Web Design Ireland

I’ve seen it time and time again with business in Northern Ireland, they have their branding sorted, they have their vehicle livery sorted, and this includes mr white van man. Plumbers, Electricians, Painters and Decorators, Paving Contractors

Ok, so paving contractors is a bit special, I optimised the number one result for my last job. I’ve also recently completed a project for Paul Boone, a commercial paving contractor in Ireland. But notice anything about the result set in Google? No one has got on board and gained the top spot as a single entity, the results are all directory listings and industry listings. These guys are missing a real trick, and need to be actively engaging the web, and actively promoting their website when they have done so. Having an email address isn’t good enough to cut it now, I’ve seen plenty of businesses which have a @hotmail address plastered on their vans as they scoot about the town - this isn’t going to gain any business from me, one your email is too hard to remember and two, I think unprofessional / cheap when I see it.

However, its not all bad. I’ve seen businesses which you wouldn’t have normally associated with having a strong web presence having brilliant websites, and domain names. Fortwilliam car valeting have their marketing in good shape. Would I have remembered Fortwilliam car valeting - probably not. Dirty Cars Wanted.com is a great name, and reinforces why it is important to choose a great domain name. I happened to see the website advertised on a signpost, driving home from work, remembered it the next day, and booked an £80 valet online. I was also really pleased with their service, and let them know, again the next day back on their site.

Its time small businesses such as this woke up to the power of the web, and with more and more people researching products and services than ever before, the question is can they afford not to? I’m going to finish this off with a few interesting stats I picked up recently.

• 43% of retail sales are to either be influenced by or made on the Internet by 2012
• 83% of business use the Internet to research and find potential vendors
• 75% of users admit to making judgments about the a company’s credibility based on their website’s design