There were an average 320 visitors to the site for each Guild member in 2022. Consistent and focussed efforts have increased visitor numbers by over 300% between 2019 and 2022! It’s a fantastic achievement, particularly when we consider it was already doing quite well in 2019. Better still, we’ve maintained the growth trend into 2023 and current numbers are already well ahead of the upper target. The numbers are all the more impressive when we consider that they don’t include all the sweep trade and wider industry traffic, as this all goes to the Guild trade site, guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk.
The site has three main functions: The main purpose of findachimneysweep is to link people looking for a chimney sweep with a list of their closest Guild members. From this list of results, visitors can link to an impressive showcase of individual member profiles and services, encouraging them to make contact and book their sweep. Members who have yet to take advantage of the new personal profile functions should visit the profile update video guide.
The findachimneysweep site also serves as an information resource for consumers, covering a wide range of topics. The articles and videos inform and engage visitors on everything from explaining the work of a professional sweep, to how to burn wood cleanly and efficiently. Consumer awareness and education is becoming ever more important, particularly with respect to efficient burning and air quality issues, so the more people that see our articles and information, the better. Lastly, it serves as an educational business resource for sweeps sharing the links or articles to inform their customers and promote their own site / page at the same time.
Knowledge is power: Analytics allow us to examine and monitor all aspects of the website function. We look at everything that visitors do such as which pages are viewed, length of time spent etc. We can also look at actions taken on any given page including the members profile pages. To give the best experience, visitors have multiple contact options when looking at an individual sweep. A simple tap or click and a potential customer can phone directly from the profile page. Or they can link to a member’s website, send a text or email, or even link to their Facebook messenger, and again, it’s all directly from the page. Everything is recorded, so we know for example that the top member profile had 922 visitors looking at their services and contact details in 2022, and that the most clicked member’s phone number received 94 calls, straight off the page. There are many other interesting stats on visitors linking to member websites, emailing etc.
This is obviously excellent news for business, but the benefits don’t stop there. Many members who have their own website benefit by having it associated with the findachimneysweep site, ultimately elevating the ranking of their own.
How have we achieved this growth? Design, content and promotion.
Design: This is not so much how the site looks but more how it works. We are always mindful of what visitors need from the site and their experience once they get there. Our excellent IT team ensure that the machinery keeps running smoothly. They regularly review performance, making changes as necessary and we work together to devise new elements and bring them to fruition. Content: Useful and interesting content is a key factor for engaging visitors. We focus on content that is interesting and unique. Having succeeded in getting big visitor numbers looking for a sweep, we will be focussing on producing more content and information, more ‘How to’ items for consumers and more resources for sweeps to use to promote themselves and their messages. Promotion: A good site with good content can’t become the best without good promotion. We use online advertising and social media posts and advertising, targeting different audiences with different messages at different times to achieve results.
Future developments: With everything going so well, record numbers year on year and all set for new highs in 2023, is there any need for change? In short, yes. The site has just been completely re-coded. This is the third such investment in the last five years! The latest coding is like re-building all the foundations that make a good site tick and gives us the best return from all the content and member profile work. We could probably maintain the leading position without any changes but we have greater ambition. So all the Guild sites have been re-built using the latest Content management System (CMS). This makes future changes and updates much easier to cover in-house, pages will load faster along with other small improvements. You’ll notice a slightly different look, but we’ve kept most of the things that have worked to date. The consumer information and advice will be re-organised to improve visibility and access and pave the way for more content.
Guild chair Lawson Wight said: ‘I’m delighted with the growth and development of the findachimneysweep website, I put a lot into it personally, evolving more and better content, considering structural improvements and working with the IT professionals. I have an acute understanding of what brings a customer to a sweep business and what they want to see when they get there. Findachimneysweep is simply a giant version of a successful sweeps website. I love the thought that every visitor attracted is likely to go on to book a member somewhere in the country. If they’ve come to look for information, it’s great to know the articles and videos will engage and inform them with the right messages.’
Members can help with the on-going success by linking their website or social page to their personal profile page on findachimneysweep. It’s great third-party validation for your messages about professionalism and gives customers even more confidence in you. In addition, if you have yet to update your profile page with photos, video and the additional contact options, go to profile update and follow the instructions on the update form.
