Your carpet cleaning website was supposed to grow your business, right? That’s the promise many website services make but fail to deliver. Unfortunately, many carpet cleaners realize their website costs them more than missed opportunities.
Instead, your carpet cleaning website might cost you your freedom and a significant share of your local market. In this blog post, we’ll dive into 9 common reasons why your website might be leaving money on the table and how to fix it.
For each, we’ll provide an actionable step to ensure your website does its number one job: converting prospects into paying customers who keep coming back. Otherwise, your website isn’t doing what it’s meant to and has become a liability, which is surprisingly common.
Issue #1: Functionality From The 90s
When it comes to carpet cleaning websites, your number one focus should be a professional and highly functional website that allows prospects to learn about who you are and take the next step toward a quote or booking services.
If you have to choose between design and function, always choose function. Because your prospects care about a website that performs. If a website looks great but doesn’t help them make a purchasing decision, it hasn’t done its job.
Action Step: Audit your carpet cleaning website and ensure it’s rigorously tested to function on desktop and mobile devices. Trade complicated, slow-loading designs for performance. Double-check buttons, contact forms, plug-ins and automation.
Issue #2: Painfully Slow Load Times
A sluggish website turns potential customers away faster than you can say “clean carpets.” In fact, 82% of consumers say slow page speeds impact their purchasing decisions. Today’s browsers demand quick load times and will move on to a competitor if your website isn’t fast enough.
Consistent load times require regular maintenance, as one outdated plug-in or oversized image can derail its speed. Make sure to check your website’s speed using online services regularly and address potential issues before they begin.
Action Step: Test your website’s speed regularly and ensure ongoing maintenance across devices to fix issues before they start. Add weekly or monthly reminders on your or your team’s calendar, and hire an expert to maintain the back-end of your site.
Issue #3: Non-Responsive Design
A carpet cleaning website that isn’t mobile-responsive is a deal-breaker. Today, at least half of your prospects are searching and landing on your website while managing the rest of their busy lives.
Whether on the road, in-between meetings or somewhere in between, they’re using their phones to search for your services. As time passes, more prospects will exclusively use their phones and devices to browse and hire for services.
That’s where mobile-first website design comes in, a methodology for crafting a website’s design with the smallest device first and then prioritizing the rest.
Action Step: Ensure your website looks and functions seamlessly on all devices, starting with smartphones to desktops. When looking to hire a website design agency, make sure they place a premium on mobile-first.
Issue #4: Lack of Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
People want to be told what to do. Especially when it comes to taking the next step to engage your business. Instead of having a website with several Call-To-Actions (CTAs) such as “Learn More”, “Contact Us” and “Get Quote”, aim to simplify and choose one.
In doing so, you provide clarity for your prospect instead of having to make a decision themselves. This small gesture creates trust that you’re the right company for their job so as long as you’re responsive, professional and consistent.
Action Step: Be extremely clear with your CTAs, and don’t fall for the trap of giving consumers too many options. Make sure the next step is painfully obvious and use both imagery and text to convey the next step(s).
Issue #5: Neglecting Customer Reviews
When it comes to local, service-based businesses, reviews are king. Especially because people are inviting a complete stranger into their homes and want to make sure they’re a legitimate business that countless others have trusted.
Today, 82% of consumers consult online reviews for local small businesses. This means you must have a process to leverage this marketing asset, from capturing to showcasing reviews on your site in a compelling manner.
Strategies can include training your staff to ask for a review immediately after services are completed or incentivizing customers to save a certain amount or percentage by leaving a review.
Action Step: Showcase positive customer reviews prominently on your website to boost credibility and conversions. If possible, use a combination of text, images and video.
Issue #6: Snoozefest Copywriting
No one wakes up excited in the morning to clean their carpets. You’re solving a problem in someone’s life because of a pet accident, a big move or years of dealing with dirty carpets that negatively impact their quality of life.
When you remember you’re solving a real problem for people, you’re able to craft copywriting and content on your site that grabs attention. Otherwise, you’ll sound like everyone else and fail to differentiate as to why you’re the best option.
To do so, avoid generic, bland copy and content. Infuse personality where it makes sense, and showcase that your carpet cleaning services are performed by real humans who understand their prospect’s frustrations.
Action Step: Keep the problem you’re solving top of mind to create engaging, informative and persuasive copywriting that helps you stand out from the competition.
Issue #7: Using One-Size-Fits-All Website Services
Don’t be sold by website agencies who don’t understand the nuances of your carpet cleaning business and instead want to sell you a fancy-looking site that doesn’t perform. Sure, it may look nice. But your website must generate leads, conversions and revenue.
Unfortunately, finding a website designer who understands performance-based digital marketing isn’t easy. While the worlds of website services and digital marketing may seem intertwined, it’s rare for an agency to fully understand the latest trends of what drives performance.
Action Step: Ask a potential website agency to provide examples of how their services have grown local businesses just like yours. If they can’t provide real numbers and offer to connect you with other business owners, that’s a red flag.
Many carpet cleaning businesses are promised the world with their website until they realize it’s not the lead-generating, revenue-creating asset they dreamed of. Too many website agencies talk a big game but can’t deliver the performance your business needs.
Your carpet cleaning website should be a powerful tool that drives your business forward, not a source of missed opportunities and lost revenue. By addressing these issues and partnering with a performance-based digital marketing agency that truly understands your industry, you can turn your website into a lead-generation machine, outperform your competition, and experience the freedom you got into business for.
At Slamdot, that’s precisely what we do for local, service-based businesses every day. We place a premium on functional websites that put more money in your pocket and are simple to manage. If you’re ready to learn how we can help you do the same, schedule a call and let’s connect today!
