Combining off-line and on-line does this work?

[UKSBD]

A guy I do a bit of work with wants to combine a bit of off-line and on-line advertising/marketing

He's having a couple of their vans sign written, will have boards up, plaster stuff everywhere in his location with the intention being, if anyone sees them, they Google the business name.

We're then going to run adwords just on that name to try to get people landing on a specific page. (at the moment a different page rank for the phrase).

I've set this page up as a landing page - https://wentworthmolingservices.co.uk/wentworth-water/

What's your opinion on this?

 

[Shopclicks]

No QR code on the van? If you want the page easy to find.

For this type of business, location pages would help.

 

[UKSBD]

No QR code on the van? If you want the page easy to find.

For this type of business, location pages would help.

Do people trust QR codes, and would they work on the side of a van?

The main site targets locations, this is just a standalone page

 

[Shopclicks]

Do people trust QR codes, and would they work on the side of a van?

A nice big 12 inch square QR code will work fine. I have a QR code on the front window of about 100 shops in my town. which takes people to an interactive map. The map page gets about 4000 views a month.

The main site targets locations, this is just a standalone page

With location specific pages?

 

[UKSBD]

A nice big 12 inch square QR code will work fine. I have a QR code on the front window of about 100 shops in my town. which takes people to an interactive map. The map page gets about 4000 views a month.


With location specific pages?

I'll mention a QR code to him.

It has loads of semi-spammy location pages, done the old way, which still work.

Trying to get him to put better content on each page, he just comes back with AI generated rubbish though.

 

[Shopclicks]

Trying to get him to put better content on each page, he just comes back with AI generated rubbish though.

Yeah that's not good. There's a lot to be said for good copywriting and research.

 

[Shopclicks]

It has loads of semi-spammy location pages, done the old way, which still work.

Does he have his locations added to his GBP? And all of his services?

 

[UKSBD]

going off-topic now

It's just that one landing page and concept I wanted opinions on

 

[Shopclicks]

Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers

Google's ranking systems are designed to present helpful, reliable information that's created to benefit people. Learn how to evaluate your own content with the self-assessment questions.

developers.google.com

 

[WaveJumper]

Sponsor some roundabouts

 

[fisicx]

Google will favour the homepage of the site as it’s the main portal to the business. Trying to promote an internal page for a non related keyword is confusing. Even more so when the home link doesn’t link to the site root.

GBP is a far better thing to promote.

As an aside, the landing page you linked to isn’t good on mobile. Nor does it really promote the business.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Thats a lot of URL to remember could be reduce it to a simple https://mole-remover.co.uk or similar or Mole-mover

 

[fisicx]

Thats a lot of URL to remember could be reduce it to a simple https://mole-remover.co.uk or similar or Mole-mover

I thought it was mole removing as well until I looked at the site.

@UKSBD - it’s the wrong domain name if you want to promote water leak repairs. If I did a Google search and saw that URL I’d be confused.

 

[UKSBD]

Thats a lot of URL to remember could be reduce it to a simple https://mole-remover.co.uk or similar or Mole-mover

Only people in the industry really know what moling is, it's nothing to do with removing moles

 

[UKSBD]

Google will favour the homepage of the site as it’s the main portal to the business. Trying to promote an internal page for a non related keyword is confusing. Even more so when the home link doesn’t link to the site root.

It's just a test at the moment and is completely stand-alone from the site.

All the above comments about SEO, locations, GBP are irrelevant, I'm not asking about that.

The idea is, he wants to see if putting a message on the van saying "Google xxxxx xxx" will actually result in people Googling it.

He started out just moling, but is now providing other related services, he has other sites for services, but really needs a main "all services" domain now

 

[UKSBD]

@UKSBD - it’s the wrong domain name if you want to promote water leak repairs. If I did a Google search and saw that URL I’d be confused.

It's not only promoting water leak repairs

He initially only did moling, he has other domains for other services, but really needs a generic "all services" one.

 

[Shopclicks]

All the above comments about SEO, locations, GBP are irrelevant, I'm not asking about that.

Not if you're running Google Ads.

We're then going to run adwords just on that name to try to get people landing on a specific page.

You need to read this:

About Quality Score for search campaigns - Google Ads Help

Quality Score is a diagnostic tool meant to give you a sense of how well your ad quality compares to other advertisers. This score is measured on a scale from 1–10 and available at the keyword

support.google.com

 

[UKSBD]

I give up

I'll rephrase the question.

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

 

[Shopclicks]

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

Terrible idea / poor quality landing page.

I give up too.

 

[fisicx]

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

Use both. But not the way you are doing it. ‘********’ looks like a company name. That’s what I’d expect to see on Google with the GBP on the right.

 

[zomex]

My two cents.

I think it's a very bad idea on the basis that the website does not show number 1 on Google organically for the search. To make up for that with Adwords seems like a flawed approach in my opinion. The client is going to end up paying per click when it isn't necessary. Even if it did show as number 1 there is so much clutter on a Google search results page these days it's not guaranteed the person will find the correct link.

The landing page is poorly done. Bad design (very dated), layout/structure/spacing poor. It has no advantages over a well designed conventional website.

I agree completely with @Shopclicks

Create a website, optionally create a landing page from that (a much better design/structure) and use a QR code on the van to guarantee it takes the user to the correct page. Do some tests with the QR printed on standard paper at different sizes to check which distance it can be picked up by a mobile and how it looks prior to printing.

I would also add the URL and/or phone number as a backup to the QR. Not everyone is going to use a QR.

One thing I recommend. If the QR is going to be on a van it's wise to use a 301 redirect URL which you can control. That way you can always update the URL if needed without having to replace the QR. E.g domain.com/vandesign - redirect to your chosen URL. You can and should redirect it to a URL containing Google's UTMs so it can be tracked using Google Analytics:

https://ga-dev-tools.google/ga4/campaign-url-builder/

 

[antropy]

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

Takes me back to the 90s and early 00s, and not in a good way.

Paul.

 

[Ozzy]

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

I probably wouldn't use a QR code on the van as mentioned above, I'm not going to get my phone out to scan a QR code anywhere except maybe if used to pay for my meal at a restaurant. Especially if I'm sat at traffic lights or following a van down the motorway.
Just my opinion their though, maybe other people trust and like QR codes.

I would have something catchy, a hook phrase or something on the van to help people remember who it is. Whether that is a catchy slogan or social handle, something that will help someone who has only 5 seconds to see the van before their lights go green remember who it is. A landing page URL is just too long for someone to remember.

 

[fisicx]

A landing page URL is just too long for someone to remember.

Unless it was: wentworthwater.com and the message was 'search for wentworth water'.

However....

If you do that search you land here:

Water Leak Detection Specialist Aldershot Hampshire and Surrounding Area

We offer internal and external water leak detecting within a 40 mile radius of Aldershot using Tracer Gas or Acoustic water leak detection

wentworthmolingservices.co.uk

Which is just as bad a page as the one @UKSBD is trying to promote.

 

[Newchodge]

I give up

I'll rephrase the question.

What are people opinions on putting a message on a van asking people to Google a business name rather than putting a website address on the van?

Good idea, I am more likely to remember the business name than the website address. I don't understand the QR code suggestion, though? Am I supposed to wait until the vehicle stops then walk up to it and scan the QR code on my mobile?

I am a normal member of the public, not an expert in how these things work.

 

[Shopclicks]

I don't understand the QR code suggestion, though? Am I supposed to wait until the vehicle stops then walk up to it and scan the QR code on my mobile?

The QR code is an alternate, not a replacement. I wouldn't suggest removing either the business name or the website url if it was there. But if I was walking past a parked van and saw a service that I was interested in, I can grab my phone, point it at the QR and in 2 seconds I'm looking at their website. Nothing to remember or write down.

I could just as easily take a photo of their phone number. But of course that doesn't appear to be on the side of the van either.

 

[fisicx]

I knew a printer who had his name and phone number on the roof of his van. Got a surprising number of leads from that.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Dyno-rod managed to get there name about buy the use of hi-vis paint that stood out far beter than other vans plus easy name to remember

 

[Martin Patfield]

It's really peculiar. I was out and about at the weekend having already read some of this thread.

What van did I look up and see in front of me but this one as described.