Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 September 2003
Just out of interest those of us with websites. Do you get much work from your sites? I put mine together a few months ago and submited the site to most major search engines but have not had much back from it yet
Steve Lowe
Posted by Terry_Burrows (Terry_Burrows), 18 September 2003
Steve I have had mine for 15 months not had a bean out of it,but I think after next week that could very well change! Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 September 2003
I had my original site put together by Jim Moran the same guy who done yours but one of my hobbies is computers and after building my pc i decided to give web design a go but its harder than i thought. But after spending hours building my site i think i need to advertise a bit more to get the use out of it.
Steve Lowe
Posted by Terry_Burrows (Terry_Burrows), 18 September 2003
I dont know much on web building,but I thought jimdid a good job on my site,cant complain!
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 18 September 2003
I have had mine about 3 years ,had a enquiry fromanother window cleaner who lives in the USA asking me if I could clean his mums windows she lives about 60 miles away
gave it a miss.I think it is just another option I have my web address on my van and I have had a few enquiries .I have done better with Yellow Pages
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 September 2003
Terry. I think Jim does an excellent job on the sites he builds and would recommend him to anyone who is looking for someone to build them a site. I have not got his number to hand but if anyone wants it i could dig it out.Steve Lowe
Posted by Terry_Burrows (Terry_Burrows), 18 September 2003
now heres a story! I have had my yell .com bill squashed,they put my add up wrong for 7 months,I never checked to see if it was correct,they put wrong number!they put my web site on some one else in kent!so 7 months of adds,down the pan!
so they are now going to give me a free year!
I dont think I will be paying £300 for the next one
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 September 2003
I had something simular a few years ago and i wondered why i was not getting the calls
Steve Lowe
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 18 September 2003
Did they not send you a copy for you to check to see if all the details were correct before they printed it ,I have just had my bill for next years book £140 ,mine has gone down from last years pricePosted by Terry_Burrows (Terry_Burrows), 18 September 2003
no they did not send me anything to confirm! Posted by Mike_Boxall (Mike_Boxall), 19 September 2003
As Steve mentioned, one of the key things is search engines and, although they can cost a lot of money, there are a number of things you can do to get the most out of them at very little cost.The biggest and most popular search engine is Google and one of the most important factors they consider is 'link popularity'. Generally speaking the more webistes that link to yours, the more important they consider your site to be.
Every member here has the opportunity to list their website in the profile section once they have logged in. This also ensures that your site doesnt get missed when they 'crawl' the web indexing new sites.
It helps and it's free
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 19 September 2003
Hi Mike,Its also quite important to fill in the meta tags on your site with the discription and keywords for your business so that the search engines know what they are looking at
I dont think it matters as much these days but its worth doing anyway. Steve Lowe
Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 20 September 2003
I concur, the replies you get are virtually nil. But when I went to my web-site to update it, I found I had above 2000 clicks. I think the customer wants to check you out before taking you up.Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 20 September 2003
I think that is probably the case What package do you use to maintain your website? I use Frontpage 2002.Steve Lowe
Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 20 September 2003
M/S publisher, I update using "FTP Cute pro".Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 20 September 2003
I did'nt know that you could use publisher.
I should have saved my money and used it myself.Steve Lowe
Posted by The_Fed_Man (The_Fed_Man), 20 September 2003
Karl, doesn't MS Publisher have a built in FTP facility or is it no good?Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 21 September 2003
Publisher is great for making your own, it is easy to use and gives you loads of options to personalise it. However the FTP upload wasn't all that good, I used the globalscape, it was easy to use and fast.I've heard good things about "Serif" publisher.
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
I think its a fair bit cheaper than microsoft products as wellSteve Lowe
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 21 September 2003
For my web site I used M/S Publisher and Terrapin ftp.Terrapin is free for 30 days then it costs about £25/£30Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
That is not bad considering i paid £150 for ms frontpageSteve Lowe
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 21 September 2003
The only trouble with a web site is it`s seen by people from all over the world ,if someone is looking for a uk window cleaner in say Fleetwood and only type a search for a window cleaner they will get hundreds of sites how about forum members putting links to other forum members who have web sites on there web sites .Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
What happens if you type window cleaner,Fleetwood,UKSteve Lowe
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 21 September 2003
I am second omn the listPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
Nice oneSteve Lowe
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
Its a shame the Federation could not have something on their site so the general public could look up a window cleanerSteve Lowe
Posted by Mike_Boxall (Mike_Boxall), 21 September 2003
I read recently in one of the trade magazines about a new window cleaning campaign on TV which is to have a website called www.findmeawindowcleaner.co.uk (something to do with Anglian windows). Not sure if this is related to Terry's news (hope I havent spoilt the surprise Terry
) )Regards
Mike
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 21 September 2003
Yes Terry has something to do with it it1s all a bit top secret at the moment , you can log on to ww.findmeawindowcleaner.co.uk and leave your details ,its free I think that they want customers to vote for there window cleaner .
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 21 September 2003
I filled that out a few days ago Sounds excellent idea Steve Lowe
Posted by Mike_Boxall (Mike_Boxall), 23 September 2003
Hi KarlJust going back to one of your comments about having 2000 'clicks'. Are these figures someone has given you or are they ones that you monitor yourself somehow. The reason I mention it is because a lot of people manipulate these statistics (most often when they're trying to sell you banner advertising, etc)
Is everyone aware that 'hits' mean very little and are actually very misleading.
Would it surprise you to know that in the last 24hrs alone this site has had 77,606 'hits'. Impressive, eh?.........
In actual fact a 'hit' is any page OR picture. The average number of pictures on each of these pages is 34 (it includes all the smilies etc). So each time someone looks at a page on this site it is actually 35 'hits' (thats including the page itself). OK, so divide 77,606 by 35 and you get still get an impresive 2217 visitors, right? Wrong, each visitor actually looks at an average of 11 pages each time they visit. So divide 2217 by 11 and we're actually down to 201 unique users - a far cry from the 77,606 we could have been led to believe.
So, if someone told you that it was 2000 'clicks' and they were actually refering to hits, it may not be as good as you thought.
All that aside, what you have to bear in mind is that 87.9% of all statistics are made up on the spot
Posted by samm (samm), 24 September 2003
hello,I use macromedia mx, bit naughty but I downloaded it from kazaalite, I find it exellent & I think its got a £600 price tag normally.
Sam
Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 24 September 2003
When I logged in to update my web-page, it shows how many times people have logged in to look at my web-site. I could probably claim 20-30 of those hits, just to make sure it was still functioning.But taken into account what you have said, and the lack of response from the web, I think you may be right. Having said that, yesterday I was told by one of my customers he's been to my page, and 2 of the businesses I advertise for have had responses from my site. So who knows? At least I've had 3 visitors......was it worth the trouble?
http://www.windowcleaning.es.kz/
Posted by shinnyshinner (shinnyshinner), 24 September 2003
You can make that four now Karlos what a lovley place to work is it?Do they have many window cleaners in spain?
My family have just moved to La Manger is that right?
Will be going over soon hopefully
Cheers Alan
Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 24 September 2003
Lovely place to work- no its horrible, I hate it here....LOLMany cleaners-Every maid, anyone with a spray window cleaner, and about 5 listed companies in the yellow pages, including me. +about 100 fly by nights. And at least 100 cleaning companies. Thats just in Mallorca.
La Manga-an area south of Alicante.
Posted by shinnyshinner (shinnyshinner), 24 September 2003
that dont sound good, How long have you been cleaning?Alan
Posted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 28 September 2003
In Mallorca, about 2 years now.Posted by Central (Central), 29 September 2003
I used to be a professional web site designer a number of years ago and am now happily making a living from Window Cleaning . The key to the net is not advertising and not spending money - I bought my domain name for £6.93 for 2 years and host it professionaly for £2.34 per month. I put the site up 2 months ago and after waiting 4-6 weeks for my listing to appear in the search directories I have now made 6 customers in the last 3-4 weeks.The key is to make sure that your meta tags are right (ie pick your keywords appropriatel), thing of what people who need your service will type in the search engine, use keywords such as districts that you clean as well as towns and villages. Theres no point targetting customers in Newcastle if you live in London!
With regards to search engine submission DON'T PAY for these services that add you to all the major search engines, you can do this yourself in no time. Just go to all the major search engines - Google, Yahoo, Altavista etc and put your details in manualy. This will take between a week and 6 weeks to get listed depending on the search engine but who cares, at least it's keeping your site cost down to a bare minimum - All I have to pay is £2.34 per month and Ive got professional hosting without all them annoying banners popping up - my web site is www.centralwindowcleaners.co.uk if you wanna check it out.
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 29 September 2003
Hi Central,I was told that the latest search engines don't look for meta tags
but i still put them in mine. What is your web address Steve Lowe
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 29 September 2003
Sorry Central, Hard day Didnt see your web address Steve Lowe
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 29 September 2003
Hi Central,My website is www.lowescleaning.co.uk which is my first attempt. Can you see any areas that i could improve upon
Many Thanks
Steve Lowe
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 29 September 2003
Hi Steve ,Just been on your web site ,very good for your first go it has evreything you need ,what you do and a contact no,
Have you seen the posting on buy and sell from stevet he said he can make any cleaning liquid that you could want ,check it out
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 29 September 2003
Thanks John,I will probably change a few things in time on my site but its ok for now.
I will check out that other post.Cheers
Steve
Posted by Central (Central), 29 September 2003
Hi SteveIt's been a long day so I havent been able to have a good luck at your website. The main thing I noticed is you've only inputted keywords for your home page - by adding keywords to each page (relevant to that page) it gives users more chance to be linked with your site. For instance if you've got two pages 1 with 1 set of keywords and the other with a totaly different set then theres two pages listed with different ways of finding it. Another good thing is dont be afraid to add additional pages (one for commercial work, one for domestic work, one for carpet cleaning etc) this way on the domestic page you can add keywords directly associated with that, on the commercial it can be keywords directed towards businesses - you get the drift.
Just a quick word about keywords. The way 95% of search engines link you is by a percentage factor. If soeone types "window" and "cleaner" it will search for sites with these two words in the most times, if however person A has just got a site that says window cleaner and nothing else and his keyword says window cleaner with nothing else he has effectively got 100% match with the search. If person B has window cleaner in his keywords and on his site along with "joe" and "bloggs" he only has a 50% match - this has a big bearing too - person A will be above him.
The key is to be selective use the words that people would think of if they wanted your services but don't put too much.
Another thing to do is always make it plural. If you have windows instead of window as a keyword people who type window or windows will still match with you - were as if your keyword isnt plural and youve just got window then if someone searches for windows they will not match. If that makes sense.
I always add a description meta tag too as it gives certain words even more exposure.
Always make your page names relevant as these add for additional words when someone searches and even your site name - thats why ive got the long winded centralwindowcleaners - because it helps give more exposure to the words window and cleaners.
I'd try to add place names to your keywords as well - such as - I clean mainly Redditch and Bromsgrove so Ive listed these to names as well as surrounding areas names as well as all the districts - so if someone searches for a window cleaner in theire district of say Redditch and its an area I cover Ill be 1st in the list.
Hope this helps a bit.
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 29 September 2003
Thanks Central. I will keep those suggestions in mind when i build another site shortly and do separate pages for each service.Thanks again
Steve
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 30 September 2003
Hi Central,What package do you use to put together your website
or do you use html Steve Lowe
Posted by Central (Central), 30 September 2003
I use Macromedia products mainly Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Freehand (occasionaly) as well as HTML.Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 30 September 2003
Hi Central,Is dreamweaver quite easy to use?
Steve Lowe
Posted by Central (Central), 30 September 2003
It has a tutorial with it that if you take the time to complete will give you the basics it's then just practice practice practice. I suppose it does depend on the individual to how quickly you can get to grips with it. If you want images on the site though you'll have to fork out for Firewrks as well so it's gonna cost the best part of £1kPosted by Majestic (Majestic), 30 September 2003
SteveI dont think that you need to spend large amounts on web packages, as long as your site has contact details, and what services you provide you will be ok,oh yes and you are listed on findmeawindowcleaner
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 30 September 2003
Thanks John,I think i will stick with Frontpage as i am getting reasonable results. What area did you put in find me a window cleaner to get my name
Steve
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 30 September 2003
SteveI didn`t , I think I remember you saying that you were listed
Have you seen or heard any anything about it Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 30 September 2003
Hi John,Sorry i misread what you had posted.
No i have not heard anything. I thought Terry would be back by now and let us all know. I did put my name on the site but can not find it Steve Lowe
Posted by Rob_B (Rob_B), 3 October 2003
Websites don't need to cost a fortune. My website costs about £34 a year. This includes use of software, loads of templates to pick from, and a years hosting.Of course they aren't any good if people don't know they are there. Meta tags etc are ok but you only want local people checking out your site anyway.
Why not place a small classified ad in your local paper including your website address. For a few quid people have access to all the information on your site.
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 3 October 2003
If you have a van put your web address on itPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 3 October 2003
I put it on my business card,Leaflets,Letterheads,Van, Invoices and anything that i give out to do with my business.Steve Lowe
Posted by highwash (highwash), 8 October 2003
Hi everyone-websites work! not just from direct hits but the fact that you take the trouble to be professional in your approach to the window cleaning business. majority of my work has come from my van livery and people are willing to deal with someone who project a clean image to the cleaning business. make sure your work matches the image and you wont go wrong. check out www.webamaze.co.uk.- he even pubishes his fee for web building-how honest is that!regards terry garbett. www.highwashsystems.co.uk
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Terry,I agree it all adds to the professionalism of your business which in turn adds up to more customers.
Steve Lowe
Posted by AMG (AMG), 8 October 2003
Hi Guys,
I have just read Central's comments about the web creation software he uses, Dreamweaver generally has a reputation as the software of choice for web designers although it is aimed at professionals and does take a bit of studying to get to grips with it. You also have FrontPage which is a very good all-round package and has more than enough functionality for most people. Now both Dreamweaver and FrontPage (if you don't already have FrontPage on your pc) are expensive to buy, some people copy this software and make it available to people for free, this is illegal and I don't condone it. If anyone that wanted any Dreamweaver software (inc fireworks) or FrontPage they would not be able to email me at andyolawrence@aol.com and I would not let them have a copy for the price of postage and a blank CD.
Cheers,
Andy
Posted by sham33 (sham33), 8 October 2003
u can try the latest Dreamweaver MX 2004 for free for 30 days just d/l it from www.macromedia.com but what ever u do dont go onto www.google.com and type dreamweaver crack because its naughty
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
I downloaded macromedia of kazaalite and it took a week of leaving the computer on when I go to bed,its takes a bit of getting used to definetly reccomend an offer of a copy, if you dont send an email to andy and dont send self addressed envelope............
one thing i remember I heard front page has some special microsoft html code for a few commands, meaning some one using (alternative browsers) netscape or opera etc might not be able to see certain text or images.
I know macromedia is supported by the w3c as its code follows their guidelines which work on all browsers old and new, even the first text only ones
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,I have put together a few sites now with Frontpage 2002 but i have also opened them with Dreamweaver and they seemed to work ok
Steve Lowe
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
I done an O.U course and one of the things they really emphasised not all code in front page is compatable with everything else and they recommended (my work had to done in web pages/website) the free web edititor in netscape (composer) or if u had access to it, macromedia.I think it really only applies to perhaps the more complicated code as the (and to be supported by) w3c says people on linux, apple microsoft and everything else should use uniform code be 100% compatable.
the OU really stressed the fact but I dont know how relevant it is to a simple(ish) personal website.
sam
Posted by sham33 (sham33), 8 October 2003
I think dreamweaver mx 2004 checks your site for any troubles for all the known browsers out there and fix's the problems itselfPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,Have you tried Frontpage 2003 yet? I have had the microsoft beta for the last few months and that is much better as it has a feature to tidy up the code and it also has a split view like dreamweaver.
Steve Lowe
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
I ve noticed actually if u save a new page opened in dreamweaver or any other web editor it saves the same file extension (and icon) as say saving a page off ebay, but start a new doc in front page and save it it has a differnet icon, typically microsoft a slightly different file that does the same job but works best with other microsoft productsPosted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
actually thats a good point, Ive got office xp(yet more downloaded software) which I think is 2002, I just rememeber the OU saying that and it put me off front page for good, but they've probaly sorted it out then.sam
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,Have you put together a site yet for your business
Steve
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
Hi Steve I have though about it as I W.clean full time (and do my ou stuff when it rains and/or weekends), but dont know if its worth it (cost), I started WC'in 2 years ago and now work full time and have a friend partime working for me, I only do mostly houses with the few shops and pubs (i only do 99% second story dont mind 3rd tho) do you think it would be worth it? I know there is free hosting but I dont like the idea of banners and all that. How much does your site cost to host? I havent actually checked it out been meaning to for ages.Ive had a look at my macromedia its version 6 dont know how old that is, I think I'll see what version the new one is and downl it of kazaalite
sam
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,I think my site is about £56 for two years so its not to bad as its tax deductable.
Steve Lowe
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi SamForgot to say i use www.supanames.co.uk to host my site.
Steve
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
One thought if any one is planning to buy a computer in the near future, why not build your own? I was gonna buy a package deal a while back (I already had an old one) But I always try fix or do things myself, on the internet there are tons of step by step help guides and installing windows is easier than it seems.I bought all the bits seperatly online and the money I saved managed to get a tft and better proccessor and all that. (making sure u print out the guides first
)sam
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
steve have u had many look at your site? is that includind the web address and does that come with email?cheers
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,I agree, I built this pc back in January and its the best thing i have done for ages.
Steve
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,Yes that does include the domain name and e mail forwarding.
Steve
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
steve, Ive just checked ur site looks good, doesnt take long to load either. you work on a biggerscale to me but i suppose for £30 a year it looks good, looks professional perhaps even might help me grow my business.I think I might have to make one, probaly take me a month doin bits and pieces (im always tryin to do a hundred things at once) I will post back when I've done and u can give me some pointers to improve.
cheers, sam
Posted by matt (matt), 8 October 2003
sham33u can try the latest Dreamweaver MX 2004 for free for 30 days just d/l it from www.macromedia.com but what ever u do dont go onto www.google.com and type dreamweaver crack because its naughty
Now thats funny, BUT very naughty
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 8 October 2003
Hi Sam,A good place to go for tips on web design is www.pcadvisor.co.uk . This is where i go when i need any tips or advice as you have plenty of designers on line.
Steve
Posted by matt (matt), 8 October 2003
On a serious note thoughI design pages in my spare time (like i get some)
http://www.34sp.com/
Hosting only £15 per year
They are very good, a real good "uptime"
the problem with free or cheap hosts is the time they have "down" i.e the server is down, thus no page
these are very good
Posted by matt (matt), 8 October 2003
a good tech type of forum iswww.theknowledgezones.co.uk
you will find info on firewalls and virus checkers and they have loads of forums, on films, sports and all sorts
go and have a look
Posted by samm (samm), 8 October 2003
matt that hosting sounds alright what do u get email etc, ive used cracks before, do macromedia let u download the full version of macromedia if they do bargain , cheers for thatPosted by matt (matt), 8 October 2003
sammfor the hosting package, here's the details : http://www.34sp.com/hostingfeatures.shtml
its about the right set-up for a smallish site
the macromedia was posted by sham33, i belive its right, ive heard rumours about naughty people doing things like that (and we all thought the net was only good for prorn
)Posted by Mike_Boxall (Mike_Boxall), 18 October 2003
Just a quick question for you all - how did you find out about this website? Was it a link somewhere or was it word of mouth?Thanks
Mike
Posted by Rob_B (Rob_B), 18 October 2003
I use george software and Paul who runs the support group posted it on the sitePosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 19 October 2003
I have Paul to thank from George software as wellCheers Paul!
Steve Lowe
Posted by fez (fez), 19 October 2003
on 10/18/03 at 23:14:01, Mike_Boxall wrote:
|
I found a link from express cleaning supplies.
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 19 October 2003
I am another window cleaning forum (EUcleaningrelated services) and someone posted it on therePosted by samm (samm), 19 October 2003
I found it on google, I think I searched "window cleaning" to see what came up.Posted by g_griffin (g_griffin), 19 October 2003
i found a link on express cleaning supplies and now i`ve remembered your adress.Posted by andy (andy), 19 October 2003
I searched for window cleaning in the engine search field and there is little box's providing information on different web sites! and your was one of them.look in google search engine! after that i same remembered your site name.
ANDY!
Posted by mikess (mikess), 20 October 2003
Be careful about relying on meta tags to optimise your web sites. It used to be important, but now virtually no search engines take any notice of them. Google, for instance, ignores them completely. The thing to understand is that there are about 1.9 million sites competing for the term 'Office Cleaning' here in the UK. Getting to the top of that lits is extremely technical, very hard work, and generally expensive. To get right to the top of the tree, you need Pay Per Click, but handled wrongly, it can cost you a fortune.Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 20 October 2003
Hi Mikess,Can you tell me what pay per click is
Steve
Posted by Rob_B (Rob_B), 20 October 2003
Steve,Check out this link to googles cost per click, it gives a brief explanation. Should be the same for pay per click.
https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=Login&sourceid=promo&subid=rp&hl=en
click on "what does it cost".
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 20 October 2003
Thanks Rob
Steve
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