Today’s guest post comes from Adam Callow, founder of http://www.ineedanexpert.co.uk. Follow his advice on getting your trade business visible in the online world!
Customers Search Online – Make Sure You Are Getting Found
Over the last 5 years the way in which homeowners search for a local tradesman to do some work has been changing. If we don’t have a family friend who can complete the work we go to Google, and this is what I wanted highlight in this post, as having a sign written on the van isn’t enough anymore. You need to be searchable – even if they see your van, that homeowner is going to go online (7 out of 10 times) to look for a multiple quotes or find reviews of your work.
So, the first thing to do is make sure that when you type your business name into Google it is found. Don’t start off by worrying about SEO or fancy terms like that, as the easiest and most effective thing you can do is get your own company found when searching for it.
Top three ways of doing this:
- Have a website
- Be on social media (Facebook / Twitter – as YOUR BUSINESS)
- Join a trade directory (Like the one we run, www.ineedanexpert.co.uk, that is 100% free for life.)
What these allow you to do is build a presence online. So let’s dig into each one in a little more detail.
Have A Website
This sounds like a daunting task, but with new services such as SquareSpace and WordPress, building a website and managing it is easier and cheaper than ever. I always advise having someone else build it for you but make it easy to manage so you can do that yourself. A website that works well and is easy to manage should cost you no more than £200. Once it is built, you can then use it to showcase work, reviews and more.
Be On Social Media
This sounds like an odd one for most trades when I talk over the idea with them. When I talk about being on social I mean building a page for your business, not adding in your Facebook profile “Oh I am also a heating engineer, call now for a free quote.” I mean creating a page dedicated for your business and using it to give advice along with photos of work. This ties in with the “get found online” message” as these pages get indexed in Google and will help you get more eyeballs on your business.
Top Tip: Do not put anything on your page you would be embarrassed of saying or showing customers face to face – there is NO difference just because it is online.
Join A Trade Directory
There are a number our there and some have different prices for different things. Our directory (www.ineedanexpert.co.uk) is free for life for all trades. The reason this helps is that a trade directory does the hard work for you. It works on getting its members found through Google searches so you don’t have to. Look at your profile as your own website: keep it updated, collect reviews and showcase photos of your work. and it will win you business.
Not sure if this is all for you? Go to Google right now. Type your company name in and see what comes up. If you can’t find yourself, neither can your customers. If you can find yourself, but not a site that you can control, add reviews, photos etc. Then get started on one of the three tips above.
The post Tradesmen Series: Get Your Business Discovered Online appeared first on DickiesStore.co.uk.