Rebuild the Website First, or Hire Marketing?

TL;DR

• Can't be found for your main service in your towns? Spend on getting found first.
• Found, but people leave without calling? The site is the leak. Fix how it works on a phone before you redesign anything.
• Both? Patch the obvious leaks, work on getting found, and save the full rebuild for later.
• A dated look matters, but it's usually third in line.
• Not sure which one you have? Do the 10-minute lookup first.

Pick your first move in two questions.

Which should a home service business fix first: getting found on Google or the website?

Fix the one losing you the most jobs before anyone calls. Our homepage splits marketing into three jobs: connect with customers, close more of them, and look better than the competition. Most owners asking this have a connect problem or a close problem. Looking better is real, but it rarely comes first.

Those three jobs make a decent map for this decision:

Real examples: A Garage Door And Gate Store came to us short on leads, a connect problem. Street Smart Rental needed its site to turn visitors into leads, a close problem.

What if customers can't find my business on Google?

Then a website rebuild is the wrong first check. If you don't show up in the map or the top results when someone searches your service and town, nobody sees the new design. Put the first dollars into getting found: your Google Business Profile, a page for each main service, and a steady stream of fresh reviews.

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. Popularity includes your reviews, and there are simple ways to get more of them. A new design doesn't add reviews or fix your Business Profile.

You're probably here if:

• You search "garage door repair Maple Grove" and three competitors fill the map. You're nowhere.
• Almost every call comes from repeat customers and referrals.
• Your newest Google review is from last year.

Will a new website help my business rank higher on Google?

Sometimes, if the rebuild adds what was missing: a page for each service, pages for the towns you serve, and a site that works on a phone. A new look by itself won't move rankings. Here's what usually does. Ask any designer quoting you a rebuild what they'll do so customers actually find the new site.

Google's own SEO Starter Guide is worth a skim. Most of it is about what's on your pages and how they're organized. Very little is about how pretty they are.

What if people find my website and leave without calling?

Then the site is the leak, and it's usually the fastest money you'll find. These are people who already picked you out of a list. The usual suspects: slow or clumsy on a phone, a number you can't tap, no clear "what we do and where," and a quote form that goes nowhere. Most of that gets fixed without a rebuild.

You're probably here if:

• Customers tell you they couldn't find your number.
• The quote form still emails someone who left two years ago.
• Your homepage says "Quality. Integrity. Service." and nothing about painting in Eagan.
• Your Business Profile shows clicks to your site, but the phone stays quiet.

Check your speed. Google's Core Web Vitals call a page "good" when its main content loads within 2.5 seconds. Run your homepage through the free PageSpeed Insights tool and look at the mobile score.

Does a dated-looking website cost a home service business jobs?

It can, when the look makes customers wonder if you're still around or still careful. Stock photos, an old logo, and "© 2017" in the footer all raise that question. Still, a dated site that loads fast and has a tappable number usually beats a gorgeous one that hides the phone. Get it working first, then make it look good.

Cheap fix that helps: swap stock photos for real shots of your trucks, crew, and finished jobs. It does more for trust than a new color scheme, and it keeps your brand consistent with what customers see on the job.

What if I need more calls and a better website at the same time?

Then say so out loud, and don't put the whole budget into a trophy rebuild with no plan to get found. Patch the leaks on the current site, start working on getting found, and plan the rebuild around what you learn. A brand new site that launches to no traffic is an expensive way to learn that lesson.

The order we'd follow:

1. This week: fix what's broken. Tappable number, a working form, a "what and where" line at the top, real photos.
2. Next few months: get found. Clean up the Business Profile, build a review habit, add service and town pages.
3. Then: rebuild if the old site is still holding you back.

By step three you know which services people search for and which towns call. Call tracking shows which pages bring those calls in. The new site gets built around what you learned.

What should I ask a web designer or marketing company before hiring either one?

Ask each one what happens to your phone. A web designer should explain how customers will find the new site. A marketing company should explain what they'll do about a site that loses calls. (Choosing an SEO company has more on vetting that side.) If either one only talks about their half, you'll end up paying for the other half later.

Questions worth asking both:

• How will customers find the new site the month it launches?
• Which pages will exist for each service and each town?
• Will the number be tappable, and where does the form go?
• How will we know if calls went up?
• If my site is the problem, will you tell me?

Comparing website quotes? Here's what to look for on a website development quote and how to spot a quote scam.

Still deciding whether to bring in outside help at all? Start with these 5 signs you need a marketing agency.

How do I figure out which problem my business has?

Do the 10-minute lookup before you call anyone. Grab a phone, sign out of Google, search your company name, test your site, then search the job you want in your towns. Your notes sort into three leaks: not found, found but passed over, or clicked but no call. That tells you who to hire first.

Do the 10-minute lookup, then decide. Whoever you talk to next should be able to look at your notes and tell you which leak they'd fix first, and why.