The Basics Of Digital Marketing For Contractors
There are 3.7 million construction businesses in the US. That’s roughly one construction business for every 90 people.
In such a competitive industry, you can’t overlook digital marketing. It’s how potential clients will find you online. And these days most clients are looking for contractors in their area online.
So don’t skimp on digital marketing!
In this article, you’ll learn the basics of website design, SEO, PPC, and email marketing, and how to apply them to promote your local contracting business.
Let’s get into it!
Marketing For Contractors
Build A Website You Can Be Proud Of
Like the projects you deliver, your website needs to be well built. If not, website visitors are unlikely to spend much time browsing it, much less request an estimate.
Think of it like this:
Your website is your showroom on the internet.
So it should be an accurate representation of your business.
Your website visitors should be able to learn about your company and the services you provide, see photos of your best work projects, read client testimonials, and request an estimate or get in contact with you.
And they should be able to do all that in just a few minutes.
How SEO Can Help Construction Companies
Your website can be much more than just a showroom. It can help you attract new leads but only if people can find it.
So, how do people find it?
Through search engines like Google.
And how do you make sure your website appears in search engine results?
SEO!
SEO, or search engine optimization, refers to techniques and practices that you can employ to help your website appear higher in search results. In doing so, you can drive more organic traffic to your website, i.e., no need to pay for ads.
If you’re like most internet users, you probably rarely, if ever, make it to the second page of search engine results. That’s why you need your website to rank higher.
If you’re unfamiliar with SEO, there are some aspects of it that you should probably outsource to a professional:
- Off-page SEO: The things you do off your website that tell Google your site is trustworthy, like having other websites link to yours.
- Technical SEO: The technical elements of your website, like site maps, JSON-LD schema markup, and website loading speed.
- On-page SEO: Optimizing elements on your website pages to help then be found and read by search engines.
But there are a couple of things you can do yourself that can really help your rankings!
The first relates to local SEO – optimizing for local search queries, i.e., when users search things “general contractor near me.” The most important thing you can do to appear in results for local searches is setting up and optimizing your Google Business profile.
The second thing you can do is create content. Think writing 800+ word count blog posts, how-to guides, and project showcases that target relevant keywords.
If you’re unsure of what kind of content to create, think of the questions you get asked most often. Content that answers those questions is a great place to start!
SEO takes time to pay off. It’s a mid- to long-term strategy. But that time is going to pass regardless, so you might as well be working on your getting your site to rank higher.
Booking More Projects Now With PPC
SEO can take a while to bring in leads. If you want more immediate results, and your budget allows for it, you may want to consider investing in paid ads.
Pay-per-click advertising lets you buy your way to the top of Google’s search results page. You can easily control your ad spend and the keywords you want to target.
Make sure to target your service area if you run paid campaigns or you’ll be throwing money down the drain. After all, what good is a lead if you can’t provide them services?
Note that paid advertising on the internet is best left to professionals. In such a competitive industry, if you’re not 100% sure what you’re doing you’ll end up throwing money down the drain.
Learn more: Your Top PPC Questions Answered
Building A Foundation With Email Marketing
If you’ve ever signed up for an email newsletter or received a follow-up email after a purchase, you’re already familiar with email marketing.
Email marketing is cheap, easy to set up, and can be automated. It’s still one of the most effective forms of digital marketing, allowing you to nurture leads and keep past clients engaged.
Send past clients follow-up emails after projects to encourage reviews and referrals. After project completion, you can add them to a newsletter to keep them informed about new services and/or promotions. This will help keep your company top of mind should they ever have new projects.
For leads, sending emails is a cheap way to continue pushing them further along their journey. Since they will usually request multiple estimates for a project before making a decision, emails allow you to stay in touch and build their trust.
Finally, if you’re posting on Instagram to no avail, you’ll definitely want to invest in email marketing since it has a much higher conversion rate. On social media it can be very hard to reach the same level of engagement you can with email.
Digital Marketing Strategies for Contractors
Now that you’re familiar with those foundational aspects of digital marketing, let’s look at how you can apply them to grow your business.
Getting Found By The Right People
The two biggest ways homeowners find contractors is through referrals and online research.
When it comes to referrals, you really just need to have a well-designed website that’s indexed on Google. If people can’t find your business by googling your company name, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice.
To be found by potential customers during their research you’ll need to implement an SEO strategy that targets the right keywords. You can also target the same keywords with paid ads. It’ll be more expensive but you can expect results much faster than with SEO.
Building Trust
Trust is big for contractors.
You wouldn’t let just anyone renovate your home or office would you?
Definitely not. Customers do their due diligence to make sure they won’t regret signing with you.
To build their trust, display any certifications and/or specializations you have on your website. Customer testimonials are also important to display on your website.
Like testimonials on your website, positive reviews on Google and other directories are also powerful social proof. People will be much more likely to trust you if they see others have had a good experience with you.
Finally, publishing educational content on your website is crucial.
Content allows you to put your expertise on display. It shows potential customers that you know your stuff. And when it’s SEO optimized it also drives traffic to your website.
Strengthen Your Visual Presence Online
A picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to contracting that couldn’t be truer. You can tell potential customers what makes you different with creative copy – but it’s much easier to show them.
Before and after photos of projects can be all some people will look at to decide to sign with you.
So upload professional photos showcasing your work wherever you can: your website, Google Business, and social media.
Maintaining Consistent Business Year Round
Depending on your services you offer, seasonality might not be an issue for your business. But if it is, here are some tips:
- Increase your marketing spending during your high season to capitalize on higher demand. Keep tabs on your analytics to track your campaigns and inform future marketing decisions.
- Maximize your projects by offering discounts or incentives for projects booked during your slower season.
- Maintain brand visibility with consistent content marketing and email engagement.
Highlighting Sustainable Construction Practices
The industry is changing. Consumers are becoming more conscious of their impact on the environment. As a result, the demand for more sustainable construction is growing.
To stay relevant in the industry you need to look for ways to innovate. Most importantly, you need to communicate how you’re innovating in the space with current and potential clients.
Whether you’ve introduced innovative construction methods, incorporated more sustainable materials in your projects, or found ways to reduce project waste, let people know!
Create content that showcases sustainable projects. Share industry innovations in emails. Target sustainability-related keywords in your SEO strategy and paid campaigns.
Standing Out In A Crowded Market
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, you’re operating in a very competitive market.
How can you use digital marketing to stand out?
That depends on what strategy we’re talking about.
For local SEO, reviews and ratings are the biggest differentiating factor. Google prioritizes businesses that have more of both – so make sure you always ask satisfied customers to leave you a review. A friendly email reminder is a great way to encourage customers to do just that.
When it comes to your copy, make sure you always highlight what makes your company unique. Whether it’s ad copy or your website, say something different than what your competitors are saying. Paid ads are a great way to experiment with different messaging. Ads can be quickly adjusted and the performance data can give you great insights into what’s resonating with your audience.
Converting Website Visitors
SEO, content, and online reviews will all help you attract people to your site. But it’s your website that’ll turn them into qualified leads. That’s where people will decide if they want to pursue a project with you further.
Your website needs to be optimized to push people further along their journey, i.e., closer to requesting an estimate and signing a contract. Here are some best practices to make sure that happens:
- Clean and professional design: In 2024, no one will take your contracting business seriously if your website doesn’t look great. Your website should include information about your company and services, a project portfolio, and a way for visitors to contact you.
- Well placed CTA buttons: Call-to-action buttons are buttons that guide users towards the action you want them to take. For example a button that reads “Request an estimate” which takes users to a contact form. There should be plenty of CTA buttons throughout your website in strategic places.
- Easy navigation: Users should be able to find exactly what they’re looking for by browsing your menus. Take a look at the menu above this blog post to see how we group our pages.
Retaining Clients And Nurturing Leads With Email Marketing
Segmenting your audience is very important for email marketing since you’ll want to tailor your emails to the people reading them. At the very least you’ll want to segment your emails by past customers and leads.
You can further segment your leads based on project type. That way you can deliver them even more specific and valuable information. Project planning tips and cost estimates are examples of content you could email leads to keep them engaged.
Case Study: Kamanski Construction
Kamanski Construction came to us in need of a website revamp. Their current website was functional but wasn’t an accurate reflection of their company. On top of that, 6 months after getting started with us they relocated their business from Portland, OR to Duncan, SC.
We built them a new website that included professional photos and unique graphic elements to drive conversions. We also wrote new copy that better communicated their business and services.
On the SEO side of things, our team created a content and local SEO strategy grounded in extensive keyword research. We then created a new piece of content monthly to grow organic traffic.
Three years after moving their business, Kamanski Construction saw the following results:
- 173% increase in organic sessions;
- 79% increase in goal completions;
- 253% increase in Google Business Profile search impressions;
- 550% increase in total ranked keywords.
Book More Projects With Digital Marketing for Contractors
In such a competitive industry, a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is essential to help your business stand out.
You might need to do a little experimenting to determine what works best to attract your audience. But with a little hard work you can attract and convert more leads to your contracting business.
If you need help growing your reach in your city, Intuitive Digital can help! With decades of combined experience and a team of SEO, paid, and web professionals, we can grow your contracting company.
Give us a call at (503) 206-4988 or send us a message!
