4 Carpet Cleaning Marketing Ideas That Leave Your Competition in the Dust
The consolidation within the carpet cleaning industry has placed extra pressure on independent carpet cleaners who already just get by with profits that are a few pennies on the dollar. Independents have to compete against the huge advertising budgets of Sears, Stanley Steemer, Zero Rez, and ServiceMaster. Just when you run out of marketing money, the big boys are just getting started flooding the airwaves with expensive carpet cleaning commercials. You do not need a big carpet cleaning marketing budget to compete with the big boys. You just need to know where to go online and how to leverage your website to attract more traffic.
Optimize Your Website’s Content
Creating a content driven website does not mean prospective customers will come knocking on your front door. You must land on Google’s first search results page, if not rank in the top three businesses. Most people do not look beyond the first search results page and a vast majority of people clicks one of the first three links. In order for your website to rank high in Google’s search engine, you must optimize your business keywords for creating effective carpet cleaning SEO. Google Analytics, which is a free statistical service provided by Google, identifies popular keywords and tallies how many people visit your site.
Get a Google Places Listing
One look inside of the Yellow Pages tells the story of the carpet cleaning industry’s competitiveness. Large, multi-colored ads compete with each other for prospective customer attention. Your business does not need to sink money into the Yellow Pages money pit anymore. A free online version exists that attracts more customers.
Google recently developed a “Place” where businesses can list information about their products and services. Google Places allows businesses to tailor their information for potential customers who visit the Google Places business community. A recent study conducted by Brightlocal.com concluded that Google Places directs 33% of all website traffic to local business websites.
Email Marketing
Direct mail has always been one of the more successful carpet cleaning marketing tactics. However, large companies such as Sears can absorb the costs of a direct mail campaigns by spreading costs across its vast store network. You do not have that luxury; direct mail takes a significant portion of your carpet cleaning marketing budget.
Why not take advantage of a low cost way to send direct mail. Email may be overshadowed by social media and mobile messaging, but more people use email to communicate than any other form of communication in cyberspace. Emails require no software installations or consultations with a tech guru. Your carpet cleaning business can manage the work without having to hire new staff or add significant responsibilities to current staff.
Be Mobile Ready
Carpet cleaning businesses often respond to emergencies such as flooded homes and sewer system back ups. People who need immediate help do not spend much time whittling down their list of prospective businesses. They quickly make their decisions, and they increasingly make those decisions using their smart phones.
Once you establish first page rankings on Google, you need to ensure that your website is mobile friendly, so prospective clients that need emergency help can quickly read your business information. A recent study showed that 95% of smart phone users search for local information on their phones. A strong Google Places listing also helps you obtain customers who see your “Place” on their mobile devices.
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