The Website Took A Loooong Time To Finish… But It Was Worth The Wait!
The Website Took A Loooong Time To Finish… But It Was Worth The Wait!
Here’s A Good Example Of A Website That Looks Great, Oozes With Identity, And Makes Prospects Absolutely FALL IN LOVE.
By Rich Harshaw
Note: This article is part of Monopolize Your Marketplace’s ongoing “Client Success” series. All of the information is real and current; please respect the privacy of the companies mentioned; they don’t want to be overwhelmed with questions and comments.
Normally, I like to get things done fast. Really fast.
I met my wife in mid-October, 1992; we were engaged on January 7th, 1993, and married on May 1st that same year. You read that right: five and a half months from “met to married.”
Then my first son was born fifty-one weeks later.
I can buy a suit in fifteen minutes. One-click shopping from Amazon with free two-day shipping is my best friend. I lease my cars because all I have to do is call my leasing guy on the phone, tell him what I want, and he delivers the vehicle to my house two days later and only requires four minutes to sign all the paperwork.
I just don’t like to mess around.
So when we launched a website for New York contractor Upscale Remodeling earlier this month—nearly three years after starting the project—you might be surprised to know that instead of anxious and antsy, I was feeling calm, cool, and collected.
Read More
It’s Your Job To Help Your Website Visitors Make It Over The 3 Critical Hurdles.
Web Searchers—Your Prospects—Are Subconsciously Making Split-Second Decisions That Will Make Or Break The Success Of A Contractor’s Website.
Okay, so maybe you won’t actually DIE.
But you could lose website visitors that SHOULD be buying from you—which is totally unnecessary.
When somebody lands on your home improvement website, their subconscious brain goes into hyper-efficient mode to quickly make split-second decisions about whether or not to continue looking at your site. My totally unscientific research shows that there are THREE major hurdles you’ve got to help prospects clear if you want them to truly engage with your website and actively consider doing business with you.
Without further ado, here are the three hurdles:
Read More
Nobody Wants To Talk To The Cheesy, Chain-Wearing Poser At The Bar.
If You Use A Stupid Pickup Line In Real Life, You’ll Get Slapped.
If You Use A Stupid Pickup Line On Your Home Improvement Website, You’ll Go Broke.
Written by Rich Harshaw
Note: This article is part of Monopolize Your Marketplace’s ongoing “Don’t Do This” series. Sometimes it’s just as helpful to know what to avoid as it is to know what to do..
A few months ago I wrote about a contractor who paid $17,000 to create a new website and for remodeling-specific SEO services… only to find out that they actually received FEWER leads with their new site than they did with their old one. When I reviewed the new site, it was immediately evident what the problem was:
Cheesy pickup lines.
Yep—the online equivalent of walking up to an attractive woman at a bar and saying, “Hey baby, my apartment’s right around the corner. Wanna come check it out?”
Online, the cheesy pickup lines sound more like “Get A Price.” And “Easy Payments.” And “Visit Our Showroom.”
I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t offer prices, low payments, and showroom visits. I’m suggesting that if these are the very FIRST things you offer, then you’ll be treated like a dude with a hairy chest, cheesy mustache, and gold chains at the bar. A pariah.
Read More
