[STEVE PARKIN]

Can anyone out there give me any idea if web advertising is any good. if so how do i get a decent web site built for small bucks. how do you get top listings in search engines.
ps im dumb when it comes to the internet so can you talk slowly.

S.P.

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Hi,

Take a look at my website, if you like it and want something similar there is a link to another website at the bottom of each page ( just1uk) send the guy an email from that and he will sort you out, just say you got the info from me.

Regards Rob.

[www.crawleycarpetc]

P S i think he charges about a hundred quid!

[STEVE PARKIN]

thanks Rob, will give it a try

[calmore]

Websites are great..the problem is getting people to see them!

Publicise your web address as much as possible and get other people to provide "back links" to your website. This will boost the "Page rank" of your site.

That way, if someone searches on google they will be more likely to come across a link for your page.

[CLEANCARE LIMITED]

Web sites are good as long as people know they exist. We haven't got one yet but know other companies in our industry who have.

I would only have the one web site though. While searching through past posts I've noticed that some members have more than one some even 5 - I can't see any point or benefit in this. Surely you would want to market just one site and have all your services on there?

Having more than 1 site surely is just throwing money away? Or am I wrong?

[StrakerCCP]

I have a few and they are from Easily.co.uk
I think they do .co.uk name and site for £50 ....................... setting it up with WebStyler template is simple .......................once up and running, you get it linked to other sites and them to yours. Search engines love it and you start to creep up the rankings. It took 4 months for any of mine to get into Google first pages....... but it cost me nothing extra.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

I have developed lots of websites which rank pretty well and it's becoming a bigger and bigger contributor to my business.

It all depends on what you want, you can't have a top ranking 8 page website for a packet of fAgs and a tin of coke, like everything else in life you get what you pay for.

If you want details email me doug@1st4carpetcleaning.com

Cheers

Doug

[StrakerCCP]

"you can't have a top ranking 8 page website for a packet of f*gs and a tin of coke, like everything else in life you get what you pay for." ..................... almost true but i have found that my inexpensive (never say cheap) DIY sites have yielded sufficient work for me to drop £3000+ in YP & Thomson adverts.

Last 6 months has shown 85% of new business for me has been via websites....... that includes NCCA & EcoCarpetCare.  Last years directories never even came within 10% of that for whole 12 months.

Wether you pay peanuts or a small fortune...............content and rankings will determine how effective it is.

[Doug Holloway]

Chris,

I agree you can do it cheaply if you do it yourself, but you have to know what to do and a lot depends on how much competition you have.

Cheers

Doug

[Liahona]

Uh oh, I did mine myself, heaven knows what it will turn out like. Actualy it should be ready for www land in the next week or two. I am fortunate I suppose as I am not after people to "find" it so to speak so dont realy care where it ends up in any ranking state. Best, Dave.

[Bob Robertson]

If I had to pay the money for the websites I have had over the last few months I would be out a fortune.  I appreciate the amount of work that needs to go into designing a well presented web site which is also well optimised.   Optimisation is an ongoing task and can be very expensive to maintain if you know nothing about the subject.  Its not just the one off fee that you need to think about, its also fees for making amendments along the way, adding links, extra pages etc.   Fortunately my partner designed and maintains my site for me so I dont pay a penny!   It has generated a steady stream of business.

tihson

[Damian]

Dave (Liahona) as you state you work for the higher end of the market and charge accordingly(good for you, by the way) then wouldnt it pay for you to have a real swanky website designed by the top web designers to show how professional you are? Just thought your image would be enhanced by a full on website for prospective clients?

Regards

Damian.

[Liahona]

Damian, you may well be right. But from what I have seen a lot of web site designers are like yellow pages salespeople and havent a clue about what they are doing. Loads of sites I have seen on here and elsewhere are not only almost the same as each other but have the same pictures too. I felt the only way to be unique was to do it all myself. Well I have designed it but me mate has put it on paper so to speak as I have no idea how to do that side of it. So the pictures are all of work that I have done and the wording is all mine too. I may well fall flat on my face but we will have to wait and see. I will put it on here as promised as the forum will either tear it apart or praise it. Either way it is what I want. I claim to be different in what I do and I am hoping my web site will come across that way too. If it doesnt work as I have written it then I can always do the same as everyone else has. But then I would have to charge the same as everyone else and I am not prepared to do that. Best, Dave.

[Damian]

Dave, with your client base i thought you would come into contact with a few good pooter whizzo's? After i finish a job a card is left with tel/fax no, e-mail details etc, all basic stuff. I really thought your clients would want to deal and see a supremo site so they could show their friends who they are dealing with, a sort of oh we have just booked this guy, have a look etc etc? Not just a simple telephone call? I do have some upper end clients and they almost always wanna deal via e-mail etc.

Regards

Damian.

[Liahona]

Damian, good point but in my case I hardly ever get to meet the customer. I would imagine about 90% of the houses or dwellings I clean I dont meet the owner. Even if I did their conversation with their friends and associates wouldnt be about the cleaning they have had done. Again, this is why my target for my web site is for those I want  to see it not so much as most web sites in that it is usual for people to want everyone to see it. If that makes sense. A lot of my clients I am not privy to their phone numbers let alone any computer information of theirs. I dont invoice them or receive payment from them. At the end of the day they wouldnt even know who had been into their house to clean. Best, Dave.

[CLEANCARE LIMITED]

Damian, good point but in my case I hardly ever get to meet the customer. I would imagine about 90% of the houses or dwellings I clean I dont meet the owner. Even if I did their conversation with their friends and associates wouldnt be about the cleaning they have had done. Again, this is why my target for my web site is for those I want  to see it not so much as most web sites in that it is usual for people to want everyone to see it. If that makes sense. A lot of my clients I am not privy to their phone numbers let alone any computer information of theirs. I dont invoice them or receive mayment from them. At the end of the day they wouldnt even know who had been into their house to clean. Best, Dave.

You don't invoice them?

Then how do you get payment and maintain your books?

Unless of course your invoicing a third party or company for the work?