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Examples of a GREAT small service business website

Marketing, social media, advertising

GoodluckChuck

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Can you share a link to a small service business website you think is GREAT?

Many of you guys on this forum design websites for small businesses. No doubt some of your best clients are or will be small construction companies. If you are basing the prices you charge off of the value you can contribute, you can make great money. Going off of what @Fox explains in his post:

GOLD - How to Learn Code, Start a Web Company, $15k+ per month within 9 months

you can reasonably charge a fraction of what the company will make from one or two sales. Since a small construction company can easily make 50k+ from one good sale, a website could easily be worth 5k!

In this industry, especially in residential remodeling, the industry is fragmented and, as a whole, pretty bad at marketing. Most new clients come from referrals. Because of this, the question I have is:
What should a small construction company's website focus on?

As someone in the industry I would say:
  • Experience
  • The quality of the work we do
  • The trustworthiness of the company
But from what I have learned so far on this forum and other reading is that perhaps a website should focus on consumer benefits more than company description. It's an extra challenge in this industry because the typical consumer has no idea what goes into actual construction, and due to HGTV shows, they typically think remodeling is as easy as it looks on Flip or Flop.... Because these purchases are usually cost a ton of money the consumer really wants to make an informed decision.

From a website developer/marketer's point of view, what should the website focus on?

What sets a good website apart from the millions of bad ones out there? Is short and sweet the way to go? Or, is a blog type approach better? There are so many examples out there but I haven't found anything that sticks out as GREAT! Do you have any examples you can share that you think are great? Perhaps a website you designed?

@Andy Black would probably recommend using Adwords to guide people to your website or landing page. Should a landing page focus more on selling the business or vetting prospective clients?

If some of you with experience in making successful small business websites can share some insights that would be great! Let's discuss what makes a website good or what makes it suck!

If you have any questions for me I would be more than happy to answer them. I have been a contractor for over a decade and have been immersed in this world even longer. I can answer questions in regards to the perspective of small business owners and general construction industry mentalities. I think like a contractor, not like a web disgner/marketer, but I'm trying to learn!
While you help me to better understand what makes a great small business website perhaps I can help you understand the way your clients think.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this post. I look forward to reading your responses!
 
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Greg R

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Very coincidental that I stumbled upon this thread.

I just finished creating my local construction website and I did learn a few things.

  1. Use long scroll landing page, with a very attractive "above the fold" listing services.
  2. Keep copy simple and concise. Be sure to answer a potential client's questions before they even have to scroll down or click something.
  3. Two call to actions in top right corner: #1 "Call Us" and #2 "Request Quote" or something similar.The "Call Us" button should link to a phone number, the "Request Quote" should lead to a contact form at the bottom of the page.
  4. Use high quality videos and photos to show case your service... They should be sold on you before they even call.
  5. Keep it simple and do not give the potential customer to many other actions to do on your site, but "Call Us" or "Request Quote."
  6. Research competitors and make your site exponentially more appealing. This is not hard to do because most contractors websites look like they are from the 1990's.
If I can think of any more, I will list them.

Thanks.

EDIT:
  • Mobile friendliness is obvious
  • I have use Wordpress and Wix, and I like Wix better for this specific purpose. Wix is better for businesses, Wordpress is better for blogs (sorry die hard Wordpress users).
 
Last edited:

Fox

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What should a small construction company's website focus on?

Depends. There is no one fit answer but the general rule would be - whatever gets the results they want. For some builders it might be to back up offline marketing, others might be looking to boost profile, others might be actively using online as a main marketing strategy which will change things again.

In general though...

The first main thing I would focus on is experience. Showing they are qualified, experienced and capable. This means showing accreditation, past projects and lots of social proof. Using real picture, with real projects is going to get you x10 results.

Next up is screening. Focus on the areas that are most profitable and in demand for that particular company. Make sure the visitor to the site can quickly tell the main areas of expertise and what this particular company excels in. Many sites give equal focus to all areas of a business while one area brings in 80% of revenue. Without alienating others areas its best to focus on your strengths and improve on what is already working. By the time people call they should already be somewhat pre-sold and the conversation will be more about details then creating interest. Basically only target the customers that you really want in the first place (this will depend on business size, focus and experience).

Creating Interest, not educating. This is a common small business mistake - the site starts listing off technical info and trying to inform people about the fine details of the product they offer. The focus should be on showing results and letting them know that this is the company they want to work with. People don't buy a process, they buy a result.

Those are just 3 quick points that give an overall approach.

I am pitching a larger construction company at the moment that does around 30 million revenue a year.
It is a great niche and construction companies are usually great people to work with.
 

GoodluckChuck

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Very coincidental that I stumbled upon this thread.

I just finished creating my local construction website and I did learn a few things.

  1. Use long scroll landing page, with a very attractive "above the fold" listing services.
  2. Keep copy simple and concise. Be sure to answer a potential client's questions before they even have to scroll down or click something.
  3. Two call to actions in top right corner: #1 "Call Us" and #2 "Request Quote" or something similar.The "Call Us" button should link to a phone number, the "Request Quote" should lead to a contact form at the bottom of the page.
  4. Use high quality videos and photos to show case your service... They should be sold on you before they even call.
  5. Keep it simple and do not give the potential customer to many other actions to do on your site, but "Call Us" or "Request Quote."
  6. Research competitors and make your site exponentially more appealing. This is not hard to do because most contractors websites look like they are from the 1990's.
If I can think of any more, I will list them.

Thanks.

EDIT:
  • Mobile friendliness is obvious
  • I have use Wordpress and Wix, and I like Wix better for this specific purpose. Wix is better for businesses, Wordpress is better for blogs (sorry die hard Wordpress users).

Thanks Greg! I was definitely thinking about you when I posted this. I have been following your progress post about buying a construction business. I understand you are finally getting the deal closed. Congratulations!

I appreciate the thoughtful answer you gave. I have decided to go a similar direction in the new site I am building. Using a long landing page with sections for each topic I would like to address and using clear calls to actions scattered around information aimed at addressing the main concerns prospective clients will have.

The part I'm dealing with now is deciding how to target ideal customers without alienating the rest of them. At this point I am thinking I will have a generic main web page aimed at pre-answering questions/listing clear benefits and seeking leads while having other landing pages linked to Adwords campaigns for the various niche markets we are aiming for.

Have you found a way to clearly distinguish yourself from your competition? This part has been a challenge for me so far. Obviously we have a high quality product, trustworthy staff, and competitive prices, but that is literally what everyone says. Without getting to specific about process I wonder what a good way is to distinguish ourselves.

Thanks again for the great answer. I look forward to reading more about your progress as it's published!
 
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Greg R

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"I" would create a new (but similar) landing page for each customer type ,especially if you are doing Adwords or spending money on any other advertising medium. I am not the expert here so take or leave that advice.

On distinguishing yourself:
  • Proof is in the pudding- High quality photos and vids, testimonials, etc... Show rather than tell.
  • I'd have some sort of review program at the end of the service like "rate us on Google or Yelp and get X% off". Many companies do not have more than 3 reviews and this will help get you more social proof.
  • Make it so damn easy for them to find the information that they are looking fo

Thanks Greg! I was definitely thinking about you when I posted this. I have been following your progress post about buying a construction business. I understand you are finally getting the deal closed. Congratulations!

I appreciate the thoughtful answer you gave. I have decided to go a similar direction in the new site I am building. Using a long landing page with sections for each topic I would like to address and using clear calls to actions scattered around information aimed at addressing the main concerns prospective clients will have.

The part I'm dealing with now is deciding how to target ideal customers without alienating the rest of them. At this point I am thinking I will have a generic main web page aimed at pre-answering questions/listing clear benefits and seeking leads while having other landing pages linked to Adwords campaigns for the various niche markets we are aiming for.

Have you found a way to clearly distinguish yourself from your competition? This part has been a challenge for me so far. Obviously we have a high quality product, trustworthy staff, and competitive prices, but that is literally what everyone says. Without getting to specific about process I wonder what a good way is to distinguish ourselves.

Thanks again for the great answer. I look forward to reading more about your progress as it's published!
 

Greg R

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I don't mean to be a string commentator on this thread, but the thoughts keep coming to me.

There is a wedding photographer that I know who does "wedding trailers" which is about as long as a T.V. commercial and it pretty much summarizes the entire wedding.

I want to do the same thing for my construction website. I will take this guy out with us for the day and he can film all of the work and cut into a website commercial. He can also take high quality photos while he is out with us which will also be useful for the site.
 

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