I’ve been fortunate enough that I’ve been able to make a living in the outdoors for over 20 years now. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a fun ride and I love what I do.
Most people know my time online from the forums I created in hunting and fishing…which I later sold in 2013. I think the timing was right, especially with social media apps taking over that space.
Since then, I’ve been designing websites for other people, not myself. My father was a stock broker, so obviously people trusted him with their retirement accounts. And when I take a step back, what I’ve done for over a decade now is pretty much the same thing.
Small Business Web Development
I’m kind of a sucker for small business. As a longtime small business owner myself, I understand a person’s drive and passion to do things THEIR way. And to be honest, small business is pretty much my niche for web design. While we do build and manage some big companies around the countries, I would lie if I didn’t say small to medium-sized businesses are my bread and butter.
So with that being said, I see web design differently. When a small business owner comes to me to have a website built, I don’t see it as putting together a visual billboard…much more.
If a website is built RIGHT, and has all the tools and paths set up properly, it should literally drive most of your leads and business. And in recent years, having a well-optimized and connected Google Business Profile is almost just as important, depending on the niche.
The point is, and I say this all the time, if your phone ain’t ringing…I’m simply not doing my job.
Below is a client who just came on board around 6 months ago. I will give you a hint, it is an outfitter for both hunting and fishing…but WHO it is isn’t important.
What’s important to note is in the last 7 days, Google Search alone brought over 100 TARGETED visitors. And when I say targeted, I mean they didn’t come to the website by accident. They came because the website was a great match for what they were looking for, it’s just that simple (well honestly it’s actually not in SEO, but just pretend for me here). And I’m not claiming that this number is crazy high, because it’s not. It’s still early in our SEO process and will continue to climb over time.
But here’s the KEY. The website in the last 7 days produced 13 phone calls ( and 3 emails ). And as someone who’s worked with outfitters and charters a LONG time, EVERYONE likes to get phone call leads. Emails are great but often filled with tire kickers. If your website isn’t making your phone ring, what are you paying for???
Circle back to the outdoors, and of course, I do a lot of websites in hunting & fishing. In fact, it’s usually around 45 – 50% of our business. But we’re always a good fit because of our history of SEO and the fact we ARE outdoorsmen and women. At the end of the day, there are a GAZILLION website designers nowadays that come and go, but we’re established and not going ANYWHERE…
I wrote an article specifically on fishing charter SEO and how it all works. But the breakdown is essentially this, we aim to rank ALL clients high on Google search results. And yes, we do put most of our emphasis on Google considering they’re still holding 89-91% of world search market share (depends on which study, but it’s consistently in this ballpark).
The process is a marathon, not a sprint. So those wanting immediate results should focus on short-term advertising strategies that make sense (and without breaking the bank). And when I say “process” I mean you start noticing results in as little as 2 or 3 months; but it’ll take much longer to fully mature on Google.
And once you get around the top of the results, it’s not like you’re going to drop or lose serious rankings going forward. We don’t “cheat” to get our clients their results. We focus on long-term sound SEO practices that we’ve perfected over the past 2+ decades of SEO.
And once you get someone to your website from Google, that’s only half the battle. While stats showing visitors is great, again, is your phone ringing? If not, it’s probably due to the web design, believe it or not (unless your pricing doesn’t make sense…never helps, either haha).
You need to design websites to not only rank well, but they need to convert, too! While I won’t get into the science of it all, and yes there are plenty of factors, just trust me when I say it works. You typically only have seconds to make or break that visitor as a potential customer, so you HAVE TO get it right out of the gate.
We’ve done web design for fishing charters and guides for years and we know this market well. If you’d like to have a free convo, feel free to give me a shout. And yes, I handle ALL SEO here so you will be talking to me. 😉
Hunting Guides / Outfitters Online Marketing
I can’t stress this fact alone, that my very first site was hunting-focused. I am an AVID waterfowler. And I’m not ignorant to deer, predators, etc. either…but my passion is in waterfowl. To each their own. 🙂
We build and manage A LOT of outfitters throughout North America and Mexico. And most of our clients rely on us for 99% of their leads. I like to say we fill calendars but I can leave that up to the reviews on Google, for example, to show what we do. Heck, one of my oldest clients, a North Dakota pheasant outfitter, literally has a 4-year waiting list. He called me this spring and asked us to “tone it down” because they were turning away so many phone calls. I consider that a compliment.
If you’re in need of sound hunting outfitter website design, give me a shout. I’m not pushy, at all. I simply speak in black and white on how the process works. We have tons of options, including an interactive booking calendar, that can be seamlessly integrated into your marketing. OR we can simply make your phone call, A LOT. I’ve yet to meet a successful hunting outfitter who hated phone calls….
RECAP ON MARKETING FOR FISHING & HUNTING INDUSTRY
So if you’re a fishing charter or hunting outfitter and looking to boost your online marketing & leads, simply call me. I’m usually available, including outside of normal business hours, too. A LOT of my clients aren’t able to chat during a normal 9 to 5 (on the water or in the field) so I’m flexible with my hours for this reason. Our process and pricing is simple and transparent. And we don’t force contracts on our customers for a simple reason. If you’re simply not getting leads or aren’t happy, we will even help you transfer out. At the end of the day, it’s nothing personal, it’s business. Doesn’t happen very often but I’d like to say our lack of contracts shows our confidence in what we do as well… 😉
Tight Lines & Hunt Hard Kids!
Chris Hustad
701-866-1909
[email protected]
FlywayMedia.com
