Is your company phone ringing off the hook? Is your inbox packed with enquiries from customers? Most of us wouldn't grumble if we had more work coming in, and if you could stand to add to your client-base perhaps it's time to look at your online marketing campaign (if you have one?).

By Sam Butterworth, Blog Editor for London-based Happy2Move.

Online marketing is also called digital marketing, search marketing or search engine optimisation (SEO) and some business operators think it’s a bit wishy-washy. They worry that it won't provide the ROI you need to keep your business growing, or even just to keep it running.   

Backlinks, social media shares, blogs, web design - is any of this helping? Is it even possible to tell?  

Web design 

A well-designed website is fundamental to turn traffic (visitors) into leads. If someone lands on your site they should find it easy to navigate and simple to find the information they need, including your contact details. An attractive, professional site will reflect professionalism and keep visitors online longer, increasing the chance of them getting in touch. 

Link building 

This is a campaign undertaken by digital marketers to create backlinks to your website. It is beneficial (when done right) as it creates new avenues for traffic to find you; and it also makes your site look more trustworthy to search engines, meaning over time you should appear higher up in their lists of results/rankings. 

Blogging 

It’s easy to add a blog page to your site, on which you can tell customers more about yourselves and share news that they might find useful or interesting. Don’t just blog for the sake of it though, try to offer something useful and this will help retain visitors on your site. For instance you might share some news about winning a moving industry award, or a story about a new packing product that could save customers time. Quality, not quantity, is key. 

Content marketing 

This includes blogging but a lot more besides. Content marketing involves planning, creating and promoting content, essentially to improve search engine rankings and traffic. This kind of content is often substantial such as the Guide to West London created by London movers Happy2Move, or it could be case studies or other content that should stir up interest. Viral content is often the work of top content marketing.  

Social media 

You don’t have to be tweeting all day long, but having a couple of active accounts on Twitter and Facebook is certainly helpful. It’s a way for potential customers to get in touch with you. You are able to offer fast, reactive customer service and it’s also a way to optimise your link building and content marketing work.   

What’s best for your moving business?   

The above five strategies are essential in an online campaign for any removal company regardless of size. Now let’s have a quick look at some specific strategies to help your business. 

Man and van business 

Budgeting for marketing may be tricky for a small man and van business but it’s still possible to have an effective campaign at a relatively low cost. 

If you run a man and van business ensure local search marketing is included in your campaign, to target local searches potential customers in your area are making. For example, ‘removal company Liverpool’ or ‘man with a van London’. Any decent agency will know this so if you deal with an agent make sure they do.  

Established local removal company 

Again, local search marketing will help drive the right kind of traffic to your site if you focus on a certain geographical area. Make sure your online marketer is familiar with the area you cover.  

National removal service 

Local search may actually still be suitable if you cover the entire UK. You could discuss with your marketer creating pages on your website aimed at various locations (cities, towns etc.), to try and capture local searches.  

If you have more budget you might also consider pay per click advertising to increase your traffic, and have someone to work full-time on your social media accounts.   

The greater budget you have for online marketing, the better the results should be. The best way to keep on top of this and to get a clear picture of progress made - because it does take time to get results - is to maintain good communication with your agency, or your in-house team if you have one.  

International movers 

The same goes as for a national service, if you’re focussing solely on UK customers. However, if you want to draw in clients from across the globe you will need to help create a sizeable campaign which would benefit from including all the strategies mentioned in this article. 

In addition you may need to work with translation services and agencies or marketers in-house who are experienced in website localisation and running international online marketing campaigns.   

How long until I see results?  

It is worth noting it can take 4-6 months to start seeing results from online marketing, such as higher search engine rankings. However, active social media accounts, useful blogs (for your specific moving audience), well promoted content and a sleek website can start increasing leads much faster, and that’s what it’s all about.  

A good online marketer will give you realistic timeframes for progress and tell you what you can expect after different amounts of time. If they promise to get you on page one in a month be very wary. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.  

Again, having a good relationship with your online marketing team and talking regularly is the best way to monitor your campaign’s success.   

Decide on achievable goals with your marketer, discuss how you will achieve them together and speak often. This way you will know if things are going to plan, or whether it’s time to kick butt.   

Traditional marketing and word of mouth recommendations can only go so far. The majority of people seeking moving services now search online, so you need an online presence. To make sure you have, (effective) online marketing is the way to go.