For those looking to create a simple website to get your business started, you can use the easy-to-publish tools on Blogspot.
Here's an example of a home inventory service business website that uses Blogspot.
Creating a professional website is preferred, but this is a good way to get started if you don't have the time or money for a professional site yet.
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Optimize Your Website
No ... this thread is not about how to improve your web site's performance in a search engine. Instead, I want to talk about optimizing your web site in the minds of the VIEWERS who come to check it out.
This is informal research conducted by visiting www.Google.com and typing in "home inventory service." After visiting more than 100 sites, I have come up with a couple of pointers for making your web site user-friendly.
1. Put your e-mail contact information on every page of your site. Make sure it is particularly prominent on the home page and on the "contact us" page. Also, if you have a "packages" page -- or whatever page your "buy" page is -- make sure it's prominent there too.
2. For those who may not want to contact you by e-mail, make sure your telephone number is also prominent on the pages listed in item number 1.
3. Content and form is more important than style. There are some very pretty web sites out there that are NOT user-friendly. Just when you're convinced and ready to buy, you can't figure out where to go or what the next step is. (See #1 and #2)
4. Organize your information effectively. I love content-rich web sites, but if the viewer doesn't know where to go to buy, you've lost the chance to make a sale. Clearly indicate buttons or links on how to buy your service.
5. Please, please -- don't disparage the majority of your colleagues while you try to make a sale -- or disparage your customers by urging them not to "do it yourself." We need to be careful that the image we are projecting to the public is one of credibility. Cutting down your peers -- our your customers themselves -- through generic "labels" of shoulds/shouldn'ts isn't the way to go.
6. Check often to make sure all your links work. There's nothing worse than clicking and receiving a message that there's been an "error" and that page no longer exists.
Kudos to web sites that responsibly and accurately use credentials, links to professional associations and Chamber of Commerce memberships, and more.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Using Multiple Domain Names With Your Website
Why choose just ONE domain name to represent your business? Domain names are cheap and having more than one allows you to 1) capture more traffic; 2) build your brand; and 3) identify your referral/lead sources better.
I buy my domains from 1&1 (www.1and1.com) for $5.99 each and use their free domain forwarding service to point them to my sites. That way, I can register multiple variations of the business name as well as geographic tags. For example, if the business name is Home Inventory Professionals of Georgia," I might register a couple (for example):
1&1 offers free web statistics tracking for hosting through them, and I get a monthly report of my website traffic, what pages are being visited, and which of my domains people came through, and more. Your web site hosting company might offer something similar.
I buy my domains from 1&1 (www.1and1.com) for $5.99 each and use their free domain forwarding service to point them to my sites. That way, I can register multiple variations of the business name as well as geographic tags. For example, if the business name is Home Inventory Professionals of Georgia," I might register a couple (for example):
- www.HomeInventoryProfessionalsofGeorgia.com
- www.GeorgiaHomeInventory.com
- www.HomeInventory-Georgia.com
- www.hip-georgia.com
1&1 offers free web statistics tracking for hosting through them, and I get a monthly report of my website traffic, what pages are being visited, and which of my domains people came through, and more. Your web site hosting company might offer something similar.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Top Five Potential Web Site Problems
From looking at multiple websites from home inventory service providers throughout the U.S. (and Canada!), I've identified a couple of common issues/problems on some of the websites out there. See if your website has any of these issues:
1. Typos and misspellings. Prospects will wonder how accurate your inventory services will be if there are typos on your website. If you've designed the website yourself, it's easy to overlook these errors after you've looked at your own page hundreds of times. Print out the pages and give them to a friend or family member to review. (Preferably someone who has a good command of grammar -- especially the use of commas and possessives!)
2. Too much text on the home page. Your website is (ideally) organized like a good book, with individual chapters (pages) that provide additional information. You'll increase the "stickiness" of your website if you have multiple subpages instead of several LONG pages of text. Also, remember that a picture is worth a thousand words. Instead of talking about what the inventory report will include, show it! Inventory a room in your own house and put up an Adobe Acrobat PDF of the report. Show pictures of yourself in action. (New to the business? Offer deeply-discounted inventory packages for friends and relatives to build up your portfolio and generate testimonials and referrals. On your "testimonial" page, get photo releases and include real-life photos [instead of stock photo images] on your website. This is a situation when you DON'T want your photos to look "too professional.")
3. Lack of navigation. Following the idea of your website being organized like chapters in a book, you need a well-organized "table of contents" to help your reader (prospective customer) find what they're looking for on your site. Generally, your site will have 5-7 major "sections" (but you may have 2-5 "subsections" under each of those, which can be additional pages that link to the major sections to provide additional detail). Main sections most likely include the five "W"s of journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why -- and How ... especially "how to buy!" Your sections might include: "Why Inventory," "About Us," "FAQs," "Pricing," "Contact Us." Navigation bars should appear on every page of your site (eliminating the need for a "Home" button. Your "Why Inventory" page should be the home page. If you can't answer that question on the home page, you need to fix your site.
Use interactive links (you know, the underlined, colored words that you can click on to go to another page) to get into more detail. An example might be a subpage on what insurance companies require, or what a typical inventory includes, or facts about your specific geographic area and what the most common threats are (crime stats will give you theft information, and your location will determine if hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or mudslides are going to be most prevalent as a concern for homeowners in your area). Subpages should have a button to get you back to the main page you jumped off from.
4. The missing "What's In It For Me" factor. Clients who are ready to buy will be interested in the process of home inventory (what does it involve, how does it work, what do I get), but those who are at the beginning stages of their search need more information. Because this is a farily "new" industry, they need education. The education focuses on the emotional part of the decision-making process. In other words, if I spend $100-$500, *why* is that a good use for my money?
Focus on the benefits: 1) Faster, more complete claims resolution process (getting you "back to normal" faster after a disaster or theft); 2) The security that comes from knowing that you'll get what you're paying for in the insurance settlement. (The idea of the 27" TV versus the plasma TV is a great example that's been used.) 3) In the event of a theft, if your items are recovered by the police, you have a better chance of getting them back (serial numbers and proof of ownership). These are just a few examples. Give them the odds ... i.e., "One in four families will file an insurance claim this year" (I'm just making that number up ...) Make it personal!
5. "Why Choose Us"? I've seen the same text, graphics, wording, and even pricing on multiple websites. Because these are geographically unique businesses (not competing for business with each other), that's not necessarily a BIG problem, but if there are other service providers in the market, you need competitive differentiation. In other words: Why they should choose YOU! You can focus on many different angles: Years of experience (if applicable), particularly relevant background (in law enforcement, insurance administration or claims adjustment, etc.), community ties (knowledge of the local market), etc. Find the thing that sets you apart and make sure you highlight it.
For an example of a web site that "gets it" (and no, I have no affiliation with this business), visit Taking Stock Residential Inventory Service. This web site is clean, well-designed, well-organized, and easy to navigate. It also has great "publicity features" on the home page.
1. Typos and misspellings. Prospects will wonder how accurate your inventory services will be if there are typos on your website. If you've designed the website yourself, it's easy to overlook these errors after you've looked at your own page hundreds of times. Print out the pages and give them to a friend or family member to review. (Preferably someone who has a good command of grammar -- especially the use of commas and possessives!)
2. Too much text on the home page. Your website is (ideally) organized like a good book, with individual chapters (pages) that provide additional information. You'll increase the "stickiness" of your website if you have multiple subpages instead of several LONG pages of text. Also, remember that a picture is worth a thousand words. Instead of talking about what the inventory report will include, show it! Inventory a room in your own house and put up an Adobe Acrobat PDF of the report. Show pictures of yourself in action. (New to the business? Offer deeply-discounted inventory packages for friends and relatives to build up your portfolio and generate testimonials and referrals. On your "testimonial" page, get photo releases and include real-life photos [instead of stock photo images] on your website. This is a situation when you DON'T want your photos to look "too professional.")
3. Lack of navigation. Following the idea of your website being organized like chapters in a book, you need a well-organized "table of contents" to help your reader (prospective customer) find what they're looking for on your site. Generally, your site will have 5-7 major "sections" (but you may have 2-5 "subsections" under each of those, which can be additional pages that link to the major sections to provide additional detail). Main sections most likely include the five "W"s of journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why -- and How ... especially "how to buy!" Your sections might include: "Why Inventory," "About Us," "FAQs," "Pricing," "Contact Us." Navigation bars should appear on every page of your site (eliminating the need for a "Home" button. Your "Why Inventory" page should be the home page. If you can't answer that question on the home page, you need to fix your site.
Use interactive links (you know, the underlined, colored words that you can click on to go to another page) to get into more detail. An example might be a subpage on what insurance companies require, or what a typical inventory includes, or facts about your specific geographic area and what the most common threats are (crime stats will give you theft information, and your location will determine if hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or mudslides are going to be most prevalent as a concern for homeowners in your area). Subpages should have a button to get you back to the main page you jumped off from.
4. The missing "What's In It For Me" factor. Clients who are ready to buy will be interested in the process of home inventory (what does it involve, how does it work, what do I get), but those who are at the beginning stages of their search need more information. Because this is a farily "new" industry, they need education. The education focuses on the emotional part of the decision-making process. In other words, if I spend $100-$500, *why* is that a good use for my money?
Focus on the benefits: 1) Faster, more complete claims resolution process (getting you "back to normal" faster after a disaster or theft); 2) The security that comes from knowing that you'll get what you're paying for in the insurance settlement. (The idea of the 27" TV versus the plasma TV is a great example that's been used.) 3) In the event of a theft, if your items are recovered by the police, you have a better chance of getting them back (serial numbers and proof of ownership). These are just a few examples. Give them the odds ... i.e., "One in four families will file an insurance claim this year" (I'm just making that number up ...) Make it personal!
5. "Why Choose Us"? I've seen the same text, graphics, wording, and even pricing on multiple websites. Because these are geographically unique businesses (not competing for business with each other), that's not necessarily a BIG problem, but if there are other service providers in the market, you need competitive differentiation. In other words: Why they should choose YOU! You can focus on many different angles: Years of experience (if applicable), particularly relevant background (in law enforcement, insurance administration or claims adjustment, etc.), community ties (knowledge of the local market), etc. Find the thing that sets you apart and make sure you highlight it.
For an example of a web site that "gets it" (and no, I have no affiliation with this business), visit Taking Stock Residential Inventory Service. This web site is clean, well-designed, well-organized, and easy to navigate. It also has great "publicity features" on the home page.
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