Lawn Care Starter Kit: Building Your Online Presence From Scratch

According to local Search Engine Optimization statistics, 86% of people rely on the internet to find local businesses, and 97% of consumers check a company’s online presence before deciding to visit them. This is all to say, your online presence is often the first impression your potential customers will have of your business. In order for your business to grow and for potential clients to find you, it is essential to build your online presence to get ahead. 

Tip 1 – Claim Your Google Business

56% of local retailers have not claimed their Google My Business listing! That means that you can get ahead of half of your competition by simply creating or claiming your Google Business.

Once you’ve claimed your Google Business page, you can add photos, logos, services, special offerings, and more. You can also update your work phone number, add an updated business address or P.O. box, and instantly boost opportunities for your business.

Google also has an amazing feature that allows you to build a website based on the information you have for your Google Business listing.

Get the most out of your Google Business listing. Check out this 5-minute video on how to claim your Google Business. 

Tip 2 – Create Your Website

Because 86% of people rely on the internet to find local businesses, you’ll need to create your website, so they can see the services you are offering. Yes, creating a website can be somewhat time-intensive. But it is only difficult in the beginning. Once you’ve spent the time, your reward will be 10-fold.

When starting with the basics, keep in mind the 3 main pages your website should have:

1. The Home Page: This page can include photos of previous work, client reviews, and a section about your business.
2. A Services Page: Allows customers to see every service that you can offer.
3. A Contact Page: Allows customers to send you an email, give you a call, or find your location.
4. Bonus: Testimonial Page: This is a page specifically for your customers to leave reviews and special comments. Website creation no longer costs an arm and a leg. We recommend building your website with Wix! After building your website for free, prices start at $14/month to keep it live.

Recommended sites to easily create a cost-effective website:

1. Wix: Claim your website domain/URL and use pre-designed templates to build an attractive website fast and easy – you just have to change the text.
2. SquareSpace: Another great option is to build your website affordably with pre-designed templates ready for you to use and manipulate to your liking!

Tip 3 – Grow Your Social Media Presence

Social media takes care of the part of the business a website does not always handle – the community. With social media, you have the chance to interact with customers and build a reliable, trustworthy presence. Through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, you have the ability to create business accounts.

Through these social media business accounts, you can: 

1. Showcase photos of your services
2. Make posts for special deals
3. Create customer recognition
4. Make blogs featuring educational tips and tricks – from your own experience

With Facebook, you can even set up your business’s Facebook Messenger to answer frequently asked questions automatically! Being as affordable as it is, Facebook is a great tool for small and medium business advertising.

Tip 4 – Boost Your Business Reviews

Reviews play a fundamental role in helping your business earn leads and build credibility.  According to local SEO statistics, 91% of consumers ages 18-34 years old trust businesses with positive reviews. 

Potential consumers consider your business only after reviewing the experiences others have had with you. When you control your reviews, you control your reputation. Because reviews are a vital source of your credibility, you need to know how you can boost your reviews.

Here are 4 recommendations to receive reviews:

1. Put reviews front and center
   1. Add a review section on your website’s main page or contact page.
   2. Ask for reviews as soon as a customer pays or right after a job is completed.
2. Follow up with recent customers
   1. Contact Customers weekly and request a review on your desired platform.
3. Run a giveaway on social media
   1. Offer a free branded T-shirt or business-specific item free in exchange for reviews. When a customer leaves a review, their names are entered into a drawing to win a special prize.
4. Offer discounts for reviews
   1. When a client leaves a review on your preferred page: be it Google, Facebook, or your Website, you can offer them 10% off of their next service.

Don’t stop there! The work isn’t done once you’ve received reviews. In order to continue to grow your business, you have to take the time to respond to reviews.

1. Always respond to negative reviews: Negative reviews will always happen. It is hard to keep 100% of your customers happy. What is most important is that you take the opportunity to build a relationship with this customer or clear up any misunderstandings.
2. Respond to positive reviews: Take one day a week to respond to some of your customer reviews. The interactions leave a great impression not only on the customers to whom you’ve responded but also on potential customers reading your reviews and considering our business services.
3. Send a thank you note: Have a mass text to all of your customers sent out and say thank you! This is the first step in giving customers a reason to leave a review – showing appreciation and valuing their services.