It still begs a question of how effective those local listings are?
Anyone had any success from it? Seems to me like a sort of online word of mouth.
There does seem to be a fair amount of positivity towards website search engine listings, but no quantitative feedback in terms of jobs/ cash per month achieved through websites alone.
Getting your website opened in someone's browser is obviously only the first hurdle, i.e. the site has to tempt potential customers into giving you a call, for an estimate, whatever.
In my experience, a lot of small business trades people investing in websites, and little else, end up disappointed, and generally the advice is to make your website a shop window that compliments various other forms of advertising.
Templates and plugins are very sophisticated these days, and if used intelligently they can produce a very professional looking website - some web designers use Wordpress as a core and just change the fascia by rewriting the HTML.
If the advertising budget is small, it might be better to use a basic self-build website at a basic cost per month, and use the money saved for a regular small ad in the local paper which has the web address on and something that grabs people attention, e.g. maybe a set price (from £xx) for replacing a tap, or an offer on a boiler service, something like that.
Mail-shots through the door offering a low-cost boiler safety-check might be a good way of getting some servicing work, e.g. if they have the boiler serviced then the cost of the safety check is knocked off the charge for the service.
Safety, and boiler efficiency are two very good ways of selling your services, and using a proactive approach is likely to be better than saying: I'm John Smith, GSR, and I'm available if ever you want me (passive approach).
