Blogging - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Century Man · 02-18-2009, 09:36 AM

Any blog experts on this forum? I started a blog, after all isn't that what we're supposed to do to increase traffic to our website, now what do I do. I'm not a writer, to say the least, but I will force myself to publish something. I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot while I'm trying to hit the target.
http://fairwd.blogspot.com

AutumnWood Inc. · 02-18-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Century Man

Any blog experts on this forum? I started a blog, after all isn't that what we're supposed to do to increase traffic to our website, now what do I do. I'm not a writer, to say the least, but I will force myself to publish something. I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot while I'm trying to hit the target.
http://fairwd.blogspot.com

I just did the same thing, and I came to the same conclusion..... What am I doing......

**Cole** · 02-18-2009, 10:01 AM

Keyword targeting still applies with a blog. You need people to find it to be successful.

Chris G · 02-18-2009, 10:37 AM

Blogs are good.

Tips? Don't talk about yourself. Really. Don't try to sell yourself or your services. You've got to give info away for free sometimes in order to gain the trust of customers.

Blogs are a source of info. They are not ads. Websites are ads. People form an opinion of you when they read your blog. People hire people they like. Nobody likes people who only talk about themselves.

One of the most sought after opinion-meisters of the blogosphere is Seth Godin. Here are his 57 tips...read them all and use the ones that apply to you.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_b..._get_traf.html

AutumnWood Inc. · 02-18-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris G

Blogs are good.

Tips? Don't talk about yourself. Really. Don't try to sell yourself or your services. You've got to give info away for free sometimes in order to gain the trust of customers.

Blogs are a source of info. They are not ads. Websites are ads. People form an opinion of you when they read your blog. People hire people they like. Nobody likes people who only talk about themselves.

One of the most sought after opinion-meisters of the blogosphere is Seth Godin. Here are his 57 tips...read them all and use the ones that apply to you.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_b..._get_traf.html

Thank's for the link .... I forgot about his blog.... Love his books....

Bryan C · 02-18-2009, 03:10 PM

http://hydroblaster.blogspot.com/

Duane1982 · 02-18-2009, 03:40 PM

I do blogging as an informational source and in hopes that people would ask for an estimate. Since blogging my web traffic has doubled and my site ranks well with google.

SquirrelNmoose · 02-18-2009, 05:10 PM

While this is not an ad but you are still hoping to get customers from, I would recommend a couple of changes.
Build it into your existing site. This way people who want to find out more can easily do so with the click of a menu link.
This way, if it becomes popular, you have control over the domain and content.

You and your company should take credit for your work (on the blog too). This is not an ad, just taking credit for your knowledge and articles.
Something like a profile at the top right would do nicely.
"Articles from the profesionals at Your Company. YourCompanyWebsiteLink"

Grumpy · 02-18-2009, 06:02 PM

I get leads and sales from posting my insight in this very forum. You don't NEED a blog, but it can help. Simply write some informative articles helping your target base do what you want them to do, hire you. Write a short letter about how to hire a contractor, the credentials to look out for. Write about bad experiences you may have had, or some crap materials to hit the market. Write about the things that are on your mind that other people may want to discuss.

Publisher1 · 02-18-2009, 09:06 PM

Once I get a chance to review individual blogs in this thread, I will probably set up free hyperlinks (no reciprocation required). I've blogged for about two years. The google blogspot host may not be the most 'professional' but it is easy to update and maintain.

Does it work? Well, undoubtedly, I can trace several tens of thousands of dollars in business originating from the blog. This is by no means my best revenue source but since I enjoy the blogging activity, it doesn't hurt to see some money arising from the initiative. (Note the revenue does not come directly from advertising on the blog -- that provides only token money -- but from relationships started with blog readers.)

It helps that I'm a writer/journalist by trade so this is my natural space. I can see it being harder to maintain a blog if you aren't into writing. You need to update frequently and focus on the readers' interests. Done right, this results in additions to your lead funnel and a higher level of trust/acceptance of you/your business.

The blog also is helpful for search engine rankings and once my blog reached the higher levels within the relevant keywords, I could measure singificantly increased inquiries and interest.

So if you are interested in blogging, go for it. And if your blog is properly maintained and updated (not just a one-time SEO thing), you'll get a hyperlink for your own SEO aims.

KitchenSync · 02-18-2009, 10:02 PM

Dunno if I'm an "expert", but I've been blogging for about 1-1/2 years. Didn't do it for the business, but found a comfortable niche where publishers come for comments. I have a writing background and like to gab, so it's a dangerous start.

A couple of things I've found:

--pictures are worth...etc., etc. Make sure that they're your own or credit the source. A lot of folks don't.
--if you don't want your pictures shared, make sure you add a note saying so.
--linking to other blogs will raise your traffic.
--write what you like. What interests you? What do you always tell your clients and wish everyone knew? What do you want to show off? What do you want to laugh about?
--keep it professional. You never know who's reading it.
--Have fun. Life's short. (Eh, thought I'd toss that in.)

I'm glad I blog; I've met a lot of great folks out "there".

HomerJ · 02-19-2009, 10:08 PM

I'm being told that blogging can help drive traffic to my web site which is still very much under construction.

I've been working on setting up my blog tonight, so feel free to critique it.

I do have some questions for the experts though. I know SEO can be complicated, but what simple things can I implement right away to help make this blog, and ultimately this website visible to the search engines. Keep in mind that words like meta, and SEO are all new to me since I joined this site.

As of now, I can type in my exact web address in yahoo and neither the site nor the blog come up in the search results. If I'm that specific and yahoo still can't find me, what chance in hell do I have of a customer ever finding me by doing a search?

gocohome.com/blog

gocohome.com

Thanks in advance.

KitchenSync · 02-19-2009, 11:24 PM

I typed in gocohome.com in Google and it came up right away, (funnily enough, 'gocohome' brings up Contractor Talk) so no worries there. I'm not an expert in SEO, but I do know that it took awhile before my blog started showing up anywhere on Google.

I have two blogs, one for my clients and the other for publicity. The client one isn't listed so search engines will find it; I give the link to potential clients during meetings and onsite visits and then check to see if they've followed up by the number of hits the site gets.

Your site looks good and I'm sure someone'll pop in with some good SEO suggestions.

A thought: On your blogroll list, most readers' expectations are that these are other blogs, not websites. Consider adding blogs that complement your own -- perhaps someone with a flooring or stair blog, or a bathroom blog instead of the two websites listed.

The more you give out business cards and pamphlets with your business card AND link to other blogs with solid readerships, the more people will click on the site and the higher it'll rise in the search engines.

SquirrelNmoose · 02-19-2009, 11:24 PM

Quote:

I do have some questions for the experts though. I know SEO can be complicated, but what simple things can I implement right away to help make this blog, and ultimately this website visible to the search engines. Keep in mind that words like meta, and SEO are all new to me since I joined this site.

Looks good so far.
Easiest way to get found, make your link above clickable. Google crawls this site often.

As far as SEO, change Wordpress and get rid of Uncatagorized and make specific catagories.
Also change your permalink structure to custom. This will put the catagory name and post name as part of the URL and make it appear static as Google sees it.
/%category%/%postname%.html

So your current post URL would look something like this.
http://gocohome.com/blog/remodel/hardwood-stairs.html
Instead of current
http://gocohome.com/blog/?p=36

Your content is good for keywords already. You may want to write a little more to add higher density of keywords in your text.
You've worked in words like, Northwest Indiana, hardwood flooring, bathroom remodel , Chesterton, Indiana, granite counterops, slate floors, plumbing. Try to write more in each post and you'll get there quickly.

http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/keyword-density/

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:19 AM

I might not have enough posts here to have my signature clickable.

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:20 AM

how many do i need?

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:21 AM

Am I there yet?

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:21 AM

I thought I saw someone say that 25 was the magic number

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:21 AM

Will this do it?

HomerJ · 02-20-2009, 12:22 AM

I guess not