Name of your website?Thumbs Up Floor Care
Your name?
Danny DeRoche
Your Location (city, etc)
Grand Blanc, Michigan
When did you start your website and why?
I started it recently to help improve my business. I knew nothing about websites when I first started. While I still don't know a whole lot now, I'm learning quite a bit in this process.
Please give us a short summary of your website, business model, etc
I own a carpet cleaning company about an hour north of Detroit, Michigan. My website is designed to 1) answer questions people might have before they even call & 2) hopefully inform people enough so that they choose to use our services.
What has been the most difficult part of creating and running your website?
Knowing absolutely nothing about website & website design. This is my 3rd site in about 6 weeks or so. The first one was complete junk. The 2nd one was so-so but definately not an award winner. It wasn't going to keep anyone's attention for very long. My current one has gotten great reviews. I wanted a good website because in many cases that's the first impression someone has of you. A low quality website could very well make people think our company did low quality work.
What has been the easist part of operating your website?
Calling tech support with all my questions. =)
What was your biggest mistake?
With my website it was putting such a piece of junk up in the first place. Ignorance isn't always bliss. If you mean this question in terms of my business, my biggest mistake was to not market the business properly first. That's coming around now. If I had to do it all over again, I'd invest in marketing first & equipment & such later.
Who maintains your website and why?
I do. I want control of the business. I had a friend build the first site. I appreciate his efforts but if I have an idea for my site at 3AM I want to be able to make the change then & not have to wait until someone else is available.
Tell us how your business has benefitted from your website?
Since I just got the good version of my site on Google & Yahoo within the last week, it's to early to tell. I know of other carpet cleaners who are doing quite well in part because of their websites. I'm hoping to get similar results.
What are your views on ecommerce and the future of the internet?
I think the Yellow Pages are on their way out & even for things like carpet cleaning the internet is where you want to advertise. Obviously I have positive views on ecommerce.
What are your views on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
I can see where it's needed. When I first put my site up I wasn't on anything. I couldn't even find my site when I typed in my company name in a search. It was that bad. Now I'm #2-3 on a Yahoo local directory & #2 on a Google paid directory for my county. Plus in the top few in Google for my town's carpet cleaners. It's a small town so there's not a lot of competition for those spots, but I'm still pretty happy about it. Considering what I knew a month ago & where I'm at now, I'm feeling pretty good about things.
What are your views on Search Engines? Have they helped or hindered your website?
I haven't had a site long enough to have enough data. However, from the little bit I know I've got to believe it helped some. Awhile back I wasn't even finding my site if I did a search on my own company name. Now I'm at least placing on searches in my county & placing well on searches in the main city I wish to work in.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I'm not totally sure. Again, I haven't had it long enough to have a lot of hits on it. So with a limited amount of data available to me as I write this, I'm going to say Google's paid ads. I do feel that some offline promotion of the site is needed to enhance the online promotion. That will be coming next.
What method has been least successful for promoting your website?
This goes back to when I first put it up. The least successful method was doing nothing. I somehow thought just having a site was enough at that time.
What would you like to see change with respect to the internet?
I think things are fantastic. Where else can you get so much information right at your fingertips?
What is your website address?
Thumbs Up Floor Care
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