To be clear, this post is focused on how to sell services, as opposed to products, on a website. For example, NicholasCoriano.com sells a business plan writing service and Cervitude.com offers investor relations services. While the business plan writing site has e-commerce functions, allowing a visitor to the website to purchase by clicking a link, the investor relations website does not.
As owner and operator of both of these sites, me and my team have realized cost effective ways of increasing the sale of our services. And as the post title suggest, Craigslist has done wonders for attracting new clients. And blogging has solidified our position as experts in many fields.
Using Craigslist to Drive Smart Traffic to your Website....
As an owner of many service websites I can tell you from experience people that land on your website because of SEO, or your blog, may not be the same people looking for the services you are selling online. One of my service websites, NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com does not even have a blog.
If you take a look at the Craigslist page under "Services" you will see two categories specific to Website Designing. "computer" and "creative"....even the "sm biz ads" section would work as well. These sections are were people look when they need a website designed. I post as many as craigslist will allow me to post. The titles would include "Website Design" or "Affordable Website Design Professional" and include a link to the website NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com
Note: It can be craigslist or the slew of other free service websites which allow you to post advertisements. As long as the visitor to the ad website is looking for your service anyway, putting up an ad for your website works wonders.
Note 2: Personalize your ad. For example, when I put up ads for website design, I always put the website and then I tell them to "call or email Nick". If they are on a small classified ads websites, they are looking to hire an individual. Some websites may be to professional and may not lead conversion as well as a personalized advertisement or post on Craigslist or similar sites.
Using Blogging to Drive Traffic to your Website.....
Some would argue that smart SEO writing will lead the right customers to your website. For example, I mentioned the term "New York City Business Plan Writer" so many times on my website (and plenty of other SEO work) that I manage to come up on certain Search Engines page 1 for the term. But you don't want to write a blog around a certain key term or word and simply refer to it again and again for SEO purposes. The truth is, content is king. The quality of content, the substance within the content and what you are adding to any certain topic are what really matter. If you follow Matt Cutts, Google Webmaster, you realize that most search engines will do anything in their power to extinguish and SEO hacks or spamming techniques. They, as should you, want quality content that adds value to the Internet.
Blogging does more than SEO....it will solidify and establish you as an expert in your field. For example, this blog now has over 100 post on a variety of topics. Another blog I run talks about wall street and micro cap stocks (another one of my passions). Talking about these subjects make it much easier to sell the services. When they ask me ....."Do you know about....?" I frequently answer via email with a link to an article I wrote. And if I don't know, I write a post about it. The more I write, the more I can reference AND the more my name comes up in the field.
Final Thought Provoking Questions on Increasing Traffic to a Website for Sales.......
Think about how much you make every-time you sell your service. How cost effective is it to write ads and post on craigslist vs having someone else write the ads? How much time to you have to dedicate to blogging? There is a "gigs" section on craigslist...did you check to see if someone is hiring a service you offer?? Can you advertise in several states or just in your area??
Once you see a method that works from experience, make sure to do it again. Repeating what you did right is a simple rule to increase sales on your website....
Have useful tips or information about the subject matter in this article? Feel free to comment below...
Hope this was helpful,
The PushYourRank Team
Author: Nicholas Coriano
About The Author: Nicholas Coriano is an Entrepreneur, Web Developer, Social Media Marketer, SEO Consultant and the founder of this blog and The NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com. While developing websites for his own businesses and marketing his entrepreneurial ventures online, he began blogging useful tips and "how-to" articles on PushYourRank.com for reference purposes. To retain Nicholas for help with your Website, Social Media, SEO or other online/technology needs, email PushYourRank@Gmail.com
About PushYourRank.com: PushYourRank.com (the Blog) is a blog that helps small businesses, start-ups, developers, amateurs website builders, bloggers and entrepreneurs develop their websites, their social media presence, their search engine optimization techniques and more ....online. The Blog publishes articles about Ecommerce, Email Marketing and How To Make Money Online...as well as any topic that pertains to the Internet or Online. If you need help developing a website, SEO or Social Media outsourcing, see NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com, if you would like to advertise or have us publish an article on a certain subject, please email us at PushYourRank@Gmail.com
As owner and operator of both of these sites, me and my team have realized cost effective ways of increasing the sale of our services. And as the post title suggest, Craigslist has done wonders for attracting new clients. And blogging has solidified our position as experts in many fields.
Using Craigslist to Drive Smart Traffic to your Website....
As an owner of many service websites I can tell you from experience people that land on your website because of SEO, or your blog, may not be the same people looking for the services you are selling online. One of my service websites, NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com does not even have a blog.
If you take a look at the Craigslist page under "Services" you will see two categories specific to Website Designing. "computer" and "creative"....even the "sm biz ads" section would work as well. These sections are were people look when they need a website designed. I post as many as craigslist will allow me to post. The titles would include "Website Design" or "Affordable Website Design Professional" and include a link to the website NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com
Note: It can be craigslist or the slew of other free service websites which allow you to post advertisements. As long as the visitor to the ad website is looking for your service anyway, putting up an ad for your website works wonders.
Note 2: Personalize your ad. For example, when I put up ads for website design, I always put the website and then I tell them to "call or email Nick". If they are on a small classified ads websites, they are looking to hire an individual. Some websites may be to professional and may not lead conversion as well as a personalized advertisement or post on Craigslist or similar sites.
Using Blogging to Drive Traffic to your Website.....
Some would argue that smart SEO writing will lead the right customers to your website. For example, I mentioned the term "New York City Business Plan Writer" so many times on my website (and plenty of other SEO work) that I manage to come up on certain Search Engines page 1 for the term. But you don't want to write a blog around a certain key term or word and simply refer to it again and again for SEO purposes. The truth is, content is king. The quality of content, the substance within the content and what you are adding to any certain topic are what really matter. If you follow Matt Cutts, Google Webmaster, you realize that most search engines will do anything in their power to extinguish and SEO hacks or spamming techniques. They, as should you, want quality content that adds value to the Internet.
Blogging does more than SEO....it will solidify and establish you as an expert in your field. For example, this blog now has over 100 post on a variety of topics. Another blog I run talks about wall street and micro cap stocks (another one of my passions). Talking about these subjects make it much easier to sell the services. When they ask me ....."Do you know about....?" I frequently answer via email with a link to an article I wrote. And if I don't know, I write a post about it. The more I write, the more I can reference AND the more my name comes up in the field.
Final Thought Provoking Questions on Increasing Traffic to a Website for Sales.......
Think about how much you make every-time you sell your service. How cost effective is it to write ads and post on craigslist vs having someone else write the ads? How much time to you have to dedicate to blogging? There is a "gigs" section on craigslist...did you check to see if someone is hiring a service you offer?? Can you advertise in several states or just in your area??
Once you see a method that works from experience, make sure to do it again. Repeating what you did right is a simple rule to increase sales on your website....
Have useful tips or information about the subject matter in this article? Feel free to comment below...
Hope this was helpful,
The PushYourRank Team
Author: Nicholas Coriano
About The Author: Nicholas Coriano is an Entrepreneur, Web Developer, Social Media Marketer, SEO Consultant and the founder of this blog and The NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com. While developing websites for his own businesses and marketing his entrepreneurial ventures online, he began blogging useful tips and "how-to" articles on PushYourRank.com for reference purposes. To retain Nicholas for help with your Website, Social Media, SEO or other online/technology needs, email PushYourRank@Gmail.com
About PushYourRank.com: PushYourRank.com (the Blog) is a blog that helps small businesses, start-ups, developers, amateurs website builders, bloggers and entrepreneurs develop their websites, their social media presence, their search engine optimization techniques and more ....online. The Blog publishes articles about Ecommerce, Email Marketing and How To Make Money Online...as well as any topic that pertains to the Internet or Online. If you need help developing a website, SEO or Social Media outsourcing, see NewYorkWebsiteDesignCenter.com, if you would like to advertise or have us publish an article on a certain subject, please email us at PushYourRank@Gmail.com