We’ve said it time and time again: “you need a tradie website”.
The importance of a good tradie website hasn’t changed – what is different is that this time, we’ll be talking about what counts as a “good” tradie website.
That’s because it isn’t enough to simply have a website anymore. If you want to see more phone calls (and therefore, more jobs), you need to start with a good tradie website.
Simply put, good sites leave a good impression. Not to mention, they form the foundations of digital marketing strategies such as SEO.
So, what are the characteristics of a good tradie website?
1) Good tradie websites load quickly
How often do you click off a YouTube video that takes more than a couple of seconds to load up?
Or leave a nonresponsive website?
Nothing gets more frustrating for any web visitor than waiting for more than a couple of seconds for their web content to load. According to Neil Patel:
- Most people are willing to wait 6-10 seconds for a web page to load
- 16% will leave after 1-5 seconds of loading
- 3% of web users abandon a page if it hasn’t loaded in the first second
Customers’ time is precious – especially when it comes to tradies. As a “responsive” business, a sizeable portion of your callouts are to fix some unexpected problem like a dead car battery, burst pipe or light fixture that’s making unusual crackling noises.
Needless to say, nerves are high in these situations and time is short!
Thankfully, these problems can be fixed. In many cases, slow-loading websites are the result of issues such as:
- Bad hosting
- Too many ads
- Ineffective cache techniques
- Too much flash content
- Uncompressed images or video
If your tradie website is characterised by slow loading times, it may be time to invest in an upgrade!
2) Good tradie sites are mobile-friendly
Did you know? There are almost 75,000 Google searches each second at the time of writing?
Here’s another fun fact: as of 2016, 60% of those searches were done using mobile devices (a number we’re certain has risen even further since then!)
Needless to say, tradie websites that aren’t formatted for mobile viewing are missing out on a lot of potential customers.
Good websites should accommodate for mobile users, whether that’s by redirecting them to a dedicated mobile version of their site or by utilising responsive design, where your web content automatically resizes itself to match the size of the user’s device.
In addition to improving the visitor’s experience and better serving your clients, mobile-friendly websites are also crucial for SEO.
Google knows that most people are using mobile internet nowadays. As such, it has recently started giving precedence to mobile-friendly sites over those that aren’t.
Simply put, if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, Google doesn’t wanna hear about it – you’ll be pushed down in Google searches, plain and simple.
And with the lion’s share of web traffic going to results on the first page of search results, mobile compatibility goes from “nice-to-have” to essential!
3) Good sites are easy to navigate
As a tradie, you probably offer a range of services, all of which are advertised on your website.
Of course, if people can’t find those services, they aren’t going to call you!
Effective websites are easy to navigate and doesn’t leave customers “hunting” for the information that they need.
Your tradie website needs:
- An easy-to-understand layout
- A prominent navigation bar
- Internal links that direct visitors to similar services
For an example, look no further than Watermaster Plumbing, one of our star clients. When designing their new site, we implemented a navigation bar that makes it easy to look for specific plumbing services.
Many pages also contain links to other services Sam and the team offer. Users who find themselves on the emergency plumbing page will see links directing them to common plumbing emergencies.
Not to mention, good website layout also helps with SEO!
For Google to place your website on its search results, it needs to be able to read what your website is all about.
Good formatting helps – by having related pages grouped under the same drop-down menu or linking to each other, Google can figure out what services you offer, and therefore better position your tradie website on its search results.
4) Good websites have good content
There’s a saying in the digital marketing industry: “content is king!”
We say this because in our experience, it’s content (written or otherwise) is what gets people to call you. Everything else like loading times, site layout and mobile-compatibility get people through the door, it’s content that:
- Tells people what tradie services you offer
- Builds credibility in a visitor’s eyes
- Gets you found online
- “Sells” your tradie services
Here are some tips for more effective content:
- Avoid stock photos – use a picture of you and your team
- Create a few short YouTube videos and put them on your site
- Engage a professional copywriter to create compelling site copy
All of which can directly impact how many calls and jobs you receive from your tradie website.
Not to mention, there’s also the SEO component to think about!
Good content doesn’t just read well – it also gets your website to rank on Google.
Ideally, your website content should be optimised for Google search. Essentially, that means creating content that Google likes. By doing so, your website will feature more prominently in Google search, which directly translates into more calls and jobs!
There’s a lot that goes into creating Google-friendly content. Keywords, formatting, images, video, hyperlinks… there’s a lot to take in, which is why you should leave it to a professional!
Take your tradie website to the next level
Contact iformat today!
Don’t have a website whatsoever? Looking to give your current site a bit of a facelift? The team from iformat can help!
We’re tradie marketing specialists. Over the years, we’ve built effective tradie websites for all sorts of tradies that utilise the latest in digital marketing trends and tech.
All of our tradie websites are designed with speed and mobile-friendliness out of the box, and optimised to get you found for the Google searches and jobs you want.
Eager to get started? Get in touch with our tradie marketing team today for a tailored tradie marketing package that’s optimised for your goals.
Contact iformat today on 1300 88 64 50 or fill in the form to request a callback.
