# Your website



## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

I have tried all the forms of advertising and after years of testing and thousands of wasted advertising dollars I found that having a top position on Google with a website that converts web surfers into leads was the best use of advertising dollars. 

The Google AdWords ads are way too expensive and do not perform like they did a couple of years ago and therefore I have found having a website rank well in the natural results is essential for inexpensive leads. Most of the search traffic goes straight to the organic listings and bypass the ads. Google even admits this. 

I have also spent thousands on web development and unfulfilled Google position promises. The good SEO companies that deliver long lasting results simply charge too much for a small contractor to compete for the big search phrases that get thousands of searches a month. So I started learning about how to do this myself and after months of late nite research and some courses, I got my site ranked on the first page of of Google, Bing, Yahoo, and You Tube for a very competitive search term that gets 2000 searches a month. 

Now the leads are coming in and the best part of it is that they are free. No more PPC for me. I am willing to give some free advice on what I did and how I did it. I originally offered this only to PDCA members but as a contractor I know first hand how frustrating it can be to deal with all the scams out there promising results and then not delivering so I will send this detailed report about specific steps to take and how your current site can be improved to paint talk members. For those interested contact me thru my site below and I will give you some free tips that will help. From the home page on the site click on the "get estimate" link and please make sure to put "paint talk" in the message field.

http://housepaintersseattle.com/


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

jtea858 said:


> I got my site ranked on the first page of of Google, Bing, Yahoo, and You Tube for a very competitive search term that gets 2000 searches a month.http://housepaintersseattle.com/


What's the term?


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## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

*Keyword search phrases.*

I should make it clear I rank on page 1 for more than 1 keyword phrase and have more than one destination site. I also spread out my online marketing efforts that go beyond google SERPS. Having 1 website that ranks for 1 search term may not be enough to get consistent leads.

http://housepaintersseattle.com/


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Southfork said:


> I did yellowbook and yellowbook.com. Didn't receive one phone call from either. A year later the yellowbook salesman calls me up to see if I want to renew my ads. I politely declined.
> 
> You need to be online. You've gotta pop up when information is typed into google. A website doesn't need to be fancy. Just gotta get your info out there. It could be something simple, like a single page. Most of my leads come from online.
> 
> Not really important to go out and spend money on 'online advertising services', just get a website up. It's the Information Super Highway. Gotta get your sign up.


I kinda disagree.Yes you should get your name out there,but a poorly done website ,IMHO,will reflect on the image of the company.
Speaking from personal experience and how most people I know use the internet for goods & services,If i see a 1 page cut & paste Go Daddy site,I'm not buying from you.


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

aaron61 said:


> I kinda disagree.Yes you should get your name out there,but a poorly done website ,IMHO,will reflect on the image of the company.
> Speaking from personal experience and how most people I know use the internet for goods & services,If i see a 1 page cut & paste Go Daddy site,I'm not buying from you.


I kinda disagree, I'm more in favor of what Southfork said. Really does not matter what your site looks like, if you have what I'm looking for then I'm going to contact you. If I see some fancy all dolled up site that it looks like they spent bucks on creating, then I just think that price gets added to what ever I'm looking for. Why I never buy anything I see on tv. 

Pat


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

jtea858 said:


> I should make it clear I rank on page 1 for more than 1 keyword phrase and have more than one destination site. I also spread out my online marketing efforts that go beyond google SERPS. Having 1 website that ranks for 1 search term may not be enough to get consistent leads.
> 
> http://housepaintersseattle.com/


That's very nice :thumbup:

Can you provide some of the term*s* you rank for. Thanks.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

PatsPainting said:


> I kinda disagree, I'm more in favor of what Southfork said. Really does not matter what your site looks like, if you have what I'm looking for then I'm going to contact you. If I see some fancy all dolled up site that it looks like they spent bucks on creating, then I just think that price gets added to what ever I'm looking for. Why I never buy anything I see on tv.
> 
> Pat


So your looking for cheap and are shopping on price? 

I think it shows that they care about their work and are proud of what they offer.

This all goes back to presentation and it starts with your website.

1st impressions are huge! Fancy and dolled up sells better than messy and cheap.

It's one thing if you can't afford it yet but if you won't take the time to spell check and make a clean looking website.Then(in my opinion) you probably work like that as well.

I would also not recommend showing up for an estimate in a beat up truck leaking oil.

Your attitude about a website is the same way a homeowner shopping on price looks at your bid.


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

PatsPainting said:


> I kinda disagree, I'm more in favor of what Southfork said. Really does not matter what your site looks like, if you have what I'm looking for then I'm going to contact you. If I see some fancy all dolled up site that it looks like they spent bucks on creating, then I just think that price gets added to what ever I'm looking for. Why I never buy anything I see on tv.
> 
> Pat


I think it's better to think of "fancy all dolled up" presentations as doing some pre-qualifying for you instead of chasing customers away. The ones that think that "price gets added," are typically (but not always) price shoppers. 

But that depends on one's model. If one is after a particular segment, then focus on $ per service might be better than focus on glamor. Nothing wrong with that. Southwest, walmart, etc have all been doing it very successfully, but one should be absolutely sure that they are the lowest cost producers among their competition for the same perceived services if they want to pursue that model...and being the lowest cost producer gets a bit difficult in this trade, especially with some of the more recent entrants into the field.


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

I dunno, I'm just someone that thinks a higher price and someone that is all tech savvy does not mean a better job. I see it all the time, guys spending 1000's a month in advertising, website stuff, fancy presentation folders bla bla bla, does some of the crappiest work around here. To them its all about getting in the door and not about the work. Their overhead is so freaking high, that they have no choice to cut corners with the actual work.

I would rather ask the guy if I can drive by some of their previous jobs and take it from there. Remember I'm not hiring the guy to build me a web site, or show me how to do sales. I just want a good paint job. Just because your fancy and your site looks like you spent thousands on does nothing for me. Show me your real work. 

Pat


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

PatsPainting said:


> I dunno, I'm just someone that thinks a higher price and someone that is all tech savvy does not mean a better job. I see it all the time, guys spending 1000's a month in advertising, website stuff, fancy presentation folders bla bla bla, does some of the crappiest work around here.
> Their overhead is so freaking high, that they have no choice to cut corners with the actual work.
> 
> I would rather ask the guy if I can drive by some of their previous jobs and take it from there. Remember I'm not hiring the guy to build me a web site, or show me how to do sales. I just want a good paint job. Just because your fancy and your site looks like you spent thousands on does nothing for me. Show me your real work.
> ...


great points:thumbsup:


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

PatsPainting said:


> I dunno, I'm just someone that thinks a higher price and someone that is all tech savvy does not mean a better job. I see it all the time, guys spending 1000's a month in advertising, website stuff, fancy presentation folders bla bla bla, does some of the crappiest work around here. To them its all about getting in the door and not about the work. Their overhead is so freaking high, that they have no choice to cut corners with the actual work.
> 
> I would rather ask the guy if I can drive by some of their previous jobs and take it from there. Remember I'm not hiring the guy to build me a web site, or show me how to do sales. I just want a good paint job. Just because your fancy and your site looks like you spent thousands on does nothing for me. Show me your real work.
> 
> Pat


Well, that should be assumed to begin with.

Of course, a nice presentation and marketing materials don't make for lack of painting skill!


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

PatsPainting said:


> I dunno, I'm just someone that thinks a higher price and someone that is all tech savvy does not mean a better job. I see it all the time, guys spending 1000's a month in advertising, website stuff, fancy presentation folders bla bla bla, does some of the crappiest work around here. To them its all about getting in the door and not about the work. Their overhead is so freaking high, that they have no choice to cut corners with the actual work.
> 
> I would rather ask the guy if I can drive by some of their previous jobs and take it from there. Remember I'm not hiring the guy to build me a web site, or show me how to do sales. I just want a good paint job. Just because your fancy and your site looks like you spent thousands on does nothing for me. Show me your real work.
> 
> Pat


Excellent point. I think a website should reflect your business model, the customer should get to know you thru the website, and when you show up, you (and your presentation) should match what they already know.

I moved these posts from the Yellow Pages thread, jtea858, welcome to the forum, feel free to share more of your thoughts here!


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

jtea858 said:


> I should make it clear I rank on page 1 for more than 1 keyword phrase and have more than one destination site. I also spread out my online marketing efforts that go beyond google SERPS. Having 1 website that ranks for 1 search term may not be enough to get consistent leads.
> 
> http://housepaintersseattle.com/



I just did a search for "Seattle house painter" and you came up on page 2. Remember you have to clear your cache before you do your own searches.

Either way, if you going to give a class I'm all ears 

Pat


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

PatsPainting said:


> Remember you have to clear your cache before you do your own searches.


That's not enough. You have to log out of your account and search in "private mode". 

Searching "seattle painters" yields no ranking for housepaintersseattle.com
on the first five pages. I didn't check further. There's a youtube video with a link to the site that does rank on page 4.

That's why I wanted to know which terms the site did rank for on the first page, as was stated in the OP.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

Im going to agree with having a clean, simple, structured website. I immediately back out of sites like those get the bible on painting sites. The internet already has a million of those for everything under the sun. I hit the back key on anything overly cluttered or too much wording on the main page. Less is more. Provide the essentials. Save the rest for a visit.

My site only costs $50 for the year including the domain registration. Just over $4 a month. I did purchase a template for $20. I use free software to publish to it and a digital camera for photos. Its very cheap and simple, but does take time and effort to come up with something that fits your services and attracts your customer base.


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## jtea858 (Sep 8, 2010)

*SEO Terms*

My new blog site: housepaintersseattle is 3 months old. I built it in wordpress and started on page 4 of the results. Currently ranked# 4 on page 1 for the term "house painters seattle". I got it there in 2 months. The reverse order of cityname then search term will come in a couple more months with some additional link building and google trust. The other term I am ranking for is "seattle painting contractor" With my older site that needs to be rebuilt. http://cypresspainting.com It does not even display correctly in firefox and still brings in leads every month. Once I rebuild this site on the wordpress platform I will move up in the rankings.:thumbup:
It took alot more to get the new blog site ranked that quickly than just stuffing some keywords in the title tag.

Cypress painting is also on page 1 for the term "seattle painters"


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