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SEO is perfect for tradies
In a highly competitive industry, it’s easy to see why trades people often miss golden marketing opportunities. Generally they are far too busy to spend time looking at their internet marketing or SEO and in some cases they don’t really understand it or know what to do. Many tradies in Sydney are still relying on old school methods of marketing which simply do not work or have the same type of grunt or impact as being on the search engines.
This is why they need to turn to a company like SEO Sydney Experts. We have been helping trades people and businesses in trades industry become really successful by designing them a great looking logo, creating a new website for them ( through our sister company Hopping Mad Designs) and optimising it so it comes up on all the local searches on Google. This is the very best way a trade can drive traffic to their website.
Following are some great tips to help trades people grow their brand and become more successful online with their marketing.
All Tradies Need to Invest in a conversion focused website
The days have long gone where tradies can get by on word of mouth alone. They now need a website for prospective customers to do their research on the type of company they will be dealing with. If you don’t have a website that clearly tells the story about your company as well as a gallery or case studies area, guess what? They are going to pass on you and go with your competitor down the road that has a website that clearly details all of this.
It’s all about perception and the way you present yourself and a website is the perfect platform for tradies to sell their services. It helps build so much credibility, trust and authority that you are almost guaranteed of getting the job if they love what they see online. This even extends to professional services within the building game such as architects, engineers and interior designers.
A conversion based website will do more for your business than you ever thought possible. Remember, you never know who will be looking at your site so make sure you get it done professionally who clearly understands the relationship between clever design and conversion rates. If you are working with an SEO agency who has made amends to your site make sure they install Google analytics so you can measure the sites performance and how much these new improvements have helped the site. You will need this data to measure the positive or negative impact of all changes. It’s so easy to install and understand. Just have a quick read of the following article about how to get started with analytics.
Social media reviews can make your business
Most home owners I know are going to do a Google search for a company and check out the reviews on them before they even contact them. This is why encouraging people you have done a great job for, to write a positive and authentic review for you on as many social media platforms as possible. A nicely worded review from a past client on your true local listing is going to be looked at by many people. This in turn is going to determine whether or not they are going to engage your services. Have a look at websites like Trustpilot which you can add to your site to add another layer of authenticity & trust. This is quickly becoming a strong alternative to Google reviews.
Also have people join or follow your social media profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+ and see if they will post a positive comment – this will get indexed by the search engines and can do miracles for your inquiry rates. Like the website, it is all about the impression you make and what people read online about you will affect their impressions in a big way.
A word of warning here – good reviews can also be followed by bad ones as well. Make sure you keep on top of this and answer any negative reviews or comments quickly. You do not want them hanging around online left unanswered or unaddressed.
Work with a credible SEO Company
Unfortunately, many trades people tend to go with SEO companies that offer the best deal. Whilst on paper this may sound and look ideal, the reality of these bargain basement SEO deals and packages is far optimal. Tradies need constant business and for this to happen they need to be ranking on Google for their main keywords, especially for their geographic / local area. This can only happen if they go with the right SEO agency that is able to perform.
Issues and problems will and do arise when trades people align themselves with fraudulent SEO agencies who offer to good to be true deals. I have blogged exhaustingly about this and tried to warn as many people as I can about the inherent dangers of bad SEO practices. Getting lulled into these traps is common place and if tradies want to build their business online they should stay well away from these overly optimistic guarantees and bargain basement prices.
I will add one more way that tradies can improve their overall performance online and this is to look at other areas of marketing such as Air Tasker. These new platforms for the trades industry are on the rise and are another great way to get new business. We know it’s not actually working on your website but these new website do generate a lot of traffic and are fast becoming an alternative to searching for businesses via Google. In fact platforms like Air Tasker are so huge now that local ladies are relying on it for most of their business. Having said that it’s no where near Google but sites like this are just another example of ways a trade can help their revenue streams flow if the traditional forms of marketing are not delivering what they should be. In the online world you really have to be everywhere and try out as many options as you can.