About six months ago, I designed a website for a local contractor I work for, <a href=”kzconstruction.com”>Kevin Zetterberg Construction</a>. The problem is, I can’t seem to get it indexed with some of the major internet search engines (google, for example). While the site is useful for those who already know about our company, it doesn’t appear to have as much value for those who are still looking for a contractor.
So this raises a question: how valuable is a website to a company’s business? Particularly in our line of work, which is custom homes, word of mouth seems to take highest priority, but I wanted to get others’ input on the subject.
– Brian
Edited 9/29/2004 10:30 am ET by obrian7
Replies
From my experience, the accessability of a website is a factor mainly of two things. One is the (I think it's called) metatag that contains the keywords that a search engine uses to match it to a query. That's why you can enter an innocuous term like... hot dogs, and get references to porn sites for instance...I can't for the life of me recall how you define those though (sorry). (On second thought maybe hot dog isn't the best example...)
The other thing is time... as spiders and assorted bots hit your site they catalog it as I understand, and it starts to gain more prominence when searches are done that should list it. At least that's how it's worked with my company's site.
Hope that's a help.
Edited 9/29/2004 11:07 am ET by PaulB
Google on Meta Tags and Spiders to learn a bit about the process and buy a dedicated program -- Ad-Web Pro is one of the best.
Google, of course, is the search-engine to be on -- the top-spot is almost impossible but you should try for the first page if possible to give you the most visibility.
If nothing else, use your web-site as an on-line portfolio. Create a self-booting presentation of your company and burn it to mini-CD business cards to hand out to prospective customers.
IanDG
I'm not familiar with Ad-Web Pro, do you have a link?
The mini-CD is a good idea. Would Macromedia Director be the development software of choice?
- Brian
A portfolio, online or on a CD, is always a good idea. If your client is set on a website, suggest useful links to include for any homeowner regarding his product and services, along with a portfolio.
Many contractors sites don't do much for me unless they contain a porfolio or some kind of educational component.
This is an example of a site that won't pull people back again and again (it isn't supposed to) but provides the homeowner with some useful information:
http://www.chicagounique.com/
For producing a CD with some portfolio pictures, you could go with Macromedia Director, but that seems awfully high end for something that simple. If they have less money to spend, use an Adobe Acrobat file that they can launch and page through (directions could be printed on the CD label) or something similar. The cost-benefit of a CD seems a little out of whack if you charge for something produced in Macromedia Director.
I'm not sure what kind of problems you may be having with search engine submissions (I'll take a look at the site later tonight and check it out) but to tell you the truth from my own real world experience spending time and/or money on search engine submission is a waste of that time and money for a contractor whose market is local or at best regional. What do you or your client really care if a homeowner in Katonah NY or Avon CT find your URL via a search engine? That doesn't really help you much (unless of course you have a national or regional product or service).
You and your client will be much better served by spending your efforts on other more traditional marketing avenues and using them to drive traffic to the web site. I.e. direct mail, general advertising, truck lettering, etc. In other words put the web URL on everything you can so you local market can see it and think about it.
95%+ of the web inquires my contracting company gets come from local people referring others to check the site and of the other inquires that come in purely via search engine I would say that our closing ratio on them (since 1997) has been less than 1%. I can really only think of only one client we ever closed with who found us via a search engine.
All this brings to mind another question we've been throwing around here too regarding meta tags and content in our web development business. Just what are the search terms that people use when they search for contractors? Does anybody really know?
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Sometimes they search on a problem that they are trying to solve:
Sometimes they search for a specific profession or specialty or project subject:
I've been collecting data on these types of searches (accidentally, as a part of my own site) for the almost two years now.
I would say that any contractor would do best working a network of referrals. That includes some small touches for service that would have me bragging to my pals about the work. Perhaps a follow-up call a few months after a job is finished, just to check in about the work done. Even something as simple as a card at Christmas. Nothing fancy or expensive. Some gesture that says, "I care about the work I do and I know that you have to live with it. So, I'm checking in."
It's so interesting, the psychology of referrals from previous business. If I didn't like the work, or if something was left undone, the contractor walks away and I walk into that room/onto the deck/up to that house everyday and mutter to myself, "I am so angry about that."
If the work is good and we had a good relationship and the results are pleasing, I walk into that room/onto the deck/up to that house everyday and smile to myself, "I love that contractor."
Few things infuriate me more than websites that use "key words" to attract visitors, while not offering any content at all.
If you are talking about advertising sites that simply list other sites and make their money with "clicks", than I couldn't agree with you more.
Regarding content, there are a few categories of content:
- News
- Personal topic sites or personal journals
- Educational sites
- Literature or online magazines
- Research or facts
- Not-for-Profit, organizational or corporate sites used to inform potential clients, employees/volunteers or shareholders
- Sites that are used for transacting business or civic transactions
- There are others, but I have to get going in the basement here...
I like some of these more than others, but all of them are useful in their way.
"Just what are the search terms that people use when they search for contractors?"
I'd say most people would put in the name of the town they live in, and some reference to the trade they're looking for, such as:
"Katonah NY contractors"
or
"Iselin NJ painting"
So, it seems the metatags should definitely include the town and state, the words "construction", "contractor", "contracting", "remodeling", etc., and the defining trade words.
I know that over the two years or so that my website's been up, it's moved up in Yahoo's listings all by itself, and hit #1 for a search on "constructive solutions" recently. I've been contacted by people who have entered some odd searches too, so sometimes the site just grows on its own. I've never paid a dime to have the site placed on search engines, so I guess the spiders do work.
Bob
For some reason, changing something on your site on a regular basis (updating your portfolio, etc.) seems to keep the spiders active and coming back around on a regular basis.
It is why "blogs", news sites and online magazines have been able to command such high rankings at Google.
I think that paying for hits is crazy unless you can offer a product that can be competative in a wide area (geographic), and I have learned from experience.
however I am in a small area , less then 70k people.
I am in an area where lots of people are techno literate where I am not
they are going to type in a known person or type in
remodeler, my-town, my-state,
so that is what you need to make clear to the crawlers at first shot
what you do in general and where
remodels,additions, new homes, design service, smallville, texas
well maybe texas, or some big city of a million people and 50k remodelers maybe you need to pay to get top billing, afterall, few are going to cruise by the top ten wehn the crawler , web service says, 10k listings for remodeler
I dreamed big time at first, paid the bucks, but what good did it do to have someone 150 miles or 1500 miles away ask for me to come visit for a kitchen remodel
and when I had a toll free number, yeah spending 10 minutes with someone 1k miles away made sence ( not really)
we are all different, I believe a web site is important in this modern age
it is listed on my cards, my brocheres and any advertising
how much does it help ?????? ,
how often doews a person ask for it so they can go to it, a lot
pound nails, yes, spell , no, fingers type faster then my brain