In conjunction with the reviews from customers, your NoCowboys profile is a marketing platform that promotes your products and services to great effect. It does not take long to complete and is a dynamic and adjustable profile that you can amend and update any time you choose to.
This step by step guide will take you through the process of completing your profile and we recommend reading through to the end. This is not an arduous or time consuming process.
Logging In To Your Dashboard
The first step is to log in to your business dashboard – by clicking on this link: https://www.nocowboys.co.nz/login – then entering your user name and password.
When logged in – click on the blue ‘Business Profile’ link. There will be prompt boxes at the top of the page directing you to parts of your profile you have not yet completed and there is a ‘Profile Strength’ monitor to the right of the page that informs you how much of your profile has been done.
Business Profile
Expertise & Service Areas
The first step is to enter your registered business name or trading name. Then you are asked to set your primary and additional categories. Your primary category is the main thrust of what you do – for example ‘Builder’ and the additional categories are the other services you provide – in this case, ‘Decks & Decking’, ‘Kitchen Remodeller’, or perhaps, ‘Fencing Contractor’. It is important to include only the categories that reflect the actual work you do.
When selecting ‘Service Areas’ you can add wider areas that will include all of the suburbs within them, rather than selecting every individual suburb. For example, if in Wellington, the wider areas to select, if applicable would be, ‘Wellington City’, ‘Porirua ‘Area’, ‘Hutt Valley Area’, and ‘Kapiti Coast Area’.
When you have entered this information – hit the blue ‘Save’ button.
More About Your business
The first step here is to change your availability, if you are not available for work right away. Note: this can be changed at any time.
Next are two text boxes. The first – ‘About You and Your Business’ allows you to tell the story of your business in a few short paragraphs – this gives potential customers an understanding of the size of your operation, how long it has been trading, what you enjoy about your business and perhaps some of the unique services you provide. Think of this as marketing your business through words. Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to ‘blow your own trumpet’.
The next box is ‘What You Do’. Here you can list the services you provide, and explain why a customer should consider your business’.
When finished with this section, again, hit the blue ‘Save’ button.
Now scroll back up to the ‘Business Profile’ part of the page and select the blue ‘Your Logo/Media’ link.
Your Logo/Media
In this section you can market your business visually, with some ‘hacks’ that help with SEO (Search Engine Optimistation).
Firstly – if you have a logo for your business you can upload that to your profile. You can upload JPG (JPEG), GIF or PNG images as your logo. The maximum size for any image is 5MB. Note that some PNG images may not appear correctly, so we recommend using JPG or GIF images. You can only upload one logo for your business. Remember to ‘Save’ after uploading your logo.
Add a YouTube video
To add a short video you will need to set up a Youtube channel and load a few videos. There is another part of your profile where you can load the url to the channel itself but here you can include a short one that sells your business and services. We recommend something filmed on a smartphone that is no longer than two minutes. Again, don’t be shy, and remember, for potential customers, a visual representation makes you and your business visible, present, and transparent.
Remember to ‘Save’ after uploading your video.
Upload Images
Here you can showcase your products and/or services so that potential customers can see the breadth and quality of your work. Before and after images are a great idea, as are completed projects. You can upload JPG (JPEG), GIF or PNG images. The maximum size for any image is 5MB. Please note: save images after 15 minutes to avoid the page timing out and losing any unsaved uploads.
For each image you will be asked to include a title and a description – the title can be something generic – such as “Recent Interior Paint Project’ or “Renovation of a Weatherboard Villa’.
In the description you can enhance your SEO by including three things in a few sentences – your exact business or trading name, a few keywords relevant to the image – for example, ‘exterior painting’ or ‘kitchen renovation’, and then a location – for example, Caversham, Dunedin.
Press Save button to apply your changes.
Now scroll back up to the ‘Business Profile’ part of the page and select the blue ‘Your Location’ link
Your Location
NoCowboys’ website is a search engine where consumers search for local businesses, so you need to set your physical location. You can search and then select your location on a Google map, with the facility to hide your actual location address if you choose to. Note: press the save button after selecting location.
Social Media
The next tab to select is ‘Social Media’. Here you can insert the url from social media platforms you may use for your business. The logo will then be included on your profile, so that potential customers can click through to view those pages as well. All of these options greatly augment the strength of your marketing profile.
Associations
Underneath your business name you will see a blue link, titled ‘Associations’. Click on this link and scroll down. If you are a member of any of these professional bodies or associations, tick the text box under the applicable logo and then hit ‘Save’ at the bottom. The logos of those associations will then be prominently displayed on your profile.
Note: only include the logos of the professional bodies or associations you are actively a member of.
Account Settings
Click on the blue ‘Account Settings’ hyperlink and in this section you include pertinent information about your business. Start with the name for customers to contact – if there is not a specific person, we recommend something generic, such as ‘Customer Service’.
Email addresses – here there is the facility to add two email addresses, if needs be. The main one will be sent all emails emanating from NoCowboys, such as notifications, reviews, or customer queries through your profile. The sales email is a direct contact, whereby potential customers can directly contact you. If you want to use one email address for both then include that in the main email field and leave the sales one blank.
Contact phone numbers – here you can put the main contact number and mobile phone number – with the facility to also add a mobile number so that customers can text you.
Addresses – insert your physical address and postal address (if applicable).
Remember to click ‘Save’ when competed.
Ratings
Ratings are the driving force of your NoCowboys profile and it is important to build up your feedback with thoughtful and regular review strategies. Always remember that any legitimate customer that you did work for over the past two years, no matter where they found you, can review you on NoCowboys.
You can ask for reviews from past customers through your profile by clicking on the blue ‘Ratings’ link and then selecting ‘Request a Rating’. This will take you to a page with a form letter that you can send to past customers with the direct link to your NoCowboys rating page. Just include their name and email address in the appropriate field and then press the blue ‘Send Request’ button.
It is important to send out no more than five requests at a time, as a large number of reviews coming in at once tends to look suspicious to end users. We recommend staggering requests – for example, five initially and then following that process every 4-5 days.
If you need help or have any queries regarding profile set-up, or review requests – email us