Digital Tools for Trades: Why Tradie’s Online Presence Matters
If you’re searching for a new tool for your trade, you’ll likely look online first. You’ll want to read reviews, compare prices, research models and check availability.
When your customers are looking for a tradie, they’ll do much the same. A quick scan of the top search results and they’ll soon be engaging with their next plumber or electrician.
Offline marketing has fast become prehistoric. A tradie’s online presence has never mattered more. It’s time to create a trade business website. Read on to find out more from the premier website developer in Brisbane.
24/7 Instant Access and Enhanced Credibility
A website lets you keep your virtual shopfront open day and night. You might be relaxing over a well-deserved beer after a long day and that won’t stop those looking for a tradie to fix their power supply, take down a dividing wall or fit a new tap to find you.
Your trade business website starts as a blank canvas. You can fill it with examples of your work. It’s somewhere you can showcase your expertise and provide details of the kinds of services you offer. You can stamp your personality by adding photos and videos of past projects you’ve completed.
Customers like to check out their tradies. When they can’t find a website for you, they’ll likely move on. Your website will:
- Add kudos
- Give you credibility
- Let your customers know you’re genuine with a reputation to maintain
Your Trade Business Website Will Attract New Customers
Potential customers will have an excellent opportunity to find you online. That gives you far greater reach and increased visibility. A website comes into its own because it offers the chance for better comms.
Customers can leave messages, upload photos of any issues they’re experiencing in their homes and engage more fully. That lets you get a better steer of the services they need. You can then schedule more efficiently.
A trade business website is your chance to make the most of your online reviews and testimonials. Customers like to read evidence-based opinions from those who’ve used your services.
A Marketing Platform That Boosts Visibility
Instagram and TikTok attract billions of users. It proves there’s a strong demand for descriptive photos and videos. Customers enjoy “before” and “after” pictures that show the potential value of spending money on repairs or renovations.
You’ll have quick-win opportunities to attract customers by offering incentives for:
- Online bookings for regular jobs like servicing
- Successful recommendations
- Flash sales or discounts during quiet periods or when you’re starting out
When we relied on advertising in local newspapers or on our city’s radio stations, we became limited to audiences by geographical area. Your new website will help you attract new business from further afield.
We can show you how search engine optimisation (SEO) will improve your online visibility even further. The goal will be for your website to be at the top of Internet search results so that customers click on your links before anyone else’s.
More Sophisticated and Convenient Interaction
When you’re busy on a job, calls from new customers can sometimes feel irritating. It doesn’t have to be that way. Customers expect to fill out contact forms and schedule appointments online.
A tradie’s online presence reduces the need to take calls when you’re busy. The expectation is that you’ll display useful information or updates online. Websites act as a tool to inform your customers of reduced working hours over holiday periods, for example.
You can even link accounting software to your site. It enables you to offer estimates, and quotes and generate invoices at the touch of a button. In just a few years, the applications have become far more user-friendly.
If you’re more comfortable with a hammer than a laptop in your hand, you no longer have to feel like a stranger to digital technology. The use of software has become increasingly intuitive and far less time-consuming.
Watch Your Website Grow and Develop
Unlike non-digital marketing platforms such as magazines, trade business websites can and should grow and develop. It’s critical to add new content, photos, videos and information regularly. In that sense, you should see your website as a constant work in progress.
You can integrate your website with your business social media accounts as well as your email marketing strategies. The best websites act as a resource providing visitors with valuable industry insights through blog posts and articles.
This additional value helps maximise SEO. You can even team up with other trusted suppliers or tradies who complement your areas of expertise. Further down the line, you can cross-promote so that there is a benefit to you and your customer base.
Quality Counts
Many of us multi-skill within the comfort of our areas of expertise. It is unusual to have an aptitude for disparate competencies like writing and plumbing, for example.
It’s a crucial point because customers looking for tradies are a sophisticated bunch. They’ll quickly spot grammatical errors or a photo that appears overcorrected. For them, these can be a turn-off and suggest a lack of expertise, meaning they’ll move on to a trade business website that instils more confidence.
We always encourage busy tradies to outsource the creation and management of a trade business website to a team of web developer experts. The results in quality and reach will be markedly better. Using a website developer in Brisbane lessens the risk of time wasted on aspects of website design that will not add value.
Give Your Tradies’ Online Presence a Big Boost
Simply Me-dia is passionate about trade business website design. We have a team of creatives and experts in SEO. We’ve helped scores of small businesses in Brisbane, Queensland and beyond with online digital marketing options.
We’ll save you time and money, increase your exposure and boost your credibility. We’ll help you engage with your customers in new and exciting ways.
Whether you need a website makeover or want to build a new trade website to boost your online presence, we have you covered. Get in touch with one of the team today to find out how the premier website developers in Brisbane can turbo-charge your business.