The right way

This image is from the website of Baker Roofing Co. in North Carolina. I came across the company in little comment in Ed Fako's not-ready-for-public viewing blog, and queried my North Carolina publisher Bob Kruhm about the company. He said: "They are the largest roofing company in the state…and perhaps the entire Southwest. Very tough competition for every roofing company that bids on work here." I sense someone at Baker Roofing was doing a little Search Engine Optimization by linking to Fako's virtually invisible blog. Guess I'm going to help them some more here, with a link back from my rather highly ranked blog.

In the last couple of days, I've enjoyed a rewarding email exchange with Ed Fako of Right Way Roofing Co. of Carpentersville, Illinois (a Chicago suburb). Fako is a frequent and incisive poster on contractortalk.com threads. He sought out my advice on web links and some aspects of Internet marketing.

The challenge right now, as far as the Web goes for Ed , is that he doesn't have an active website attached to the domain he registered, and a blog he started would not reflect well on his business. I told him in emails that it wouldn't make sense to draw any attention right now either to his domain or his blog -- he needs to fix these things. I hope he does, soon, because his useful and intelligent postings on forums are of real value -- and with just a little work, he can connect these postings (that show his knowledge) with new client business development through the website, blog, and the magical power of search engine marketing.

Nevertheless, I would like to share some of Ed's gems.

This posting on Inspecting the World (International Association of Certified Home Inspectors) takes a shot at "The Rationale for Getting 3 Bids or the Risks of Only Using That Method?"

Ed also has advocated a mentorship program within Contractortalk.com, "Mentoring an Underpriced Contractor".

So why should Ed Fako waste no time in completing the other steps to build his web presence?
First, with a little technical support, he can build a content and information-rich site/blog, one which could (after a few months) attract astounding search engine rankings. Then, with co-ordination, potential clients will be predisposed to call him and not two, or 10 others, for a quote. He won't need to spend a fortune on advertising; organic traffic to the website will get his phone ringing for estimates. And his solid reputation within online forums will really help his business.

But how can he set up a great site, quickly, and without too much cost? One option (probably one that won't work in the big Chicago area market because of exclusivity issues), is to use Footbridge Media, which I've recommended previously. But there are other specialists in contractor-focused web design and in a future issue of this blog, I'll list some of them.

This is NOT a do-it yourself project, unless you are comfortable and reasonably knowledgeable about these matters -- yes, Blogger and Wordpress can give you a virtually 'instant' blog (at no cost), but you need to follow some basic guidelines and processes to do it right. As I explained to Ed Fako, I would make a terrible roofer!