Hi Kate.
When you get a chance. www.certifiedinspection.info
Thanks!
Added, Dennis!
Hey, Kate,
Just curious as to my position in your queue.
Thank you 
Hi, Matthew –
You signed up relatively recently – you’re #194 out of 199 requests, and I’m working in the 90s.
I’ll send you a private message when your feedback has been posted in this thread. Thanks for your patience!
Hi kate, I do not want totake you away from your most awesome and inspirational work but is there any way that you can get one of the less awesome people to make a list of everyone looking for your feedback and where the standings are. Oh wait a minute I just realized there are no less awesome peole at InterNachi. You folks are all AWESOME!
LOL – thanks, George! You are #140.
I’m nearly done with the latest review I’m working on and will be cranking them out with more regularity very soon.
Stay cool, everyone!
could you look mine over please?
Hi Kate, I had to bug you, but am curious where I am in the queue?
Thanks!
Hi, James –
You’re #167 out of 199, and I’m in the 90s right now.
I hope to be posting my latest review tonight or tomorrow, and then I’ll be posting new ones more regularly again, having finished a major time-sensitive project over the weekend.
In the meantime, please feel free to read some of my past reviews – there’s something in them for everybody!
Hello, Kate
When you get a chance can you please check out my website.
Thank you
Hi, Jim –
I’ve added your name to my list – thanks!
Thank you
Quick question Katie I’ve been reading some of your reviews on others website, very interesting feedback you have been giving others,
My question you keep talking about tag name for more hits??
Mine was just kroupa’s home inspection
After seeing some of your reviews , I’ve changed it to
Palm Coast, FL Kroupa’s Home Inspection 386-263-7508
Is that too long??? Is that a good tag line??
And i know it’s not mobile friendly yet, working on that as well
Hi, Jim –
Excellent questions!
The elements of your homepage’s tag should be searchable based on how folks will search for a home inspector in your area.
That said, inserting your location/service area, as you’ve done, is a must.
Your company name is a good addition, especially because it includes the words “home inspection,” which is how folks will be searching for you, in addition to using the location.
Your phone number in your tag is probably superfluous – no one will be searching for you (or any home inspector) by phone number. But do include it above the fold on your homepage, as well as at all your deeper links/pages.
Hope that helps! 
Thank for your quick reply
Hi, Shaun (Atkinson) –
Here’s my feedback for your homepage/website at www.southwestohiohomeinspections.com/ :
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You have a very dynamic website in that it has a lot of moving parts and special effects, but these work well without being obnoxious or intrusive. You make liberal use of in-text links, which is useful and makes your site easy to navigate. There are some problems with your use of the “royal we,” as well as some text/content issues here and there, including some essential information that’s missing, so my comments to follow address them.
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Your homepage’s tag is just right, as it gives your service area, along with the phrase “Home Inspections.”
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Your homepage features some nice visuals, including a house at the top, and what looks like the same house lower on the page, but used as a faded background behind the text. This works well to give your homepage a unifying theme.
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In the upper left corner is your logo, and it could stand to be much bigger. It’s the anchor of your marketing, so it should be more prominent. You want your visitors to remember it and identify you with it.
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While I like the color palette of your site (orange and gray/black), the gray background is a little too dark in some places, making some of the text difficult to read, especially the orange and bolded text. It also makes the images of the houses look a little blurry, since the overlay is having a filter effect. Consider lightening this up more. The house image to the left of your logo is too dark – it makes your homepage kind of gloomy.
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One important element that’s missing from your homepage above the fold (the area visible without having to scroll) is your NAP, which stands for name, address and phone number. We do have your company, but we don’t have YOUR name; in fact, I can’t find it anywhere on your website, except on your sample report, which I have to click on to read. I’m guessing this is deliberate because I’m also guessing you’re a one-man operation but don’t want your visitors to know that. You do use the plural terms “we,” which is the “royal we” I referred to earlier, and which I could give you a pass on as a one-man operation.
One thing you shouldn’t do if you’re a one-man business is use the plural terms “inspectors” or “technicians,” which you use repeatedly. This is considered false advertising (if you’re a one-man company), and some states have statutes prohibiting this practice, so err on the side of caution and change out those terms. (If I’m wrong, do let me know, but I can find no evidence on your site of anyone but you, and that information is pretty well buried.) I’m harping on this point because this tactic can actually work against you.
You mention being certified by InterNACHI, and you link to your member verification page, so that helps identify who you are, but you’re making your prospects jump through hoops to find out.
You also claim to be licensed by InterNACHI, which is false, as we don’t license anyone for anything, so you need to delete that.
You also give your state license number for termite inspections, but as license numbers are generally attached to people and not companies, this also muddies your identity when you don’t provide your name.
You also say that you’re licensed by Ohio for radon inspections, but you don’t provide that number anywhere, and you definitely should.
While your website is among the more visually sophisticated that I’ve reviewed, that professional look isn’t going to build the personal connection with prospects that you want in the same way that simply being transparent about who you are will. And the first thing you need to do to gain your prospects’ trust (and make them stick around to explore your website) is to provide your name. It doesn’t get any more basic than that.
And when you become fully certified with InterNACHI, you can use the CPI designation, which will give you the added credibility you want, especially since you rightly point out to your site’s visitors that Ohio doesn’t license its home inspectors. (I also strongly recommend that you log into your member account to see where you stand CE-wise, and review our certification and CE requirements for maintaining your membership in good standing.)
Make sure that all the InterNACHI certification logos you’ve used liberally throughout your site correspond to the courses you’ve actually successfully completed.
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That said, in addition to adding your NAP above the fold, I recommend that you add an “About Me” link and insert all the information you have scattered elsewhere on your site, starting with your name. Add brief information about your relevant work experience and formal education, along with all your license numbers, other qualifications, and even your InterNACHI certifications and Continuing Ed log, if you want. This new link should appear first after “Home.”
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Before I discuss your (top) row of links, which appears next, I want to go down your homepage. The first text element under the links is a box that includes your company name, your service area (including state), and some keywords. It’s easier to read text that uses mixed case, rather than all caps, and some font styles make all-capped text even more difficult to read at a glance because there isn’t enough space between the words. That’s what’s going on in this box. In addition to using mixed case, you should use a different color of font for your company name so that it stands out better. Also, it’s unnecessary to repeat “Ohio,” since a) “Ohio” is part of your company name, and b) Cincinnati and Dayton are two of your state’s most famous cities. Don’t bog down your homepage with keyword-stuffing at the outset like this. (But if you do keep “Ohio,” insert a comma before it.)
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As we scroll down the page, two vertical boxes fade in toward the center from the sides, which is the main special effect of your homepage. This works well. In the box on the left, you’ve linked your phone number to the Facetime app, which is a fun high-tech surprise. You also provide a self-scheduling feature, which is also handy and desirable. Insert a hyphen between “real” and “time.” Nice use of our Residential Property Inspector logo.
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In the box on the right side is a list of a variety of items, including sales-type talking points, customer conveniences, qualifications, other memberships, service area, etc. These aren’t grouped together sensibly, so it’s a random list. Make the information easier for your prospects to find and digest by grouping similar items together. You can even have them in a vertical list like this, but insert brief headings above them, such as “Customer Conveniences,” “Qualifications,” etc. You can try color-coding them, too. I would also move most of your qualifications to your new “About Me” page, and, again, don’t use plural “inspectors” or “technicians” if you’re a one-person operation, especially when referring to licensing and your InterNACHI affiliation – this goes beyond use of the royal we and into legally actionable territory, either by your state or by some unhappy client or prospect. Don’t deceive your prospects using false advertising simply so you can appear larger.
Other points about this list:
a. You “serve” southwestern Ohio, not “service.”
b. Your GL and E&O insurance are for your protection, not your clients’, so your claim is both disingenuous and misleading. Simply state that you’re fully insured with GL and E&O coverage.
c. I would delete the phrase “We are a modern business!” because it sounds like a quaint claim, especially since we’re already here on your website. Just dive in with some of the state-of-the-art or high-tech features you offer by way of your report, its delivery, etc.
d. Where you link your report, you can clarify that folks need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free (if they don’t have it), rather than say that they need “PDF software” – it might confuse some people.
e. Questionable phrases here and at your links that should be changed or deleted include: “our inspectors’ extensive knowledge” (try “my extensive knowledge”); “report…detailing any possible defects” (you can only report the defects you see/find, not “any possible” ones); and “We are InterNACHI certified” (only you are listed as a member of record, and you’re not fully certified yet).
- After these two vertical lists, lower on the page, is some consumer-friendly text, which generally works well, with the exception of your use of some of the questionable phrases I noted earlier. Do insert a comma after “Dayton.” Insert a hyphen between “real” and “time.” I might also shorten this text and use links wherever possible (the same goes for the bullet lists above). You want to make your pitch succinct, which means meaningful but as brief as possible.
Also, the SSL seal on the right (under the InterNACHI “Click to Verify” seal) bounces your visitors away from your site, so change it so that it opens in a new tab. Both of the seals could stand to be bigger – they should be large enough to read the text within them without difficulty.
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In the large text below the three paragraphs, insert a comma after “Dayton” and a period at the end.
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At the bottom of your homepage is a series of links in small font, and these links are labeled differently than the ones at the top. Some commercial websites will repeat the same links at the top and bottom, but this choice is confusing. If it’s important enough to be at its own link, why bury it at the bottom of your homepage? I recommend consolidating the information wherever you can and using one row of links at the top, not two distinctly different groups. Don’t count on your prospects to scroll all the way to the bottom of your page – you have a lot of written content on your homepage that they may not get through, so this bottom row of links may go completely ignored.
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The first link at the bottom is “Service Area,” which goes to a handy interactive map. This should appear at the top of your page, regardless that you mention the major cities in your service area several times on your homepage. This is essential information and should not appear virtually last on your homepage.
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The next link is “Standards of Practice,” and you’ve done a cut-paste of our SOP, listing the various systems, but without any letters or numbers or even bullets. You should link to our SOP instead because our online SOP is formatted more sensibly than your pasted list, and also because we occasionally update or correct our SOP, which may render yours out of date without you (or your prospects) realizing it. If you’re expecting your clients to rely on the SOP, better to have a link to our live version.
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At the “Choosing the Right Home Inspector” link:
a. Delete “fully licensed” – neither the State of Ohio nor InterNACHI licenses home inspectors, so don’t give false information.
b. Since you’re using our boilerplate about hiring InterNACHI inspectors, it would be useful for your visitors if you do two things on this page: spell out InterNACHI earlier than the fifth paragraph, as your visitors will probably not recognize the name or what it stands for (and you mention it four times before you explain what it is); and link to our site, with the link opening in a new tab or browser window so that you don’t bounce your visitors away. Ideally, you should link to your own member verification page, as you’ve done with the seal lower on your homepage.
c. It’s not altogether necessary for you to promote InterNACHI inspectors in general via listing our required CE training, but I’m especially discouraging it in your case since you have not yet met all of the certification requirements. In addition to calling yourself InterNACHI-certified in multiple places, having this list of courses and requirements on your website clearly implies to your prospects that you have fulfilled them. I’m not trying to play “certification police” (there are other folks responsible for helping our members with all that) so much as I’m cautioning you against inviting unwanted – and easily avoidable – liability. With this list on your website, you are, in effect, reassuring your prospects that they can rely on your having completed specific training through us, which, in fact, you haven’t. A lawyer for an unhappy client could annihilate you based on these claims you’ve made on your website. This is no small matter. The good news is that it’s easy to rectify; simply state that you’re an InterNACHI member, and delineate the training/courses you have completed, and add more as you complete more.
d. At our trademarked tagline, delete the quotation marks, italicize that text, change the period after “Once” to a comma, and insert the registered trademark symbol (R inside a circle) at the end.
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The next link at the bottom is titled “What is the normal house life expectancy?” I would change that title to “Life Expectancy of Home Systems.” At that link, you have a rather random drawing of a nurse holding a thermometer (?). I would delete that, as you have no other similar images, which is why it’s so random. Fix our tagline on this page (or just do a global fix). You’re welcome to use it, but it’s a registered trademark, so how you render it is important.
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The next link at the bottom is titled “Information for Realtors.” At that link, you’ve conflated our $10,000 Honor Guarantee – which indemnifies YOU in an amount of up to $10,000 if you are convicted of theft of the uninsured personal property of a client while inspecting their home – with our Negligent Referral Protection for Agents program, which does indeed indemnify the agent, as you’ve explained on this page. However, the logo and the text ARE NOT connected, so delete the logo.
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The next link at the bottom is titled “What We Inspect.” In an effort to consolidate similar content and delete extraneous or redundant links, combine the information here with the SOP link. Don’t send your prospects on a hunt around your website to find out what you inspect as part of your standard home inspection service. There’s no real reason you should have two links that provide the same basic information.
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The last link at the bottom is titled “REAC Inspections.” I’m not sure what that is, and you don’t explain on your page what that is (or who or what REAC is), so it’s worth asking yourself whether your prospects will automatically know what it means. If not, explain and/or add links that help (making sure that any external links open in a new tab or window).
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Below the bottom links is a row of social media icons. Your last Facebook post was three hours ago, whereas your last Twitter post was a year and a half ago. If you’re not active on certain platforms, just delete them. Better not to have them than to neglect them.
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Under that is your copyright notice, but it’s microscopic, as well as in black font against a dark gray background. Change this font color to white so that it’s legible.
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You’ve repeated your website link at the bottom (in white font), and it simply reloads your page. Not sure why you’d need this.
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Let’s return to the row of links at the top of your page. As I advocated earlier, I think your second link should be “About Me,” and your third link should be “Service Area,” and THEN have your “Services and Pricing” link (and use an ampersand in place of the word “and” to make the link text shorter).
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Your interactive “Schedule an Inspection” link should come after the links for your other main services – “Radon Testing” and “Termite Inspections” – as well as after “Sample Reports,” which is a more sensible way to present this information. At those respective inspection service pages, repeat (or include) your corresponding license numbers.
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Your ‘SOP/What’s Inspected’ link at the bottom can come last as a matter of additional information, or you can further combine it at your “Services & Pricing Link.” At that page, uncap “Sq.Ft.” and insert commas in the numbers that exceed 999. You also mention many other types of inspections at this page that seem a bit lost under all the square footages and prices. It would take some overhauling to organize this differently, perhaps via a drop-down menu arranged according to inspection type, with prices and descriptions listed at those appropriate pages.
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In general, you have a visually interesting homepage that works as it’s supposed to. Some websites with a lot of moving parts aren’t nearly as smooth or engaging as yours. Navigation is simple, and you offer some nice features, such as self-scheduling, and Facetime contact. In this regard, your website, happily, succeeds.
But the color palette is a little too dark, so I would lighten it up. All the gray is kind of depressing and can have a negative psychological effect on your home-buying prospects, who may already be somewhat stressed out.
The text, overall, is well written. You’ve taken some of our boilerplate and simplified it using a more folksy tone in some places. There are some minor issues with regard to missing punctuation, formatting, and spelling, so take some extra time to review (or have someone else review) all of your pages to clean them up.
Where your website hurts you is in a few areas, including:
a. lack of NAP above the fold, and failing to reveal your identity in general;
b. a too-small logo;
c. somewhat weak organization, including an over-abundance of disparate or repetitive links (which you can combine and feature exclusively up top, where people will be looking for them);
d. using the Honor Guarantee logo with the description for our Negligent Referral Protection program, two member benefits that are unrelated; and, most especially,
e. misrepresenting your company makeup, going far beyond a general use of the royal we (unless I’m wrong and you’re a multi-inspector firm); and
f. misrepresenting your qualifications.
These shortcomings, particularly the first one and last two, are rather serious and should be rectified immediately. For now, in spite of the overall look and novel visual features of your homepage, the welcome mat is out for unwanted liability, and that’s bad for business.
Nice work Kate.
Id like a review also please its still a work in progress but any feedback would be great! Thanks!
I’ve added you to my list, Johnnie – thanks!
Not to mention dead links. Dead links really irritate me…