If you try out for a part in a movie and stay in the bathroom during the auditions, you’re not going to get the part. The same holds true for Service and Repair companies on the Internet. If you can’t be found, you won’t get the call.
When a water pipe breaks in your home, you need a plumber fast and you need them now. What do most people do? Look in the phone book? Not anymore. Most people don’t even own a phone book. So how can you make sure that it’s easy for someone in the midst of an emergency to find the service or repair you offer – such as roofing, plumbing, electrical, construction, auto repair, towing, or locksmith?
According to Forbes, “Multiple studies confirm that consumers report using the internet first (80% of the time) when they need a new product or service, and printed Yellow Pages only second or third (about 50% of the time.) And even if the consumer does reach for the printed Yellow Pages, your ad still has to stand out (size, graphics and color,) which ups the expense of being in the book. The convenience of “set it and forget it” is now trumped by the more labor intensive but productive SEM options.”
Eighty percent is a huge percentage when it comes to marketing and one most companies, especially small to mid-sized service companies can’t afford to lose out on. So how do you get noticed online? What can you do to make sure you’re found?
You do this by successfully marketing your services online through Search Engine Optimization, Map Optimization, Social Media and other internet marketing tools. Often service related businesses must use a combination of organic and paid search engine optimization strategies, such as pay per click (PPC) PPC is a very popular online business model with Google, Bing and Yahoo as the top three players in the market.
According to the online site, Marketing Profs, they say this about the PPC advertising model, “Though both print and broadcast media can still be viable options for advertising, neither can hold a candle to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC advertising is like ripping off that aforementioned blindfold, taking aim at the exact target audience you want, and hitting that bull’s eye.”
The reason they say this is that you can advertise for a particular location, day of the week, time of day, age and gender and receive detailed reports about what visitors do when they enter your site through PPC. This information can be used to manage your advertising campaign, determine the best ways to get quality traffic, convert visitors into customers, and create action that generates revenue.
When you use a combination of organic and paid SEO, create compelling web content, participate in relevant social media platforms, send out emails and newsletters, you will create an online presence where prospects can find you. This will give you a chance to turn a prospect into a paying customer. Often when you can help someone out during a crisis you become their trusted source, the one they will come back to when they need additional work. More importantly, this satisfied customer will refer you and your service to friends and family.
When you combine a strong online presence with positive social media reviews AND WITH positive word of mouth referrals the possibility are endless.