Not getting the business you used to? Still yearning for the days of yore when an ad in the local paper and a yellow pages listing were all you needed to stay busy all year?

Get over it. It’s 2020. If you want to be a working electrician in the black, you’re going to have to learn to adapt. Just like you learned how to use your iPhone, tablet and email, you can also learn the new ways of business marketing. We’ve prepared a little primer for you below, so grab some coffee and let’s start.

Got a Website?

You most likely do have some sort of website, blog or Internet page. We could go into the merits of having a robust, dynamic website that is updated frequently, but we’re pretty sure we’ve discussed that before. But you need a website if you don’t have one, because…

Optimization Is Key

Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO, is how search engines list your site in search results. To get the best results, you have to use the proper keywords on your webpages. Which is why you need a website. So, what are the proper keywords? Those change on a pretty regular basis, which is another reason why your website should be updated on a regular basis. Sites with the best keywords and freshest content rank higher on the search engines. You want that. You can learn to do it yourself or you can pay a consultant to do it for you. But do it!

Home Advisor, Angie’s List, and all that Jazz

Although many want to refer to sites such as these as scams, we won’t go that far. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have our issues. First off, sites like Home Advisor pit you against other contractors for available work, and that usually results in lowball bidding. Not cool. For businesses just starting out though, winning a couple of bids and getting great reviews can get the business off the ground. So, while we wouldn’t make it the lynchpin of your marketing efforts, we don’t think you should dismiss them completely either. Plus, sites like that are a great way to see who your competition is, who’s new on the scene, etc.

Google My Business

Once your website is up and running with the best keywords and fresh content and you’ve got some glowing reviews, it’s time to get it listed on Google My Business, basically the portal to showing up in Google’s local listings. And when it comes to Google, you definitely want to be visible in the local results.

Yelp, YellowPages.com and the Rest

While you’re getting your website listed, don’t forget to list the site with Yelp, Yellowpages.com and other free or low-cost directories. There is no such thing as too much exposure, so any place that you can place a listing or include a digital business card is fair game, as long as it’s relevant to your business.

Social Media - Do It

We know. You hate Facebook and you’d rather staple your hand to a wall than engage on Twitter. But this is where having a website with fresh content comes in handy. All you really have to do is log onto your social media pages and share links to your website. That’s it. Well, you could engage with your visitors, answer questions and create a community, but… baby steps.

And there you go, ways to get your business listed and noticed on the Internet. Do you have a website? When was the last time you updated it?

ElectricianTalk.com