Review please ladies and gents

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

This is not my main business, but a nice simple earner for me- sending a bloke out with a digger on day rate hire. Currently most of this work comes from gumtree or eBay listings due to their high rankings in Google searches. So I went to create a site just for this.

My goal was to create a site that would rank well for people searching for a digger and driver in the limited area I cover. My only competitors that come up on page 1 of google for 'digger and driver in xx' (outside of Gumtree or Yell) use location based doorway pages. There is mixed advice on this, but to be frank, I don't see this changing any time soon for a business targeting such a small niche and area. Therefore I have gone with a few to start and we'll see how we get on. Long term I will add location relevant case studies and different images on each location landing page.

There is some extra content in there (FAQ etc) but as I said, I think the landing pages will currently draw the traffic I need. Once on there, everything is gear towards making a quick professional impression and getting the customer to call me. Customers are DIYers and builders. Often the builder will have been let down last minute- happy to help (for a fee...) So all references to phone numbers are of course tel:links and it's mobile optimised.

Here's a landing page for a local town:

http://southerndiggers.co.uk/areas/midhurst/mini-digger-driver-midhurst.html

Currently getting an SSL cert and doing the 301 redirects. The 'areas we cover page' is really just a link placeholder currently.

 

[Simon.P]

Hi.
No logo or physical address. Do you have a Google My Business page? If not that will help with local SEO moreso when people start leaving reviews.
You could also put some photos of your operators and public liability insurance to reassure viewers.
Hope that helps

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Hi.
No logo or physical address. Do you have a Google My Business page? If not that will help with local SEO moreso when people start leaving reviews.
You could also put some photos of your operators and public liability insurance to reassure viewers.
Hope that helps

Thanks.

I'll mention fully insured.

GMB is a funny one- it's not helped my other buiness much despite five star reviews (yet 'businesses' with just a mobile number Yell.com websites are still in the threepack) and I feel it would hinder this particular website as I am targeting larger towns ten miles away more than my hometown.

A large competitor to my other business is also way down (below me!) in GMB listings depsite a dozen 5* reviews and regular updates, whilst a one man band nobody has heard of has top spot.

 

[Simon.P]

Also, on my mobile the menu cuts off after "areas we cover"

As far as i can see GMB favours businesses which rank well for service+city. I often wonder if the near the business is to the city helps. Any negative reviews can push them out.

All the best with it.

 

[fisicx]

Look at the site on your phone. Looks like it was built with a naff page builder.

The copy isn’t good either.

What’s the daily charge? Why can’t I book online?

Who are you? Where are you? Who are you targeting?

 

[Clinton]

Yeah, the copy needs work.

Sure, you could hire a digger from a tool hire company. But by the time you've paid the hire charge, the transport charge, the compulsory insurance against it getting stolen and of course the diesel, then you're often no better off

AFAIAC, you're a tool hire company that also provides a driver. And you're persuading me to not hire a digger from the likes of you?! <confused>

Replace your heading text:

Looking to hire a mini or micro excavator with an experienced operator for your project in or around Midhurst, West Sussex? You've come to the right place!

with

Hire an excavator + operator for less than hiring an excavator! Midhurst, West Sussex

Or something. Fewer words. Always.

Bullet points maybe.

• 1.2 tonnes to 2.8 tonnes diggers
• No additional cost for transport, insurance, diesel etc
• Wide range of specialist attachments to speed the job up
• Get a skilled operator at no extra cost!

Ring us, tell us where to dig, go put your feet up! (Or hire our 4WD power barrow and help finish the job more quickly).

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Look at the site on your phone. Looks like it was built with a naff page builder.

The copy isn’t good either.

What’s the daily charge? Why can’t I book online?

Who are you? Where are you? Who are you targeting?

It's built in Foundation so can be built however is needed. What changes would you make to the mobile mode?

Copy- suggestions welcome.

As to the rest- its a digger and driver for a day. Low skill work, it is what it is, no need to be too fancy. When the customer calls, I can make the sale- or turn them away if I can tell they will be trouble. It's a rough trade. Most of this kind of work comes from Gumtree and Friday Ad currently.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Yeah, the copy needs work.



AFAIAC, you're a tool hire company that also provides a driver. And you're persuading me to not hire a digger from the likes of you?!

Will modify- nice one. Essentially if you call Jewsons to self drive hire, the hire fee will be £200 for a day. Might as well pay another £80 and have a driver who knows what they're doing.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Also, on my mobile the menu cuts off after "areas we cover"

As far as i can see GMB favours businesses which rank well for service+city. I often wonder if the near the business is to the city helps. Any negative reviews can push them out.

All the best with it.

My bad- I shrank the header image this morning, will sort.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Yeah, the copy needs work.



AFAIAC, you're a tool hire company that also provides a driver. And you're persuading me to not hire a digger from the likes of you?! <confused>

Replace your heading text:

with

Or something. Fewer words. Always.

Bullet points maybe.

Ring us, tell us where to dig, go put your feet up! (Or hire our 4WD power barrow and help finish the job more quickly).

Genuinely helpful, thanks mate.

 

[fisicx]

It's built in Foundation so can be built however is needed. What changes would you make to the mobile mode?

No idea what foundation is so can't help there.

Get rid of the animated image. Put the business name at the top along with a tagline and your contacts details.

Then an image of a digger if you really want (hi res not the blurry thong you have at the moment)

Then some blurb about the service

Then a list of the things you can do.

Repeat your contact details

Now put the FAQ stuff on the page

Repeat your contact details

Footer with links to T&C, legal and so on

Repeat your contact details but now add company details

Everything is now on one page - so no need for the two menu rows at the top of the current page.

And make the background white with dark words. White on mud isn't easy to read.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

No idea what foundation is so can't help there.

Get rid of the animated image. Put the business name at the top along with a tagline and your contacts details.

Then an image of a digger if you really want (hi res not the blurry thong you have at the moment)

Then some blurb about the service

Then a list of the things you can do.

Repeat your contact details

Now put the FAQ stuff on the page

Repeat your contact details

Footer with links to T&C, legal and so on

Repeat your contact details but now add company details

Everythng is now on one page - so no need for the two menu rows at the top of the current

You mean fit more on one page for mobile view?

 

[fisicx]

You mean fit more on one page for mobile view?

No, this will be for all resolutions. People will only ever be on the site because they want a hole dug. So keep it simple. Just tell them what you do and how to get it. All on one page.

 

[fisicx]

For example: tell them you can dig holes, trenches, foundations, water ways, do levelling, landscaping and so on. Or maybe rather than have a page for each location (something Google hates), try having a page for each thing you use a digger for.

We needed a man to dig a trench for some footings. That what I searched for. I didn't care if he used a digger, backhoe or a team of navvies. The job was important not the means of delivery.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

No, this will be for all resolutions. People will only ever be on the site because they want a hole dug. So keep it simple. Just tell them what you do and how to get it. All on one page.

Makes perfect sense to me. Thanks for your help with the copy guys.

I hear what you say about location pages, but it's currently the main thing my competitors rank for, and that's after all the Gumtree type listings (which one presumes are location optimised with the details you provide to Gumtree) How else do you get it known that you dig foundations in Chichester? Especially if I cut down on the images (and therefore the alt tags)

 

[fisicx]

Alt tags have little effect.

What makes the difference is having location specific information - like case studies. But more importantly: an address on the page

This is where WordPress can really help your business - you can build up a corpus of posts (case studies) and type of job (pages) all neatly categoriesed and searchable.

Done right you will rank for all sorts of useful keywords.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

I have neither the time nor inclination to set up an ongoing blog with case studies, so will cross my fingers and hope for the (updated as suggested) doorway pages to bring results as they currently do for competitors.

Interestingly alt tags brought my homepage to the first page of a google search as a location was mentioned in the alt tag but nowhere else on the page. So a page of interesting pics and decent alt tags would probably be a worthwhile time investment.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

OK, changes made (on linked page only thus far)-.

http://www.southerndiggers.co.uk/areas/midhurst/mini-digger-driver-midhurst.html

Menu, banner image and header optimised for mobile use. Contact menu removed, will be replaced by contact page with address, phone, email etc.
Copy and structure improved along the lines as suggested above (thanks gents)