A few minutes of your time please?

[Andy-Always]

Maybe I can't see the wood for the trees or maybe I'm expecting too much!
I have spent a huge amount of time over the last year or two trying to get a high ranking for my site and of course lots of traffic and although I get no.1 in Google for terms such as "pc repairs swanley" and no.1 with MSN for "pc repairs" I still don't get much traffic. About 300 visitors per month which turns into about 8 jobs per month.
A lot of work for not much result!!
A quick look and some advice from others would be appreciated - if I'm going totally wrong or the site is pants I would like to know!

Thanks
Andy

http://www.pcrepairs.me.uk

[texxs]

Actually that's a pretty good conversion rate. 2% conversions is considered a success I hear. Of course I quess it has a lot to do with the type of business/site.

Try the local.google.com and local.yahoo.com actually, UK equivilents I suppose. Yahoo and google do that in the UK don't they?

[prathap75]

Hi Andy,
As Texxs said, it might be the business you are in which is not driving people to your website. As the title says "pc repairs", Iam not sure how many people are going for getting their PC's repaired instead of going for a brand new one.
They would as well go back to their vendors instead of trying a new one. Sametime, the conversion rate is a decent one......

[Andy-Always]

Luckily I don't just rely on the website for bringing business in - it only sends 5% of my clients to me!

My question was to know how to improve traffic!
Anyone??

[meinking22]

Originally Posted by Andy-Always

I have spent a huge amount of time over the last year or two trying to get a high ranking for my site and of course lots of traffic and although I get no.1 in Google for terms such as "pc repairs swanley" and no.1 with MSN for "pc repairs" I still don't get much traffic. About 300 visitors per month which turns into about 8 jobs per month.
A lot of work for not much result!!
A quick look and some advice from others would be appreciated - if I'm going totally wrong or the site is pants I would like to know!

Did take a look at your website. Where is your lead capture? How do you expect any type of lead generation from your site when you do not ask for business? I saw one link on your home page to a lead capture method and that was lost in small text at the middle of the page with the word "phone" as the anchor text. I hope you're not waiting for people to call you or hit the contact button to get their business. You should ask for their information and business at least 5-10 times per page. That step is key to making sure business is generated from the site traffic you do create and it is missing from your site.

I also checked the traffic counts on the keywords you are ranking for. According to my tool, "pc repairs swanley" averages a whopping 15 queries per month. "pc repairs" would be a good phrase to rank for if you were hitting the top in Google and Yahoo. You would be getting traffic in the range of 200-300 hits per day. Ranking in just MSN, your number of 300 per month works out to be about right.

And is the traffic you're generating geographically relevant? If I were you, I would be targeting local traffic. Don't expect someone from the states to contact you with the ".uk" in your URL. I would venture to say that PC support demands a more "local" presence and your optimization should reflect this.

Your on-page optimization is good, but your meta certainly could be better, especially the description and keywords.

Another factor is a logical one, being that if someone needs their PC repaired, it is highly likely they don't have Internet access. Because of this, part of your marketing effort should also be offline, promoting yourself to small businesses and the like. A print ad in the local business phone directory, with your website URL listed along with your other contact information, would go a long way to reaching potential prospects in a panic.

Steve

[Mugzzi]

One thing you should do is write articles and submit them. If you wrote articles that would have a lot of people reading them so they can optimize their computers or give helpful hints then two things would happen.

First, you would establish yourself as the Expert in your industry and when their computers go "hay-wire" you will be the first person they call.

Secondly, other websites will offer you links to their sites. Hence, you will be able to get free back links but they will also help to expose you to more end users.

Remember, there are four different types of customers. You have the immediate need, thinkers, just in case later, and already solved their needs so not interested. You have captured the immediate users but now you should work on the other two catagories. They will come to you when they are ready because you have established brand name recognition.

Hope that helps, Mugzzi

[brander]

Consider that if a PC is down, it isn't going to access the internet. That means that anyone with an immediate need is not going to land on your site when they need your service. Because they can't.

It sounds as if your business is in good shape anyway. If you are only getting 5 percent of your business from the website, you are in good shape; as long as you are getting enough business.

The comment that you could write articles that would establish your reputation as an expert is a viable means of driving targeted traffic. Another option is to expand your services to include PC maintenance. Offer services that will optimize PC performance. This way, you can actually have people who still can access the internet find your site and hire you.

Another good option is to use PPC. I state this only as an option if you are "targeting the tail". Targeting people who have specific types of PC's and targeting people whose PC's are past warranty.

You are operating in a highly competitive arena. It is likely that many of the visitors that your site is getting are competitors looking for ideas on how to take your market share.

The usual strategies for driving targeted traffic still apply:

Find forums where people who need your services congregate and ask for help and then help them.

Join groups on any number of social networking sites that are filled with people who are most likely going to need your services and post to them. ie: internet newbies or new computer user groups.

If you have time and the inclination, write and distribute free to copy articles.

Do not be fooled by your numbers. Hits and Visitors mean nothing in the larger scheme of things. Revenue generated is the only real measure of a internet communications program, whether it is a website or a PR push.

[G[dot]com]

Originally Posted by meinking22

Another factor is a logical one, being that if someone needs their PC repaired, it is highly likely they don't have Internet access. Because of this, part of your marketing effort should also be offline, promoting yourself to small businesses and the like. A print ad in the local business phone directory, with your website URL listed along with your other contact information, would go a long way to reaching potential prospects in a panic.

Steve

I agree on this as the key point of the results of your website, the logic factor. It´s not about the website or the seo, but about the business/advertising model itself. I would also go strongly on offline campaigns. I think for what I saw briefly in your site that you have made the best you can and have gotten as a result the more you can expect from the web. It´s a good conversion the current you make. My advise: Make a solid offline campaign and use the website to seal the prospects trust in you to do the work. To build long-term clients who will likely consult your web for info or upgrading on their machines or setting up/reairing/maintaining a network, etc etc (which is also part of your business and perhaps even more profitable) and who will reference it to their friends when they may need a technician.

My two cents.

[David Pearson]

To me there is a glaring omission ... your location !!! ... it should be there on your banner (in html, not JPG) ... I know I would be searching for - "computer repairs" "location" - and then I would expect to see the location at the top of the page, as confirmatiobn of the fact that I was on a site that is offering to service my locallity.


How about asking people to "register" for a free newsletter on computer security, system optimisation, local services (such as ISP's, new wireless hotspots, etc.) ... AND to recieve a discount on future work. You could even offer a monthly draw for a visit from the "PC Doctor", to check and optimise the customer's system, ... which you then write about in your next newsletter, reminding (promoting to) people just what you can do for them, apart from just repairs.

How about an image that represents what you do, that is humourous .. i.e. a cartoon of you under a PC on a car jack ... to visully confirm what you do ...
I have used cartoons in my business promotions for years ... I usually find a cartoonist at a fair or holiday destination ... also cartoons are pretty well ageless, you don't need a new cartoon every time your look changes.

[Andy-Always]

Originally Posted by meinking22

Did take a look at your website. Where is your lead capture? How do you expect any type of lead generation from your site when you do not ask for business? I saw one link on your home page to a lead capture method and that was lost in small text at the middle of the page with the word "phone" as the anchor text. I hope you're not waiting for people to call you or hit the contact button to get their business. You should ask for their information and business at least 5-10 times per page. That step is key to making sure business is generated from the site traffic you do create and it is missing from your site.

This makes total sence but 5-10 times per page sounds like a difficult task to get right or maybe I'm not creative enough?? Could you give me any ideas on what you would suggest or point me to a couple of sites as an example?
I do worry about what/how much content I put on a page so as not to lower the keyword weight, should this way of generating business be linking to another page or am I worrying too much about keyword weight on pages?

Originally Posted by meinking22

I also checked the traffic counts on the keywords you are ranking for. According to my tool, "pc repairs swanley" averages a whopping 15 queries per month. "pc repairs" would be a good phrase to rank for if you were hitting the top in Google and Yahoo. You would be getting traffic in the range of 200-300 hits per day. Ranking in just MSN, your number of 300 per month works out to be about right.

Although I'm low in Google and high on MSN, most traffic comes in from Google which made me think I need to work on getting "pc repairs" a lot higher if I could find a way. A UK search on Google for "pc repairs" shows websites at the top of the rankings that considering their content really shouldn't be there - very puzzling. What is the tool that gives you traffic counts for keywords?

Originally Posted by meinking22

And is the traffic you're generating geographically relevant? If I were you, I would be targeting local traffic. Don't expect someone from the states to contact you with the ".uk" in your URL. I would venture to say that PC support demands a more "local" presence and your optimization should reflect this.

I'm quite sure that most of the visits are local, many people seem to use a local town name in their search - everyone who actually contacts me is local

Originally Posted by meinking22

Your on-page optimization is good, but your meta certainly could be better, especially the description and keywords.

I've kept keywords to a minimum because I thought it was for the better, I thought the description was fair! I'd appreciate advice on improvement please?
Other meta need working on?

Originally Posted by meinking22

Another factor is a logical one, being that if someone needs their PC repaired, it is highly likely they don't have Internet access. Because of this, part of your marketing effort should also be offline, promoting yourself to small businesses and the like. A print ad in the local business phone directory, with your website URL listed along with your other contact information, would go a long way to reaching potential prospects in a panic.

I totally appreciate this but a huge amount of clients that I visit have more than one computer in their home, many have 3 or 4 depending on how many children they have - they're computer crazy!!

I appreciate your time and advice - thank you

[Andy-Always]

Originally Posted by Mugzzi

One thing you should do is write articles and submit them. If you wrote articles that would have a lot of people reading them so they can optimize their computers or give helpful hints then two things would happen.

First, you would establish yourself as the Expert in your industry and when their computers go "hay-wire" you will be the first person they call.

Secondly, other websites will offer you links to their sites. Hence, you will be able to get free back links but they will also help to expose you to more end users.

Remember, there are four different types of customers. You have the immediate need, thinkers, just in case later, and already solved their needs so not interested. You have captured the immediate users but now you should work on the other two catagories. They will come to you when they are ready because you have established brand name recognition.

Hope that helps, Mugzzi

Yes it does help a great deal, almost obvious but at the same time easily overlooked - sound advice and already on my "to do" list. Thank you

[Andy-Always]

Originally Posted by brander

The comment that you could write articles that would establish your reputation as an expert is a viable means of driving targeted traffic. Another option is to expand your services to include PC maintenance. Offer services that will optimize PC performance. This way, you can actually have people who still can access the internet find your site and hire you.

We do currently offer just about all computer related services from data recovery to network security - computer healthcheck to network installation etc. the other pages on my site have information on this but Google seems to rate my other pages even lower. I think this may be half my problem and I can't work out why! Is there an obvious reason why the rest of my pages rank so poor on Google but rank much better on MSN for example??

Originally Posted by brander

Another good option is to use PPC. I state this only as an option if you are "targeting the tail". Targeting people who have specific types of PC's and targeting people whose PC's are past warranty.

I have considered this but does it generate a lot of unwanted traffic - is it cost effective? Would the money be better spent on improving natural rankings?

Originally Posted by brander

You are operating in a highly competitive arena. It is likely that many of the visitors that your site is getting are competitors looking for ideas on how to take your market share.

Totally agree - just as I do them!

Originally Posted by brander

The usual strategies for driving targeted traffic still apply:

Find forums where people who need your services congregate and ask for help and then help them.

Join groups on any number of social networking sites that are filled with people who are most likely going to need your services and post to them. ie: internet newbies or new computer user groups.

If you have time and the inclination, write and distribute free to copy articles.

Do not be fooled by your numbers. Hits and Visitors mean nothing in the larger scheme of things. Revenue generated is the only real measure of a internet communications program, whether it is a website or a PR push.

More sound advice that is very much appreciated, I'm taking it all on board and I will work with it - Thank you

[craigmn3]

Consider that if a PC is down, it isn't going to access the internet. That means that anyone with an immediate need is not going to land on your site when they need your service. Because they can't.

Absolutely........I am thinking of opening up a drive through Auto repair place.

300 people interested and looking can be converted to customers if you get their attention. "Geek Squad" is a perfect example. It put's me at ease, it grabs my attention and it get's me what I need.

I look at your site and it looks like your selling microsoft products Click....darn another irrelvant search. SHOW ME THE MONEY I am looking for someone to help me in my highly agitated and frustrated condition. I want to see a computer hospital on my screen when I click on your link.....not the progenetor of all my computer problems, the inscrutable Microsoft.ARGGGGHHHHHH!

ahem

I have always said the best thing you can do with a computer involves the backyard and a shotgun.

All we have to sell in the business is the sizzle, the steak is thousands of miles away

[edhan]

I do PC repairs offline and I do not advertise on web. I have enquiries through emails and phone calls. I guess PC repairs online is small since if I have problems with my PC, I will most likely unable to go online to search for help.

[Jason (Expletia)]

I have a similar website

http://www.upgradelaptop.co.uk

I cannot get the traffic it does not seem to be popular online, even at 2% my visitors will only convert to 1 a month due to traffic !!! only 54 visitors last month, I have had the same prob with repairs!!!

My search results are OK, My main keyword is Upgrade Laptop, Google UK No 2, Yahoo No 2, MSN No 1.

[nigelaxis]

It seems that your offline marketing is more important then your online SEO. But I will add my comments for both:
For Offline Marketing, what you need is a campaign that focuses on 'take my details while you can rather then not have them when you need them'.

I would focus on having leaflets on display at as many local outlets as possible. Offer a small discount against the fee when presented with the leaflet and offer the store a cut of every deal. A bit like offline pay-per-click.

Newsagent counters, Hairdressers, video rentals, etc. See if you can cut a deal with a local school too. The kids always either break-em or need upgrades.

The other item I would add is Yellow Pages. The telephone works when the computer does not.

Another point that helps is networking. This might be offering private computer lessons, a networking society or just being a bit more chatty with everybody you meet.

For online....Yell.com will give you a free local ad. You would need to pay about £350 for a website link though.

Aside from that you are back to the same SEO tasks as the rest of us!!!
1) Submit your site to directories - Use keywords in your link. Do not do more then 20-30 a day as this can upset the search engines and get you in the dreaded sandbox.
2) Have keyworded signature links on your forum posts.
3) Write keyword orientated articles with links back to you site.
4) Do reciprocal links with sites with the right keywords.
5) Make sure your links go to various pages of your site. Vary the keywords, as example 'computer repairs swanley''swanley computer upgrade'. Use a keyword selection tool to guide you with which keywords to use.
6) Consider pay-per-click. Only use very defined keywords phrases that would equal a potential client in your area. For your phrases this should be pennies each month.
7) Site Content - When you write an article add it to your site. Create other keyword phrase orientated pages such as 'Computer Upgrades in Swanley' 'Computer Memory Upgrades in Swanley'. You can also add the odd page about 'Swanley' as this is a keyword phrase for you.
But don't add too many pages too quickly (say max 5 per month for a start) as this upsets the search engines

Hope my notes assist!

[brucet]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say, I don't think the Internet is the best way to market a business that is very geographically-based and serving a relatively small local area - at least, not yet. It's only really optimal for products and services that can be delivered remotely over distance, eg as an alternative to conventional mail order.

Because you're in IT you will be expected to have a web site, and it's important to keep it up to date and reasonably well optimized. But in terms of pro-active marketing for your business, I would invest an awful lot more in conventional activities like small ads, Yellow Pages, leafletting local small businesses etc

[Andy-Always]

Originally Posted by craigmn3

Absolutely........I am thinking of opening up a drive through Auto repair place.

Maybe you're thinking too narrow! All auto repair place's already are "drive in" your car may need any number of repairs and still be capable of driving! Same with a computer, you may have a dead cd drive, error messages, dead usb ports, no sound etc. all need a repair but don't stop the computer working!

Originally Posted by craigmn3

300 people interested and looking can be converted to customers if you get their attention. "Geek Squad" is a perfect example. It put's me at ease, it grabs my attention and it get's me what I need.

Interesting opinion, maybe this is where the American and English market differs "geek squad" doesn't really do it for me, I found it a bit boring but that said - they look like they are big so maybe it's me!!

Originally Posted by craigmn3

I look at your site and it looks like your selling microsoft products Click....darn another irrelvant search. SHOW ME THE MONEY I am looking for someone to help me in my highly agitated and frustrated condition. I want to see a computer hospital on my screen when I click on your link.....not the progenetor of all my computer problems, the inscrutable Microsoft.ARGGGGHHHHHH!

We do sell Microsoft products :-) We do repair Microsoft products, we work with Microsoft products, We are in business because of Microsoft products, most people using this forum use Microsoft
Like it or not, Microsoft is still the Daddy and I'm sure they will be for a long time!

Your opinions are appreciated, Thanks

[Andy-Always]

Originally Posted by David Pearson

I know I would be searching fo