Facebook, directory or website: winning the right jobs

If your Facebook page or directory listing already helps people contact you, keep that in mind when you think about a website. You do not need to throw away a useful way of finding work. The question is what information customers are still missing, and where you can give it to them clearly.

A website may give you more room to explain your services and choose the order in which people see them. That does not mean it will bring enquiries by itself. Start with a practical check of what you have, then decide whether another page or site would help.

Check the customer journey

Imagine someone has been given your business name by a neighbour. Open your current page or listing on a phone and look at it as if you know nothing about your business. Try it while signed out too. What can the person see before any request to sign in?

Look for your services, area and contact details. Are they easy to find? Can the person tell whether you take on their kind of work? Is it clear whether a message requests a call, a visit or a confirmed booking?

Use a specific job as a test. For an electrician, that might be a planned kitchen rewire. Does the page explain whether you take on that work? Can the reader find relevant photographs and ask about an assessment? A general description may be enough for some jobs and too vague for others.

Write down any gaps. You might find that your details are clear but the photographs need updating. You might find that the right answer is hidden in an old post. This gives you an actual task to solve, rather than a vague feeling that you ought to have a website.

Ask someone unfamiliar with your business to try the same exercise. Give them a question, such as whether you work in Marlow, and watch where they look. Let them tell you what is unclear before you explain it.

Give each channel a clear job

You can choose to use a social page for recent work, updates and conversations. A directory listing can be another place where people see your business details. A website can hold the information you want to present in a fixed order: services, area, evidence of your work and the next step.

These are possible roles, not rules about what every platform provides. Check the features and terms of the services you use. You may have different controls over text, images, links and enquiries on each one.

For your website, start with the questions that repeat. If you keep explaining the difference between a repair enquiry and a planned installation, write that explanation once on a suitable page. Link to it when useful. The page still needs to reflect how you actually work.

Keep names and contact details consistent. If a directory shows an old phone number, a new website will not fix that entry. Check each place separately and record who has access to update it.

Google Business Profile has its own role in Search and Maps. If you use one, you can manage contact and website details through the official profile editing controls. A website and a profile can point to each other, but neither removes the need to keep the other accurate.

Do not expect a new website to put you first in local search. Google explains that local results consider how well your business matches the search, how near you are to the person searching and how well known your business is. These are called relevance, distance and prominence in its local ranking guidance. Be wary of a proposal that treats a search position as something a designer can promise.

Decide how much website you need

If you offer a clear set of services in a defined area, a focused page may be enough to start. It can explain your work, show approved photographs and give people a way to contact you.

If your work needs more explanation, separate pages may help. For example, you could give planned installations and smaller repair work their own sections or pages. The point is to make the difference useful to the reader, not to produce a long menu.

Think about the work involved after launch. Someone must answer enquiries, keep the information current and check that contact routes still work. Decide who will do that before you add another system to your day.

A form is useful only if its messages reach someone who can respond. A booking request should not pretend to confirm availability. A chat tool should not make commitments you have not agreed. Start with the contact method you can manage reliably, then add more if there is a clear need.

If your present setup answers the questions well, you may decide that updating it is your next task. Keep a record of why you made that choice. You can revisit it when your work, service area or enquiry process changes.

Ask about ownership and changes

Do not assume that having a website means you can move every part of it freely. Before agreeing to a build, ask who will register the domain, whose account will hold it and who can change its settings. The domain is your web address, such as the name people type into a browser.

Ask separately about the website itself. Who owns the words, images and code? Can you take a copy elsewhere? Are there tools, fonts or other parts with separate usage terms? What would stop working if you left the provider?

Get clear answers about the ongoing arrangement. Ask whether there is a minimum term, how notice works, who makes changes and what support includes. Ask what happens if the person who built it becomes unavailable.

If you build it yourself, check the platform’s terms and export options. If someone builds it for you, ask them to explain the same points in plain words. A promise that you “control everything” is less useful than a written list of accounts, access and handover steps.

Keep your important account records somewhere you can find them. Do not rely on a single old email thread. You should know who to contact if the site disappears, an address changes or a login stops working.

Keep the information useful

Whatever combination you choose, give it a simple maintenance routine. When your number, hours or services change, update each place where those details appear. Keep a list so nothing is missed.

Use real photographs with permission. Describe the work accurately. Remove outdated offers or availability messages. If you publish a customer comment, check that you have approval to use it in that location.

You do not need to turn every job into a post. Choose information that helps someone judge whether to contact you. A clear explanation of your work and a working enquiry route are sensible starting points.

You can read how we help trades turn lookers into booked quotes and what we do for electricians. If you want to see how your information could fit together, ask Tovi for a free local visibility check and homepage mock-up.

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On Facebook or a trade directory? When a website wins you more of the right jobs