Why did we embark on this project? Especially one that required me to learn a new language of tech terms? (I still don’t have a handle on IRL, XTML, conversion goals, and more!) Apparently, as many of our employees and even more cold-calling SEO companies informed me, it was necessary. To put it into terms I’m more comfortable with, if our old site were a moving van, it was missing tires and locks, and it was lost in the woods. Even if it had a great engine and paint job, it wasn’t doing anyone any good.
While I can recognize the importance of having a respectable online presence now, I am also proud that most of Camelot’s growth over the decades has been from the grassroots. Through all of Camelot’s 35-year history, most of our business has come from word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers to their friends and family. And many of those initial customers found out about us when one of our trucks rolled by with a phone number painted on the side. Additionally, and this may shock anyone who entered the world after 1985, sometimes people opened up what was called the Yellow Pages and found our listing in bold type under “Moving Companies.” Needless to say, fast forward to the 21st century, and the Yellow Pages is now a website more akin to Yelp, and most people are typing “moving company near me” into a search bar to find their way to our website to determine what we offer.
No one wants to know what goes into the sausage, as the saying goes. However, I’m going to give you a glimpse. Despite having a talented graphic designer, photographer, writer, and social media manager in the family, we still needed more assistance. (I know it might sound like my opinion of these individuals might be biased, but I dare you to check out their work on the new site and not be impressed!) Indeed, if you want people to see your site, Google really makes you work for it. This is where we solicited outside help. (Reminder to self: in both business and personal matters, reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness but a means to success.) From links and backlinks to alt text and keywords, our extended tech team worked hard to bring our beautifully designed and written site up to Google’s high web-based standards so that you can search for it and enjoy it! And while we started this project before Covid, now more than ever, we’re happy to have a respectable online presence in our increasingly virtual world.
I used to think all we needed were top-notch trucks, top-of-the-line dollies, top-shelf furniture blankets, and great guys & gals on our team with the right attitude. While we still need all of that, we also need a virtual storefront, where someone can stop by, visit, and check out our company and services without ever walking in, saying hi, and grabbing one of our calendars along with a cup of our incredible coffee. (Hey, high standards are pervasive.) On our new site, you can find almost anything you need about moving, packing, unpacking, storing between here and there, and more!
If you want a break from “doom scrolling” please check out our new website while it’s still “new & improved.” We’d love to hear your feedback! And if you have a business and website of your own and want to compare notes, we’ll put you through to the right person over here. It won’t be me! I know moving, not websites—hence why it took me 3 years to get this done.
Of course, once this Covid thing is over, feel free to stop by for coffee, one of Camelot’s infamous calendars, and if you hit us on the right day, a donut as well.
