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Building an Online Presence
How to construct an effective website

By Milind Mehere

Canadians spend more time on the Internet than any other nation in the world. Whether we’re planning to buy a new home, or looking for a renovator, the first place we’re likely to go is online. And since that’s where prospective customers start their search, an effective online presence is necessary, especially for small businesses.
But what if you don’t have a company website? What if you have an existing site that needs upgrading (perhaps it’s even been languishing “under construction”)? Where and how do you start?

The Website Build
Begin by examining what your competitors are doing: take note of what you like about their sites and what you don’t. After that, there are three basic options when it comes to building or upgrading a website.
The most basic solution, though one I would not recommend for most, is to build your website from scratch—no templates, no help. The reason I don’t advise this route comes down to two things: time and expertise. It can take an expert several days to build a site. For the layman, this could turn into weeks. Since you are already running a business, spending your evenings trying to perfect your website can be a lesson in frustration. But if you are a programming and design wizard, this method does allow you to have complete control over all aspects of your site.
The second option is to build the website yourself using a template. There are many low cost (or even free) options to choose from: try Googling “business website templates.” Some even come with tutorials to help you with the process. This can be a massive time saver over the template-free method, but it does have its limitations. Your site, while it will have unique content, may have a look and feel similar to others.
For options one and two, you will also have to handle all the backend logistics like finding an appropriate website host and doing all the site updates and maintenance yourself. For the less experienced this can take a lot of time and it does add to the cost.
The final option is to hire a company to build a customized site, with a unique look and feel, designed for your specific business needs. This option can be expensive up front, but is the least onerous in terms of your own time commitment. Once you factor in the value of your own time, this solution can be cost effective and is certainly worth investigating.
What if you decide to hire a company to build a customized site? Essentially you have three options:

1
Hire an agency or professional contractor who specializes in building websites. This is not cheap ($2,000-$3,000 would be the low end), but these are often the most visually appealing and functional websites you will find online. Note: The cost is for only the website build; it may not include updates or site maintenance.

2
Use a local web design firm that provides turnkey solutions. The provider generally does everything for you, from registering your URL to building, hosting, updating and maintaining your site. They usually offer different service packages. Some of the less expensive options may, for example, require you to perform your own website updates. If your site is going to remain relatively static, this is not a bad option to save a bit of money. On the other hand, if you’re looking to update your site regularly with customer success stories or new service offerings, you may want to look into the cost of them doing it for you.

3
Use a company that specializes in helping smaller businesses market themselves online. These companies help their customers increase their local online web presence (more about that later) and part of the service offering involves building and maintaining websites for their customers.
Deciding what solution is best can take time. With all the options available it can be overwhelming, so be sure to use your own network of contacts and friends to get suggestions and recommendations.

If You Build It, Will They Come?
It gets interesting once your website is up and running. Try Googling “contractor Toronto” or “contractor” with the name of your city. Did your site, if you have one, come up on the first page? Do you see your competitors? Whether we like it or not, we live in a world where, for the most part, we believe that search results validate the legitimacy of a business. If a company shows up at the top of a search, it is because their offerings match your needs.
Think about the last time you looked at search results past the first page. If you are anything like me, you’re more likely to alter your search terms (say, “home renovations Toronto”) than to actually venture to the second or third page of results. In fact, 88 per cent of clicks on search results happen on the first page—if you’re not there, for all intents and purposes, you are invisible.
To be effective, your site must rank high in relevant online search. This is not rocket science—all you need to come out on top is the right combination of website content, well-implemented search engine optimization (SEO) and strategic pay-per-click advertising. While not complex, there is a lot of fine-tuning involved. Are your Title tags and Description tags properly assigned? Do your pages have the right content? Are they using the best combination of search keywords? The problem is that a few missteps, however slight, can be enough to push your company’s site off the first page and into oblivion.
You can certainly learn to do this yourself, but the reality is that most of us don’t have the time to learn how to master SEO. Smaller companies now turn increasingly to a variety SEO services to boost their organic search ranking, but SEO is only half the battle. Pay-per-click advertising is equally (if not more) important.
This combination of building or upgrading a website, along with the requirements necessary to make sure it consistently ranks high in relevant search results (both paid and SEO-based) can become a full-time job. Because of this, many builders and contractors are looking for a one-stop-shop solution that will take them from web strategy and design, to website build (if needed) and SEO, all the way through to pay-per-click marketing.
Working with comprehensive online marketing companies can help you build a web presence and move you up in the search rankings. This is often the most cost effective solution, because your website is so integral to the success of your marketing programs. In the end, you will need to decide how much time and money you want to commit to your web presence.
A final note: Just because you show up on the first page of relevant search results today does not mean you’ll be there tomorrow. Conversely, being on page three today does not mean you are destined to stay there. Websites need nurturing to succeed. The big decision is whether you have the time to nurture both your website and your business. If you do, it is certainly something you can do yourself. If not, now may be a good time to look for outside help.

Milind Mehere is the General Manager of OutRank by Rogers, a small and autonomous business unit within Rogers Communications Inc. dedicated exclusively to helping small businesses in Canada manage their online marketing programs. Previously, Milind co-founded Yodle, a U.S.-based company dedicated to managing advertising and marketing for more than 35,000 small businesses. He can be reached at milind@rogersoutrank.com.


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