fbpx

5 Simple SEO Tips

by | May 28, 2019 | Marketing | 0 comments

5 Simple SEO Tips

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou SEO. Search Engine Optimization. If you’re anything like me, it makes you shudder just to see those words in print. But, because I realized I am immersed in the world of digital and traditional marketing, I knew I could not let that fear overtake me. Rather, I decided to tackle SEO day-by-day, to learn as much as I could to do my best for our clients. I started my journey by attending a seminar that revolved entirely around digital marketing strategy and maximizing your website to its best potential (Thanks, Top Floor Marketing!). The main takeaways from the class involved avoiding website and marketing disasters and best practices for SEO. But the one thing that really stuck out to me was how simple some of the steps were to update the SEO on your website. SEO does not have to be scary or difficult. I attribute learning about SEO to learning how to be a successful tree care service owner: in the beginning, it was scary because of the unknown, but once you learned more, those scary thoughts went away, and were replaced by confidence and knowledge that would help you make the correct decisions for your business. SEO is the same way! Below are a few simple tricks and tips to get started in updating your website’s SEO: Meta Data: SEO Meta Data is what appears on search engine results pages and includes the page title and the description text below the title:

You want to make sure your pages are clear and optimized, while not being too brief or too spammy. There are four categories of Meta Data, and how you adjust them can impact your SEO. Below, I use the example of “ArboRisk Insurance” and the page title of “Who we serve:”

Automated: ArboRisk | Who We Serve | Arborist
Somewhat vague, does not give a full picture of what you are about

Spammy: ArboRisk | Arborist | Tree Care Industry | Grow Trees | Plant a Tree | Tree Care Best Practices | Wisconsin Arborists | Insurance services | Insurance for Arborists
Overabundance of words, many of which do not have anything to do with the specific page

Non-existent: Home – ArboRisk Insurance
Nothing available, does not provide any additional information about what the page pertains too

Optimized: ArboRisk Insurance | Protect Your Tree Service with ArboRisk | Tree Service Insurance
Clear, concise, and lets Google know exactly what the page is about without going overboard

Crawl Errors: 404 Page Not Found. Crawl errors occur when Googlebots try to access your website, but something prevents them from doing so. Crawl errors may be caused by faulty links, DNS failures, server connectivity, or issues with your robots.txt file. What does this mean? Check the links on your website regularly to ensure all are working. Contact your web master to help resolve any server issues or to fix broken links.

Indexing: In a nutshell, indexing lets you know if Google can find your webpages and shows you the URLs on your website that are getting the most visits. In other words, indexing is incredibly important because if your website is not in Google’s index, it will not show up when people search for a query. A simple way to check indexing for your website is to type Site:your website URL into Google. (Example – Site:arboriskinsurance.com) Be sure to use your EXACT website URL! If your site does not show up when indexing, and you are using your exact URL, it’s time to make some updates! Add a blog, update a few pages – the more copy you can change and edit, the more likely Google will be able to find your pages.


URL Structure: The best types of URL structures write for both users and search engines, use specific keywords and file path structure, and utilize hyphens over underscores. Don’t be generic, avoid keyword repetition aka spammy structure, minimize URL strings (URL’s that have too many numbers or incoherent letters), and make sure that the user can understand what your page is about by looking at the URL. An example of good URL structure is:

Traffic Analysis: Are you analyzing your website traffic on a regular basis? Do you know which website pages are getting the most hits? Analyzing your traffic is an essential way to maximize your SEO. Make sure you are looking at which pages get the most organic entrances (meaning people are finding them by simply searching in Google, rather than clicking on an Ad), organic bounce rate and time on site, and what organic traffic is branded (words that mention your brand name) vs. non-branded (words that do not reference your brand name).


SEO is always changing. It is always something that needs attention. But if you do your best to schedule in time each month to analyze and update your SEO, you will find your website will be more optimized and you will save yourself future headaches and frustrations down the road.

Written by: Katie Petersen

4 Tips to Create a Cohesive Brand

by | May 14, 2019 | Marketing | 0 comments

4 Tips to Create a Cohesive Brand

As a tree service owner, diving into the realm of branding can seem like a daunting task. For so many companies, it’s overwhelming or gets filed in the “I’ll do that later” folder. Your brand is your company’s entire image and the story that is being conveyed to customers and prospects, so it needs your attention.

Before a customer uses your services, they have interacted with your brand in some way. Whether they drove past a truck with your logo, walked their dog past a house with your sign in the yard, or saw your latest Instagram post, all of these seemingly small interactions are the building blocks of relationships with your audience and ultimately what defines your brand.

With a few tweaks and fine tuning, you can create a cohesive brand for your tree care company that attracts new customers.

Determine your brand identity: Your brand is so much more than your logo. It is the story your customers tell. The first place to start determining your brand identity is by defining your “why”. The “why” is so critical for many aspects of your business, but will essentially define your brand identity. We wrote an article recently all about this topic and can help you define your why: https://arboriskinsurance.com/2018/08/what-is-your-why/ Clearly outline your key services, the history of your company, your company’s values, and where you want to go in the future. Once it is determined, your brand identity will influence everything in your marketing plan from the words on your website to your social media posts.


Utilize a consistent color palette and fonts: Your logo is your company’s most identifiable aspect. Your brand colors should include those of your logo and complementing colors that align with the principles of design. From mailers to social media posts, utilize these colors in all artwork. Your fonts should remain consistent just as your colors. When choosing fonts, make sure they are easy to read and can be used for a variety of purposes. If you select a “fancy” font for headlines, make sure to pair it with another that is more ordinary. Here is a resource that helps pair complementary fonts: https://fontjoy.com


Create a professional website: Did you know it only takes 3 seconds for someone to make a decision whether to stay on your website or not? Your website is the first place prospective customers go to check out your business before they decide to use your services. With such a short time frame to make a great impression, having a professional website is a critical aspect of your business and your brand. If you are like most, website design isn’t included on your resume. Invest in a web designer and a professional photographer to create a site that helps your business stand out!

Use a recognizable voice: Whether you are doing all the writing yourself, or outsourced to another company, decide on a writing style that portrays the brand identity you have created. Start by choosing 3 words to define your brand’s personality and voice. From there, choose a style that appeals to your target audience and keep it consistent. Use the same tone and formality throughout your website pages, blog, direct mailers and social media posts.

With a clearly defined brand, you will attract the right kind of customers. Following the 4 tips outlined above you will begin to create a cohesive brand that will help your tree care company stand out from the crowd!

Do you need help with your company’s overall branding? ArboRisk’s exclusive Thrive program includes brand building initiative to help take tree services to new heights! Contact [email protected] today to learn more!

Written by: Amanda Eicher

Outreach Opportunities for Tree Care Companies

by | Apr 3, 2019 | Marketing | 0 comments

Outreach Opportunities for Tree Care Companies

“I’m too busy to figure that out right now.”

“It seems like it would be difficult to do.”

“I don’t know where to start, or even what materials I would need.”

Community outreach, when combined with running a business, managing employees, and having any semblance of a personal life, seems like a daunting task. However, outreach is essential to developing and enhancing your company’s brand – and may be easier to tackle than you imagine.

When people think of your tree care business, what is the first thing you want them to consider? Obviously, your core values and mission should come to mind immediately, but you should also want them to think about how your business enhances the local community. There are many ways for your business to get involved with the local community, and the more time and effort you can put into it, the better your brand will look to current and future customers.

Partnering with a local charity

When you know a business is working with a charity, as opposed to one that does not, how much more likely are you to want to work with the business that is giving back? I’m not sure about you, but I know I am much more likely to want to work with a business that is giving back to the community. If you are not doing so already, I would highly encourage you to get involved with a charity within your community. Some great options include humane societies, nursing homes, veteran’s organizations, or even Habitat for Humanity!

Pro Tip: Use your equipment to show your support for a specific charity. If your charity utilizes a specific color, cover a piece of your equipment in that color. If they have a symbol, place that symbol on your equipment.

Participating in school career days

Career days are not only a great way to get your business out in the community, but an excellent way to promote an arboriculture career to future generations. Many schools offer career fairs that are very easy to get involved in. Having an activity at your booth, such as knot tying or tree leaf identification, is a great way to attract younger individuals and get them interested in arboriculture.

Another great way to connect with kids is going into each individual classroom and talking to them about being an arborist. ERIC is host to a multitude of Urban Forestry Laboratory Exercises for elementary, middle, and high schoolers. #Donotreinventthewheel These resources are available for you to utilize and can help strengthen your message for future generations of tree climbers. If you’re a Thrive member, we have them linked directly on our website for your use! (Let us know if you need your login and we’re happy to help with that, too!)

Hosting a kid’s climb

If there is one thing I know about kids, it is that majority of them LOVE to climb trees #Guilty Hosting a kid’s climb is an excellent way to promote your business and enjoy family fun. Your local ISA chapter may already have a format established to easily host a safe event. If not, partner with other tree care companies in your area to host the climb together. These opportunities are not about competition; it is about working together to enhance the industry and encourage future generations to get involved in arboriculture.

Branding yourself as a company that gives back to the community and participates in local events will help you gain more customers and will establish who you are. Customers want to work with businesses that support the areas around them.

Thrive clients have access to resources that can help develop your outreach efforts – logon to our website today to read more!

Written by: Katie Petersen

Who is Your Brand’s Villain?

by | Feb 26, 2019 | Marketing | 0 comments

Who Is Your Brand’s Villain?

Who would Batman be without the Joker? Or Superman without Lex Luthor? Or Luke Skywalker without Darth Vadar? All heroes need a villain – the villain is, inherently, what makes the hero, a hero. Without the Joker’s embrace of chaos, Batman’s need for law and order would fall flat. The same can be said of your own brand: without the contrast of your own “villain,” your pitch to consumers may not resonate as soundly. By identifying your own villain, you are differentiating yourself from the competition, and makes your purpose in the market that much more tangible to the consumer. (1)

Identifying Your Villain

Before you are able to identify a villain, you first need to define your purpose in the market. WHAT are you fighting for? WHO are you fighting for? Defining your purpose, or WHY, within the market will help you identify your top competitors. (Shameless Plug: Don’t know how to define your “why?” Check out our blog post entitled “What is Your Why”) Villains are not necessarily other companies either – they can be beliefs or trends that affect your market and may negatively impact your product.

Samsung is the villain of Apple. The two companies are continually in a race to provide the best technology experience to their consumers. Their rivalry is actually to the benefit of us, the consumer: as we continue to demand more and more, their companies strive not only to compete with each other but also to be constantly on top of the latest trend.

When Netflix first hit the market (& our hearts), their villains were two-fold: brick-and-mortar video rental stores (RIP Blockbuster!) and the belief that instant access to movies and tv shows from the comfort of one’s home was “a small, niche market” (2). Netflix fought for a new definition of normal and now nearly 60% of homes in America stream their platform (3). Ironically, Blockbuster executives passed up the chance to buy Netflix in early 2000 and, well, er, you know the rest.

Within the tree care industry, your villain does not necessarily have to be a rival company. Similar to one of Netflix’s villains, the general public’s lack of knowledge surrounding the tree care industry can be a top villain for your organization. To overcome this villain, your company should begin a campaign targeted at educating customers or residents in your city about the importance of professional arborists and proper tree care. I don’t recommend reinventing the wheel either – Treesaregood.org is a great resource for assistance in educating individuals about the tree care industry.

To Be the Best You Have to Beat the Best

Don’t settle for average – identify your top villain, your supervillain. Think about why your supervillain can hurt your company. Learn from them, and grow from there to become the superhero you need to be to survive. Remember, your best villain will oftentimes have an incredibly relatable and attractive “dark side” that your customer doesn’t even realize is a negative (4).

Amazon began as a garage operation that sold, wait for it, books. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, had bigger ideas, however. He began identifying the best products that were sold in stores that could be sold online and eventually started doing so. By selling these products online, he inadvertently took on retail conglomerates like Sears and Boston Store and, ultimately, contributed to their closures. Amazon is now among the top retail stores in the world and was arguably the catalyst for the retail apocalypse (5)

Your villain should scare you. If it doesn’t, aim higher.

Written by: Katie Petersen

4 Steps to Creating a Successful Customer On-boarding Process

by | Dec 27, 2018 | Marketing | 0 comments

4 Steps to Creating a Successful Customer On-boarding Process

Did you know that it costs 5x more to attract a new client than to keep one you already have? So how do you keep current customers happy? The best way is by developing a solid relationship right off the bat with an effective on-boarding process. Customer on-boarding is the process in which you communicate with new customers to introduce them to your company. Whether this with a series of emails, direct mailers, phone calls or a combination of all, (we highly recommend a combination, but we’ll touch more on that later) it is the first step in their customer journey, and some may consider it the most important.

In this article I will outline four simple steps to creating a totally kick-a** process that will truly “WOW” your customers and keep them coming back.

Keep in mind,the construction of your on-boarding process must have your personal twist built into each step to introduce customers to YOUR business. Have fun with it, be real and show the unique personality of your business:

Step 1: The Introduction: Get to know your customer

This one may seem self-explanatory, but the on-boarding process begins right when a customer agrees to work with your business. So, start by getting all of the necessary information about your client. This includes not only the job information, but also any additional information that can create a bond with them. Learn about their family, hobbies and other stories that they tell you. These should be stored in your computer system so they can be retrieved for later conversations. This will solidify in the customer’s eye that you really do care about them.

Step 2: Pre-Job: Send welcome series

Prior to the scheduled job, send a series of communications to your customers welcoming and thanking them for the business opportunity. This can be done with automated emails, or take a more personal route with hand written cards or a phone call.. In most tree care companies, the person who sold the job is not going to be with the crew that comes out to do the job. So a critical element in your on-boarding series should be an introduction of the crew members that will be executing the work. If this is not possible because your crew composition changes, create a page on your website so customer can learn about the individual crew members. (Pro Tip: Create “get to know me” videos for your team members to host on your website and to send to customers)

In your welcome series, you will also need to set the expectation for your company and what is expected of the customer. Go into as much detail as possible about the job that is going to be done, what (if anything) the customer needs to complete prior to the job, the amount of time it will take, and remind them of the scheduled date and time. An informed customer, is generally a happy customer.

Step 3: Post-Job: The follow up

Shortly after the job is completed, send your client a summary of the work that was done, and once again thank them for their business. Let them know about their payment options at this time as well. About a week after the job, while your great work is still fresh in their memory, reach out again to ask for feedback on their experience. Incorporate asking for online reviews if they had a positive experience.

Step 4: Ongoing: Nurturing

This is your opportunity to offer your customer information beyond discussing a job. I recommend sending out a nurturing email campaign by utilizing automated emails. Multiple times throughout the year send customers information regarding proper tree care based on the season, share offers and incentives your company is currently running, or just simply thank them for their continued business. Each touch-point will continue to solidify a relationship with the customer that lasts beyond the original job.

Putting an on-boarding process in place will help your company create lasting relationships with customers that keep them coming back. Be personal and consistent with your process and watch as your customer’s perception of your business begins to transform!

Written by: Amanda Eicher

Top Tree Holidays to Market Your Business Around

by | Nov 21, 2018 | Marketing | 0 comments

Top Tree Holidays to Market Your Business Around

In today’s social media driven universe, there is a day for everything: National Coffee Day, National Dog Day, National Ice Cube Tray Day. (Okay, that last one I made up, but you get the point.) While the world is full of superfluous holidays, there are some that hold significant meaning for the tree care industry! Here are a few of the great holidays centered around trees that you can use in your marketing.

 

Arbor Day: Seems like a no brainer, right? A holiday dedicated solely to planting trees is DEFINITELY a holiday that your business should be promoting. Pro Tip: Bump up your marketing game on this holiday by holding a tree planting event in partnership with a local park or elementary school. Not only do you get to plant a tree, you have the ability to promote Certified Arborists and gain exposure for your business to potential customers at the same time.

 

Earth Day: A clean Earth is a happy Earth! Earth Day Every Day. A good planet is hard to find. These are just a couple of examples of the many slogans available for you to utilize on Earth Day. A day entirely dedicated to the preservation of our planet is absolutely a day that you should be using to promote proper tree care. What on Earth will you be doing for Earth Day this year? (See what I did there?)

 

National Tree Day: Did you even know this day existed? Full disclosure: I had no idea this day existed until I started researching holidays for this article. If I didn’t know this day existed, and maybe some of you didn’t either, how many of your customers are aware of this day? This is a perfect opportunity to promote the care of trees while also introducing potential customers to a new holiday. Take this chance to develop a fun challenge for customers on this day, such as having them identify different types of trees, or promote your business by offering discounts on tree work for this day only. While Arbor Day is a little more established, this is your opportunity to be creative and make this day unique to your business.

 

NeighborWoods Month: #MayTheForestBeWithYou NeighborWoods Month is an annual campaign begun by the Arbor Day Foundation. For the month of October, the Foundation promotes the planting and care of trees within communities. This is a great month to host giveaways, sponsor a community tree planting event, promote plant healthcare, and connect with customers on what your company can offer them. Plus, this month-long event gives you a reason to continually engage with customers and them a reason to frequently check back in and see what you have going on.

 

Christmas: Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! Promote the care of trees around Christmas by providing tips for nourishment for evergreens. Have your employees take photos of their Christmas trees and promote them on social media by having clients select which tree belongs to which employee – and award the winner with a prize! Spoiler Alert: Holiday Ads drive results. According to Social Media Today, 88% of marketers that ran a holiday ad campaign last year marked it as successful. #TistheSeason

 

Written by: Katie Petersen