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Disparity in Construction Contractor Presence on the Web

Posted by jobtrio.com Staff on April 13th, 2009

April 13, 2009 – When my partner, Brett Vernon, and I began the conceptualization of jobtrio.com, we were spurned by a vacuum both of us had experienced first hand:  Why is it so hard to find contractors on the Internet.  With only a couple clicks you can find every restaurant in town, every doctor, or every car dealership, but where are all the construction contractors?  Below is a collection of other interesting facts we have stumbled upon which have encouraged jobtrio.com along the way:

  • Consumers are searching. A 2008 Yahoo study found that 59% of homeowners use the Internet to help them choose the right contractor for their projects.
  • Contractors are absent. In a study conducted by jobtrio.com team members, a random sample of 100 contractors was selected from a database of all 250K+ licensed contractors in the state of California.  A Google search was performed using the business name for  each of these 100 contractors.  Of these 100, only 9 contractors appeared in the first 2 pages (top 20) results on Google.  Of course, I realize that 100 is not a very large sample size, but it is certainly enough of a sample to indicate a disparity.
  • Just having a company website doesn’t cut it.  We have found that about 15-20% of contracting companies with more than 5 employees have a company website.  A website is a great way to spread information about your product and services, but who is going to your website?  Chances are, unless you have employed search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) firms, the majority of people landing on your site are either existing clients or someone who heard about your site through some other media outlet (newspaper, radio, word-of-mouth).  In other words, your website may be doing very little to generate new business for your organization.
  • “You come to me” is on the out. In the late ’90s there was a wave of web-based companies that featured “you come to me” business models, meaning, a consumer specifies their general desires for a product or service, and a handful of providers then bid to get the consumer’s business.  As the web and its users have evolved, this old-school approach has proven to have little staying power.  For one reason, the “bidders” began to setup automated response systems or other tactics which are intended to lure-in unsuspecting consumers.  Also, consumers have grown much more savvy, and wish to be in the driver’s seat, with all decision-making tools placed right at their fingertips via the Internet.

These above mentioned discoveries have been integral in shaping the jobtrio.com product.  Here is how we responded:

  • jobtrio.com is built around a database already containing the business name and contact information for 250K+ California contractors.  The information was hiding out there on the web, we just assemble it all in one place.
  • jobtrio.com is absolutely free for consumers to use.
  • we have employed top-notch SEM and SEO firms to assure that jobtrio.com listing come up with high rankings in Google and Yahoo searches
  • We set our Enhanced Profile pricing as low as we possibly could.  In order to benefit the consumer and contractor, we are aiming for volume, volume, volume.

As always, I would love to hear any feedback on this blog!

Have a great day,

Josh

President of jobtrio.com

Profiles and Review of California Contractors

California Construction on Path to Recovery

Posted by jobtrio.com Staff on April 13th, 2009

April 13, 2009 – In scouring the net for the latest news which affects the California construction industry, I recently came across a couple articles that I felt were quite encouraging in nature, indicating a likely increase in California construction work and construction projects as a whole.The first snippet is a statistical analysis taken from www.dqnews.com and is a comparison of Southern California home sales for February 2008 vs. February 2009.

Sales Volume Median Price
All homes Feb-08 Feb-09 %Chng Feb-08 Feb-09 %Chng
Los Angeles 3,468 4,590 32.4% $460,000 $299,000 -35.0%
Orange 1,471 1,879 27.7% $520,000 $375,000 -27.9%
Riverside 2,147 3,420 59.3% $325,000 $190,000 -41.5%
San Bernardino 1,242 2,324 87.1% $290,000 $153,000 -47.2%
San Diego 1,954 2,473 26.6% $415,000 $285,000 -31.3%
Ventura 495 545 10.1% $445,000 $327,000 -26.5%
SoCal 10,777 15,231 41.3% $408,000 $250,000 -38.7%

Though this may not look immediately encouraging, the increase in sales volume, despite the low sales prices, means good news for new construction, general constractors and their subs. With so many loans in default and so many homes in foreclosure, it is a necessity that this market surplus in lower-income home supply be first depleted before lower-income new construction projects can thrive again.

The other article I’d like to share with you is from the WordPress blog of David Edwards. His article summarizes the ideas presented recently at a Realtors summit by Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®. Here are a couple key quotes from David’s blog:

“[Yun] forecasts price stabilization by the end of the year and a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in sales of existing homes nationwide as the impact of the housing stimulus package kicks in.”

. . . and:

“Yun said the Housing Affordability Index is at its highest-ever level, thanks in part to declining home values and historic low interest rates. Stricter underwriting standards, “frozen” jumbo loans (a big factor in the high-cost markets such as the Puget Sound area), and shaky consumer confidence are impeding sales activity, Yun believes.
Yun also spoke of the correlation (or lack or correlation) between jobs, the recession, interest rates and home sales. In the 2000 recession, “we lost jobs yet had rising home sales because of falling interest rates.” Interest rates make the difference, he said.”

. . . also:

“”Using California as a barometer, Yun said momentum is rising “much faster than I ever anticipated.” In Orange County, where prices are considerably higher than Seattle, activity had been stalled, but began turning around over the past six months. He attributes the shift to a combination of pent-up demand and psychological factors. Some who have been sitting on the fence don’t want to be the last ones left sitting,” he observed.

Yun also cited a return of multiple offers in some California markets. That suggests prices may be bottoming or have bottomed out,” he stated.”

I know what you might say: It’s this guy’s job to put a positive spin on our current recession. But, whenever an “expert” invokes historical evidence and statistics the way Yun has here, I am much more willing to pay attention. Let’s hope that his interpretations have some validity, as it could indicate that California construction is rounding the corner, on its way to a rebound.

Josh Groves
President
jobtrio.com
Profiles and reviews of construction contractors.
“Let’s get to work!”

California Unemployment and Construction Contractors

Posted by jobtrio.com Staff on April 14th, 2009

April 14, 2009 – In late March, the Employment Development Department of California released the state’s unemployment data, with numbers up through February 2009. Overall, this report paints a grim picture of California’s economic status, and in particular, the health of the construction industry.  Here are a couple key statistics and I would like to discuss what they mean in regard to recovery:

-  Percent difference in amount of construction industry employees between February 2009 and February 2008:  -18.5%

-  Unemployment by county:
Colusa = 26.6%
Monterey = 16.2%
Santa Barbara = 8.3%
San Luis Obispo = 8.1%

The point I would like to make first is, the -18.5% reflects where we are now with respect to the past, but says nothing in regards to present trends.  Home sales numbers indicate that the California housing market bottomed in February, and started its gradual rebound in March (see my previous blog, “California Construction on Path to Recovery”).  Given the direct correlation between the health of the construction industry and home sales, I would expect construction jobs to be returning very soon.

The second point I would like to address is the overall strength of the Santa Barbara construction and San Luis Obispo construction economies, at least with respect to most other California counties.  True, the construction economy has slowed in these two counties, but for the most part these regions are in pretty good shape.  What does this mean?  It means that given the low point in the housing market reached in February, these counties are poised for a very quick turn around in 2009 and 2010 since their local economies do not require much in the way of resusitation.  Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are very good regions in which to be a construction contractor during the next 18 months.

Josh Groves

President of jobtrio.com

Profiles and Reviews of Construction Contractors

Need Local Contractors to Submit Articles

Posted by jobtrio.com Staff on April 17th, 2009

April 17, 2009 – Jobtrio.com is looking for some California-based contractors to give me some articles for the learning-center section of my contractor directory website, jobtrio.com. You’ll get the recognition and any link-backs you insert in the article or insert in the signature on the article.

Basically, I’m looking for trade specific, well written articles that homeowners might find helpful.  For example:

“How to Interview a General Contractor” for the General Contractors category

or

“Evaporative vs. Compressor-based Cooling” for the HVAC category

Nothing spammy.  Please put your contact info at the bottom of the article, and feel free to do keyword linking back to your website.

When I get your article, I’ll have it proof-read, and if it looks good, I’ll send you an email, and you’ll get the recognition and link-backs.  And hopefully, you feel like giving jobtrio.com a link on your site as well.

Thanks,
Josh

Nextel is Still the Smart Choice for Contractors

Posted by jobtrio.com Staff on November 18th, 2009

November 18, 2009 – The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are close to 10 million Americans working in the nation’s construction industry. And, it seems that Nextel is still the only cellular service provider who has consistently made efforts to cater to the particular cell phone needs of construction contractors.

Motorola i576 is a great field phone for contractors. Image copyright of Sprint 2009.

Motorola i576 is a great field phone for contractors. Image copywrite of Sprint 2009.

Recently, a less than tech-savvy friend asked me to help him choose a cell provider and phone model for his small general contracting firm. With only 5 employees, he does not have any need for advanced features like VPN access and PDF viewing — he simply needs a very reliable, rugged cell phone with good coverage and easy to use push-to-talk technology. For years, I have continually seen construction companies in the field talking on basic Nextel models, like the i576 by Motorola, and now I know why.

I started my search for the right phone the way I begin every consumer venture: reading web reviews of the product by real life users. What I discovered is that, while contractors don’t seem to be raving about the rugged Nextel models, nobody appears to have any complaints either. And that is what a building contractor really needs, right? A phone and provider that are consistent and which you can confidently base your business around.

ATT iPhone is probably not the best fit for a working contractor. Image copyright ATT 2009.

ATT iPhone is probably not the best fit for a working contractor. Image copyright ATT 2009.

Believe me, I am an iPhone user from its initial launch and I use every feature of the phone almost on a daily basis. I couldn’t operate my business without it. But, when it comes to push-to-talk technology or rugged construction, the IPhone, or any other smart phone for that matter, just doesn’t make sense. Sprint and Nextel’s Direct Talk feature is unpatrolled and the difference in coverage between them and Verizon is negligible.

So, after a day of research, I pointed my friend to Nextel and the i576 by Motorola. He, knowing my penchant for gadgets, was a little surprised by my selection, but I was able to convince him that wiz-bang, and the headaches that accompany it, are the last thing he needs for his growing construction industry business. But, I have to wonder if ATT and Verizon are going to continue to let Nextel corner this market, or if they have field-phones in the works?

jobtrio_blog_sig_logo

Josh Groves
President of jobtrio.com
“Where contractors and their clients meet.”

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