Hey guys, Wesley Smith here Tree Service Digital, hope everybody’s having a great week, I believe this video is now live. So just wanted to kind of go over one thing that I see pretty often with tree service businesses or even just any kind of like, you know, home service business. And you know, the majority of it is you know, do I do homeadvisor and thumbtack leads? Or do I market my own business? And so what we found is, is definitely you want to market your own business, I want to share my screen with you. So you kind of can see some of the highlights that we do over here. Let’s see if I can find the share screen button. And the reason being is because you want people to remember your business, right? You want to make sure that people remember your business, instead of just going to home advisor going to thumbtack and actually entering their information. And getting hounded on the internet by, you know, five other tree companies, this is really the best way to get your business out there and get other people remembering your business. So number one, here is why marketing your tree service business is better than homeadvisor leads.
- Inbound Leads are yours, and not shared with other competitors.
is because you know the leads are yours. They’re not shared with other competitors. So you don’t have like four people calling the same lead at the exact same time.
- You are on the phone live with the caller, who is paying the bill and scheduling.
Number two is you’re on the phone live with the caller who’s paying the bill and doing the scheduling. So you’re not having to compete, or go through different types of, you know, channels with the customer.
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- Your business name, website, and Google Ads are being branded to the consumer, allowing you to grow your business faster.
Number three is your business name website in Google ads are being branded to the consumer, allowing you to grow your business faster. Because in that case, what happens is people when they do a search, and they do a search for Tree Service near me or Tree Removal near me, they’re going to see your website, your business name, your Google Map listing, instead of the home advisor site. And I’ll show you kind of what that looks like here. So let’s say for example, somebody searches, tree removal, Nashville, Tennessee. So they’re going to see a set of options here at the very top of the page. One being, you know, the Google guarantee Google local services. And when they see this right here, they’re going to see the actual business name, and then they’re going to see Google Ads right below that. So that’s what they’re gonna see, they’re gonna see your business name, right. And then if your SEO is really dialed in your Google Map listing is actually ranking in the three pack for your local market. Well, guess what they’re gonna see your Google Map listing right here to further reiterating to them that you’re one of the local top tree companies. So you get the Google ads, and then you get the Google Maps right below that. And then below that, this is the organic section of basically the Google search page. So by being in all three of these spots on the first page of Google, you’re going to grow your business faster, and people are going to remember your business name more often. Because think about it. I mean, they have a lot of different options, right? So when they go to Home advisor, they get to actually submit their information. So here’s a good example right here. So I’ve heard some of my clients before they’re, you know, hey, Wes, we’re spending, you know, $2,000 with Yelp, we’re not getting a whole lot of business out of it. But we’re spending two grand a month with Yelp, or two grand three grand a month with homeadvisor. or what have you. And if you see right here, this is where their website is going to be. So they’re going to click, so a consumer would have to click on this website, right.
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And they have to go in here, and then type in kind of what they’re looking for in the area for Tree Service. So yes, you can get listed in here and it helps kind of brand your business a little bit on the third party website. But the most important thing is is you want to be on that first search page, instead of somebody having to drill down on another website to find you. And this is just Yelp, this one’s probably a little better to be listed on that home advisor. Because if you go to Home advisor or let’s say right here, look at this for your home advisor 25, best tree services, Nashville, Tennessee, you don’t even get to see the tree service businesses until you punch in your zip code and you punch in what type of service you’re looking for. So your tree business is virtually invisible. At this point, nobody can see your tree service business if you’re just doing home advisor leads because you get the other consumers have got to put in their zip code and fill out a bunch more information before they see a list of tree care companies. And they don’t even get to see that until they submit their information. So that’s when everybody starts calling that lead. So it’s very tough to compete in that marketplace. and be successful consistently because you’re going to get leads. But the leads that you get are not exclusive, there’s four or five other people calling them at the exact same time. So you can see that right here. I mean, that’s, that’s on the first page. Angie’s List is another one. I mean, we have clients, sometimes that come to us. And basically, they’re doing, you know, $2000,$3000, $4,000 a month in marketing expenses. And they’re not really getting a whole lot of business out of it. And I’m telling them, hey, look, you know, if you’re spending that much on these shared lead platforms, like homeadvisor, thumbtack or Angie’s List or Yelp, you’re going to really grow your business faster, and have a lot more success if you get your own exclusive calls coming in just by doing your own marketing. So one of the ways is, you know, to get up your Google local services, your Google ads, get your map listing, you know, ranked up here in the top three, and Google reviews and different things like that really helped kind of get your map listing positioned higher on that Google page, and then also be right below that in the organic section. Because once you do that, everybody is going to be aware of your tree business. And on top of that, you know, you get your trucks wrapped with your logo, and your business name and all that stuff. So all that just kind of goes together. And then another thing you can do is re- market to all those visitors that land on your website, on Facebook, or Google partner sites, Instagram, different things like that. So by marketing your own business, as opposed to paying a lead provider is going to make you go a lot farther a lot quicker. So one of the highlight that particular angle there because you know, a lot of people just are not aware of it, or they’re just not, you know, entirely sure as to why they need to spend their own money on marketing, as opposed to getting leads from homeadvisor or thumbtack. Now, it could be a good add on, right, like if you’ve already exhausted your market. Let’s say for example, you’re in a market of maybe 100,000 people, or 50,000, for that matter, it’s not that big of a market, and you’re getting leads, you’re getting calls, but you’ve exhausted it like you’re ranked number one, you’re at the top of the map pack. You’re doing Google ads, you’re doing retargeting, you’re doing email marketing. Well, maybe at that point, if you have the staff for it, and the capacity for it, maybe add on homeadvisor thumbtack just to see if you can get some additional leads and additional business from that. But I would say if you’re in a bigger market, you’re going to get a lot more bang for your buck by getting your own inbound leads coming in. Just because it’s easier to be successful when you’re on the phone directly with the homeowner. And that’s kind of the next point. So number three is your business name website. And Google ads are being branded to the consumer allowing you to grow your business faster. So it’s kind of exactly what we just talked talked about right before this.
- Can build the relationship and customer experience over the phone with the customer, instead of them submitting their info online to a 3rd party website. number four, you can build a relationship, and the customer experience over the phone with the customer, instead of them submitting their information on a third party website. And then having five people call them within 15 minutes. If you think about that, it’s really, really tough to be successful in that environment. So this is just a whole lot easier to talk to the customer, kind of give them a little bit of your personality telling you look, yeah, we’d love to come out and give you an estimate on the work. And again, your office or yourself, whoever’s answering those phone calls, or responding to the website form request leads, you’re going to be on the phone directly with the consumer so you can easier it’d be a whole lot easier to schedule that appointment and get that business. If you’re on the phone with the person who’s paying the bill. Right, instead of having to get the lead come to your email. And Heck, you know, a lot of times you’re super busy already. And a lead comes from homeadvisor, right? They’re not calling your phone, when you get a lead from homeadvisor, thumbtack, you’re getting an email. So what if you’re busy for the next hour, what if you are on appointments, what if you’re on site with a customer, whatever, you’re not gonna able to get back to that lead within five minutes, which is the preferred timeframe because, you know, so then, you know, five other tree guys have already called that homeadvisor lead. So it’s basically just going to leave you out in the cold, you’re not going to really get a chance to bid on that opportunity at that point. So you after a homeowner gets one or two, maybe three estimates, they want to get the work done, they don’t really want to sit on the phone with more tree guys that keep trickling and call. So you want to make sure you get those leads and call them quickly. But better yet, get them coming in directly to your office with your own marking.
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- Higher closing percentage then homeadvisor because you aren’t bidding against 4 other tree companies on price alone.
Number five is just going to be a much higher closing percentage than a home advisor. Because you aren’t bidding against four other tree companies on price alone. Now it is true. You get your own leads, for example, and people are doing a search in your market for free service near me, Tree Removal companies near me, etc. And they call you. Of course they may call another business or two. But they’re far less likely to shop around if they get you on the phone right when they call right. So when they call and they click on your ad or they click on your website or they click on your Google Map and they give you a call and you’re on the phone. They’re like hey, yeah, this XYZ Tree Service, you get XYZ Tree Service. How can I help you and they go Hey, I’d like to get an estimate on taken two trees in my backyard. Well, if you’re already on the phone with them, and you schedule that appointment right there on the phone, then they’re less likely to go and call three other businesses right when they get off the phone, because you just solved their problem, you exactly solve what they’re looking for. And now you’re on the way out to their site, you’re going to be first in line, giving them a bid, talking to them, build your reputation, maybe show them your insurance and license everything else, making them feel comfortable, right. Whereas if it was a home advisor lead, that’s just not the case, you’re not going to get that opportunity. And four other people may call them before you ever get them on the phone. So it’s just a much easier environment to get your own inbound calls, schedule the appointment, go out and get the estimate, and then get the work done. Consequently, afterwards. So that’s going to be easier, you’re going to close a lot higher percentage of those. And with homeadvisor. I mean, you know, they’re making $200 or $300 per lead, because four or five, three contractors are paying 50 bucks a lead for that same lead, well, wouldn’t you rather pay maybe a little bit more per lead, or even less per lead, depending on how many leads come from your SEO, your Google Maps or your Google Pay Per Click marketing? Wouldn’t you rather pay lower cost per lead or relatively the same cost per lead, but yet it’s an individual inbound call this exclusive, right, they’re not, they’re not getting called by five other companies right at the same time. So that’s just a really, really good point. And I want people to know is that you’re going to close more of those jobs, meaning you’re going to get a better return on investment from your marketing dollars. So you have had clients spending 2, 3, 4 grand with homeadvisor. And we just basically allocate that same budget, to marketing their business with a great website, local SEO, Google pay per click advertising remarketing to all those visitors, maybe doing some email marketing newsletters once per month, and they end up getting a lot more bang for their buck, and they grow faster because people remember their business.
- Not reliant on a 3rd party service that may or may not last long term.
Number six is you’re not reliant on a third party service that may or may not last long term. So that’s number six on why marketing your tree service business is better than homeadvisor leads, or Yelp or thumbtack or any of the other mentioned ones, is because you’re not reliant on a third party service that may or may not last long term, right, they may end up like homeadvisor may get bought out. Or people just may stop going to their platform to do searches. So you want to make sure you’re on Google on Bing on Yahoo and, and also on social media so that you get those calls coming in whenever it’s time for people to get Tree Service work done. So hopefully this video helps. Hope you guys have a great week. I wanted to put this together because I see this come up pretty often. And we talked to a lot of clients in the same boat. Hope it provided some value. You guys need any help, just let us know. You can always go here to schedule a strategy session with our team. https://treeservicedigital.com/schedule/
Or, if you want to see an actual case study of one of our clients on how this works, you can download and watch here. https://treeservicedigital.com/case-study-invite/
Thank you.