Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Maine Furniture Makers Web Development

Maine's woodworking community is a part of our everyday lives, whether we are in the trade, or not. We all know someone who is a woodworker, or know someone who is close to one. Local carpenters, furniture makers, cabinetmakers, restorers, and contractors, all keep our lumber stores, gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants busy every day.

Google's ranking system gives huge credibility in its results to COMMUNITY driven content. The companies at the top are the ones with the cash, but we, as a collective of smaller communities, can beat them, and Nathan McKelvey, my brother, and founder of www.HiddenEquity.com, has not only figured out how, but has proven it can be done.

www.MaineFurniture.org is so much more than just another website trying to promote an industry or trade. We are far from just another attempt at a local directory. www.MaineFurniture.org is the registered name of our non profit company. Our goal is to provide a place where any woodworker can get a VERY affordable website, and develop and maintain a presence in online search results. www.MaineFurniture.org and Hidden Equity will work with woodworkers featured on our site to make sure they have a website, and at the very least, they will still be able to have videos of themselves talking about their woodworking history, and of them working in their shop, as well as a bio with photos. This is at NO COST whatsoever. Please just talk to us.

My brother, Nate, has spent his career developing the software which drives Hidden Equity. Before the fire at my shop which claimed everything, I was doing the best work of my life. A songwriter's style evolves with time. As we age, we see things more clearly, and we weed out what isn't important, and focus on what is important. I know Nate's history and where he has always come from, and that it is just from a place of simplicity. Why can't we all just get along? Why can't some people, no matter how hard they try, or how good they are, make ends meet? Why do we struggle with status quo? It would be so much easier if ....

... say, perhaps, that there was a way for small business owners to show up in Google search results. Why should the huge corporate conglomerates be the only ones to be on Page One of Google? They spend MILLIONS of dollars every year to make sure they are there. What about us?

Where is the woodworkers commission, like the Maine Lobster Council? Or the same for our blueberry producers, or lodging industry, or potato farmers? Who is out there determining quality and setting standards, and educating the consumers on behalf of the woodworkers? Who cares? We are all just out there trying to make ends meet, occasionally complaining about big box store products with which we can't compete. www.MaineFurniture.org and Hidden Equity, however, have proven that a couple guys, operating on day to day personal financial budgets, can indeed compete online with multi-million dollar companies.

I just ran www.MaineFurniture.org through a reputable online site evaluator, and it received a grade of 87%. My site, designed by Nate, has been active for seven weeks. The key words we wanted to target were "Maine Furniture", for which there are 33,000 searches per month. Last night I showed up at number six on Google. Amazing. And the there are still details that the evaluation didn't pick up because we had just made some adjustments that take a little time.

One Maine woodworker I read about recently pretty much laid it all out when he said he has put as much time into his online marketing as he has spent actually working on jobs, if not more. www.MaineFurniture.org, and Hidden Equity have done the research and nailed down the formula so you can focus the majority of your energy on your craft. We will give you the tools and show you how to promote yourself, as we promote you and your peers simultaneously. It works.

www.MaineFurniture.org is here to promote the exceptional quality wood products made here in Maine, research and record Maine's woodworking history, and reinvest into our communities. There are proven models of wood shops in high schools that make money, and have job placements after graduation. We will set up scholarships for our students to further their woodworking education at the internationally-known schools this state has to offer. We will host events where local artisans can showcase their works. We have a studio where you can consign your works for far less than the going rates, where ALL proceeds are used to promote Maine woodworkers.

We are not just another online directory, and I want you to know this.

Thank you!

Mark

1 comment:

  1. Pretty decent site, will only improve as it gains its footing.

    Jake Behlen, Jr.
    Waterlox, Co.

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