Website feedback

DruidCarol said:
It is possible to claim the duplicates that are those generic pages that Facebook actually added a while back to populate their platform for businesses (Google+ did the same thing); they also say that if someone "checked in" at your business before you had a FB page for it then that might be why that page is there, but that seems odd for them to say--how do you check into a business FB page when it doesn't exist?

It is possible for a business to claim their very basic page from Facebook with proof they are the legal business owner--often FB had the right legal name, address, and phone numbers that they got from business filings in each state). All is explained here: https://www.facebook.com/help/168172433243582

I think Pinterest and Instagram may be the go-to social media platforms for showing off visually what you can do in a tree and/or landscape business. Snapchat is for the tweenies and teens; it is short term posting. Pinterest reaches women from 25-45 or 50, which could be a lot of the decision makers in a household about yard care. The headache is having the equivalent of your own paparazzi following you around from job to job who knows how to frame photos that show how your work improves a yard.
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Thank you Carole. I really hate social media, but it is a sign of the times . I will check out Pinterest. Any idea how Pintrest fits into the whole google ranking? Facebook, Google+ , and YouTube generally at least support ranking. How about Pinterest?
 
The key to all social media is how it links authentically to your main web presence, i.e., your official website. Essentially, someone who likes your work displayed on Pinterest needs to find out how to find out more about you. Maybe not a (dare I say it) "Yuuuge!" impact on page ranking overall but anything that entices people to your site and hang out meaningfully there (fill out forms, join a mailing list, etc) is going to help boost you up the list of who Google sees is walking the walk.
 
Anyone tracking how many clients/prospects are coming to you via your website? Contact forms are easy to track but do you ask about how the customer found you in the first place when they phone? There are actually Google Analytic add-ons (mostly paid) to do this but wonder if anyone has their own system of tracking?
 
I do Carol - I have a Google form template link on my tablet that I use for estimates. I use this because sometimes my customers find me by wom and others who find the website are crawlers or just "shopping". Also, the form can be edited later. If I get an actual call, email, and have an estimate scheduled, I tracked the following:

Customer contact info

Type of work - trim, removal, landscaping, etc

Type of trees

Specific reason - vista prune, disease, drought tolerant, etc

How they heard about us

Experience with other companies and why the change

Future projects

Quote $

Estimated time

Actual time




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Thanks, that is exactly what I like to know. Do you use quick lists to pick from to save time typing? (I ask that in the interest of others who might like to know that you can do that in Google forms!) I see opportunities to do this for type of work, type of trees, reasons for changing services when applicable... There will always be some "none of the above" or "other" but just wonder if you set it up that way.

The nice thing I see about this is that if you decided to try something like Hubspot's Customer Relationship Management (free version), you can integrate the Google doc into the CRM via Zapier to create a handy database going forward. Only thing I am finding is that Hubspot's mobile app (Android) for the CRM is woefully inadequate at this writing.
 
That was my next step. To integrate it with a business content management system. Right now, I'm just using it as a data collection tool to be analyzed and managed later. But, it does save all the info that can be exported as an excel file.

I use drop down items and open fields.


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PaulZ said:
I agree with Brad1 about the phone number needing to be clickable. More than half of the traffic to our website is from a mobile device. So we make it really easy for anyone to give us a call while there on the site. Check out our site on your phone to see what I mean http://www.seattlecitytreeservice.com
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Are those images from your actual company on your website? I'm not asking because of the lack of hard hats but you have an image on your site that was also on one of the previous websites mentioned. The image of the guy with the cowboy hat looking hard hat was used previous and it almost looked as if there was an image of Jared Abrojena on there as well. I'm assuming your web people have the rights to these images? If not, it may be in your best interest to get the rights before there are other repercussions.

I dig the vibe of your website though with the hipsterish logo. Nice work!
 
Steve@Blackdown said:
Hi guys , here is mine http://blackdowntree.co.uk of course for the UK market , still need loads of photographs . I'm really interested in how you guys market your business and how it differs from the UK . Comments gratefully received .
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Hi Steve,

All in all, you've got a good mobile-ready site. I have to admit the color scheme isn't my favorite as the green is a little too "neon" and especially the contact info in white text with the bright background was a bit tricky to see. Sometimes the message can be lost in the design and you have to be aware of who your customers are--an older person with bifocals and trifocals or some vision issues (an old codger like me, for example) might have trouble being comfortable viewing such bright colors. I also think of bright colors as highlighting something special. Be aware that certain colors trigger reactions in people and your choice should bear this in mind.

The menu under Grounds Maintenance behaves a little on the funky side on a desktop, with a huge gap between the top "Grounds Maintenance" tab and the sub menu on "Invasive Species Management"--it's kind of like I found the latter by accident.

The only other suggestion I have is a bit more text might go down a treat in addition to more photographs, especially if you can tie in the photos with a story about a problem you solved.

Ultimately, the proof will be in how much new business you find yourself getting...or not...from your new website.
 
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Steve@Blackdown said:
I have to agree thanks , it does need more text although I find some websites a little condescending with too much text . And yes some more pages re invasive species .
thanks

http://blackdowntree.co.uk
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I was thinking the formatting of the menu bar by your website designer should make the dropdown of submenus under Grounds Maintenance literally closer together. My immediate thought when I saw the blank space was "Mind the Gap" (a number of years doing the London Underground when I worked for an international company has that phrase deeply carved into my memory). Other submenus will probably appear BELOW the Invasive species menu option, not necessarily fill in the gap.
 
I just looked at your site, not a bad start I would say. What builder are you using? I Have been using Squarespace and have loved the ease of building and using it! Customer service has been on point as well. A ton of options for templets and so on. Here is mine www.Fairfieldphotobc.com . Without being pitchy on this part of my advice (due to it is my craft), I would consider having a photographer come out to photograph a few jobs for you. The photos will pop more to the viewers and help draw them in faster to finer information. I would keep text to a min do to people have very little time to give to reading anymore. Also Video on your site will boost search engine results for you as well. I hope this is not repeating a ton of what has already been said and it helps out... Best of luck and stay safe.
 
Fairfield said:
I just looked at your site, not a bad start I would say. What builder are you using? I Have been using Squarespace and have loved the ease of building and using it! Customer service has been on point as well. A ton of options for templets and so on. Here is mine www.Fairfieldphotobc.com . Without being pitchy on this part of my advice (due to it is my craft), I would consider having a photographer come out to photograph a few jobs for you. The photos will pop more to the viewers and help draw them in faster to finer information. I would keep text to a min do to people have very little time to give to reading anymore. Also Video on your site will boost search engine results for you as well. I hope this is not repeating a ton of what has already been said and it helps out... Best of luck and stay safe.
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Nice photography! I have used SquareSpace--it is designed with the visual arts in mind as that I believe was its first market. Every system has its pros and cons, and funnily enough I found SquareSpace's interface less intuitive than Weebly or even Wordpress. BlackdownTree.co.uk is a Wordpress site, using a design template called Avada, I believe. Avada is a premium theme that has a design and editor interface overlay to the Wordpress editor. It can make the work on a WP website easier for non-technical people; the trade-off is that these type of themes have a lot of code "overhead" which make them slow to load (which can affect your Google page rank) and easy to break if you need to add other features to the site. Other premium themes that have a similar reputation for being bloated are Divi and Enfold. They make work best if you pay the big bucks ($200+ each month) for your own dedicated web server instead of shared hosting space.
 
DruidCarol said:
They make work best if you pay the big bucks ($200+ each month) for your own dedicated web server instead of shared hosting space.
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I use a shared host and Avada - out of the box, yes, it is bloated. But it was very easy to mend with some WP PHP optimization that my host did for me, the JCH plugin for front-end web optimization, and an image regeneration plugin.

After researching the competition in my area, their pages load a little faster - but they are just a one page contact - 2/3 aren't even mobile formatted.

I'm happy with the results of Avada as a DIY web dev. When I can afford a dedicated design firm, I'll prob do an overhaul. I'll keep fiddling until then.

@DruidCarol - do you have some well done tree company sites you like? I research just about every company I come across and have yet to find anything that got me excited.





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@NorCalBrock , I have to agree that it is tough to find websites that have all the ingredients put together. There are some with great content but it's kind of lost in the design. Some have a great design but the content is not telling people much about the company or why they should pick one over another. It's also a matter of how you are targeting your desired customer base. I'm working with someone (one of your fellow arborists here) now who has a specific target demographic so we are looking at a design that might appeal more to that demographic.

Rather than getting caught up on how cool something looks, I tend to look at a site as "can I tell what I can do to get information I need" from each page, or does the content tell me a compelling story about why this company has what I am looking for. But there are some design tricks to bear in mind:

Use of bright colors needs to be minimal until they highlight what is known as a call to action. So if you use the neon green color for text and then use it again for a button, the button loses its effectiveness because it no longer really stands out. The psychology of color can be used--e.g., for some reason, Hubspot's research in online marketing via websites and social media suggested that green buttons are far less likely to be clicked; orange was the most with red the runner-up. Restaurateurs are advised to stay away from blue in all things like their decor because blue is considered an appetite suppressant for a lot of people (well, persons older than 4, I guess!), especially the brighter shades--blueberries are about the only thing that appeals to me in the blue color range. Some colors appeal highly to women vs. men, though I've never been a pastel type of broad myself so pink won't get you anywhere with me.

For trees and arborist services, it seems like color palettes that hint at healthy trees and healthy soils become the main palette, with pops of color that go with what you're discussing on the page. Trees in autumn obviously will permit you to do the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows but they'll be lost if you have those colors used all over the place for text and background shades.

White space and negative space is becoming important in our busy world. I'm sure I will have more ideas but right now I need some non-blue food to eat!
 
You've got a beef out your content. At least 1000 words on the home page or no one will ever see it. A website is great, but if people don't find it naturally it won't make you any money. Check out mine here. I just slammed away at the content.
 
Okay, here's a website I've just completed for http://hilltreekeepers.com, using their targeted demographic and personal style to highlight their work. I am finding that anyone Google searching for arborists in the Hudson Valley is getting Hill Treekeepers on the first or second page of results, and this will need to be tweaked as Google monkeys with all of us.

Have a look and I am sure Todd would appreciate the feedback as well.
 
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