An important thing for contractors to remember is that they need a mix of general advertising on general sites, and targeted advertising on targeted sites. A website is a critical internet marketing tool. Because of this, successful contractors must always have one. Customers will click through your advertising or value added content (a type of marketing that customers do not perceive as advertising) to find more information about your services, location and contact information. Without a website to provide this information, your customers will have no way to find you or hire you if they like your ad. A website also allows customers to find you when searching for a contractor in your field. It is your opportunity to demonstrate that you are the right independent contractor for the job.

 

General advertising or value added content can be banners, ads, articles or social network pages in places where lots of people congregate. Usually you want to target major hubs of activity, such as Facebook, eHow or online versions of local newspapers and businesses.

 

Even general advertising can target a certain demographic. In this case you want to select a site that will allow you to display your services to people in your geographic region. It won't help you if a person in California is interested in your plumbing, building or electrical service if you are in Maine.

 

Targeted advertising or value added content aims to bring awareness of your services to people who are generally looking for a contractor with those skills. This may be a DYI site, a contracting directory or a contractor's referral service. Forums aimed at people who are “repair and remodel” minded are good sources for targeted advertising. (Never spam a forum with your contractor pitch. Always go through the forum administrator.)

 

Track your advertising efforts. You don't want to spend time and money on banners that are not bringing in customers. When talking about paid marketing, you want to know the difference between pay per impression, pay per click, and conversion rates.

 

Pay per impression means you pay the advertising company or website space per how many times your ad was viewed. This can be effective if your goal is to make people aware of yourself as a contractor. Including some type of contact information in this type of advertising is a must.

 

Pay per click means you pay the advertising company or website space per how many times your ad was clicked. When an ad is clicked, a customer is forwarded to a website or page of your choice. This can be more effective in converting people into paying customers, but is vulnerable to something called click fraud. (Click fraud is when a person is paid to click an ad to make money, but is not truly a potential customer. Click fraud eats up your advertising dollars with little return.)

 

Conversion rates reflect how many people who viewed or clicked your ad that are turned into paying customers. It is well known in advertising circles that repeated exposure to an ad, business or brand is required to increase conversion numbers. This is what marketing is all about. When tracking how many potential customers turn into actual customers, keep this in mind.

 

Remember, with MyIc.com customers feel empowered to select a competent and skilled independent contractor. An appropriate internet marketing campaign can be your chance to shine.