Should you be doing more with mobile online marketing?
Well yes…and no. Fact is, most homeowners doing research online use a full-sized screen, i.e. they consider your offerings in front of their laptop or desktop computer. That means they’re not using a mobile device when checking you out.
But Todd, you say, everything I read tells me that mobile online marketing is growing, growing, growing! Indeed, that’s what the statistics tell us. From those statistics, I estimate that 10-11%% of all visitors arrive at home improvement Web sites via mobile devices.
I am delighted to be back from my New Years writing recess. And as I do so, lo and behold, Google is trying to change the game. Sound familiar?
This time, Google is looking to alter its search ranking algorithm (again) with something called Plus 1.
What is Plus 1? Plus 1 is most similar to Facebook, through which you can signal your approval online of someone’s post. To do this, you use the “Like” button. You can “Like” a friend’s picture. “Like” a friend’s status. “Like” a link they posted. You get the idea.
Five years ago, some quick-witted entrepreneurs were able to capitalize on one of America’s greatest weaknesses: Spelling.
This won’t really come as a shock to most of you, but most Americans are poor spellers, and even poorer typists. In “our” field, this manifests itself in errant search queries:
Windws
Windoes
Windowes
Windoze
Cabinets
Cabinnets
Cabinettes
I see mis-spellings like this all the time on Google and the other search engines. And years ago, it used to make a difference in the search results. Google would actually show results for the mis-spelled words – not for the keywords that the user meant to search for.
Your Web site is finally complete. Your text reads great, your images are first class and your pages are easy to navigate. Give yourself a pat on the back.
Now that’s it’s done, it’s time to think about changing it. What?
For instance, here in the Northeast, many home improvement businesses are seasonal. For the most part, homeowners around here just aren’t thinking about the exteriors of their homes in the middle of winter. Which is exactly why the mix of products and services you sell changes with the season. And as that mix changes, so should your Web site.
No surprise: lower-priced products are generally easier to sell than more-expensive products. Ensure that you’ve got enough of the former, and you’ll be building a base on which you can cross-sell your customers to your more profitable offerings.
As a home remodeler, you get all sorts of pitches from financing companies willing to offer loans to your customers. And it’s about time. For the past few years, it’s been difficult for remodelers to offer good financing choices to their prospects.
And while offering financing to homeowners can certainly help you close more sales, I recommend resisting the temptation to offer credit to your prospects before your sales rep is in the home and have met the homeowner. Specifically, some remodelers are trying to capture qualifying information from their prospects on their Web sites via online forms, even before speaking with homeowners.
Remodelers constantly tell me “Hey, I bought a new domain!” And with that goes the typical story that they are going to build a second Web site to seize on important new keywords and dominate their market!
Well let me offer a little reality on this strategy. Finding a great domain name is terrific, and I’m happy for anyone who scores that coveted domain. Securing, for example, “SeattleWindows.com” is a great coup for a windows dealer in the Seattle area.
Many remodelers over the last few years have told me about sales pitches from companies like ReachLocal and Yodle. And while I understand their sales pitches to be slick and well-choreographed, these firms make a number of claims that are dubious at best.
But the one aspect of their sales pitches that is most egregious is what I call the “Bag of Clicks.” The pitch goes like this:
I just finished reading ServiceMagic’s Home Remodeling Survey, covering the first 6 months of 2011. It confirmed what we – and many of you – have seen so far this year: softness in the market with a few bright spots.
I take away both good news and bad news from this survey. Leading with the positive, homeowners still want energy-efficient and savings-related home improvements. Specifically, solar installations are gaining popularity, and were tagged as the most popular remodeling category so far in 2011.
How much time do homeowners spend on your Web site? Well, it’s generally a lot . . . or a little.
Which is better? When it comes to lead generation for home improvement companies, that depends on many factors. All of which I summarize in today’s video blog post as “The Dumbbell Effect.”
Every week, Todd Bairstow—our online expert—shares his wisdom on an aspect of Internet marketing for home improvement companies. You can read his thoughts here on his blog or you can subscribe, and we'll send you his latest posts each week.
