The best online marketing strategy for contractors is changing all the time. No longer is it adequate to have a website, write a little content and throw a few keywords in the mix.
The game is tougher than ever. Whether you're a new business, a small business, or you’ve just fallen behind the times, it would really help you to put great content, technical perfection, and digital marketing at the top of your online marketing strategy.
SEO as Part of Your Online Marketing Strategy
It isn’t enough to find a single keyword that describes you – contractor, roofer, ac company –and position it a few times in your content. Depending on the size of your market and the competitiveness of your industry, you should have at least 10 pages of well written content and at times much more, each about a different key word.
Use internal link building but consider this. It isn’t enough to link one page to another. You should use cross-linking and link siloing.
Google’s updates – Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird have gotten a lot of press. What they mean to you as a hard-working contractor is that you will have to provide a great user experience to get on page one of organic search engine results. Make sure that your content solves problems for site visitors, don't make it about you.
Focus on Your Site Visitors
What is a great user experience these days? It's customer focused. It's thinking about what questions your potential clients have that need to be answered before they become your buyer and providing quality answers. Don't talk about special awards you have won or trade groups you belong to because those things don't solve problems for prospective buyers. Use an attractive, intuitive layout and user-friendly navigation, and you will go a long way toward attracting the attention of both real people and Google bots.
Make it Easy
Of course, you don’t want people to merely read your content and say, “How nice!” You want them to contact you or request a free estimate. Give them a nudge with a great incentive and a strong call to action in large, bold letters. This is even more important on mobile-friendly sites. Give their thumb an easy place to touch to “Call Now!”
Social Media
On the surface, this seems like the easiest part of marketing your business; but in reality it is the most time-intensive. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are the heavy hitters, but more are being developed all the time. It can seem exhausting to keep up with latest and greatest new social media outlets. And what’s the latest and greatest today might be acquired and changed by someone else tomorrow. Find out where your customer base "hangs out" and learn about that platform, then establish a presence there. It is important to keep your content updated regularly and linked to your website. Don't try to be on every social platform because you just can't be everywhere effectively. Social platforms are perfect for content marketing and re targeting people that have previously visited your site. This is where a social media marketing expert can be invaluable. Remember that social media and actually all of the Internet gives people a place to complain about you. If you receive a bad review online handle it quickly and with a cool head. If you need help, call us.
Make it Easy for Mobile Users to Find You
The small screen is where search is headed. Statistics vary, but ones study shows by 2020, 67% of people will be searching and shopping on smartphones and tablets. People do these searches on train and bus commutes, standing in line, and in the bleachers at the kids’ soccer practice. You need to be where they are at all times. How? Responsive design ensures that your site will appear perfectly on any size device. It reorganizes and streamlines layout and navigation so that smartphone users can navigate your site quickly and easily.
The greatest content in the world will not be seen if the technical structure of your site isn't correct. Be sure to keep your code clean and well structured. If you need advice call us, we're a leading contractor SEO specialist.
The local SEO landscape has changed in just the past two years, and it keeps changing. Keeping up with it can be a full-time job. Don’t be caught off-guard and don’t panic. Hire us for your full online marketing strategy including SEO,content-writing, mobile strategy, social media, online advertising, digital marketing and more.