Our site gets click but no calls!

GCzene

We just started an organic cleaning service in L.A. So far, all of our business has come from simple Craigslist Ads we`ve posted. We paid a designer who worked with our marketing person to come up with a website to link to directory ads and campaigns like Google. However, we`ve noticed that while we get views and clicks, NONE have materialized into a CALL.
Why? Obviously, need your honest critique of what is wrong?
Here`s our URL:
http://www.motherearthcleaning.com</A>
I also want to link to one of our CL ads. I`m wondering if maybe it`s not that the website is bad, it`s that it`s not visible, whereas CL is highly compartmentalized. In other words, we get more interested, vested viewers. Help! Thanks.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/hss/366905860.html</A>
TIA
 

vwebworld

The good news is your site has been indexed by Google. But you do not have a page description and do not really present content in a search engine friendly way.  See your cached text: amp;rls=HPIA,HPIA:2006-34,HPIA:en&q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fw ww.motherearthcleaning.com%2F
Also, you have a lot of scripting and styles near the top of the html page...which search bots have to get through BEFORE they read your content.
However, maybe the reason why you have viewers but no clicks... is you do not have a "call to action". You have call for free estimate... but that is not where the viewer`s eye focuses on the page (because of the layout/content/graphics).
Yours Craigs ad is an ad  and says CALL... while you can sall CALL US on a web page... internet users are more likely to complete an online form, or email you. They also want to see prices. IF you are want people to call.... put that call to action in the middle of the page and make it easily readable.
Why the links to the companies that insure you? Is that a requirement in CA?As a customer I don`t care who insures you, only that you ARE insured.
~Roland

GCzene

Thanks to Roland and Steve.
We will bring the info regarding the technical aspects of the site design that make it spider/bot unfriendly with our web designer. He is actually a graphic artist, did the site for us with no guarantees of technical expertise.
As far as design and content. We are still working on all of that. The points you make about "why should you care" are valid. Sure, most people don`t care that their household workers are harmed when they breathe in ammonia & bleach fumes - as long as that toilet sparkles. Maybe we need to put in more about how we "guarantee" satisfaction. Seriously our customers are always satisfied. They can tell the difference between chemically, perfumed cleansers and our clean and fresh smelling essential oils.
I guess our copy needs work, right? Thanks so much for the insights.

GCzene

Thanks Craig,
O.K., I`m starting to get it. We should try to think more about creating the need in the customer. What`s in it for me? In thinking about the customers we have- some are animal lovers, they care about having natural products on the surfaces their pets walk on (and lick), there are men who detest perfume - so they like the subtle or no fragrance of essential oils. Safe enough for your pet, subtle enough for your husband? type thing. Some like that our employees all speak English. Some just think it`s neat that simple products like vinegar & baking soda, can clean. We leave them samples. I guess we`re just another cleaning service - the products don`t matter as much as availability, price, right? And the green part maybe sounds too gimmicky to sell? Could that be it?
Even my mom won`t hire us because she`s used the same lady for years...People develop a relationship with their housekeepers - so maybe we should target new/recent transplants? Thanks for makingus think about this.

Videography

...we have- some are animal lovers, they care about having natural products on the surfaces their pets walk on (and lick), there are men who detest perfume - so they like the subtle or no fragrance of essential oils.That`s it!  There is your copy.

GCzene

Thanks Steve & Craig -
We started the biz BEFORE we realized that pet owners would be our biggest customer. Maybe that`s why our copy didn`t take that into consideration.
It`s hard to do right, isn`t it? Thanks for all the input and suggestions.
Craig, with this: My intent was to say that "being green" seems to be like a sort of special club, where simply being part of it is supposed to automatically sell your products for you. That`s totally unrealistic, and even somewhat arrogant." I`m not sure exactly how we get that wrong, but I will think and work on it. Thanks!

ethnicomm

Regardless of what you think or feel, as you can tell by some of the posts, your "selling" website is NOT about editorializing. If you want to make a statement, put it in a blog. The website itself should be designed to do one thing only - get customers to contact you for their cleaning needs.Videography`s suggestion to address the "what`s in it for me" makes perfect sense. I know that people are concerned about the environment, indoor air quality and toxicity of chemicals but at the end of the day, that is not why they went to your site. They want a clean home. Tell them how you can give them that.English-speaking housekeepers! WOW. English like Arnold Schwarzenegger or English like Martha Stewart? Do you customers really value this to warrant being on your site? Aren`t the majority of the citizens of the San Gabriel Valley Hispanic and Asian Americans? Are you going after a niche?BTW - If you`re serious about doing the right thing in your cleaning business, why don`t you use vapour cleaners that clean using only water? I know the chemicals (even the "green" chemicals) provide an ongoing stream of margin but it is inconsistent with what you say on your site. I feel that if you really cared, you would not use any chemicals at all (if possible).

QueenSalmon

Meta Tags Baby! I viewed the source (anyone can do this on any page -
it`s under View)

The meta names and keywords are what drive a search engine to your
site. Here is the HTML for RiverNetwork.org`s meta tags

<meta name="description" content="River Network, a national non-profit
organization, offers river information, resources, workshops and river
grants to help you raise money, build organizations, and protect rivers
and watersheds." />
<meta name="keywords" content="river information, monitor protect and
restore rivers, river monitoring protection and restoration, river links,
national grassroots river groups and organizations, non-profit funding
sources, clean water act, river conservation jobs, grants, mission
statements, drinking water, non-profit development, nonprofit
assistance, nonprofit help, board development, strategic planning,
watershed protection, environmental protection, success stories" />

so a search for any of those terms would at some point lead to
rivernetwork. Get it?

I would have maids housekeepers, cleaning service, the zipcodes maybe,
the cities you serve, natural, non-toxic, safe, clean, confident, hypo-
allergenic, protect ....

I would also ask your web desinger to do teh changes for free. If they are
a professional they should know about the importance of meta tags.

I like the look of the site but agree the location links are too small and
hard to read. Your logo should certainly be bigger. If you could find a
fun `mother earth` graphic and add a mop and spray bottle it might make
it more catchy.
Good luck...

QueenSalmon

ExceptionallyClean

English-speaking housekeepers! WOW. English like Arnold Schwarzenegger or English like Martha Stewart? Do you customers really value this to warrant being on your site? Aren`t the majority of the citizens of the San Gabriel Valley Hispanic and Asian Americans?
Someone made this statement above, and I agree with them what does it matter if they are english speaking?  I think that is irrelevant information on your website and it is now August have you made changes to the website as it didn`t look as though you did?  I think you should also advertise on the Cleaning Services Directory, my business has gotten lots of hits from there.  Good Luck