Well first let me address Rick's comments:
I largely agree with your point - however I provide valuation services to a large geographic area, and am certified in eight Midwest states. I have a strong background in litigation and eminent domain work and primarily perform appraisals on commercial property so while I agree targeted marketing is great, it is not feasible when working in such a large geographic area. But most importantly, the number of hits you receive moves you up in the search results. Being relegated to the fourth or fifth page of results will generate little work. So unless you are being seen, your resume or qualifications will do you little good. And I would prefer get many inquiries and choose which assignments I take on rather than accept have a few inquiries, and have to accept pretty much what comes my way.
Terrell:
You hit the nail on the head! I would rather have a number of hits, several inquiries, and be able to pick and choose what jobs I want. And I like to think of it has having a diverse base of high-quality clients rather than a handful from one geographic location. And Terrell - I would take two assignments a week anytime thats a heavy commercial work load for one man.
But there is another reason to maximize hits. That is name recognition and professional image. People tend to place credibility on things they find familiar. And while our work has to be credible, having a strong image (or Brand image as the marketing guys call it) helps generate those higher fees.
Blueprint:
I used Vistaprint to develop my website. They have a very easy interface for development, and the layout is nothing fancy, but yet it is different than any of the other appraiser's I have seen. And yes, VP is very good with helping with the SEO. But I decided to learn and improve where I can.
