Does Your Contracting Company Blog?

Chuck Shomo

Our Raleigh, NC contracting company has been blogging for a few weeks now.

We mostly write about water damage restoration and siding repairs in the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill Triangle.

There are a number of reasons to blog, SEO, Value, Transparency, Trust, etc.

I think the best reason is to create value for your community by providing quality information on localized topics.

So do you blog regularly? We started the Raleigh Contractors Blog It is a work in progress of course.

Please reply with a link to your blog or any thoughts you have on the subject.

lostbro1

We blog on all our sites, I agree with everything you said about the reasons you should blog. I would only elaborate and add to the "trust" - could not agree more with this. When you blog with your business you have to become the expert and give away the industry "secrets", show them exactly how your going to install that fence, remodel their home, the process of adding landscaping or building their house from the ground up. As a small business owner its been hard to continually blog but I can't tell you enough the amount of #1 traffic you are going to get and #2 the amount of converted visitors that will increase your ROI with internet marketing. It will build trust and keep them coming back for more.

Publisher1

Blogging certainly is effective and worthwhile if you are patient, consistent, and write stuff of genuine interest to your readers.
Earlier this week, for example, Bob Kruhm (of our organization) who publishes http://www.northcarolinaconstructionnews.blogspot.com, received the Google 'splog' notification. This happens when the blog attracts enough back-links that Google 'senses' there may be an artificial attempt to boost rankings, so you need to confirm a request for a 'human' inspection. Once my own blog passed this test, its ranking skyrocketed and now has first spot on relevant keywords.
So does this help business? Sure. We've traced cash orders and sales and you will likely get some business going forward. But I'm concerned about whether your blog is structured right to achieve these results.
1. I sense there is a lack of transparency. I can't tell who you are from your blog. You need to be 'there' and not hidden behind a secret identity (unless of course you are for example a political insider or might lose your job because of blogging, but in that situation, you aren't writing the blog to market your business!
2. Generosity of spirit and information are really important. At the beginning, I decided to grant relevant backlinks to "construction marketing" blogs. Yours qualifies, so you'll be on the list. (No reciprocation expected.) Regardless of whether I expect anything in return, it happens.
3. Be prepared to consistently maintain your blog for eight months to one year before it really pays off. This is not a quick fix or marketing solution,.

nEighter

after seeing Silvertree's blog I am going to set one up this weekend. Is wordpress a free service? I am not "webSITE" savvy. Hope to have a website up in a couple of weeks if all goes well. Great topic!

Magic Hammer

Yes, WordPress is free and a lot of website masters like it.
Good Luck!

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Skye Builders, inc.
Decks,Sunrooms,Windows and Siding
www.skyebuilders.com

silvertree

Let me add, its a lot of work. I shoot for one article a week and have my own style which is less professional but informative none the less.
I have found that I will be writing shorter but more remodel relevant articles with a touch of humor. This is a slippery slope as some people will think your not professional enough, that's OK with me.
I want to become the "FUN" blog guy.

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Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

MattCoops

I thought as contractors we had to be good at informing the customer, scheduling work, and doing a good job.

Now we have to be journalists too?

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
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KennMacMoragh

Can someone give a link to an example of a blog on a company website? I have a hard time seeing how that would fit for some reason.

karunnt

http://www.coolflatroof.com/flat-roofing-blog/
http://www.rooflife-oregon.com/roof-life-blog/

Reasons:
Blogs tend to in spidered more frequently
There are directories where you can list your blog (ie http://technorati.com/)
Other blogger can link to you postings
You can link to relevant web pages on your site
Become a news source and keep oher informed.

I know a RE agent that compiles housing data only available to agents, create a daily statistics table and published it on his blog. That is the only place to get it for the general public.

Martin Co

here's mine:

Home improvement articles & resources

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silvertree

On my website click on articles, and that's my website blog.
Among other things I use it for SEO

__________________
Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

Bryan C

http://hydroblaster.blogspot.com/

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Bryan Corns
Owner, Hydroblast Pressure Cleaning Inc.
Indianapolis Power Washing Contractor
YouTube Video

KennMacMoragh

Thanks, I see how it works now.

carolinahandyma

here's my blog

http://housefixerdotinfo.wordpress.com/

Taylordhome

Mine is http://www.taylordhome.com

tin man

I would recommend setting up blog as a sub domain of your main web site. Wordpress or Blogger can take you down at any time they wish . For SEO sub domain best way to go. We use a wordpress theme platform for our main web site on our own domain not word press, it is very easy to up date on your own, saves a lot of money. There are many plug ins for wordpress that help for SEO.
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Replacement Windows Boston

MagicPoolSvcs

I run the blog for our company - www.magicpoolservices.com/blog.


It is a lot of work, and I am trying to get caught up.

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Mike Finley

NIce snake in the pool vid!

Jason Whipple

It's just a page on your site that is filled with your articles and information you want to share with you prospective customers.

Curious why you feel that wouldn't fit.

ADD: Sorry, I didn't see your next post. I got all froze up when I saw the first one.

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Jason E Whipple, General Manager
Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
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