefer referall business. It typically means there's already a bit of a relationship and level of trust established. I'm a graphic designer/web developer and of all the firms I've worked at, the worst jobs were those from clients we got that randomly found our web site on the internet.
If I needed a deck built, I probably wouldn't google it. I'd start asking my neighbors, or post in a place like this. ;o)
Of course, that's all just my opinion.
One thing blogs are great at, though, is forcing you to keep new content pushed out there. If you are a contractor, for instance, you can recap each of your projects on your blog and add a few photos for an automatic portfolio. If it's a huge project, maybe your blog can act as a production journal for your current client and potential future clients.
I think you are exactly right Darrel--on the blog for contractors posting their projects and explaining what was done--what went wrong, what went right. Why do you think all these home improvement shows are so compelling.
The grittier the better. There's one called Real Renos up here. The guy doesn't ever finish a job on time or budget, ever. The guy never has a shortage of work because he has personality, and folks respect him because he takes time to explain things to them--back to the whole teaching for sales routine. Teaching=Respect.
If a contractor creates the content in the blog... when he is ready to make the jump to a website the content is there for the webmaster to work with.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
i agree...though would argue at times it makes more sense to jump from a web site to a blog.A blog, afterall, is really just a web site that happens to be updated more often and not as full of 'marketing speak' ;o)
Lawrence,
I've been thinking of a Blog for a while now and I think that I want to involve my client base, (O/B's) in posting on it. IOW, use it as a "Chat board." Is this possible?
I would want to limit posting rights to invitations only and I would want to be able to cancel individuals posting rights if needed.
Would I want the public to be able to browse the Blog? Not sure, because of my clients posting on it..
How much bandwidth do you think I should have at my office to maintain the site?
Are automailers available? I would like to be curteous enough to at least let emailers know that their mail had been recieved, but I don't want to respond to 2-3000 emails/day! How do you sort them to know which ones you are going to respond to?
A good email client can be setup with filters and also canned replies.If you have a domain such as @samsbasements.com then you can setup individual address for things like quotes, sales, and "jobs" or jobs-xx" where you assign a different number to each job and then have all email for that job to end up in one folder.If you don't you have have them put the informtion in the subject line.
Most of the blog utilities have ways to moderate comments... I just leave it open and throw out the spam--sour grapes junk. You authorize all comments.
I'd suggest playing with it. This is my second attempt--this looks nothing like the first one.
Whether to offer it up to the general public, I wouldn't be too concerned. Play with it and see what comes.
Bill answered your email question--I would only add that anything on line with an email address is going to be spidered by the spam engines and you will get piles of email. Change your email address often to avoid that. Maybe set up a hotmail address for the forum/blog.
L
GardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
L,
Thanks
SamT