Almost every day I have an occasion to look at the website of a septic service or portable sanitation company. And as I review the text, photos or other content at these companies’ online homes, one message is clear to me: Not all websites are created equal.

On one end of the spectrum you have the website of Pump That Septic of Cassopolis, Mich., a company featured in a contractor profile in this issue of Pumper. Owner Dervin Witmer would be considered Web savvy, and his site, www.pumpthatseptic.com, employs many of the latest techniques aimed at identifying and landing customers.

Witmer uses educational videos, compelling graphics, social media sites, online coupons and other tricks of the digital trade to lure new business. To learn a little more about Witmer and equipment, check out our new video profile feature on his company at www.pumper.com.

For every updated, professional-looking website like Witmer’s, many septic service company sites fall short of their marketing potential. Frequently I see pumping company websites that were obviously produced several years ago and have remained an afterthought by the business owners. Or they are sites with just a few pages of content slapped together using a quick-and-easy Web template and serve little purpose beyond being an online business card.

If your company has an outdated or unsophisticated website, it’s understandable and you’re clearly not alone. Many service providers in any industry are lagging behind the times with their Web presence, either due to financial constraints or a lack of time. It’s easy to justify putting off improving your website if you’re busy making money pumping tanks or servicing portable restrooms.

But at the same time, I hear more and more pumpers say they get the lion’s share of their new business from customers who find them on the Web. They are often surprised by this development. But they learn from it as well, and savvy ones like Witmer at Pump That Septic start concentrating their marketing budgets on a stronger Web presence.

A website is a relatively inexpensive marketing tool when you compare it to placing ads in several telephone directories each year. But while there is little cost in launching a simple website and keeping its domain name alive, time and money are required for optimizing the site with valuable content and making sure prospective customers find it when they perform an Internet search.

That’s where this month’s Pumper Interview story comes in. In this issue dedicated to office technology and software, writer Paul Holley talked to digital strategy consultant James Davidson about ways pumping companies can get their tired old websites firing on all cylinders and generating lots of new customers.

Davidson shares a host of valuable techniques, from using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to tapping into the latest trend of online couponing via “deal of the day” websites like Groupon and Livingsocial. He explains how pumpers can begin to tackle the important task of search engine optimization, or SEO, which is the art of landing your website at the top of search lists.

While the prospect of retooling your website might be daunting, it’s probably necessary — and may be long overdue — if you want to compete as more and more consumers search for services via the Internet.