NOTE: While this case study focuses on Portland Electricians, the lessons here can apply to just about any service business (and lots of other kinds of local businesses) just about anywhere.
If you're an electrician in the Portland Oregon area, you want to be found when your are most in need, right? And, chances are, most people are looking for you online these days, not in the yellow pages. So, how well have you thought out your digital marketing strategy?
Let's take a look at how your potential customer might be looking for you (and what you should do about it).
Portland is filled with charming old homes, many with out-of-date electrical systems. The slightest thing could set off a series of problems. Let's say that one day a fuse box in a 1906 Northeast Portland home spontaneously catches on fire. What do you think the home owners will do?
Well, first, they'll probably grab a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. But then, since their home has no power, they're gonna reach for their smartphone and search on Google for a nearby electrician.
Here's the first thing they'll encounter: Google AdWords results…
Now, on the surface, the ad isn't a bad one, but there are a few problems you might have picked up on. First, it doesn't directly speak to “Portland homeowners.” In fact, the ad is pretty generic, asking people to enter their zip code to get some estimates in a few minutes. If you were in the shoes of our example homeowner, would you want to wait a few minutes for some quotes… or talk to someone now?
Clearly, this is an ad from a national “referral” service. And, since you know how Portlanders prefer just about anything “local,” there's a good chance this ad might turn them off for that reason as well. So let's keep on scrolling down to see the other results…
The next two ads are clearly “local” companies. The first one includes a “click-to-call” ad extension, and displays a local phone number. Both of these things are smart ideas for getting people to take immediate action. The one thing which confuses me about the ad is the inclusion of the words (and link to) “Comfort Club Savings.” I'm not sure what that is, or how it's relevant to the situation of our fired-out fuse box homeowner.
Finally, we see an ad for a company with little to go on. Is it a local company or a local referral site? It mentions the term “electrical contractors,” which is not a term most consumers tend to use when looking to hire an electrician directly. Plus, there's no “click-to-call” option.
Not sure which one is most likely to be clicked? Me neither. So let's keep scrolling past the ads to see what consumers might find next…
Here we see the top three Google Maps search results, something that most local businesses should aspire to be listed in. The three businesses here are not paying for ads, but, rather, have probably invested in search engine optimization (SEO) to show up on top of the search results.
Google has been focusing heavily on providing local business search results more and more often. And providing results within the context of their map gives businesses an effective way of demonstrating just how “local” they are. And, as you can see, the results also display star review summaries as well as the ability to click-to-call the business.
And while these map results cannot directly address the search terms our homeowner typed in, the fact the information displayed here (business hours and reviews) can certainly help inform them if these businesses are worth contacting.
None of these examples demonstrates the perfect digital positioning for an electrician to win the business in our hypothetical fuse box fire, but some are better than others.
Having a clear and strategic digital marketing plan for your business, whether you are an electrician or a cosmetic dentist or a personal injury attorney, is vital these days. If you're not sure how to get started, that's okay. My team and I do this for a living, and we'd love to help get you going in the right direction. Want to explore how we can improve your digital marketing here in Portland? Let's Chat!