Texas SEO Company: Don’t forget your phone number!!!

Texas SEO Advice:

As a small business owner I can soooooo relate to all the many hats we biz owners wear while running a profitable businesses.

I run two businessess.   A Texas-based mortgage company, www.mylendingplace.com and an SEO company or this company, www.jakerbaker.com.  By the way. Jakerbaker was my dog RIP.

There’s the hiring hat, the perpetual fire-putter-outer-hat, the CPA hat and now the website marketing hat! 

Well, let’s talk about the website SEO marketing hat for a moment.  This is what we are really good at! 

And even if you don’t use us as your website SEO company let me give you some basic “How-to” info so if you hire  another SEO company you’ll  know if you’re going in the right direction or not.

I still remember when I first started building my own mortgage websites.  There was and still is a LOT involved in getting a site on page 1 of Google!  But out of frustration I would call the typical “I’m-too-sexy-for-my-shirt” SEO “expert” that acted as if they had some kind of special SEO fairy dust!  

 Most wanted more than $5K just to talk to me!!!  But my budget was $500!

So I learned and failed. Failed and learned.  Spent lots of $$$$$ because I’m so stubborn…and then now…after 4+ years of day in and day out SEO work and am now an SEO expert!!! (insert musc here.)

What I learned is this:  SEO isn’t really that hard as long as you know what you’re doing.  There are some basic fundamentals that all good websites have.

So let’s break discuss the 3 basic elements that all successful websites must have.  But first….let’s first define “successful“  because this word means different things to different people. 

For some successful means “flashy”-they want something that makes people go “wow….ooooo…ahhhhh.”    To see the “oooo/ahhhh”  in action take a look at this flashy site.  http://www.relicshome.com/. 

VERY NICE site,  great use of images…you know what they’re selling, yada yada.  One problem.  The site looks like a postcard.   It’s pretty but it doesn’t do anything for the company’s bottom line.   It’s what I call an “online business card.”   At the time of this article the website doesn’t even have it’s phone number!

If these guys were to call me I would use best fake French accent and say “After extensive research we have concluded your business could EXPLODE!!!….if you just added your phone number!  Here’s my $5,000 bill for my consultation!”

Wee.  Wee.

Another type of “successful” website is the Image people group.  These people want to look successful!!!  They want image, they drive leased BMWs and live in garage apartments and their websites drips with “I’m successful and here’s my website to prove it.”  Let’s call this type of site the Neopolean type  website.  http://www.mathews-nichols.com/ is one such an example. 

I just Google’d “Realtors who are really really successful and have lots of cool awards that are given to them by other really cool successful realtors-DALLAS“

This type of website is more about the people themselves, their awards, how God loves them than it it’s about helping you, the client, find what you’re looking for. 

But I feel websites should be built to help people do stuff, find stuff, get stuff, buy stuff, explain stuff.  NOT to tell people who wonderful I am.   Right?  

However, when I use the word successful I’m referring to a professional site that serves this singe purpose:  Getting potential clients who are actively using search engines to contact you in some way. 

 It’s that simple. 

Jakerbaker Rule #1:  Websites should do stuff, mainly help you reach out to potential clients who don’t know you
Jakerbaker Rule #2:  Don’t forget rule number 1.

So with this definition behind us let’s now discuss the 3 basic elements to any successful website. (And please excuse how simplistic these steps might be!!)

Step 1)  Getting people to your site.   Who cares how cool your website is if nobody is finding you on the web or via Google????

Step 2) Getting people to do something on your site so you get in contact with them in some way. 

After all, who cares if you get 10,000 people are going to your website but none of these people are emailing or calling! How is your “successful website” serving your bottom line?   In short: Make sure your phone number is at the top of the page because that’s probably how someone is going to call you.

Step 3) The site should help YOU help the client.   Yes your mom loves you.  Yes, God does too…but people care about themselves not how wonderful you might or might not be.  

If you only have steps 1 and 2 you’re okay.  You’re way ahead most other website owners. But as your site matures (trust me on this!) there will be an increasing need for your site to help you with basic clerical stuff.  This means Step 3 is about helping YOU help the client.

For example, I generate almost all my mortgage leads from my mortgage websites.   Remember, I’m a mortgage guy who learned SEO so I could feed my family.   I’m kinda like the hair-club for men guy.  “Not only am I the owner of the SEO company but I’m also a client!!!”

Back to step 3-once I get a lead from my website Step 3 means my websites additionally does the following: A) takes all my mortgage applications and B) Shows the client what my closing costs are so by the time I speak to a client we are ready to talk specifics.  While Steps 1 and 2 are about getting a client, Steps 3 is about helping you help the client.

In order to determine what your step 3 need might be ask yourself this.  “What do 95% of my clients want to know in every phone call or email? “   Perhaps putting this step/information on your website you could reduce your clerical load??

 That’s step 3.  If you build a better website…or better yet, if you hire us to be your SEO company :) ,  we’ll not only do step 1-2 but also help discover what your step 3.  But don’t worry we won’t ask you to make amends with anyone or ask you to accept Google as your higher power!  That’s a different step 3!

Remember, we don’t bite so call us anytime.   Most of my day is spent doing mortgages and/or building and tweaking websites so call me now.  

PS.  Our phone number is:  512-996-8194

http://www.jakerbaker.com/