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Godaddy website

Bobd

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Leven
Has anyone used godaddy to build a website? Is it any good and does it generate much business for you? What does it cost?

 
Has anyone used godaddy to build a website? Is it any good and does it generate much business for you? What does it cost?
As green said really. What I will say is that there shared hosting isn't great. 

Any website will generate business if it is a good website on good hosting and most importantly has good SEO. 

If you use cheap hosting, build a site with their website builders and expect to gain business then the answer sadly will be that you will unlikely get much. Your site needs to rank for it to even be noticed. Once it is noticed in search engines it needs to function well for the visitor. 

 
I agree with Darren and Gav and as for "does it generate much business" the answer is simple: if it ranks well on page 1 yes it does.

But page 2 and lower and you might as well not have a website because no one will see it.

According to one of the latest studies across all internet searches 91.5% of searchers don't go beyond on page 1 of search results.

It baffles me that people will spend hundreds or thousands on kit but are unwilling to invest a few hundred in setting up a website properly when it will pay for itself within weeks. and be THE best source of ongoing, sustainable work that will enable growth and success. You can have all the best equipment but it means nothing to customers and what's the point if you never use it?

It's tricky getting precise numbers without setting up a local Adwords campaign but in Google's Keyword Planner any average sized town will show a monthly searchly volume for window cleaning (and related terms) of 100-1000. So that's a minimum of 100 people looking for a window cleaner online EVERY MONTH in your town, and the only way to get a slice of that is appearing in search results and putting yourself in front of people on page 1.

As for Godaddy and any other platforms where you can get a domain name, hosting and build a site like Wix, Weebly, E-host etc - don't bother. Wordpress is the only one that I've seen - not that I've used every platform - that I would use. I have worked on sites of all of the above and they are a nightmare in comparison and their SEO is useless. It's not at all user friendly and unless you actually know how to structure a page properly and add links within it you've got no chance of creating an SEO friendly page that will rank.

But before worrying about specific content and page structure you have to create the website as a whole and the framework - like menu, navigation, pages, posts, contact form/page, cookies and privacy etc etc. Then you need to try and secure it and protect it from hacking/viruses/malware and so on. Then you need to set it up right, eg something as relatively straightforward as a setting a static homepage.

But unless you have some knowledge of the subject what on earth is a static homepage, why do you need one and how do you create one and update the settings?

Then once you're up and running you need to get content and SEO right to rank and then manage that site. It needs the proper security and regular plugin updates. You wouldn't expect your van to run forever without breaking down. Well nor can websites. And just like you'd take your van to a mechanic and most of us wouldn't try to fix it ourselves because where do you start? Same goes for websites.

And webites go wrong, develop errors, get hacked/ attacked and need attention.

Don't get me wrong, because I'm no expert in the creation and management of a site, hosting and all that. But I do have some understanding which makes me realise all the more just how important it is to have someone looking after all this for you.

And I just want people to understand that DIY website design and management is a terrible idea. Yes there are exceptions of course, but for the vast majority of us my advice is steer well clear because it is NOTHING like as easy as you may think or as Godaddy pretend it is.

I think I could probably take care of my own site now but I still prefer paying someone £40/month to do it for me because he's a professional who has been doing it for years and I'm not.

You can't afford to get these things wrong. You don't need anything flash, just a small, smart, functional, easy to use and navigate site, well optimised with quality content. And with your own efforts creating an online presence by registering with business directories and adding backlinks where possible the first page of Google is attainable for anyone in any town or city.

You can get all that sorted out for a few hundred pounds and it'll be the smartest investment you'll ever make - plus an ongoing monthly fee for hosting / management.

Speak to @Gav - and he charges lot less than £40 a month too.

Don't go it alone. Self hosting/design is cheap for a reason - it doesn't work.

 
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Yep that ☝️☝️☝️ I would say 80% of my customers have come from those rubbish services and built in website builders. They are total rubbish and as k says the SEO of those services is terrible and not something that even crosses the service providers mind. Or more to the point they don't actually care because there are always people who don't have the true facts or dont really understand it all that will get sucked into that kind of service. ???

 
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It depends on how much business you want to generate really. If you are one or two man business and dont intend to grow beyond that, then once you’ve got your rounds or size-able initial customer base (50% of total work) the rest e.g. gutters, conservatories, pressure washing etc, will spawn from that. Sign printing clearly on your van also generates work. I would say a website is only really necessary if you have 3 or more employees you’ll get through a lot of work and you find you need to constantly find more. A facebook page is a much cheaper way than spending loads of money on a website. I know a carpet cleaning/oven cleaning company that has probably 10 vans and 10 employees, they only have a facebook page and rarely advertise. Turning over mega bucks they are. If they can do it, it begs the question, do you really need a website? You’d also be surprised how far a well presented £5 gumtree add every once in a while will go. [emoji4] hope this helps and more importantly saves you some cash!


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I would say a website is only really necessary if you have 3 or more employees
I totally disagree. 

I'm a 1 man operation. All I can say is it's nice to have continual enquiries as you may find work closer to compact a round. You may find better priced work to replace the 'dregs'of your round.  

A web site is essential and as K says it cost little to get it right. 

 
Darren is spot on. Yes there are exceptions but facebook is notorious for low paid jobs with people expecting something for almost nothing.

And you have to build a well paying round in the first place.

With constant fresh enquiries you can refine the round and make it ever more profitable.

But of course there are other ways to promote your business - advertising, sign writing, flyers etc. They all have their place but once a site is up and running it brings free enquiries week after week from people actively looking for your service (minus cost of management/hosting).

Each to their own and if it works for you then great but a facebook based business has to charge facebook customer prices

 
Kieran, once you have done the SEO on each service and its on the first page of Google, does the site stay there or does it have to be optimised constantly?

 
It stays there. All it needs is an occasional update with few new images to show Google u are still active, but content only needs changing if u have something worthwhile to say. Something that adds some value.

Service based companies don't need to change seo or content for the sake of it.

And even slight changes to seo can mean going up or down the listings. So if you're where u want to be why change it?

And as long as the owner continues looking for more backlinks and citations from authoritative sites and gaining positive reviews that's all that's necessary.

There is a risk of dropping rank if someone else gets ahead but as most of the competition don't invest in their sites either it's unlikely.

But the site owner needs to do their bit by building authority through directory listings etc and if content / seo is good u should consistently maintain rank.

 
Thanks for the feedback on this, sent you a PM the other day mate, check yer in box :1f44d:

 
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I did it and it worked ten fold for me how ever I set it up to link gocardless to it and solely that .with a bit of advertising at the same time promotions ect...
Also linked it to yell ad with website.
£100 for 3 years and e £10. For domain
Then knocked some cards up say prices were going up Unless you sign up gocardless .
1 month later 350 custys signed up and some had the promotion s done.

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I'm currently looking to get my own round up and running but have very little capital and wouldn't want to go down the route of buying a round from someone but I really don't know the best way to get things up and running. All I know is I would rather be my own boss and if I don't do it soon I will never do it.

 
I'm currently looking to get my own round up and running but have very little capital and wouldn't want to go down the route of buying a round from someone but I really don't know the best way to get things up and running. All I know is I would rather be my own boss and if I don't do it soon I will never do it.
stating the obvious but once you've got the equipment you need customers mate, and upto you how u go about it. The free and arguably the best way is canvassing = door to door.

Or advertising whether that's flyers, website, facebook, other social media, freeads, business directories (not recommended) etc.

Or a combination of all of the above

Sorry, let me clarify that. If you have a website it is essential that you register with directories and claim FREE listings. But I don't recommend paying for advertising or premium listings because the money would be much better spent on a website, in my opinion.

Some are still worth registering with even without your own site and may generate some work.

Google My Business is the most important directory and they've now got a feature where you can create a free one page site.

 
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A website isn't a golden ticket and isn't needed in the early days, FB can be good if you can generate enough interest and get clients to leave reviews just get out knocking on doors its free and you get an instant response otherwise you will be sat at home hoping for work to come in of FB or a website and it won't 

 
Not if your website is on the first page of Google.  There is no waiting, no pounding pavements knocking doors or posting on social media trying to gain work just sit back and answer the phone. All the other things like social media and knocking etc I see as things that supplement your website. 

 
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Gav is absolutely spot on. It's all about where you appear in search results.

Different people have different experiences and opinions on the value of websites. Those who are anti usually rank badly and so have no idea what a high ranking site can do.

The stats speak for themselves and approx 85% of people looking for a local service do so online using search engines. If you can put yourself in front of them and have a user friendly site then they will call or email. It's as simple as that. That doesn't mean spending a fortune. It just needs to look and sound professional.

But if it isn't on page 1 no one will see it and you won't get the enquiries.

Window cleaning is one of the only services that does have owners canvassing for work.

Plumbers, electricians and all the other services don't do it and rely on websites and other promotional advertising, so clearly getting your website right is crucial to success and growth. They wouldn't survive if their site wasn't bringing in work.

I don't mean to be rude but to say websites don't work is so out of touch.

BUT, as I made clear I wasn't in any way suggesting it was the ONLY option. If you haven't got the money then go knocking and it works and it's free. But it's not for everyone.

And put it this way, if someone went to the bank for a loan as window cleaning startup and when asked about their business model and how they were going to grow the business they said it won't be with a website cos they don't work, they'd be laughed out of the door.

Yes of course there are other ways of getting work but if you want to be taken seriously, look professional and make a decent living your website should be at the heart of your business and as important and necessary as a water fed pole or other essential equipment.

When you get it right and rank high the site does all the work for you and is all you need. I realise that's easier said than done though.

 
I live in a town where canvassing is seriously frowned upon with the area being hit with so many bogus workman robbing oap's over the years. The local council has a Trusted Trader scheme running at the moment and one of the things to qualify is you will not cold nock peoples doors looking for business. This leaves me with van signage, website, leafletting, referrals etc to get my business out there and noticed. The website being very important to me to get right as I see this as one of the best ways to get a steady stream of enquiries that I can hopefully turn into paying jobs. 

 
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