You can’t afford an amateur website.

Everyone in this day and age goes to the web to find home service companies if they don’t have one they have used in the past. Most go to Google and do a web search. Hopefully you are running Google Ads (formerly AdWords) and engaging in active Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so customers can find you. However, if you are doing these things but have a weak website, the traffic to your site will not convert into jobs. This is a terrible situation because not only are you losing potential customers, but you’re actually paying money to do so!

One of the main reasons junk removal business owners try out Google Ads and then quit is because they get clicks and web traffic but it doesn’t lead to any business. This is often the case because your website didn’t sell them when they got to it. They weren’t sure you could handle their job or that you were professional enough for them.

Look around the web and you’ll find that around 90 percent of non-franchised junk removal companies out there have a cheap and amateur website. A good, professional website could easily increase customer conversions by 20 percent or more. That means that if you were getting 15 jobs a month, you could easily add another three jobs through that month just by having a better website. That’s over $1,000 a month you are leaving on the table.

Choosing to create a site on your own to save a few thousand dollars is in fact costing you over $12,000 a year (or more)! This is a perfect example of thinking of an investment as an expense. A great website is one of the best investments you can make in your business – it will yield returns that far exceed its relatively small cost. Screwing up this one decision could prevent your company from ever reaching its true potential.

So what makes a great website?

Here’s the simple stuff:

  • A secure website (https in the URL)
  • Fast loading pages because image file sizes aren’t too large
  • Pleasant colors and a design that’s not too busy
  • Noticeable phone number
  • “Contact Us” form (or email address visitors can click)
  • High quality images of your real staff, customers, and branded trucks
  • Customer-focused verbiage
  • Not too much detail (as in paragraphs and paragraphs of text)
  • Yelp or Google Reviews badges (or logos of name-brand companies you work with)
  • A clear Call to Action (“contact us” or “book now”)

Some sites have way too much detail. When it comes to text, less is more. Most people will barely take the time to read a page with just a few lines of text. Asking them to read paragraph after paragraph about junk removal is a mistake and a huge waste of your time.

Having high quality images of your staff, your trucks (if they are branded properly), and your happy customers is also very important. You very well might have to invest in a camera that is better than your phone (at minimum, one with adjustable shutter speed and ISO). You also need to gain a basic understanding of lighting and angles. Crisp, high-resolution images can help conversions for your site tremendously.

The wording on the site should specifically address your customers’ needs and their situations.  Use the word “you” often, as in “what do you do with all the junk you have?” This is a much stronger approach than just telling the customer about how great the company is – you’re specifically addressing the customer’s pain point.

Including review badges from sites like Google and Yelp also provide social proof that you are trustworthy. Another technique is showing logos of recognizable companies that you work with.

A good webpage will conclude with a clear call to action at the bottom, such as “call us” or “book now.” This can take the form of either simple text or an actual button, but it should be bright and noticeable so it’s clear to visitors what they should do next.

The only reason your website exists is to generate business. A great site will easily increase your conversions by at least 20 percent. You can’t afford NOT to have a great website.

Here is a quick test to see if you have a good site: when someone asks for your website, are you eager to share it and proud of how it looks (or do you make up excuses for why it’s out of date and needing repair)?  If you aren’t excited for people to see the site then you probably need a change.

How can you get a great site, fast?

JRA offers a junk removal website design that is professional, informative, and proven to convert. JRA features two website options that are proven to generate customers.

The first option is our landing page. This is a single page that provides customers with a clear overview of your services, a call to action, video, and links to book jobs online or give you a call. In addition, the landing page is optimized to help you rank extremely well on Google search results. 

Harrisburg Page

The JRA landing page is an aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, fully customized web page designed to produce a high conversion rate.

 

The other option is our complete site. This is a fully constructed, optimized website that includes pages for each of your services (such as junk removal, concrete removal, and demolition), as well as a “Contact Us” page, “Meet the Team” page, and more. Here is an example of a JRA complete site: https://junkguysca.com/.

Junk Guys Sacramento

The JRA complete site includes a professional, user-friendly interface, quality aesthetic, and pages for additional services, like the Demolition page above.

 

Unlike sites that you buy outright (and which could go unchanged for years and years), our innovative monthly site is constantly tested and improved. And since no tech company manages more junk removal websites than JRA, you get data from all over the country as to what design, wording, colors, etc. leads to the most bookings – and then those updates are applied to your site!

Lastly, there is no upfront fee or commitment! That’s right. You simply pay for the first month and we build your site. You can then use the site for however long you want.

Listen guys, get smart. Stop thinking cheap on your investments. Stop confusing investments with expenses. Very few things in your business are more important than a good website. Don’t try to do it on your own or on the cheap. You’ll get crushed.

Until next time.

-Lee Godbold