[Mike_Boxall]

The pictures on the front page Mike, they look very pixelelated and cheap, Luke

Thanks Luke, you're right and we're getting them changed. A lot of the images were compressed to make the site load faster but as this one appears on all pages it only needs to be loaded once and does justify being a bit better.

Thanks for your input

Regards

Mike

[Mike_Boxall]

What will a customer have to type in to there search engine to  find the directory , as I typed in window cleaners and it was not on any of the first 6 pages

The site is starting to get indexed in the natural listings by Google and we're also doing lots of pay per click advertising focusing on geographical areas where we already have paid listings.

Google visibility will increase over time as the site gets more use and more links. There's also something called the Google Sandbox which stops new sites getting fully indexed immediately. You also have to understand that the site has been developed with the end-user in mind not Google and the 10% discount we're offering (simply type in cleanitup as the referrer code) is there to reflect this.

I can tell you the system had over 2000 search queries in the first week and, ironically, I've seen it listed in lots of 'competitors' directories which themselves are full of Google ads. It is being used and it is generating business!

There's lots more going on I'd rather keep under my hat for now as I've already heard of other other 'new' directories people are planning to launch (but I guess immitation is the sincerest form of flattery!)

Hi John

Try it for a couple of months and see how it goes. You can cancel at any time if you're not entirely happy.

Regards

Mike

[Majestic]

Mike
If you had  FWC in the Memberships/Associations I would of signed up and tried it for a few months

[Mike_Boxall]

Mike
If you had  FWC in the Memberships/Associations I would of signed up and tried it for a few months

Hi John

I've spoken to several people from the Federation and they all seem keen to be involved. Unfortunately everything has to go through a committee meeting first and the next one is next month. I'm hoping they will agree to be added after that. I can assure you they've had exactly the same opportunity as the APWC.

Regards

Mike

[Majestic]

I would of thought that the Fed would of been keen to have as much publicity as they could  get .I will also ask Bryan about it as well

[Mike_Boxall]

I would of thought that the Fed would of been keen to have as much publicity as they could  get .I will also ask Bryan about it as well

Thanks John

[ronnie paton]

i got a email back saying i couldnt get a free listing could some explain y this may b?

[Mitch Evans]

Hi Ronnie,

It could well be that you already have a free listing. Users can only upload data for one company. If you want to be listed in more than one category then the PAID option is definitely the way for you to go, it will allow you to have up to 6 different categories. This would make your listing appear on many more searches.

Thanks.

[Alistair@AWC]

Hi Mike,

Just been looking at the directory and I have 4 points for you

1/. You posted earlier that results would be in order of distance regardless of free or paid ads - but when I did a test search, a free ad which should have appeared in second place  instead was below all the paid ads, also I think you should incorporate a maximum distance for the searches as being told of a window cleaner 89 miles away is of no use to anybody.

2/. Moneyback Guarantee - I dont offer a moneyback guarantee because I think it would attract the sort of customer I wouldnt want (1 free clean and never use you again) but I do offer a 100% guarantee in which if there not happy with any aspect of the clean I would come back and reclean the offending area (that way I still get paid and the customer is happy as well). Maybe offer us a host of options and only the ones that we put in a positive response is shown in the listing.

As I feel that an ad showing  [ Moneyback Guarantee:- No ]  could display the WCer in a negative light.

3/. Payment Methods - similiar to above, host of options including PayPal, Direct Debit and only show the positive responses.

4/. Trad/WFP - I agree with an earlier post that many domestic customers would select Trad (out of ignorance as to what WFP is or because they believe WFP would only want commercial work).

I am a WFP only window cleaner (so wouldnt want to advertise in the Trad section) but have a client base of 95% domestic work and feel that your category listing selection would put me at a disadvantage, why not leave that distinction for the body of the ad.


Other than that good job 

Regards

Alistair

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi Alistair

Thanks for taking the time to let us have your thoughts.

Hi Mike,

Just been looking at the directory and I have 4 points for you

1/. You posted earlier that results would be in order of distance regardless of free or paid ads - but when I did a test search, a free ad which should have appeared in second place  instead was below all the paid ads, also I think you should incorporate a maximum distance for the searches as being told of a window cleaner 89 miles away is of no use to anybody.

Yes, we have changed the system so that all the paid ads appear above the free listings on each page, however, a paid ad that features on the second page of results doesn't get promoted to the front page. The reason for this is that some categories are getting considerably more populated than others so when you search for a carpet cleaner, for example, in certain areas a paid listing was appearing at the bottom of the first page when, in fact, the company was only a couple of miles from the search postcode. If a paid listing was, say, 9th in order then you had to scroll down the page quite a long way to find it. Obviously this does create another advantage for the paid listings but unless we can do so, people will just stick with the free listings. The more paid listings we have the more we can promote the site and the better everyone does!

The search results do have a maximum range but I do accept that there are some searches in some areas where there are only one or two relevant results but his will improve as more people add their details. I think we've just hit the 6000 mark on total companies now listed.

2/. Moneyback Guarantee - I dont offer a moneyback guarantee because I think it would attract the sort of customer I wouldnt want (1 free clean and never use you again) but I do offer a 100% guarantee in which if there not happy with any aspect of the clean I would come back and reclean the offending area (that way I still get paid and the customer is happy as well). Maybe offer us a host of options and only the ones that we put in a positive response is shown in the listing.

As I feel that an ad showing  [ Moneyback Guarantee:- No ]  could display the WCer in a negative light.

Good point! I think we'll be changing from 'Moneyback Guarantee' to '100% Guarantee'. To my mind it is much the same thing but, technically, yes customers could abuse it (in reality I don't think this would happen but I can't see any downside of changing from one to another) It's all about guaranteeing your work and most decent companies are happy to do so.

3/. Payment Methods - similiar to above, host of options including PayPal, Direct Debit and only show the positive responses.

I can see your point here and it's certainly easy enough to do on the actual company record but on the comparison page it has to list all the options for it to work. In truth, the 'crosses' haven't been added yet for no other reason than they were overlooked when the site went live. However, given your comments, leaving them blank as they are now is probably better than having a big cross when it's not applicable. Interesting one!

4/. Trad/WFP - I agree with an earlier post that many domestic customers would select Trad (out of ignorance as to what WFP is or because they believe WFP would only want commercial work).

I am a WFP only window cleaner (so wouldnt want to advertise in the Trad section) but have a client base of 95% domestic work and feel that your category listing selection would put me at a disadvantage, why not leave that distinction for the body of the ad.

Yes, I agree too. However, we are shortly going to add buyers guides which will recommend certain types of companies for certain types of work. For example, the guide on window cleaning will include a recomendation to use a company that uses pure water for commercial buildings as, generally, they are the ones where pure water systems benefit the customer most. I accept there are all sorts of arguments to say that domestic customers should also choose pure water window cleaners as their first choice but they wouldn't benefit as much and I think is less critical. The answer is to have a featured listing and appear in both!

Other than that good job 


Regards

Alistair

Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully over time people will be able to see that we're keen to listen to ideas and act on them.

For those interested, we've had over 3600 site searches so far during October and leaflet drops will start from next month. If you're not already listed please give it a try at: http://www.spickandspan-directory.co.uk/add-your-business/

Regards

MIke

[Moderator David@stives]

Well Done Mike !!!!!!!!!!!

Spick and span is rising up the rankings on my search, I have just put window cleaning hayle in google and spick&Span has come up at the bottom of the first page with my name displayed.
Google 10th
lycos 3rd
yahoo 3rd
altavista 3rd
dogpile 8th
orange web 10th
alltheweb.com 3rd

[Moderator David@stives]

Google now 9th

[Chris Cottrell]

Maybe for you Dave, if I search W/C Diss it doesn't even make the first 3 pages

poss different for different areas

[williamx]

Mike

Is its possible for you to have a section that shows who are tendering out contracts, if anyone wants to apply for a tender then they have to upgrade to a full listing.

William

[Mike_Boxall]

Mike

Is its possible for you to have a section that shows who are tendering out contracts, if anyone wants to apply for a tender then they have to upgrade to a full listing.

William

Sorry William I missed this reply.

That's actually a great idea. We monitor the European journal anyway for public sector contracts so we have access to a lot of that information. It would be easy enough to do, it would just take a bit of time each day.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Regards

Mike

[Moderator David@stives]

Enquiry recieved today

The following details were submitted:

Name: miss a
Email: *****ter@hotmail.co.uk
Telephone: 01637******
Enquiry: please can you send some information about your cleaning methods and what your symbols mean please ? Thank you.

These Details were brought to you by The Spick and Span Directory
http://www.spickandspan-directory.co.uk

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi Dave

Yes, I saw that had gone through to you.

The directory's really going from strength to strength and whether it's got good search engine listings or not, people are only really interested in whether it brings in business for them.

I'm glad it's starting to work for you (and I'd remind people that you have a Featured Listing!)

Regards

Mike

[Moderator David@stives]

I am going to report my progress honestly, I replied to this email and have since not had a reply.

I am going to do a follow up phone call on Monday and will let you all know the outcome.

the call came from about 30 miles away, but if you know Cornwall that is not far at all, this still could be a worthwhile lead as i clean a block of flats in that area.

will report back on Monday

[Art]

I am going to report my progress honestly, I replied to this email and have since not had a reply.

I am going to do a follow up phone call on Monday and will let you all know the outcome.

the call came from about 30 miles away, but if you know Cornwall that is not far at all, this still could be a worthwhile lead as i clean a block of flats in that area.

will report back on Monday

Dave, any feedback ??

Arthur

[Moderator David@stives]

I  havent phoned them back yet , forgot all about it.

I will phone them tommorrow, although i did email them back.

Dave