Category: SEM

Business Website, digital marketing, Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Lead Management, online marketing, SEM, SEO

The Evolution of Social Media Marketing for Lead Generation and 99 Calls’ Journey

Diane Lovine

by Diane Lovine

Social media marketing has witnessed significant growth and transformation over the past two decades, revolutionizing the way businesses promote their products and services. Among the pioneers in leveraging social media to generate leads for contractors is 99 Calls. By following industry changes and adopting current trends, 99 Calls has continuously improved its strategies to deliver exceptional results for its customers. This article explores the history of social media marketing and highlights how 99 Calls utilizes this powerful tool to generate high-quality leads.

Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of online marketing that utilizes social media platforms to promote products, services, and brands. It involves creating and sharing content, engaging with users, and running targeted advertising campaigns on various platforms. The definition of social media marketing has changed over time alongside advancements in technology and the shift toward information gathering and consumption via online platforms. The team at 99 Calls has had to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the industry and has adopted these six core ideas that define what it means to deliver social media marketing services.

The main ideas that define SMM include:

  1. Content creation: Social media marketers strive to create engaging and valuable content, such as text, images, videos, and infographics, for the purpose of promoting their clients.
  2. Audience targeting: SMM requires that marketers identify and target specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and locations to reach the right audience with their campaigns.
  3. Brand building: SMM helps in building and enhancing brand awareness, brand identity, and customer loyalty by consistently sharing content that reflects the brand’s values and resonates with its target audience.
  4. Engagement and community management: SMM involves actively engaging with users by responding to comments, messages, and reviews, as well as fostering a sense of community through discussions and presenting helpful information.
  5. Advertising and promotion: Social media platforms offer robust advertising features that enable marketers to create targeted ad campaigns to reach a wider audience and drive specific actions, such as website visits, conversions, or app installations.
  6. Data analysis and optimization: SMM relies on analyzing social media metrics and user data to measure the effectiveness of campaigns, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions for optimizing future marketing strategies. 

The Emergence of Social Platforms

The use of social media marketing dates back to the early 2000s when social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace gained popularity. However, it truly gained momentum with the emergence of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the mid-2000s. These platforms offered businesses the opportunity to engage with a vast user base and leverage their growing influence.

Initially, social media marketing primarily revolved around building brand awareness and increasing followers. However, as social media platforms evolved and introduced advertising options, marketers started incorporating targeted advertising into their strategies. Platforms like Facebook introduced advanced targeting capabilities, enabling marketers to reach specific demographics and interests.

Over the years, the role of social media marketing has expanded. It has become an integral part of many businesses’ marketing strategies, with increased emphasis on content creation, influencer marketing, and customer engagement. Social media has also become a customer service channel, allowing businesses to provide support and address customer queries directly.

Is Social Media Marketing An Effective Tool for Service Area Businesses?

As a champion of small business promotion, 99 Calls has followed the trends and assisted contractors by building an online presence through various social media platforms. However, we differ in that the core driver of business growth is the generation of quality leads. Small businesses often have limited budgets. Understanding how to best utilize budgets to gain customers and revenue has been a priority as we’ve served this unique sector. 

When budget matters, paying attention to the efforts that most result in revenue growth is critical. See this article to learn more. Analysis of data gathered from lead campaigns from over 1000 clients has yielded valuable insights on the role social media plays in best positioning a business for growth. 

Service Contractors Benefit Specifically from:

  1. Establishing a presence using reliable SEO practices and unique content
  2. Building a helpful place for users to land (Simple, attractive, compelling landing pages)
  3. Engaging users with useful information and strong calls to action
  4. Building buyer confidence by securing lots of positive customer reviews

With these pillars in place, the next most important step is to find customers where they are and convince them that this business is the one they want. Social media marketing is often about the long game. We all have brands that we follow, whether for a favorite coffee or a favorite beer. Small businesses can build a local following in the same way over the years if they consistently follow the six main ideas listed above. However, real growth requires maximizing views, aka impressions. 

SEO has become so competitive that it takes 10-12 months for websites to rank consistently on the first page of Google for valued keywords. See this article on how the first page of Google has shrunk in recent years.

The most effective use of digital marketing for service contractors is through paid advertising. Paid advertising is the best chance we’ve got to get contractors in front of buyers, and yes, posting on Facebook is helpful, and buying paid ads on FB has been shown to generate some qualified leads. However, we have found that the two most profitable paid lead products are Google Ads PPC and Google Guaranteed LSA. Google Ads pay-per-click leads tend to be more expensive, but they generate the highest lead volume in the least amount of time. Google Guaranteed requires a more extensive vetting process and time to ramp up, but patient contractors are rewarded with high-quality, less expensive leads. Many of our customers choose to target new businesses using the “Trifecta” approach, which combines traditional SEO practices with Google Ads and Google LSA.

What Lies Ahead for Social Media Marketing?

Looking ahead, social media marketing is likely to see rapid changes and further advancement. Here are some trends and changes that can be expected in the coming months and years:

  1. Rise of video content: Video content has become increasingly popular on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Brands are likely to leverage short-form video content to engage with their audiences and showcase their products or services.
  2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots: AI-powered chatbots will play a much more significant role in social media. We’ll see more responsive AI-generated customer service and engagement practices to provide personalized experiences. 
  3. Lead Nurturing and Database Reactivation: Generating inbound leads is vital to a business’s success. Equally important is collecting data from contacts who visited a landing page but chose not to buy on the spot. The use of targeted text and email campaigns is proven to convert stale leads into new customers at a fraction of the cost. 

To stay ahead of the curve and deliver optimal results, 99 Calls has consistently adapted to industry changes and embraced current trends. As the social media landscape continues to evolve, 99 Calls remains at the forefront of the latest trends. They understand the power of great content, the growing influence of AI, and the importance of maintaining a strong social media presence. By embracing emerging technologies like AI and chatbots, our team has been able to create higher volumes of relevant content to keep our service contractors at the forefront of searches.

Business Website, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Lead Management, SEM

How to Respond to Online Reviews: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

kristen99calls

by Eric Lovine

When deciding which company to contact, potential customers will almost certainly check your ratings and reviews on Google. When they see that your business consistently replies to reviews, you are one step closer to that next lead. When you are attentive to reviews, both good and bad, it shows potential customers that they can trust you.

The Good

Responding to positive reviews is easy. When a satisfied customer leaves a nice message about what you did well or even just a 5-star rating, your response should have the two As: acknowledgment and appreciation. Acknowledge them by using their name and show appreciation by thanking them for their review. The simple inclusion of their name gives the response a personal touch.

“Thanks for leaving a review” vs. “Hey John, thanks for leaving a review”

When a customer takes the time to leave a longer message by detailing what service you provided, commenting on your friendliness, or noting the speed and quality of the job, your response should also have a little more. Let them know that you’re happy to hear they’re happy and that you look forward to working with them again in the future. 

“Hey John, thanks for leaving a review. We’re glad to hear that you’re happy with our exterior painting services. We look forward to helping out with your future projects.”

You can also like a review by clicking the thumbs-up icon underneath. When reviews have lots of “likes”, they tend to rank higher.

The Bad

While negative reviews may seem daunting, they present an opportunity to show potential clients your commitment to customer satisfaction, as well as fixing the relationship with the disgruntled reviewer. By engaging with dissatisfied customers, you have a chance to turn their negative experience into a positive one. Studies have shown that customers who have their issues resolved are more likely to continue doing business with the company.

It’s crucial to maintain a professional tone when responding to negative reviews, regardless of how unfair or exaggerated they may be. Avoid getting defensive or engaging in arguments. Instead, acknowledge the customer’s concerns and assure them that their feedback is taken seriously.

While it may not be possible to please every customer, make an effort to address their concerns and find a solution. Apologize for any inconvenience caused and offer a resolution, such as a refund, replacement, or the opportunity to discuss the matter further offline. The sooner you are able to respond to the review, the more likely you are to reach a resolution.

Once the issue has been successfully resolved, it is often appropriate to ask the customer if they might consider editing or removing their negative review. 

The Ugly

Despite your best efforts, there may be instances where it’s impossible to satisfy certain customers. No matter what you say or do, the customer won’t be coming back. It is still important to respond professionally — negative reviews (and therefore your response) will be seen by others. 

Occasionally, a customer may grossly exaggerate or fabricate information that could turn others away from your business. In these instances, you may need to clarify misunderstandings or explain your side of the story. Clearly and politely present the facts, without getting into a back-and-forth argument with the reviewer.

“John, we are sorry we could not come to an agreement regarding the incomplete painting job. Our company strives to finish projects in a timely manner, and we were unable to deliver on this occasion. However, your review is not accurate. You claim we made no effort to make amends. We made multiple attempts to contact you and even offered a discounted rate for the entire project, which you refused.”

Takeaways

By responding to Google reviews, you are leaving potential new customers with a positive first impression. Engaging with positive reviews increases the likelihood that a satisfied customer comes back. With negative reviews, you can learn from your mistakes and potentially salvage the relationship with an unhappy customer. And for those customers who are gone for good, you can protect your image by offering perspective on damaging and misleading reviews. 

99 Calls helps businesses gain positive reviews and improve their online reputations.

Carpet Cleaning Lead Generation
Appliance Repair Leads, Business Website, digital marketing, Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Lead Management, Nurturing, Online Appointment Booking, online marketing, online marketing costs, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads

2023 Digital Marketing Trends

Diane Lovine

Newest Practices that Accelerate Business Growth

by Devon Osborne

Adopting digital marketing trends has become increasingly critical as consumers utilize the internet more and more. Digital marketing encompasses many different strategies for lead generation from SEO and PPC to content marketing and email marketing campaigns. Utilizing different aspects of digital marketing together allows you to connect and communicate with your potential clients throughout all stages of the sales funnel. In 2023, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), video content, lead nurturing, pay-per-click (PPC) and pay-per-lead (PPL) are all fundamental pieces of digital marketing.

SEO Is Still At the Core

The aspects of digital marketing intertwine and work with each other. Take SEO as an example. Gone are the days when you could create a website and listings with minimal content and start seeing results in a matter of weeks. Now, in order to see your website ranking organically, creating quality content is crucial. 

Social Media Marketing Builds Brands

Social media marketing is often used to build brands and does generate leads for businesses with a strong visual aspect or a longer sales cycle. Over 80% of adults use social media in one capacity or another which makes social selling another excellent way to connect with prospective customers. Social media is prime real estate for building brand awareness. You can connect with more potential leads just by keeping your business’s social media updated.

If Pictures Say 1000 Words, Videos Speak Volumes!

One of the most effective and popular methods of digital marketing is videos. Why say everything you want to in text form when there are so many more effective options? Videos are an excellent way to connect with your potential customers and inform them about your business and the services you provide. Some of the most popular video types include explainer videos, video testimonials, and “behind-the-scenes” videos. Each of these videos has its way of engaging potential customers and showing off more of your company for a more personalized feel.

Start Nurturing From The Moment of Contact

Missed calls will hurt you. If you’re not answering your phone when it rings, your potential customers will move on to the next business on the page. With advances in digital marketing, you can engage those customers instantly. Some businesses are sending instant texts when they miss a call. Some send an audio message to their callers. From here, businesses can craft a nurturing campaign to keep potentials engaged and stay on their minds. You’ll want to be careful to find a “just right” frequency of contact. If you’re annoying, customers will opt out.

Nurturing Builds Relationships

Email nurturing is one of the biggest trends in marketing. Meeting potential customers where they are in the buying stage and keeping up with them along their journey is an economical and productive way to grow a business. You want to keep your business at the forefront of potential buyers’ minds. This is accomplished through short-term nurturing. The prospect may already know what they need or they may still be weighing their options. Either way, sending them informative, targeted emails will help guide them further in the process. Sometimes it takes longer than a few weeks for they’re ready to take action and commit which is why having a long-term nurture sequence is also essential. Long-term nurturing allows you to keep in contact with potential customers and to continue building relationships with them. 

PPC/PPL Has Become Essential

With SEO competition higher than ever, securing a spot on the first page of search results is difficult for even the most experienced marketers. You know the saying “Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket”? This applies to online marketing as well. SEO alone is no longer the most substantial option for generating a steady flow of leads each month. The organic real estate on the first page of Google has shrunk over the last several years making pay-per-click and/or pay-per-lead marketing a much-needed, additional method for lead generation. 

How Will You Utilize Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing has become an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy in 2023. By utilizing SEO, SMM, video content, lead nurturing, PPC, and PPL, businesses can effectively reach their target audience and build relationships with potential customers. The future of digital marketing is bright and businesses should strive to stay ahead of the curve by utilizing the latest trends. Not sure where to begin? Call the lead gen pros at 99Calls!

Business Website, Carpet Cleaning Leads, cleaning business leads, Commercial Cleaning Leads, digital marketing, Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, online marketing costs, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, Roofing Advertising, Roofing Leads, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads

Optimizing Websites for Voice Search

Diane Lovine

by Diane Lovine

How to Rank on “Alexa” and “Hey, Google” Searches

We’re all looking for an advantage, a way to stand out, get noticed and get more leads. You may be surprised to know that the best practices for ranking on a desktop search are the very same that will get you ranked for voice search. This is the newest angle that telemarketers are using to convince businesses that if they don’t suddenly hire them to optimize their website for voice search, they will be left behind. 

Here’s the thing. We have been writing about voice search since 2019 and the strategies have not changed, but have become more understood. What’s more, if you are using best practices for ranking a website on the first page of Google, you are already optimized for voice search. Why? Because typing a query on your phone, iPad or computer is almost the SAME THING as speaking your query to Alexa, Google, or Siri. 

Example: You are having a dinner party this weekend and you just spilled red wine on your dining room carpet. What is your first action? Try to clean it up yourself. If that fails, you’ll go to your device and type or speak “Carpet cleaner near me” or “Carpet cleaning company in (your town)” or “spot removal contractor”. A well-positioned carpet cleaning company is going to come up in a search, regardless of whether you typed or spoke the keywords. And your query is the keywords. 

Companies try to make this concept sound complicated, but it really isn’t. I’ll do this experiment now, live and share my results: 

First, I’ll engage Siri. Speaking, “Carpet cleaner near me”, prompts Siri to produce the following suggestions on Apple Maps:

I personally prefer to use Chrome, even on my mobile phone. When I open the Chrome browser on my iPhone speak, “Carpet cleaner near me”. Here are Siri’s suggestions: 

From the suggestions offered on my iPhone above, I will click the top entry, “carpet cleaner near me”. Here is what comes up. I have placed the long thread side by side below: 

With the long screenshot placed side by side, you can see the way the page rolls. Above the images, I was first shown images of carpet cleaning machines. But Google recognized my intent (finding a contractor to remove the wine stain from my carpet) and made suggestions.

Looking at the results, you will first notice the two Google Guaranteed paid search results. Also known as LSA (Local Search Ads), Google Guaranteed services are offered by 99 Calls and are probably the most cost-effective paid ads available, as long as a business can pass the rigorous verification process.

Next, you’ll see the maps section, including a sponsored map placement in the top spot. Next on the page are the organic results (this is the section that requires great SEO practices to be found).  There are a couple of local carpet cleaning businesses found in this section as well as some directory entries like Angie’s and Yelp.

Now what if my search was done on my phone without asking Siri? What if I simply type the same keywords into my Chrome browser? Here are the results that come up:

Look familiar? It should! Yes, try this at home. You will find that voice search and typing your search into a browser will yield the same results. Paid ads will be found the same, whether the business is using Google Guaranteed or Google Ads.

Now I’ll conduct the same search on my desktop computer. 

Of course, the larger desktop monitor provides greater depth because of the larger screen. Still, the same companies are coming up on the first page of the search. 

Here’s the Question Businesses Should be Asking:

“So if the same practices for producing great SEO will yield results for voice search as they do with typing in questions and keywords, what are these practices and how can I rank my business when customers are searching for my services?”

The same advice that was given back in 2019 in this blog is still relevant today. I’ll add a couple more that are also important. Below are the best practices for getting found in any type of online search:

  • Format your content to be featured in snippets (use headers, lists, and short paragraphs)
  • Create content based on commonly asked questions in a conversational tone
  • Get more 5-star reviews! If you don’t have many dozens, make this your top priority
  • Make sure your site is designed for mobile-first indexing (they all should be by now)
  • Include relevant local information to show your viewers (and Google) that you’re local
  • Keep content simple and clean
  • Get built for speed. Landing pages should load within two seconds.

I’d like to add, “It’s that simple”, but the reality is, ranking in any form on searches is tough stuff. As you can see from the examples above, there are many more paid positions on the first page of search results. Google Guaranteed and Google Ads PPC are taking the most coveted positions. This is true no matter how you search. The truth is, trying SEO practices, even mastering them all, will not yield the same results (and by results, if you’re a contractor, I mean leads) as they did in recent years. In order to get found and get called with enough frequency to stay afloat, businesses need to utilize other strategies and a lot more of their marketing budget to paid ads. For more information on how the first page of Google has (evolved or devolved – you decide) over time, see this article, entitled The Incredible Shrinking First Page of Google. 

For more information on SEO, ranking with keywords and voice searches, and pay-per-click or pay-per-lead marketing, call the experts at 99 Calls!

Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, online marketing costs, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads, Uncategorized

The Incredible Shrinking First Page of Google

Diane Lovine

Why is it So Hard to Rank Organically?

If you are a small business owner with an online presence for at least 5 years, you have seen the first page of Google searches change dramatically. The amount of space for SEO or organic search results is rapidly shrinking. What is causing this shift and how can small businesses generate leads on small budgets?

Background

When we opened our doors in 2010, it seemed as though there was plenty of room for anyone who wanted to establish a presence online. 99 Calls began as a team of 4 professionals. We built websites for service area businesses, and within days, our clients would start to receive leads. We earned our first 50 customers by offering a free 30-day trial. Once contractors saw the number of leads they were receiving from their organic presence, most were more than happy to sign on for ongoing services. 

It didn’t take much to get pages ranking back then. The main components were well-written content, stating the contractors’ service offerings and the areas served and building listings for online directories such as Google, Bing, Manta and Yelp. Almost all sites ranked highly within a month or two and often much more quickly. 

The First Page Begins to Shrink

Although Google claims that they never accept payment from customers to rank well organically, they have shrunk the available playing field, especially for small businesses. The natural, or organic section became less achievable for owner-operated businesses as they made way for large national chains and huge marketing firms.

Beginning in 2013, we began to see major national businesses claiming the first positions on searches. Companies like Yelp, Yellowpages.com, Home Advisor and Service Pro mysteriously showed up at the top of local organic searches all over the country, knocking small owner-operated local businesses down on the list. This marked the beginning of a trend where smaller businesses were struggling to achieve prominent placement on Google search. 

Google Ads – A Game Changer

Although Google introduced Adwords in October of 2000, there were very few early adopters. Adwords was their self-serve paid advertising platform, and their first solid step toward monetizing the first page of search. Between its inception and the end of 2012, the playing field on the first page of searche made a significant change.

The playing field was reduced by 30%. Instead of showcasing 10 companies in the organic section, the number shrunk to 7 to make room for 3 prominently placed paid Google Adwords results at the top of each page. An article from wordstream.com explains the changes seen during that time. 

Free Organic Placement is Threatened Again by the Emergence of LSA

In 2015, Google introduced its newest venture; Google Guaranteed, also called Google Local Service Ads (LSAs). LSAs were first tested in small markets for a select group of industries. By the end of 2019, many cities across the United States had access to paid Google Guaranteed campaigns in industries such as carpet cleaning, house cleaning, and handyman services.

The image below shows that Google Guaranteed/LSA paid ads are shown at the very top of local searches:

Google’s verification process is more stringent for those who run LSA campaigns than for those running Google Ads. It requires providing documents such as drivers licenses, business licenses (where applicable) and proof of insurance insurance. Background checks are also often run on the company owners and their employees. 

Those companies that are able to successfully complete the verification process often reap great rewards. LSA is a pay-per-lead service, as opposed to the pay-per-click platform of Ads. LSA has a bit of a ranking process that makes it more similar to organic than paid Ads as well.

Those companies that are well-established and have lots of 5-star reviews on their Google Business Profiles and/or their LSA Profiles benefit from being shown much more often than other companies. Although LSA has its benefits, it has also contributed to the shrinking space available for organic results.

The image below shows how one business trended downward in placement on the first page of a Google search through the years.

As The Giant Grows, What Happens to the Little Guys?

In 2020, more than 80% of Google’s worldwide revenue came from their Google Ads platform, and that number is still climbing, according to an article posted by CNBC.

The page layout is as follows. When you search for a service in your area, you’ll see three or more Google LSA advertisements, followed by three or more google Ads advertisements, followed by Google Maps with three entries (which they are also beginning to monetize), and finally, a small organic section with three or more results. This is followed by more paid ads.

Where there were 10 opportunities for a small business to be shown on the first page of a local search, there are now just three, and often the first one or two is a large national company. 

Although there are usually only up to three organic results showing on the first page of a search, there are also three Google Maps listings, and for now, these are still free. In order to claim a prominent spot with Google Maps, your Google Business Profile must be complete, follow Google’s best practices and have lots of 5-star reviews.

That and a little luck might make your business visible here (outlined in red):

Google has made it all but impossible to be found without investing in one of its paid services. That said, small businesses will no longer be able to build a site or pay for SEO services and expect to receive a sustainable number of inbound leads. You’ve got to pay to play. That isn’t in question.

The key now is to find a way to play with ROI in mind. Online marketing, when done right, isn’t an expense. It’s an investment in your business. Every dollar you invest will ideally result in at least $5 in return. The good news is that there is plenty of return to be had when you use Google’s services. However, if you are unfamiliar with bidding strategies and optimizing campaigns, you’ll want to invest in a business that can deliver profitable results. 

What to Look for In a Digital Marketing Company

Given that organic lead generation takes much, much longer to produce and delivers fewer results, and Facebook ADs are a good option for some businesses but not as effective for service contractors, the two best bets for lead generation are the paid lead platforms on search; Google Ads and Google LSA.

If the name of the game is getting found online and getting leads coming in at a cost that will generate revenue for your business, you’ll want to do your research.

Questions to ask potential lead companies so that you can do your due diligence include: 

  • What are your monthly service fees?
  • Do you charge a monthly fee plus each Google Ads or LSA lead I receive or are they included?
  • If the company is charging a flat fee for leads plus a management fee, ask, “What is your markup?”.
  • What is your conversion rate for my service offerings/industry? 
  • How many other companies do you work with like mine?
  • What kind of reporting do you provide so that I can measure my ROI?

Once you get your answers and compare them, a clear winner will hopefully emerge. Remember, sales reps get a commission when they sell you. If you feel you’ve made a good connection, that’s great, but the sales rep probably isn’t going to be the person who sets up your account or continues to support your business in the future. Try to stick to the facts. 

For questions or more information on how to win with Google’s LSA or PPC campaigns, call 800-717-4669 or schedule a free consultation.

Business Website, digital marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, online marketing costs, SEM, SEO

Why Aren’t My Clients’ Reviews Posting on Google Business Profile?

Dipa Gandhi

by Dipa Gandhi

Have you had your clients tell you they left a review on your business’s Google Business Profile (GBP) but when you look it’s not showing up or publishing? Many business owners and GBP managers are asking this same question daily.

We all know the importance of getting people to write and post great quality, positive reviews on your business’s GBP. You should continually encourage your happy customers to review your business. It’s understandably frustrating when you’ve provided an excellent service and a happy customer tells you they gave you a positive review, but it doesn’t show.

This blog will help explain why Google decides to publish some reviews and not others. For a refresher on the importance of Google reviews, refer to Part 1 of Google reviews blog series, https://blog.99calls.com/2022/04/01/importance-of-reviews-on-google-profile/). Here is a quick recap: Reviews on your GBP not only make your business stand out more, but also helps your GBP rank higher, add to a positive consumer experience, gain trust, and increase conversions. So when you have clients tell you they’re leaving or trying to leave a review for your business but it’s not showing up, it can be very concerning, and trust me, the SEO team at 99 Calls has also experienced this, so we can relate to your situation.

Google has strict algorithms in place to vet all the reviews. The purpose of this is to show search users true and factual reviews and block fake reviews. Unfortunately, sometimes good, legitimate reviews can accidentally get weeded out with the bad ones.

Some common reasons your clients’ reviews may not be showing up are:

  • Your business offers Wi-Fi that customers connect to and you’ve logged into your Google My Business account from this Wi-Fi.
  • The review contains a URL or phone number that is considered to be a form of solicitation or advertising.
  • The review contains a word Google doesn’t like, such as profanity, racial terms, hateful content, or offensive content.
  • You hired an SEO company to post reviews for you.
  • You have an onsite review station (iPad, computer etc.) at your location.
  • The user who left the review is located nowhere near you or has never physically visited your location.
  • Offering a reward or discount to a customer for leaving a positive review.

For more information from Google on restricted or prohibited content in reviews, refer to this link, https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114#zippy=.

The next time your clients ask you why their reviews aren’t showing up even though they’re leaving them, check with them to make sure none of the above requirements are being violated. It is possible they are not following Google’s review policies.

Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads

The Importance of Content for Lead Generation

kristen99calls

by Devon Osborne

Updating your website and listings regularly with unique content plays a large role when it comes to lead generation. With online competition growing more year after year, businesses need to find more ways to set themselves apart and outrank the others. 

How Does Adding Content Actually Help?

Having an attractive website is only a small step when it comes to SEO lead generation. Google’s goal is to provide users with the most relevant and valuable search results. Therefore, it is recommended that content should be informative, valuable, credible, high-quality, and engaging. More information on the types of content Google values can be found here. Consistently creating relevant content is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle if you want to easily be found by prospective customers. 91% of people will not search past the first page of results. Therefore it is of utmost importance that your website is ranking highly on that first page.

Google rewards businesses that are regularly updating their website and listings with fresh content with higher rankings. When you add new content, Google will crawl your website, giving you the opportunity to increase your rankings each time you update it with quality, relevant content. This is not to say that you should go and make unnecessary, irrelevant changes or updates to your site, that is not what search engines are looking for. Adding relevant content also allows you to add more search keywords which is another great way to improve your rankings.

Search engines are not the only ones that want to see fresh content on your website, consumers do as well. Stock photos alone may look nice on your site, but before choosing someone to do the job, your customers want to know what kind of work you do. Content is a great way to show off your expertise and feature the awesome work that you do. When customers see this, it will help you stand out from your competition.

Examples of Good Content

When it comes to creating relevant content for your website, you may not know where to begin. We have identified a few simple ideas to help you out! 

  1. Photos of your work: Help showcase the great work you do with before/after photos. 
  2. Customer testimonial videos: Show potential customers why they should call you.
  3. Running a promotion: Who doesn’t love a deal? 
  4. Adding an “about us” section to your website: This is a great way to share your story and gain trust with prospective customers.
Business Website, digital marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, online marketing, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads, Uncategorized

Multiple Business Websites: Harmful or Beneficial?

Diane Lovine

by Diane Lovine and Danielle Giarrusso

What is the impact of having more than one website?

Does it increase your visibility online? Does it confuse your customers?

There is conflicting information about whether using a multiple domain strategy (having two or more websites) will hurt or help a business. Often, the information is based on assumptions about the content and setup of the sites. Here are the facts:

Some lead generation companies say that a second site is a bad idea. Here are some of the arguments that have been made against having multiple websites:

1.   “Having multiple websites produces duplicate content (a big no-no for Google rankings).”

Having two sites with very similar content (or the same content) is definitely harmful. You will almost surely suffer losses in your rankings for both sites.

However, if you have a lead generation site with entirely different content than your branded site, pages from each site have the potential to rank highly, which improves your odds for a more expansive online presence.

2.   “Promoting multiple websites will confuse your customers.”

When people search for the services you provide on Google, they don’t know about you. A lead generation site is built to rank highly and present you as an option to them. Most branded sites don’t rank as highly as lead generation sites but are useful to your customers who are looking YOU up online.

Once you get that lead (probably through your lead site) and establish contact with the customer, you’ll hand out your business card which will take them to your direct phone number and branded site moving forward.

3.  “Using multiple websites will divide your results, weakening your rankings.”

It is true that having one authoritative presence online is ideal. But if your one presence is minuscule, it pays to make a bigger splash. The 99 Calls team builds sites that rank for a variety of keywords in multiple locations, almost always outranking a business’ primary website. The expectation is that your lead site will rank higher over time, and your original site will stay the same.

Other instances when a second site is warranted include having multiple small offices within a state or region and having multiple products or services that aren’t quite related. In these cases, having a targeted site for each circumstance makes sense.

A second (and third or more) site would be beneficial when targeting various geographic locations if you have a physical address for each location. If this is the case, having a “microsite” for each satellite office is beneficial. Google loves to show businesses that are extremely local to the searcher.

A second site is also beneficial if you promote multiple unrelated services. For example, if you are a licensed remodeling contractor and you sell real estate on the side, it makes sense to separate those services into two sites so that you can better target each service.

4.   “Promoting 2 sites for the same business will cause you to compete against yourself.”

If you have the same headings or are promoting the same keywords in the same location on two different sites, you are probably competing with yourself.

Would you rather compete against yourself or your competitors? Adding a lead site gives you the potential to dominate the first page of Google, knocking a competitor back to page 2!

5.   “Having two websites will get you in trouble with Google.”

Not quite. Multiple listings in the same town for the same business is definitely problematic though! 

If you build listings, especially a Google Business Profile that use the same address or phone number for the same business, you are putting your online presence in jeopardy. You can only have one Google Business Profile in a given geographic location.

The bottom line:

If your primary website is not generating enough leads, hiring a reputable lead generation company that uses a second site for leads can be a smart strategy for growth.

A multiple domain marketing strategy is more expensive, but if the ROI is high, you are maximizing your marketing budget and your potential to optimize your lead volume! You may own a larger slice of the first-page real estate on Google and enjoy more inbound leads as a result.

99 Calls has been selected as a Google Partner and utilizes a unique SEO strategy to get businesses highly ranked in their local areas for the services they offer.