Imagine it’s fall. Young homeowners bicker about finishing their basements, while empty-nesters consider getting breakfast nooks and new cabinets. Football is on. Fall folds into winter, and everyone forgets about their remodeling dreams as they focus on staying warm. Then spring arrives, and with it comes revived home décor Pinterest boards, discussions about open floor plans, and the motivation to find contractors.
So, are you ready to help these people find your contracting business?
Here are a couple ways you can find your home improvement customers during spring.
Make Sure Your Website Is Looking & Working Its Best
Your website is the face of your company, so double-check that it’s looking sharp before your users seek your contracting services.
- A study found that first impressions are 94% design-related (“The Effect of Aesthetics on Web Credibility”)
- 48% of people said that a website’s design is the #1 factor in determining the credibility of a business (Blue Corona)
- Given 15 minutes of time, 59% of people will read or browse through something beautifully designed rather than something plain and boring (Adobe)
One way that you can spruce up your website design is by updating your images. As humans, we are naturally visual creatures. A home building or home remodeling contractor should include high-quality images that showcase your work—and make sure they’re optimized for web. Users don’t like to wait for slow-loading pages.
Secondly, make sure your written content is updated. Consider scattering reviews/testimonies in strategic locations throughout your site, revising outdated information, and reviewing your home improvement-related keywords. Update the keywords you want to rank for in a Google search, then make sure they’re in your website content. Some examples of home improvement keywords include:
- Home contractors
- Remodeling
- Custom windows
- Bathroom remodeling
- Deck renovation
Lastly, keep in mind that you’ll want to keep your content organized with a natural flow because it creates a positive user experience (UX). To do this, you’ll have to consider why, where, and with what device someone would visit your site. Think about how someone would interact with your site once they’re on it. It might be helpful to create audience/buyer personas to understand your audiences’s intents.
Pair Digital Ads with Traditional Ads
When creating your advertising campaign, you should plan to have a healthy mix of traditional advertising and digital advertising. A strategic integrated marketing campaign will typically help you reach the different demographics looking to renovate or remodel.
For example, bickering, young homeowners would fall into the 25-34 age demographic, while the empty-nesters would be in the 45-64 age demographic. Digital advertising probably won’t capture the attention of those in the 45-64 age range, but it will most likely appeal to the 25-34 demographic.
Facebook Ads
Advertising on Facebook has a high ROI potential. With Facebook’s Ads Manager tool, you can tailor your ads to any demographic or combination of demographics. You can choose the location, language, and gender of the people you want to show your ad to. Additionally, you can narrow your reach to only include psychographics that Facebook users have identified with, like interests, job titles, and hobbies. Ads Manager will tell you your reach based on your budget and location.
Google Ads
Let’s be honest, Google is the superior search engine. Net Market Share revealed that Google was the most favored search engine throughout 2017 with an average net market share of 74.54%, and we think this trend has continued into 2019.
When your contracting company advertises on Google, you’ll need to pick keywords you want to use to reach your potential customers. Your ad shows up in Google’s search engine results page (SERP) when someone searches for one of your keywords. For example, when I searched for “home remodeling,” Spruce It Up Construction LLC appeared as an ad in the results.
With Google Ads, you can target similarly to the way you can with Facebook. However, Google considers far more than Facebook does when placing ads. When someone searches for a phrase, Google’s algorithm will evaluate several items in an instant, including your landing pages, ad quality, and bid. It will then place your ad in a certain position on the SERP depending on your rank. The better your website, bid, and ad content is, the higher you’ll appear on the SERP.
Retargeting
You’ve probably searched for an item online, visited a website, clicked on the item to learn more about it, and maybe even added it to your cart. Then you left. Coincidentally, you probably started receiving ads for that very product or similar products. It’s not witchcraft—it’s retargeting. When you insert a little piece of code into your website, it allows you to send digital advertisements to people who left your page or product. It’s a great way to turn potential customers into actual customers.
Create Original Content
Creating original content, including blogs, social posts, and emails, is becoming more important to a company’s success.
- Small businesses with blogs get 126% more lead growth than small businesses without blogs (CMI)
When you’re workshopping blog posts about home remodeling or renovation, remember to make them about specific topics that pertains to your contracting services, like “The Best Flooring For Your Lifestyle,” “What Types of Windows Would Work Best For Your Home,” or “When You Should Remodel.” Include specific keywords within that topic that you want to rank for. Make sure you place links to your blog throughout your website as well. That way, users are more likely to find your source of information, which increases your credibility as a contractor in turn.
- More than 40% of digital consumers use social networks to research new brands or products (Global Web Index)
There are 2.77 billion social media users in 2019. A great number of them will do some research on the contractors in their area before locking one down. Some of them will use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social networks to research your services and ratings. Be where they’re looking for you.
- Businesses that send personalized email messages receive 14% more clicks-throughs and an average of 14% more conversions (Campaign Monitor)
Email marketing can be tricky to navigate, but it’s proven that these efforts achieve results when they’re done well. Include appropriate and working links to the product or service you’re promoting; this will make it easy for your recipient to find more information, which creates a positive UX. But personalization could be the most important factor to a good email blast. In addition to personalizing your email message, you should personalize its subject line. Consider the time and date you’re sending your emails as well.
Contact Onsharp if this all sounds good to you, but you’re not sure where to start. We’re more than happy to help!
