I need your advice on a local business client...

14 years ago

Why take 2 steps forward and one steps back... you are using the internet to find the leads but relying on the telephone to get the feedback.

Have an opt-in right in the beginning, get their number and email address that way people are giving you permission to phone them or email them.

Thanks

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Alfred Shelver

14 years ago

Sorry I noticed you were far more experienced than me I am sure you have all my advice covered. I just saw your whole post was based on recieving phone calls ... I did a very succesful website for a friend who is a lawyer. Even here in South Africa a 3rd world country 80% of the people email rather than phone using the contact page we have put on the home page before the fold.

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Scott Voss

14 years ago

Hi Nick,
Fist thing to check is did the number of PPC impressions go down versus the previous weeks? For instance with 20 views this week you got no calls, but did you have 150 impressions in the previous weeks?

It might have to do with Google's fancy new instant search that is making your long tail searches not come up as much. Just a thought worth checking on.

As for what to offer, you may want to consider the following low/no-cost incentives:

Free Competitive Bids
Free Estimate
Free Roof Inspection
Free 15 Year Warranty(or whatever length of time your client chooses)
Any guarantee (such as Stop you leaks, guaranteed)

Also, you may want to consider sub-niching (if you haven't already). Jump into roof specific keywords (tile, shake shingle, metal, etc.)

Take care and good luck,
Scott Voss

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

Sorry I noticed you were far more experienced than me I am sure you have all my advice covered. I just saw your whole post was based on recieving phone calls ... I did a very succesful website for a friend who is a lawyer. Even here in South Africa a 3rd world country 80% of the people email rather than phone using the contact page we have put on the home page before the fold.

Hi Cathy, that's interesting. I read a recent study that 60% of people prefer to call than email. Maybe it varies market to market?

Originally Posted by Scott Voss

Hi Nick,
Fist thing to check is did the number of PPC impressions go down versus the previous weeks? For instance with 20 views this week you got no calls, but did you have 150 impressions in the previous weeks?

It might have to do with Google's fancy new instant search that is making your long tail searches not come up as much. Just a thought worth checking on.

As for what to offer, you may want to consider the following low/no-cost incentives:

Free Competitive Bids
Free Estimate
Free Roof Inspection
Free 15 Year Warranty(or whatever length of time your client chooses)
Any guarantee (such as Stop you leaks, guaranteed)

Also, you may want to consider sub-niching (if you haven't already). Jump into roof specific keywords (tile, shake shingle, metal, etc.)

Take care and good luck,
Scott Voss

Hey Scott, great tips. The impressions are the same, it's only the response rate that has depleted

I don't think the instant search thing has anything to do with it really. My ads show up regardless, and the same keywords are being used to find my site anyway.

In terms of what to offer, I like your suggestions. Here's what I'm already doing:

- guarantee? YES. My client has one of the best in the industry.
- free quote/evaluation? YES. That's on there.

I've actually bulleted these points, along with his other USPs. What I can't understand is why people would click the ad (which is very descriptive and really high quality score - ie, it's relevant and matches the landing page) yet they're not calling!

P.S- Yeah, sub niching is a smart idea, and I'm already targeting sub niches in my campaigns. My client has a speciality, but can handle general work as well (which is where the volume is coming from)

I've also included some negative keywords to make sure I'm not getting irrelevant traffic as much as possible.

Thanks
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Alfred Shelver

14 years ago

Nick to be more precise the people are just typing in their contact details and we call them back. SO maybe they feel it is the same as a call to them.

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

Hi Cathy, that's interesting. I read a recent study that 60% of people prefer to call than email. Maybe it varies market to market?

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

Nick to be more precise the people are just typing in their contact details and we call them back. SO maybe they feel it is the same as a call to them.

Hmm, that's worth a thought. I can't see why people would prefer to be called back and have to submit their details in the process, over simply picking up the phone and calling whilst they're free and available?

Then again, nothing is predictable online, that's for sure

Thanks
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KenJ 14 years ago

Hi Nick

There are other incentives that you client might be prepared to offer. They would cost him little but could increase your calls.

e.g. "Ring this exclusive number to double your roof guarantee period. 10 years instead of 5"

or "Free No Obligation Assessment of your roof, shingles, guttering and downpipes by calling this exclusive number"

Kenj
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tryinhere

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

Hmm, that's worth a thought. I can't see why people would prefer to be called back and have to submit their details in the process, over simply picking up the phone and calling whilst they're free and available?

Then again, nothing is predictable online, that's for sure

I am not sure what the right answer is but / get them to click through then get them to leave some details as per Kathy's example.

by waiting for them to call you, you leave the customer in charge, reverse that by taking the call away and have the office make it.

your conversions should sky rocket if done right

Campaign - Clicks - Conv. - Conv. rate (1-per-click)
01 - 123 - 111 - 90.24%
02 - 100 - 89 - 89.00%
03 - 60 - 57 - 95.00%
04 - 27 - 25 - 92.59%

just make a very simple , sticky note type banner to click for some one to call them back with a free inquiry / /\ see results of this method above.

a similar industry type promotion as your doing now
cheers

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by tryinhere

your conversions should sky rocket if done right

Campaign - Clicks - Conv. - Conv. rate (1-per-click)
01 - 123 - 111 - 90.24%
02 - 100 - 89 - 89.00%
03 - 60 - 57 - 95.00%
04 - 27 - 25 - 92.59%

just make a very simple , sticky note type banner to click for some one to call them back with a free inquiry / / see results of this method above.

a similar industry type promotion as your doing now

Are those real results? What kind of service are you offering/marketing with those results?

If so, it seems like it might be worth testing. I can see what you mean about taking control, but still can't see why someone would want to leave their number when they are specifically looking for that service at that moment in time.

But hey, if it works, I'll let you know. I guess if I do it that way, I can redirect them or capture them to send them some kind of report too.

Lots of avenues, lots to try!

Thanks
1 reply

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tryinhere

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

Are those real results? What kind of service are you offering/marketing with those results?

If so, it seems like it might be worth testing. I can see what you mean about taking control, but still can't see why someone would want to leave their number when they are specifically looking for that service at that moment in time.

But hey, if it works, I'll let you know. I guess if I do it that way, I can redirect them or capture them to send them some kind of report too.

Lots of avenues, lots to try!

yes nick those are real results, / to old for crap,

plus it bites you if you do that stuff, and they belong to a warrior here so i am sure they can vouch if need be but i don't worry about that stuff / to old again for that.

as for leaving details make the flow seamless and easy, the lighter it is the better, no hurdles and just experiment it out.

if you have windows 7 it comes with a nifty sticky note function that you can then use screen copy / picture editor to make some stickys for your site.

edit / sorry the service is a similar service industry i suppose to what your doing, it could easily be swapped out for roofing, but the exact service thats for the site owner / private to them

edit 2/ it is also important to understand this one lines up the sun moon and starts, and that i have a polar opposite where i have been struggling with an account, where it seems we swim forward 2 strokes then slip back 5, for now we have held water but not everything is easy that is for sure.

Thanks

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tpw

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Nick Brighton

What I can't understand is why people would click the ad (which is very descriptive and really high quality score - ie, it's relevant and matches the landing page) yet they're not calling!

Google is operated by people who do not truly understand marketing... And it has been well documented that one should never let the Google Adwords team help you construct your advertising for you....

So why would you trust their "quality score"? It beats me...

I am watching this thread, because the original problem stumped me too...

To the OP, who suggested putting a phone number in the ad, that was my first thought, but my second thought was that I think that is against the Google Adwords TOS... And if it is not, it should be...

With my paid advertising, I always try to lure people to click, BUT ALSO to pre-qualify the buyer, so that they are not wasting my ad dollars by clicking my ad when they have no intention to complete the desired action...

20 clicks from people, who will never complete the desired action -- in this case, lead generation -- is a waste of my advertising budget...

On something like this, It is truly hard to pre-qualify someone...

I was advising someone the other day on CPA ads... In that case, we were able to eliminate the tire kickers by putting the sentence, "Serious Inquiries Only" into the ad copy...

On another ad a while back, I pre-qualified buyers by putting the cost of the ebook in the advertisement...

In this particular case, I am even at a loss on how to pre-qualify these clicks...

I will look forward to what others have to contribute to this thread...

p.s. With the lead gen services that you are competing against, roofers will call over a period of days or weeks, and several people will call...

Maybe you can contrast that as part of your copy...

We will schedule an appointment within 24 hours, and you will not have to sit by the phone for the next week waiting for another dozen roofers to call you...

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by tpw

Google is operated by people who do not truly understand marketing... And it has been well documented that one should never let the Google Adwords team help you construct your advertising for you....

So why would you trust their "quality score"? It beats me...

On the contrary... MY marketing efforts resulted in a quality score, not the other way around. I do what I believe is right, before Google tells me.

With my paid advertising, I always try to lure people to click, BUT ALSO to pre-qualify the buyer, so that they are not wasting my ad dollars by clicking my ad when they have no intention to complete the desired action...

Yes I agree, every click costs a lot of money so I am extra careful that the search phrase, ad copy and landing page are all perfectly aligned and relevant.

I can honestly say, hand on heart, after using PPC for over 3 years, that even to this day I am baffled by human nature at times... especially when it comes to Adwords!

It's like a guy planning a specific journey across town to visit a golf club store.

When he arrives, he walks in with a shopping list of golf clubs, then the moment he walks into the store and sees the golf clubs he wanted to buy - at a price that he can afford - he suddenly runs back out, screaming "I wanted tennis shoes...I'm not a golfer, sorry!"

Thanks
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Lance K

14 years ago

Nick, what was your conversion rate of visitors to phone calls in past weeks?

Anyway, could your client offer a service where they come back in 30 days (or 7 days or whatever) and inspect their work and double check their clean up for free? If the owner (or some kind of supervisor) could do it, it would not only impress the customer, it would also be a great time to solicit feedback and reiterate their love of referrals.

Heck, the supervisor could even go door to door in the immediate neighborhood and introduce himself/herself and the company. Explain why they're in the neighborhood and leave some literature.

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Lance K

Nick, what was your conversion rate of visitors to phone calls in past weeks?

Anyway, could your client offer a service where they come back in 30 days (or 7 days or whatever) and inspect their work and double check their clean up for free? If the owner (or some kind of supervisor) could do it, it would not only impress the customer, it would also be a great time to solicit feedback and reiterate their love of referrals.

Heck, the supervisor could even go door to door in the immediate neighborhood and introduce himself/herself and the company. Explain why they're in the neighborhood and leave some literature.

Hey Lance, conversions was about 20% on average... tough industry

I love your follow up idea though... that's really smart thinking. Thanks man, I appreciate it. You've already given me a great new idea.

Thanks

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Scott Voss

14 years ago

Are you putting the phone number in the ad itself?

If not, that might be worth testing out. (still doesn't answer the why they were before and not now)

With the number on the site, you are taking one step out of the process and making it easier call. Only problem, long term, is that google might see the ad as irrelevant because people are not clicking.

Good luck,
Scott

Thanks
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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Scott Voss

Are you putting the phone number in the ad itself?

If not, that might be worth testing out. (still doesn't answer the why they were before and not now)

With the number on the site, you are taking one step out of the process and making it easier call. Only problem, long term, is that google might see the ad as irrelevant because people are not clicking.

Good luck,
Scott

Yeah, got that covered Scott. The number is in the ad. But as you say, that doesn't solve the problem why they're not calling, despite clicking!

I'm trying to think of competitive differences/advantages over the other listings. My biggest competitors are quoting type websites (where they fetch a bunch of quotes from different tradespeople.)

I've just devised a new angle which basically explains why it's better to call a roofer directly, instead of waiting for days to get a bunch of rough quotes.

Hopefully that should crack the cookie. Let's see.

If anyone can think of any other incentives to get people to call, I'm all ears!

Thanks

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smartiw

14 years ago

I would suggest to join B2B web hosting which can be found in google for any kind of business and business categories...you will be amazed with the feedback. Advertise in the local media will help to pull in client. Local client usually will pick up phone to make call rather than clicking on the advertisement to purchase online..

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Quentin

14 years ago

One week is nothing in the scheme of things.

It could be a whole range of things and without seeing your analytics or your adds or landing page I would not even like to take a guess.

I hope you are running different adds for niches within his industry. Adwords is just as much about research as just throwing up some adds.

So for example I would be targeting sub niches like:

Leaky Roofs
Roof restoration
Guttering
Extensions
Renovators
etc

You need to go wide as well as deep. Once you find a good converting keyword you should develop content around it and start competing with yourself.

Quentin

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James Foster

14 years ago

A good incentive could be something like:

"Call Now For Your FREE Guide How To Make Your Shingles Last 5 Years Longer"

[ 2 ] Thanks
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Rus Sells

14 years ago

I am surprised you did not respond to this post.

I used to own my own roofing company got a lot of my leads via my web site.

I found that I had far better results from my organic listing over PPC and ended canning any PPC ads I was running.

What I eventually ended up doing was registering 4-5 domains geo-targeted to my market which included my keyword term/s for roofing.

Each domain was keyword targeted of course and ended up dominating half of the first page of Google and each site had my company name even though the url was different.

I also gave incentive for people to call or email me by telling them that I could show them how to get a tax credit by picking an energy star qualified product or a product that could decrease their home owners insurance rates.

Of course I asked for as little information as possible on my form. Name and email address only. I did this because all the roofing companies have a huge form with a ton of fields and no one looking for a roof is ever going to complete those forms, period. Many people might argue that it qualifies the more, but I my list begged to differ.

Originally Posted by James Foster

A good incentive could be something like:

"Call Now For Your FREE Guide How To Make Your Shingles Last 5 Years Longer"

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Nick Brighton

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

I am surprised you did not respond to this post.

I used to own my own roofing company got a lot of my leads via my web site.

I found that I had far better results from my organic listing over PPC and ended canning any PPC ads I was running.

What I eventually ended up doing was registering 4-5 domains geo-targeted to my market which included my keyword term/s for roofing.

Each domain was keyword targeted of course and ended up dominating half of the first page of Google and each site had my company name even though the url was different.

I also gave incentive for people to call or email me by telling them that I could show them how to get a tax credit by picking an energy star qualified product or a product that could decrease their home owners insurance rates.

Of course I asked for as little information as possible on my form. Name and email address only. I did this because all the roofing companies have a huge form with a ton of fields and no one looking for a roof is ever going to complete those forms, period. Many people might argue that it qualifies the more, but I my list begged to differ.

Hey Russ, that's golden stuff. Thanks so much! I didn't think about that monopolizing SEO effect... that's definately a long term strategy that I'll be looking into. And as for the incentives, I like your methods.

I think that's where I'm headed - added bonus reports for people to save more money in and around their home.

Cheers again, much appreciated brain boost

Thanks

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Vijay M

14 years ago

1)Maybe its your competitors who are clicking on the ads to check out the offer.

2) Maybe offering a time sensitive offer might coax them to make that call.Something like,"The first 10 to call get a free roof inspection, OR, call now b4 those mushrooms on the roof cause havoc ...3 spots left " you know the typical IM sales page thingie :-)

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Jack Zenert

14 years ago

I am with Quentin - one week is not relevant enough. It could be back to school and they are busy. Or was it a rainy week and they did not want to bother calling and booking until the weather was better.

Also check out your competition. Maybe they upped their game on their landing page and now when someone clicks yours and theirs - they are calling them.
Jack

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thesweetspot

14 years ago

Have a pop up opt in with something like "top 10 secrets most roofers will never tell you" and this way they have to put their email in...and/or phone number.

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Kevin AKA Hubcap 14 years ago

I'd say wait it out and see how long this lasts. The way I read it historically you're conversions have been higher but they've decreased the previous week.

Could be a number of things but as Quentin said wait and see. It just might be a dip that will pick up again. I'm curious as to how long you've been running this campaign and what we're your conversion rates previously?

I also agree with Rus about adding more keyword targeted sites for natural search. Take the top three services and make a site that focuses on each one.
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