Been hearing a lot about websites, I’ve cleaned windows for 6 years now and business is growing each year, It started with just me and now my daughter and her husband are both full time with me and my wife watches their two children while we work, a true family effort. I have always looked at my ROI return on investment on anything I’ve tried for getting business. Like how many calls per 100 flyers passed out. How phone book ads produce vs cost.
But website? I am not real computer savvy, so I would likely need help setting one up and on how to get Local hits or business from the site. I would like the warm fuzzy feeling of saying [I][B]“here visit my website”[/B][/I] but what I need to know more is what about ROI and if that is good then where do I start and what cost should I allow for? I feel responsible for not only my household but my daughters family welfare as well so I can’t see venturing hard earned dollars for my “WARM FUZZY” unless it makes financial sense!
[I]Sorry for so many words, can anyone advise me?[/I] Thank You in advance!!
Well, you do not like the Internet. How you feel about
it really does not matter.
The facts are that 66% of people searching for something
locally use the Internet. That number is growing.
Business is not about how you feel, it’s about making
money.
Too bad more did not have your feelings, those of us with
sites would have a greater advantage.
What is best for your company, that holds your answer…
i set up my website on www.vistaprint.co.uk and its free the first 30days,no contract either . to be honest it never really rakes much work in , the bulk of my work is houses lived in by old folk, they dont use the net but they talk quietly with shopkeepers etc and thats where my work comes . but i recommend VISTAPRINT easy to setup a website in 10minutes/ i think its £2 or £3 for a single page but i go for 3 pages and this is just over £7 (per month )
Websites can work if they’re done right, but its not only the look and the design of the site that is important,… you need to get it ranking well in Google for the keywords that suit your business.
I signed accounts last year that came directly from my website worth about $9000 per annum (Including a $4000 one today!).
I’ve been lucky,… I’d expect the average website to pull in less than that (Depending on your area & local competition),… but it should ALWAYS bring in at least double what it costs.
Websites are my “wet weather” sideline,… if you need any help and advice I’d be happy to help.
Website… Hands down the best ROI I have ever garnished. 90% of our Business comes from the internet. I have helped others do the same and have yet to hear any bad stories. The ROI is awesome. If you are not on the web, you are missing leads.
Feel free to call if you need help. 859-983-5955
just like that, no website means leaving money on the table, a big chunk.
As Michael said, it gotta be the best ROI when compared to any other form of paid advertisment
I used to feel the same way. I set up our website just under a year ago and it has been the best ROI of any of our marketing so far. I used Yahoo Small Business and w/ their templates and 2 days of work it was up and running. Since then I have tweaked it w/ links, photos, and adjustments to my meta tags. All things I picked up from this site! 
Sounds like I’M missing the boat by not getting a website, the ROI based on your comments are there. Some of the tips from “My Little Marketing Blog” sound great. I especially like the referral technique described there, thanks Paul McQuillin good stuff. Thanks to all and others who haven’t chimed in yet, Thanks WCR for this great Forum!
(PS) Well it sounds like I will have something to do now (My New Website) on the winter days when jobs are done for the week and still have week left. My wife will be glad cause I drive her bonkers when I’m idle in the slow months!
Yup - I too have decided to start the website building process. I think it will be a great marketing tool! Good Luck…
I have finally gotten a website myself. I am tracking my ROI to see what happens. I tried doing it myself at first using the free stuff but it was a not my cup of tea. I found out about a person that does websites from another forumn and he along with my insight built a one page site. He host the website, posted it for me all as part of the membership to the forumn.
One thing I have learned is there is lots of free business listing to get your name out locally.
Yahoo local
Google Maps
Superpages
Linklen
WCR—yes your post from this website will come up on a local search with google if you have the right words in your signature
As many have said it is the way of the future to reach people. I am expecting great ROI One job will cover my investment
Has anybody tried Homestead.com?
I built my site by myself there. If you can use windows you can build your own site there. I have a five page plan for $50 a year. If I wanted something more elaborate I would contact Howard at MWCoA.com and ask him to build me a site.
This is very true. I think before I write now.
Mike - I am using GoDaddy right now with their website builder, and I think it is only like $5 a month. It is really basic, but then again that is all I need right now. I was going to try homestead, but I already host my other sites with GD.
I can’t imagine ever calling a company without checking out their website now. I’ve actually not called businesses because they don’t have a website, or not a very good one.
I host on godaddy as well. One thing I like about them is their customer service: Excellent!
I love building websites (I use asp.net using c# code, but I also know php and of course html and css), so if anyone has a question feel free to pm me. I’ll see what I can do to help.
Good choice.
I went with a really simple (and at the time free) small business website service from Office Live Small Business (I believe it’s still free, but $14 for your own URL–not bad at all!). It also has a “search engine optimazition” interface that will help optimize your site for your business so that it will appear in relevant searches to those looking for a window cleaning business in your area (that way you won’t have to pay someone for the information on how to do this). It takes alot of the guesswork out of making your website visible to those searching for what you have to offer.
I was actually surprised at how much business was generated for such a miniscule investment. I’ve officially said goodbye (for now at least) to postcard campaigns.
Now put a link your postcards sending them to your website for a
[SIZE=“4”][COLOR=“red”][CENTER]Special Limited Time Offer![/CENTER] [/COLOR][/SIZE]
I used Homestead Technologies to build my website. I pay 19.99 per month. That pays for the hosting and up to 100 pages of website content. It was relatively easy but just like everything else, you get out what you put into it. Building your website is just the very beginning. Once you build your website you will be continuously changing it to meet your needs. That’s exactly why I would suggest building your own site. You can change it whenever you want without an extra charge. Once you build your site, getting people there is another story. There is definitely a learning curve to advertising your site on the web. I use Google Adwords, Link Exchanging, separate landing pages for each service…etc. Do a google search for any of those terms and do your research. I’ll be honest, it’s a lot of work up front learning it all, but it pays dividens once you have an idea of what your doing. Another thing to keep in mind is that the web is where “everything” is going in the future so the earlier you figure out how to advertise on the web the better.
It’s been 13 years…he probably got a site by now… 
wow what a flashback of names in this old thread who used to regularly post, whole different era
Scumbag spammers getting through our filter lol
