• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Importance of Website

JP'S

Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Florida
Occupation
owner; operator
Just wondering for all that have a web page, is it a valuable tool for your company? Looking to start one and just trying to get input from people that have a site up and going. Thanks Jay.
 

cat 385

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
346
Location
west jordan,utah
well i'm not a contractor just a stupid operator but i can tell you i go on a lot of web pages for companies for what jobs they have going, if they are hiring, for instance i had not heard of some of the companies on this site say sureway,but looking at burnouts post i went to their page just to check things out.
 

JP'S

Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Florida
Occupation
owner; operator
You are right. I guess it sure couldn't hurt anything.
 

Red Bank

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
323
Location
North Carolina
I would say it is very important. The boss says he has gotten a lot of work from the website. Enough to completely re-do the one we have, which is still under construction. The horse farm my family operates has a website and 75% of our business has come from the website. Day job=www.krgutility.com, may not be up-still under construction last time I checked. Farm=www.redbankstables.com. Build one, make it nice and informative, keep it updated, and I am sure it will bring a good return.
 

curly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
220
Location
Sioux Falls,SD
Occupation
loader operator
I'd say it's important too for anything from posting job openings to having a contact list for the company.
 

Turbo21835

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
1,135
Location
Road Dog
Some information may be helpful for someone to find on the web. But then again, I see it similar to the yellow pages. You usually get someone out shopping price. Or looking for someone to do a job for them and then stiff them on pay later. Still find word of mouth usually leads to the best customers.
 

roddyo

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
788
Location
Arkansas
Occupation
Manipulator of the Planet
The Internet is the New Phone Book

I think the internet is the new phone Book. This will only increase as younger people that have been raised on computors start spending their money. A person can google whatever service they need and a zip code and have results. Another plus is I think people can remember a web address easier than a phone number.
Just my 2 cents :D
 

JP'S

Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Florida
Occupation
owner; operator
Thanks for everyone's input. I think I will give it a shot. Even if I get 2 new loyal customers a year, I think it's worth it. Thanks again.
 

AtlasRob

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,982
Location
West Sussex UK
Occupation
owner operator
I think a web site is one of the best forms of advertising you can have.
It doesnt have to be multi pages or all big and fancy, start off with a page or two that give your main contact details and description of what you do.
Then you can add pictures of work done and machinery you have.
DONT spend a fortune on having one built, it is not very difficult, if you can operate a keyboard ( your on here ) and want to do it, anything is possible.

As important in my opinion is to have your own Domain name, eg

jayp*****.com ( sorry dont know what you initials stand for), but you get my drift. Personally I dont like to see *****contractors@yahoo.com
 
Last edited:

curly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
220
Location
Sioux Falls,SD
Occupation
loader operator
If you do the design yourself there are free WYSIWYG editors out there that can do the trick, unless you can do HTML and visualize (I can't!). Don't spend much money on having someone doing it for you. If you want help I'm laid off and have more time than all the haul trucks could carry.
 

JP'S

Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Florida
Occupation
owner; operator
A friend of mine that's really good with computers said he would layout and design the page for me. All I have to do is provide him with the information and pic for the site.
 

curly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
220
Location
Sioux Falls,SD
Occupation
loader operator
Good deal! Be sure to post the link so we can point and laugh.....I mean point and click :)
 

Cmark

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
3,178
Location
Australia
My advice would be to register a domain name and get a simple web site up as soon as you can. I doesn't have to cost a lot.

You may not know this, I certainly didn't, but it will be several months before your website is indexed by the large search engines (Google, mainly) and even longer before it appears in search results.

I don't get a lot of business from mine, but at least it now appears when people Google the relevant search words.

It also means that you can get an email address like "jay@jayssuperfantasticcutpriceultrareliableearthmoving.com". I don't think a hotmail, yahoo addresses etc looks very profesional

Who knows, if you don't, you may be kicking yourself in 12 months time.

Think 12 months ahead and whaddavya godda lose?

Good luck....
 

Squizzy246B

Administrator
Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
3,388
Location
Perth, Western Australia
Occupation
Digger Driver
I have only had my site up for a few months but now I can't imagine not having it. It helps convince the clients we are a better choice.
 

telescooper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
103
Location
PA
Squizzy,
You could add hard to beat. Do it once, do it well & hard to beat
Telescooper
 

nitrox2595

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
23
Location
new york
I completely agree. I dont think that you can afford not to have a website. My website: www.idecdemo.com, consistently gets some hits per day.Google analytics will track website performance
 

SnoSheriff

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2010
Messages
46
Location
MB, Canada
Websites don't have to be fancy and flashy. The site should be easy to navigate and provide the right content to the viewers.

It's not expensive to have one built and they are great for many reasons. You can demo your machines, photo gallery of jobs that you have done (before & after comparison), videos, services you offer etc... You can also do link exchange with other local contractors that complement your business. This way you send them traffic (potential business) and they send traffic to you... You can have testimonial section... You can also put in small inexpensive ads in local papers and simply point readers to your website where they can read more about your company and services. This way you pay less for the ad, however the ad is smaller...

There are many benefits to having a website and compared to the machinery cost they are not that expensive. I built some for my friends and they said that it was a crucial addition to their business.
 
Top