Contractors & Construction Advertising: Painters, Plumbers, Renovations & More

How to Write Page Titles for Google: Free SEO Workshop #2 - Contractors & Construction Advertising

2008-09-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

We talked last week about writing page titles for websites. We kept it very simple and allowed you maximal flexibility to think about the type of information that Google requires to understand what you mean: the type of business, its location and some services offered. You may have noticed that there was a little bit of redundancy or duplication in the page titles. It is often a good thing because it helps to emphasize the importance of keywords to the particular website or project. The way that search engines interpret or understand page titles is constantly changing. Search engine optimization (or SEO), therefore, becomes the study of trying to find out what Google, Yahoo and (sometimes MSN) need to help businesses rank well in search results.

Having a good page title is your most important asset in SEO. In this workshop, we will examine the way that Google deals with page titles and what it means for you business. Let us start by telling you the terrible truth, everyone uses Google so usually its a good place to start. Here is a simple page title for a business. If it does not seem like your business, substitute the name contractors for "electricians,' for example:

We will use a business that actually exists so y0u can see the problem with the page title. Here is the current page title used by Bartlett Cock which ranks about position 21 in Google, presently :

Bartlett Cocke General Contractors : Building Value for San Antonio, Austin & Houston Areas

Here is a simple revision to the page title that will prove more effective in search results: Houston General Contractors | Building Contractors in Houston, San Antonio & Austin Texas.
So, what are some requirements for good page titles in Google:

Maximal characters indexed
1129

Actual Characters displayed
65

Title Tag Importance
Very High

How do you know that what I am saying is true. Lets do a search for "houston general contractors." The top 5 pages titles are as follows:

The main problem with the page title used by Bartlett Cock was basing it on the name of the business. This strategy only works if your company is so well established and branded that you don't need any more customers because they no longer search for Houston general contractors, they simply say "Bartlett Cock," which is highly unlikely. Page titles must be based on the needs of the customer first.

Pacific West Global Media is an online consulting firm and advertising agency for contractors and construction businesses located in Vancouver, Canada. The company provides services that include seo, lead generation, pay per click advertising and recruitment. To get help with your website, contact us directly 1-866-535-3771.

Pinellas Home Improvement & Pinellas Renovations | Lead Generation Services for Contractors

2008-09-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

Get free quotes from licensed home improvement and renovation contractors in Pinellas County Florida.

Specialized Pinellas contractors services include the following:

Bathroom Renovations
Kitchen Renovations
Family Room Additions
Storm Doors & Storm Windows

Door Installations
House, Interior & Exterior Painting
Soffit And Fascia
Siding
Decks
Stucco and Plaster Repair
Interior Doors and Trim

To get your Pinellas County FREE NO OBLIGATION Home Improvement & Home Renovation Qutoe, Order Online:

Pinellas County Home Improvement & Renovation Services

Pacific West Global Media is a an online advertising agency specializing in the unique needs of contractors, construction companies and independent business operators. The company builds customized lead generation and advertising programs for contractors. To learn more about our variety of services, please visit us directly:

Contractors & Construction Advertising
Pacific West Global Media
1-866-535-3771
info@pacificwestglobal.com

How To Write Page Titles: Free SEO Workshop #1 for Contractors & Indpendent Business Owners

2008-08-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

In about grade 4, my elementary school teacher - Mrs Tellefer - had us play a game that required us to "find a word in the dictionary." This game is the basis of all search engines. It requires you to think linear using the alphabet, and it requires you to make some basic guesses about where information should be found - near the front, middle, or end of that big thick black book.

There were 2 boys in my class, Let's call them Google And Yahoo. Google knew the answer to everything. He was much smarter than Yahoo. The teacher would put up her hand and say something like "Would someone name this dark equator on the moon?" Google would pause for about 2 seconds as say, "the Sea of Tranquility." Yahoo would find the same answer but stumble upon it taking a few seconds longer to get it right. It's not that Yahoo is dumb. He was just a little slower and methodical in his work. But, this is not a workshop on search engines. It is, however, a workshop that intends to help you to get more out of search engines - so they work for you rather than against you.

While Google and Yahoo dominated the class, I watched pensively gathering data and getting smarter. You might say that I am a thinking search engine such as "Hakia'" or "True Knowledge." Artificial intelligence is coming and its going to change the face of computing and search engine optimization for ever. But, that's another story and we will all have to wait for it to come to fruition.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

If you want to understand search engine optimization fully, then you need to think about a 5 year old. Now, tell the 5 year old to get the book.

"Get the book."

"Where is the book?"

"Its on the bookshelf"

"What is the Title of the book?"

"Construction Advertising"

"What book is it beside?

"Contractors Advertising and "Business Advertising"

"I found the book daddy."

"Very good Google."

This discussion represents the interaction between search engines and customers. They can use Google to find you only if you put the right kinds of information in your Page Title. Many people who open their first online business title it something like "Tim's Books." They wait week after week wondering why no one finds their book store, which sells book shelves, and books related to construction, contractors and starting a business. What would you title the business so a 5 year old might understand it?

Option A

Tim's Books

Option B

Books & Bookshelves on Construction Advertising, Contractors & Business Advertising.

Option B is the best title because it tells young Google a lot about your business:

You sell Books and Bookshelves
Books are on Construction Advertising
Related Items are Contractors Advertising and Business Advertising.

Using this methodology, you just helped Google find your business. Of course, Google does not live and is not located near you. It will need information about the location of your business such as Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle. Therefore, the title that works best for Google will be as follows:

Vancouver Books & Bookshelf on Construction Advertising, Contractors & Business Advertising. Of course, you might say, "You're not helping my business because I am a plumber." Lets go through the model again.

Look for your website in Google under phrases such as [name of city] and plumbers, [state] and plumbers, and using just the word plumbers. If you don't find it in the first 10 pages, then it not is going to be found by your customers. If you have a website, with this problem, you just wasted between $1000 - $10,0000 on a website. Don' t worry, I've seen businesses spend up to $100,000 on a website that no one can find. Unfortunately, due to the owners own ego, no one can tell him that they made a very big mistake.
Change the Title of your website from "Bob's Plumbing," for example, to something that will help Google and your customers to find you -"Calgary Plumbing Contractors Heating & HVAC Repair Contractors Calgary." This apparently stupid (or child friendly) page title will help you to get from page invisible to page 1 to - especially, if you apply a similar process to all your page titles. Remember that all pages should have unique Page Titles. Do not use title on every page.

Before, you get all excited, let's just make sure that your website is actually in the search engines. Go to Google and type in the name of your website as follows in the search bar: site:www.nameofyourwebsite.com

You might notice that I actually found a website named "Bob's Plumbing." What mistake does this website make in its Page Title? It does not tell Google where to categorize or position the business. Is it Vancouver, Toronto, Alaska or Seattle. Remember the dictionary game; well, Google needs to know the position of things - is it at the front of the book, the middle or the end?

Please make these changes to your website. If you need some help, we can help you.(info@pacificwestglobal.com)

Thank you,

FREE SEO WORKSHOP SERIES #1

2008-08-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hi,

My name is Paul Williams.

Welcome to our Free SEO Workshop Series. In this workshop, we will discuss such topics as how to get your website to the top of search engine results. It will deal with smaller items such as page titles, keywords, descriptions, links, internal linking, external links, directory submissions, alt tags, sitemaps and blogs.

The workshop results from a number of questions from our customers who want to know how to do some SEO or search engine optimization for themselves. There is a lot of bad advice out there from so called "hacks" who give the whole field of Internet marketing and search engine optimization a bad name. So, we thought that we would provide you with real examples so you can understand what to do for your own website.

The word free sounds like a catch. Actually, it's not! You will not have to pay any sign-up or registration fees to participate in this workshop. What we will ask is that you tell your friends and associates about the workshop.

What's in it for us? Well, I guess we gain the publicity from being the only business in the world that's dumb enough to reveal trade secrets. We also benefit because while some of you will sit at your computers late at night until sunrise implementing all the neat tips and tricks that you have learned, others will feel as though their finger nails are being torn out. We want to talk to those people because, sometimes, it's easier to have someone else do the work for you. We also benefit because we offer a number of other services beyond SEO or search engine optimization. This workshop will also spin off into a series of real world based workshops that may be delivered to common sense, practical business people across Canada.

Topics Covered

* Initial Analysis
* Keyword Research & Analysis
* Competitor Analysis
* Sitemap
* Search Engine & Directory Submssion
* Blogs & Press Releases
* Article Submission
* Link Popularity
* SERP Reports

How Do You Register?

You don't need to register for the workshops because they will be covered in this blog. You can add the following HTML address oto your RSS feed, Google Reader, or Google HomePage(http://blog.pacificwestglobal.com/.

How to Win Big With Business Cards

2008-08-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

While business cards, won't make or break your business, they can help. Here are some handy tips to make your construction or contractors' business card stand out:

use color

use plastic

make it in the shape of your product or service

use oversize cards

use picture business cards

be unique

Although this may seem like common sense, contractors should add the following items to their business cards:

contact info such as name, company, address, phone, fax, email and website address.

a unique selling position - especially, if the name of your business does not help people to understand what you do. In this case, you are interested in the business or home owner who will pick your card up months later and say, "Yes, that's the company that paints interiors."

Use a relevant picture or drawing if you don't have a company logo. Remember, the cliche - a picture speaks a thousand words.

Use color stock or color ink. Gold or silver text adds a subtle hint of elegance to business cards.

Use the back of the business card for your mission statement or testimonials; or include a re-usable discount coupon so the customer needs to see you to get the benefits.

Also, use the back of the card for emergency phone numbers; this may be a great feature in the case of plumbers and electricians.

Here are some common mistakes that contractors make on business cards:

crossing out changes to contact information ro placing a sticker over changes, instead of printing new business cards.

test the print size on your older customers or friends. Make sure that they can phone you easily.

do not use all caps on your business card. It's quite difficult to read.

Business cards are an exceptional way to advertise your products and services. Your local printer will have a wealth of information on business cards. You can also order business cards online for substantial savings over going directly to a printer. The world is moving in this direction.

Remember that a lot of contractors don't like dealing with people too much. I suppose that's why they are not wearing a suit in a tower downtown or serving cappuccinos at Starbucks. If you fall into this group, then you need business cards and messaging that speaks for you. You will also need a website that helps people to understand exactly what you do.

Try Something Different With Cross Channel Marketing

2008-08-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

If you are like most businesses and you are trying to increase your sales without going broke, then you should consider some ideas from cross-channel marketing. Marketing gurus are talking about SEO, PPC advertising, lead generation, social media marketing and word-of-mouth marketing these days. Its a wonder, we just don't go crazy.

So what do a candy store, pet store, paint store, and contractor and real estate agent have in common? Periodically, I enter a store and see business cards from related businesses on the counter. I always find this a little bit odd; but, it's the rudimentary beginnings of cross channel advertising without the frills.

And, you may have noticed recently that KFC and Subway go together as though dating. Tim Horton's ldonuts hangs out with gas stations in Canada. So, what can we learn from all these partnerships, and relationships that seem to last while these days even people seem as a short commodity? Perhaps, the lesson to be learned is that we should work together in curious ways that complement our own businesses and those of our partners.

The pet store can give candy, oddly, as a treat for buying puppies. (The candy is not for the dogs or cats because I was told that chocolate harms one or the other.) The real estate agent can also offer candies to buyers, home visitors, Christmas thank you's and even discounts on house paint. The contractor or cabinet maker can build a beautiful dog house to promote his skill and craftsmanship inside the petstore. And if all these oddly related businesses existed on the same street, then they could create a "Jones Street" advertisign campaign offering discoungts to neighborhood shoppers.

The websites can network togther. Instead of one website, they can collaborate on a Jones Street website. In this way, the businesses that tend to pull online traffic pull others toward your store, similar to a shopping mall. While visiting your unique web store, customers can watch a short video introducting the business, real estate agent, pet store owner, and candy store to neighbors.
After the success of the initial Jones Street campaign, retailers may want to work together to consider a collective Jones Street full page newspaper ad. The cost for individual ads is always greater. But the costs for a Jones Street festival page is much less enabling businesses, radio stations, and even the newspaper to promote themselves.

Some Simple thoughts for the curiuos at heart.

Industrial Search Engine Optimization & Industrial Advertising

2008-08-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Many wholesalers and manufacturers in the industrial sector do not believe that they require pay-per-click (PPC) advertising or search engine optimization (SEO) to increase sales. Nonetheless, a close examination of these services reveal that the goals of SEO and PPC mirror those of industrial businesses: increase the number of customers to the door; increase sales; move product; find new markets and evaluate market demand. The present discussion will show how SEO and PPC apply to industrial businesses.

Increase the Number of Customers & Increase Sales

Whether you are an independent business owner or participate in industry, you will be happy to know that industrial advertising applies to you. From plastics to steel machinery, demand for products exists locally, regionally and nationally. Search engine optimization opens your business to queries from companies in Canada, the United States and the world. If you sell "industrial plastics" or "chillers," you will happy to know that subtle changes can be made to your website that improves its position in search engines. In many cases, search engine optimization can mean the differnence between 10 visitors a month and 10,000 visitors. When you consider the fact that the average conversion rate across the Internet is about 3%, this can make a huge difference. SEO equals sales without working to find new customers.

Pay Per Click Advertising complements the goal of finding new customers. Because the algorithms used by Google, Yahoo and MSN work to push people with related interests toward your website, PPC is a great way to determine the keywords that drive traffic to your site and lead to leads or sales. Given this information, we can optimize the website again so it is well positioned for those unique phrases that attract buyers. If you receive 10,000 visitors per month from SEO, it is fair to say that a well executed PPC campaign can almost double that amount. Again at a 3% conversion rate times the cost of your products, you get an idea of the gross sales that can be contributed by a combination of SEO and PPC. Internet industrial advertising is a smart choice.

Find New Markets & Evaluate Opportunities

Because you decided to pursue online advertising and implemented an analytics program, we have clear data on what cities people who search for your products live in. Given this information, we can optimize pages so they pull additional traffic from those communities. It also provides advanced knowledge to your sales staff on locations to target since community behavior is a function of demand and trends. Therefore, while sales may be softening in Detroit, they can be rising in Eugene, Oregon for example.

Industrial advertising is the smart choice. Pacific West Global Media is an internet advertising firm that services industrial businesses, construction companies, contractors and independent business owners. To get a quote on our services, please contact us directly. We will be happy to help. If you found this article interesting and have other insights, please contribute.

Thank you,

Paul Williams

Solar Powered Air Conditioners for Contractors & Home Owners

2008-08-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Greencore Air released a new solar powered air conditioner for homes. Sold as a fixed or portable version, the new GC102000 Solar Air Conditioner operates from a 170-watt solar power panel. It can both heat and cool rooms as well.

This new technology means that contractors who sell air conditioners will be able to offer customers a green alternative to air conditioning. Companies such as McDonalds and OldNavy have already begun testing the technology.

Greencore Air conditioners, reportedly, do not contribute to greenhouse emissions.

Selling Your Business Online

2008-08-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have run into a number of business owners lately who want to sell their business. They are a number of interesting cases in point, with some similarities.

The first independent business owner ran an upholstery business in Vancouver, BC for about 25 years. He told me that he started the business as a Jamaican immigrant during a time when others told him that it would be impossible to sell goods to the dominant white population. He told me that to work around this problem, he would just say when asked, "Is the owner here?", that he's taken the day off or just walked out. He made his businesses by offering a good service at a fair price to local people. He did not have computer or technology to guide him.

In many ways his experience is correct. The internet is not a golden panacea or solutions for all the ails of business. If your run a profitable landscaping or plumbing business, then internet advertising can complement your existing business and add to the power of your reputation or brand as people talk about. Websites can also say those things that your might not have time to say when your hands are thick in muck.

The second business owner sold saddle racks. Its kind of hard to explain but my understanding is that a "saddle rack" holds your saddle in the correct shape and has some holders for cleaning brushes and other items that a rider might need. This business owner has a great product. He intended to sell it mostly to Canadians and Americans. The lack of sales caused him to call me to sell his business.

After talking with him, both he and his wife, I realized that wherever they had sales, they occurred in places where demand for equestrian related activities is high. For example, they received numerous requests from Calgary, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. These locations were confirmed by my own analysis of internet data.

Give the fact that this independent business owner claims that customer satisfaction is high; the internet may be the best way to sell goods. Unfortunately, they chose a more traditional route of attending tradeshows and talking wither people about their product. Well targeted internet advertising, in contrast, allows people who have a demand to find your product. In this circumstance, the business has a great product but is limited by its lack of an understanding of clear market demographics on where and when to advertise. Internet advertising and sound business planning can solve these problems. The ill health of an owner, which cannot be forecast, is the primary factor holding this business back.

The third business owner, oddly, also runs an upholstery business in Vancouver. I visited her at the location and realized that she also wants to get out of business. They had been in business for about 20 years, and started with very little. They built a good small company serving the upholstery needs of frugal families in Vancouver's lower mainland. She also wants to leave business due to the ill health of her husband.

The lessons that we learn here are as follows: (1) life is never predictable because you can be on top of the hill for a short while and at the bottom later; (2) the elder baby-boomer is trying to find a way out leading to lots of opportunities for the young who are prepared to do manual work; (3) internet advertising for independent business owners and contractors works providing that you have a sound product, sales, and targeted customer demand; (4) the internet is a good way to sell your business.

If you are an independent business owner who has questions about internet advertising, search engine optimization, selling your business or are just getting started, ask me a question and I'll try to help. We invite you to link to our website (www.pacificwestglobal.com).

Thank you,

Paul Williams

Search Engine Optimization for Contractors & Independent Small Business Webites

2008-08-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

I talked to a friend of mine yesterday who is a contractor and independent business owner. He told me that he called a fellow just outside the city of Vancouver, in Port Coquitlam, who needed some work done on his home.

Tim agreed to meet with the client. The result was a job worth $100, 000. The client explained that he called several companies but none would come to his location. Oddly, he's only about 25 miles out of Vancouver.

No one stopped to try to get to know the customer. No one asked the right kinds of questions. Everyone thought about the high price of gas, and the limitations of traveling that far for a supposed small job. Tim is happy - very happy. He said, "for that kind of money, I'll live here for the summer!"

Today, there are afforfdable internet marketing and advertising technologies that can help with this process.

Search engine optimization means that a contractor's website will be visible to potential customers. He can target the larger city of Vancouver or can optimize for smaller locations such as Port Coquitlam ,which will inevitably experience requests for renovations, building additions, new home constructions and other general contracting needs.

Combined with lead generation services, the optimized website can now pull visitors who search for "contractors in Port Coquitlam" and get the right kinds of information for you: size of project, amount, timelines, the work to be done. Just receiving an email from the customer, often, is not enough information to decide between taking a job and turning work away.

PPC advertising enables contractors and independent business owners to target customers who live in specific locations using local and geographic based targeting. This means that you can bid on low value or inexpensive keywords to drive customers to your website or create awareness about your business. Often, people don't buy on their first visit to a website. What they do is visit, look around, think about it, and then return sometime later when they are prepared to buy. But to get their business your site must be available in the first place.

I must say congratulations to Tim for the $100,000 job. Others will struggle but there is no substitute for good customer service and asking the right kinds of questions to make money. A website is just a brochure lying in a stack of papers on the floor unless it is positioned and opened at the front door of your house, right beside your keys, so you see it every time you leave and enter your home. Essentially, that's exactly what search engine optimization is: it places your business card in the hands of customers who use the Internet to find services in their area.

Pacific West Global Media is an Internet advertising firm that serves contractors and independent business owners. The company offers a number of services that include search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, local advertising, recruitment advertising and lead generation. With programs starting from $49.95 (and billing cycles that extend from 6 months to 1 year) businesses of all sizes can create a web presence and get online fast.