Google first invented  rel=”nofollow” in 2005 as an HTML attribute  value used to instruct some search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link targets ranking in the search engine’s index.

Plain and Simple – it’s used to help the linking from website, preserve it’s value and offer not link influence to the website it’s linking to…

What rel=”nofollow” looks like in HTML

<a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://www.denverseo.me”>Denver SEO Company</a>

How much of an effect does rel = nofollow really have?

It all depends on the competitiveness of the keywords your targeting… Let’s take my personal website and blog for an example; Sean Hakes.com… I am working vigorously to compete for the keyword Denver SEO… There really isn’t much search volume for it; it’s more or so for fun and a game I decided to enter several months ago.

Several days ago I was ranking pretty steady on the 1st page  until I wrote an article about Home Improvement Contractor marketing… I included two hyperlinks to websites in which I would typically include a rel=”nofollow,” this time I didn’t and Google took what little link authority my website had and diluted it which in returned caused me to drop several positions in Google for Denver SEO.

That’s it for now folks, a lesson learned – always remember to add  rel nofollow if your linking to websites that you don’t wish to claim trust for in the search engine result pages…

Ouch.

Sean Hakes

Worst Marketing Strategies

Contractor Referral Services (non-exclusive)
Home owners are getting smart as well as educating themselves on how ‘referral services’ really work. They are discovering that ‘getting multiple bids’ is simply a marketing tactic to have their information resold to a network of hungry, dog-like contractors ready to bite at any work that comes their way.

Now contractors are getting a bit burnt out too, especially when they only make quality contact about 2/10 times and close really only 1/10 leads, if that.

These leads simply said; cost more and do less and make our list of one of the worst marketing strategies for small home improvement contractors.

Outsourced Pay-Per-Click Management:
Before I get into personal reasons on why home improvement contractors should steer clear of outsourced PPC Management firms, also known as local internet advertising companies.

According to recent study from Jupiter research, more than 70% of small business owners who outsource their PPC campaigns are dissatisfied – and here are a few reasons why…

High Average Cost-Per-Lead:

The average website converts at 6%, most outsourced PPC firms charge you roughly 30-50% of your budget for ‘Management Fees,’ so let’s see what your expected ROI is on a $1000/mo budget for an average website owner…

1. Monthly Budget: $1,000
2. Budget after ‘Management Fee’: $600
3. Average Cost-per-click: $10
4. Total Clicks: 60
5. Actual Leads: 3-4 (based on an average site conversion rate of 6%)
6. Average Cost-per-lead: $333

Now granted, this number can very – but not by much. Some Local Internet Advertising firms who specialize in PPC might charge you a flat monthly ‘management fee,’ or take a undisclosed % of your budget as well as up charging your cost per click.

Best Marketing Strategies

Search Engine Optimization:

Outsourcing a Search Engine Optimization Firm (SEO) for your website SEO needs can be expensive up-front but can provide you with long-term leads and great ROI. Similar to most industries, there is some SEO firms to steer clear for.
Watch out for SEO Firms who…

• Guarantee Placement
• Charge a HIGH monthly fee for ‘reoccurring seo development’
• Don’t have a proven track record
• Fail to provide you with their strategy, upfront
• Can’t provide you with verifiable references

If all checks out, and the SEO firm has a good track record in your industry, this is a strong opportunity for your small business to make a great long-term, smart financial decision.

Contractor Referral Services (Exclusive)

See, it might seem that I’m against all contractor referral services, but I’m not – DoneRight.com is a contractor referral service that offers generous pricing on “Warm Call” leads. Unlike other lead generation provides who base their cost on email lead submissions, which many times can lead to fictitious leads, DoneRight.com charges a fee for actual warm, call-in leads from a real life, breathing customer ready to hire you for their home improvement project. Best of all, the “Exclusive Lead Cost” are typically less than the other lead aggregates that provide less quality, and non-exclusive leads.

Angies List is another contractor referral service whom I have grown to love and have proven to be a great marketing tool for small, home improvement contractors.

About DoneRight.com:

Launched in 2004, Done Right! currently maintains online home improvement contractors service directories across the nation. The Little Orange Book™ was first introduced in San Diego in 2005, then Denver, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago were also added in 2007. Since that time, the Done Right Directory has added 5 markets across the US, bringing the total to 10.