Not that it's a big deal but one of my customers took the time to leave a great report about me.Evidently, Angie's list allows contractors to create a free account so that you can view your feedback and respond to it.I believe that to use their search services, you have to upgrade your account and pay a fee.

i had the same happen from someone who actually did not use my service..I just gave them an estimate..then about 5 months later, a customer we did a job for almost 5 years ago went on and bashed me..lol...

all because he wanted oak stair treads and we had in the contract to refinish existing pine..this was discovered after removing linoleum..so he thought he was entitled to them..

Just wondering if you are allowed to dispute those reviews on Angie's List? When I was on with Service Magic I don't think you could comment back. Course SM really stinks, at first they screen customers, later you just seem to get krap leads. Then all the sudden your rates go up and then they tell you all about the other charges.

On your Google Places (if you have a website) people can leave a review. But there you can comment or remove it if it happens to be your competition of some whacko. Reviews on Google Places really amps up your indexing.

I just put up another website which is directed more at repairs. Hoping it pulls in more work.

yes you can comment back on Angies list and i did.. I actually belong to service magic and its a love hate relationship..I get alot of work out of it but i don't get alot more...

i am doing work to my website in hopes i am not so reliant on things like that...but it all works collaboratively really..its all about just having presence when on the net..

I am listed across 40 plus sites on the net..all local avenues...it really doesn't help so much in this economy..its all hit and miss..supply and demand

Doing your own SEO work like getting listed on directories and such is time consuming but pays off.

I think I am going to ditch my DEX/Yellow pages and go with a local newspaper/website ad. Besides the ad they do seo daily, and put up a slide show as well. Plus getting your website in the signature on forums like this really helps too. But you need to link back to them, it's just a courtesy to do so. I really appreciate that from Ken.

Ya know as far as drumming up business I thought an idea I saw over at Floormasters awhile back was fantastic. Maybe some of you remember it. It was about getting "sticky note" advertising on the local newspaper.

Here's the concept...

http://stickynoteadvertising.com/3x3_sticky_ad.html

I wonder if you can target certain areas? For instance, cost for these things with the city paper in Tucson would probably be gigantic. But ....I'll leave it up to you.

James has a site? Where is it? You need a signature like the other guys.

I just started doing the newspaper online Ken. I'm dumping the yellow pages.

I had mediocre results with AT+T yellow pages . However, I had better results with Yellow Book. Yellow book made me a website at no additional charge and the program I have with them is "pay per call" . THey record the audio from calls that go through their tracking number so if there is a bogus call, I can ask to have it removed from my monthly bill

Ken,

yes I have a site..Ive had it for years...its now being workd on to bring it up to date...a total revamping..it will connect to photobucket,twitter,facebook,and use a total organic SEO technologies and concept..

hoping to get results from it...the cost of most advertising these days far exceed the returns..

Ken,

sorry..here is the link....www.flortechardwood.net

i'm thinking that domain will change as well..

James:

You need to tell your site visitors where you're located. Granted it's mentioned on the contact page, but it should be on every page in a visible spot. Howard has the right idea but personally I think it should be higher on the page. Of course the site name also takes care of that.

http://www.lasvegaswoodflooring.com/index.html

I set up a signature line for you as you can see in every post you make. Or so I tried. We need Keith!! I'll have to work on that but a last name would be helpful.

Thanks for your great contributions.

ken,

i know the stie needs alot..it is old..it was built in 04-05..its outdated..so this si why it is getting totally done..

alot needs from context, phone numbers, locations..keywords etc..

i actually rank 2-3 on 'wood floor refinishing nj and installation nj....

I appreciate the signature line.... and wherever i can contribute, i will.

compnay is actually "All Flortec Inc.'..we just use flortec for short..

last name is Hernandez

Nice site James.
One can definetely tell the difference between a professionally built site, and my rinky dinky DIU site Keep thinking about springing for help with SEO...but seems like these companies want big bucks, and no guarantee. Especially in a flooded market like I'm in....


Didn't think about that Ken..Thanks!....I'll take care of that

James:

It looks like your signature is up. Maybe I did do it right, but I didn't see it till this afternoon.

Howard:

These days one never knows what works with SEO. Problem is if you step over the line, you might get whacked by another funky Google update. Then if you don't go over the line you may get hammered too. They've certainly made it confusing the last 14 months. I just wish more people would see the difference by using other search engines. I may use Google 15% of the time now. It's too commercial...