Overview: Your website is very much like the equipment you rent; it requires maintenance to properly function! There are important maintenance requirements that keep a website relevant and at the top of search lists. There are maintenance items that can be done directly in the POR program and externally that will help your online presence. Below we have put together a list of some of the more important steps and have indicated how often they should be performed. A properly maintained website will add value to your customers’ experience and profit to your bottom line.
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Domains: • Check your website’s URL/domain registration and renew in a timely manner. If you don’t know when your domain will expire, use the common ‘whois' tools, e.g. https://domaindiscover.com/products/domains/whois
§ Renew for a minimum of 5 years (it should not cost you more than $20/year).
§ If a third-party (e.g. design agency) owns your domain name, request a transfer of ownership as soon as possible to avoid future problems. |
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Google Places, Bing Local, Yahoo Local Listings: • Take advantage of the free local/map directories offered by Google, Bing & Yahoo and make sure that information about your business including your domain name, phone number, and business categories are up-to-date.
•Review your competitors’ listings and learn from them to enhance yours.
• Encourage your repeat customers to post positive reviews about your business. Pay close attention to negative reviews posted on your listing. |
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Social Media/Blogs: • Social media sites (e.g. Facebook) and blogs are great ways to promote your business, but in order to be effective, you need to commit to frequent updates/posts (at least once a month) with tips, seasonal reminders (for your rentals!), specials/coupons, photo gallery posts, etc.
• Make sure to read your own Facebook pages on a regular basis and respond to any questions/posts. |
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External Links: § Request/post as many external, but relevant, links pointing to your website as possible, e.g. Rental Associations, ARA, local Chamber of Commerce websites, Facebook, blogs, etc. |
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AdWords: • Consider using AdWords, a “click-based” advertising service offered by Google, for those keywords for which you are willing to pay in order to stay ahead of your competitors.
• AdWords is the most effective way to target keyword phrases when the customer does not enter a city/location, e.g. “tent rentals” vs. “tent rentals Chicago”. |
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Showstats • Type SHOWSTATS in your integrated website’s search box to see what keywords have been searched.
• Add missing keywords to your POR LOOKUP/ALIAS fields based on search terms being uses.
• Consider offering new inventory based on the frequency of the search terms being used. |
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SEO/SEM Services: • Before you meet with any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and/or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) companies (e.g. Yellow Pages, AT&T, Reach Local, etc.), review your website’s performance for 15-20 keyword phrases (e.g. “party rentals grand prairie TX”) with major search engines such as Google/Bing/Yahoo before your meeting.
•Thoroughly examine the SEO/SEM companies’ proposal before you commit and be wary of long term contracts as well as unrealistic promises. Ask for measurable success criteria and Return-On-Investment (ROI) calculations and if they cannot show you in writing, then consider not using them.
• Always ask for a detailed proposal (preferably in electronic format) from the SEO/SEM companies, clearly explaining what they will offer including expected results, number of keywords they will advertise for you, monthly budget to be used specifically for keywords, cities where your ads will be displayed, etc. Ask for several references showing before & after results and make sure they apply to your rental business.
• Question manipulated scores/reports on how your website is performing. These reports can be based on a broad range of data/information, which may not accurately reflect how your website is actually performing for various searches. |
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POR Data: • Category Names: § Carefully review your POR category names and make them search-engine friendly by following these steps.
§ Correct misspelled/abbreviated words, e.g. Accs., Equip, etc.
§ Be consistent with letter case; e.g. if you use all caps for Category Names, do so for Item Names as well. We believe that mixing upper and lower case is most pleasing on the website.
§ Avoid using too many words in a category name, e.g. “Concession/Food & Drink Machines”
§ Include the word “Sales”, “Supplies”, or “Parts” at the end your sales/supplies category names to help with search engines.
§ No need to include “Rentals” in your rental category names; the website does that automatically.
• Item Names: § Carefully review your POR item names and make sure the relevant keyword is found in the name, e.g. instead of “PLYWOOD, 8’”, you should enter “PLYWOOD TABLE, 8’”
§ If you are selling new equipment or parts, make sure to include the manufacturer’s name in the POR item name.
• Suggested Item Packages: • Take advantage of this special POR record type to make your website’s online inventory pages a lot more effective for your Linen, China, Flatware, etc. |
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Store Hours: • Review your store hours to ensure accuracy. Program Menu>Store Configuration>Calendar Maintenance |
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