In recent conversations with local service firms (electricians, car mechanics, etc.), I discovered that many of them do not fully appreciate the advantages of the internet over traditional contact methods such as the Yellow Pages.
This may come as a surprise to those familiar with and knowledgeable about the internet world. Suppose you work for a high-tech hardware or software firm, a Fortune 2000 corporation, or any profession that depends on the flow of data or information. In that case, your organization cannot function without an internet presence. However, for localization services firms, the phone book, word of mouth, and local advertising were the most popular sources of leads cited to me.
So, if these companies succeed with old-school, tried-and-true ways, why am I demanding they go online?
Forget about the past; this is about the future.
Sometimes a shift occurs, and we only need to be aware of it. That is precisely what is happening right now.
You could accomplish anything on paper 30 years ago. Offline word of mouth took the form of verbal recommendations from one client to another potential. Except for purchasing premium space in the print edition, there was no easy method to scale this process and no means to push oneself to the forefront of the yellow pages. It all came down to paying ad space and praying that your work was excellent enough for your consumers to spread the word.
Now we have a plethora of opportunities in front of us. Your website may be set up and left to collect leads for you. Potential clients are looking for the services you provide...when they are ready to purchase and interested. And those searches are going online at an alarming pace, as indicated by the financial troubles that many suppliers of business phone books / yellow pages suppliers ve the chance to assist them in resolving any issue that falls within your skillset. All you have to do is figure out how to get in ahead of them at this critical juncture.
What Benefits Does a Website Provide?
The great majority of these queries have already gone online. However, Google is becoming more intelligent and is beginning to segment search results depending on where you are or where you wish to locate a service provider. There are several ways to have your company featured in local search results, and there are tried and proper strategies for getting to the top page of the rankings. Almost 80% of the leads are directed to the merchants that appear on page one.
The idea is not to build a website and hope it succeeds. If you do it improperly, very few people will be able to locate the site without you supplying the URL. That is not how you want it to function, given that this is a technique to create new business.
It would help if you had a correctly planned and constructed website, with everything optimized for search engines, to position you among the top results in your area. It would help if you were listed in the appropriate web services and directories. Other websites must connect to you, but only those with material related to your subject or profession. And you'll need a marketing plan to help you collect leads from your website, nurture them until they're ready to employ you, and complete the transaction.