Hardwood Floors February/March 2025

Visitors should know exactly what to do next. Calls to action like ‘Schedule a Consultation’ or ‘Find a Dealer’ should be prominent.” Once you have the website in place, how will you get (and keep) eyes on it? Be a resource, including content that showcases your expertise. Some examples include wood flooring maintenance tips, interesting flooring projects, and an inspiration gallery of photos. Doing so doesn’t have to be hard; gathering online-quality images of products or completed projects can be done from most smartphones, and a blog with maintenance tips only needs to be a few hundred words. Video content is also known to capture people’s interest. “Videos can drive action, boost traffic, and increase sales,” explains Gladden. “Consumers prefer video content

PHOTO COURTESY OF NWFA

Be a resource, including content that showcases your expertise. Gathering online quality images of products or completed projects can be done from most smartphones.

consistently, making it one of the most powerful tools for marketing success. Whether it’s an installation demo, a customer testimonial, or a product teaser, video tells your story in seconds and grabs attention faster than static content.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GLADDEN GROUP

Even with this content on your website, to maximize potential customers finding you, SEO comes into play. The American Marketing Association defines SEO as “the process of improving different website elements like content and structure in order to increase its visibility in search engine results.” Lawson says staying on top of SEO algorithms can feel like aiming at a moving target. “We invest in SEO through AdWords mostly, but we also have a third-party company monitor our SEO to make changes to our pages and make sure we are hitting the right keywords because it’s a pay-to-play deal and Google will push you down if you are not staying up-to-date with their changes,” he notes. According to Gladden, some straightforward ways to enhance your online presence include claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile, conducting keyword research, creating high-quality content, optimizing on-page elements, and building quality backlinks. He says implementing these strategies can enhance your website’s visibility and attract more potential customers. “It’s important to get the marketing message out there so people will find you. If they can’t find you, it doesn’t matter how great you look. You have to have a good, strong message and a good marketing plan to get people to you first. Once they get to you, you have to have a nice website and something appealing to look at.” — Joshua Lawson, Totta Hardwoods

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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