Digital marketing is the cornerstone of selling your product or service these days, because most buyer journeys begin on the internet (up to 67%). Suffice to say, digital marketing for contractors is a must these days.

18 Ideas for Contractor Marketing to Dominate the Competition

Now, if you talk about digital marketing, the internet is brimming with content providing you with tips and tricks to maximize your marketing and advertising budget and get the best ROIs. Most of these are quite broad.

In this blog, I’m focusing on providing specific ideas for digital marketing that work for our clients and if done right, can work for you! If you already have an established website and a running online contractor business, this guide is for you.

I’ve broken down my contractor marketing ideas into 5 sections covering the entire digital marketing landscape.

• SEO for contractors
• Local SEO
• Email Marketing
• Advertising / PPC Management
• Social Media Marketing

Go through each tip carefully and I’m sure you’ll reap the rewards.

SEO for Contractors

SEO for contractors is an ongoing process that requires fresh targeted content and links. Do you have them?

Most of my contractor clients wanted to rank higher on Google and they do so by banking on content. They published high-quality content, but it wasn’t ranking on Google. So, where are they going wrong?

From your keyword research strategy, to content marketing and back linking, you need to revisit your modus operandi.

1. Target Low Hanging Fruits (Keywords)

Start easy and scale as you grow

Low-hanging fruits are keywords with decent volume but low competition. These keywords aren’t being targeted by big companies, yet, so it’s comparatively easier to rank for them.

Once you have a decent number of low-hanging fruits to target, find more competitive keywords to supplement them. Publish authoritative content targeting the low hanging fruits while using your secondary keywords as well.

You’re likely to find that you’ll start ranking for the low hanging fruit even if the traffic isn’t extremely high, since their search volume is low. However, these high rankings and traffic give a boost to your internally linked pages as well as the more competitive keywords that are being used in the content.

This takes me to my second point.

2. Stack Content

The more, the merrier, but is there a strategy to it?

Another method of ranking your contractor website on Google is content stacking or SEO Silos. It’s a well-known technique among SEO specialists, so it’s not unusual to find your competitors practicing it.

Here’s how to go about it.

First, find a short-tail, high difficulty keyword. Next, write long-form content (3000+words) on it and mix some of the low-hanging fruits you found in the first point (if they are relevant). Let’s call this your “pillar post.”

Find low-hanging fruits again and base your content around them. Let’s call these your “supporting posts.”

Continue this process and write at least 4 “supporting posts.” And these posts should be related to your pillar post. For example, if you’re a gardening contractor, your pillar post would be about “gardening jobs”. This is your short tail keyword, your supporting posts can be.

• 5 tips for indoor gardening
• How to nurture tomato plants?
• Benefits of indoor plantation

And so on.

Once you publish your supporting posts, link one of the most relevant with your pillar post. Now take the linked supporting post and link it to another.

Continue this process until all supporting posts are linked with each other. This interlocked linking strategy provides link juice to all the posts, ultimately ranking your pillar post on Google’s first page.

3. Technical SEO is NOT a side note

Writing content is one thing, but is your website technically sound?

Content might be the core activity as far as SEO for contractors is concerned. However, you need to work on the technical aspects of your website and make sure they are on-point. Google gives search preference to websites that follow certain technical characteristics. For instance, load times should be under 2 seconds, your site should have an SSL certificate and working links.

Moreover, a correct site map, mobile-friendliness, and schema mark-up are all parts of technical SEO for contractors.

If you are having trouble understanding all the terms I mentioned, you can hire an SEO agency for it. Search Berg prides itself on being an SEO company for contractors and small businesses.

We offer holistic SEO services including on-page and off-page to rank your site on the first page of Google.

4. AMP Up Your Site

Mobile-friendly websites are the future; are you up to date?

AMP is a project backed by Google that optimizes your website on mobile devices. It strips your website’s code to the bare bone by disabling scripts, comments, and forms. AMP makes your website extremely fast, even on the slowest of internets.

Though it might not seem directly connected to SEO for contractors, speeding up your website is definitely something that’ll increase your rankings.

5. Start Guest Posting to Build Quality Backlinks

Posting blogs on your site is good for SEO, but what if you could tap into other sites’ traffic?

Contractor SEO goes beyond your website because search engines like Google look at your overall online reputation. So having your content on other credible websites can help with brand building and improve your rankings at the same time.

Start by building relationships with websites within your niche. You can do this by searching for “your niche” + write for us. It’s a common search term that’ll show all the websites looking for high-quality content. In exchange, these sites will give you a backlink which has a massive impact on your ranking.

High DA/DR means better backlinks for your site. But if you are looking for more leads, you can target websites with high traffic.

Once you find websites within your niche, you can pitch them your guest posting idea via email. Just go through their “write for us” page carefully before pitching. High authority websites receive tons of emails every day and don’t open every email.

There’s no set number for how many guest posts you need per month, week, or day. It depends on your goals. Some websites will have an asking price for posting your content, while others do it for free. There’s no harm in paying for guest posting because publishing your content and making it SEO-friendly requires resources and time, and these websites will charge you for it.

For starters, tap into websites that accept guest posts for free. Once you see results, you can reach out to the top sites within your niche. But if your services are limited within your locality, you should limit your outreach to sites within your service areas.

I previously wrote a blog on Guest Blogging and Blogging Outreach Master Plan, give it a read if you need more insights into the process.

Local SEO for Contractors

To get more calls and leads, it’s essential to tap into Local SEO and rank high on local search.

Google my business is the primary player in Local SEO and ranks your business profile against “near me” search terms. For example, if someone searches for “carpenters near me,” your business has a solid chance of showing up in the search results if your Google my business (GMB) profile is optimized.

To do this, you need to stay on top of 4 things.

• Your primary business category
• Keyword in the business name
• Reviews
• Backlinks

Your other option would be to hire GMB optimization experts to set up and manage your GMB rankings.

1. Carefully Select Your Primary Business Category

Your primary business category goes a long way in Local SEO, make sure you make the right choice!

Your primary business category has the biggest impact on your Google maps ranking. This is because the Google algorithm shortlists businesses relevant to the user’s search term.

Many contractors aren’t sure which primary category to choose for their business if they offer more than one service. The best way to go about this is to find out the search volume for keywords related to your business category. You can use any paid keyword tool for that.

Next, you’ll need to download and install GMB everywhere.

Once you have GMB everywhere set up on your browser, go to Google maps and search for your competitors. When their listings show up, you’ll see their primary business category with a star.

Finally, whichever primary category you decide, tailor your website content according to it (especially the headers and the title). This will inform Google crawlers that your business is optimized for local search. Sadly, local SEO for contractors doesn’t end here! But don’t worry, I have more tips.

2. Incorporate a Keyword in Your Business Name

Keywords hint search engines for relating search intent, they shape your local SEO for contractors.

Keywords in your business name are likely to boost your rankings for “near me” searches. Many contractors know this, so it’s not unusual to see keywords in their names. Word of advice, Google guidelines are pretty clear on this, and adding unnecessary information or keyword stuffing is not permitted.

But if you can legitimately place keywords in your business name, it increases your chances of ranking on local SEO.

3. Focus on Google Reviews

Reviews can make or break your business reputation, but there’s more to reviews than what the eyes meet.

Businesses live or die on how they treat their customers, which ultimately leads to positive or negative reviews. This is the primary reason why Google reviews matter so much. Sure your site has a review section or you’re taking Facebook reviews from your clients, but does it help with your local SEO ranking?

Google wants to show the best results to its users. To do that, Google’s algorithm counts the number of reviews a business has on GMB. In fact, Google encourages collecting reviews from your customers.

But here’s the magic,

If your customers include keywords in their reviews, it helps in your local SEO rankings. For this, you can make a review template and send it to all your satisfied customers. Make sure you draft a sample review with your keywords and leave space for the customer’s name and anything else they’d like to add. For example, if you are a residential cleaning contractor, here’s what you can do.

[Contractor name/ business name] provided me with residential cleaning services and I am _________. He/she/they helped me with ________ and also did _______.

You can add more details and keywords to the template and keep changing it around. Remember to pick keywords you can’t rank for through your content because the more reviews you have with difficult keywords, the higher your rankings.

4. Develop Local Backlinks Strategically

Local links target a specific geographic location, they are more valuable than you think.

Local link building is a critical factor in Google rankings and a huge part of local SEO for contractors. But there’s a trick that can give you a leg up on your competition.

Google algorithm is very smart, and it knows where the link is coming from. For example, suppose you get a backlink from a business based in the UK. Yet, your services are based in let’s say Newark. In this case, the backlink won’t affect your rankings as much as it should.

So instead of approaching international businesses, it’s best to target local bloggers, schools, and other places within your locality.

You can acquire a backlink from local businesses by writing a guest post or by approaching them in person and requesting a link.

The way I go about with my local contractor clients is by asking their customers, if applicable, to point a link to their site. For example, one of my contractor clients was a painter, so I asked the local school where my client provided his services to link to his website.

They agreed and added a small logo pointing to my client’s website!

Email Marketing For Contractors

You have a list of email addresses, but how do you get more business from them?

Did you think email marketing was dead? Well, let me tell you it’s alive and still giving other marketing methods a run for the money. In fact, according to Optin Monsters report, every $1 spent on email marketing returns $44.

So here’s how you can focus your digital marketing for contractors on email marketing.

1. Write Personalized Email Copy

Write copy that compels, converts, and completes your message.

Most contractors are hesitant is sending emails to their customers under the fear of being too promotional and turning them off. I know this feeling, but when someone gives you their email address, it would be foolhardy to not use it.

So instead of missing this spectacular marketing opportunity, capitalize on this and write personalized email copy.

The key here is to personalize your emails with a relevant copy so that your customers don’t feel you’re spamming them.

Personalized email copy is tailored to each customer, starting with their name and pitching services of their interest. For instance, if you’re a cleaning contractor, and you have a client that had their home cleaned, sending an email about perhaps having their garage cleaned is an excellent up-sell technique.

2. Share Tips and Tricks

Got new tricks up your sleeves? Share them!

Another method of getting the best out of your email subscribers is sharing DIY tips and tricks to help your customers. This helps your readers counter common problems themselves, all the while becoming loyal to your business. For instance, if you have a blog on removing wine stains from a hardwood floor, share it with your email subscribers.

Email marketing not only brings new customers but also builds brand recognition and recall with old ones. In addition, email marketing is excellent for getting word out about yourself because if you share helpful tips, your existing customers will promote your business through word of mouth.

3. Tap into the Power of Before and After

Before and after pictures have a massive impact on the customers!

Showing the results of your work is an incredible technique to boost your contractor marketing efforts. For example, as a cleaning contractor, sharing your work gallery with before and after pictures will entice your existing customers into taking action.

You must remember that many people often don’t realize that they need something until you show them what they’re missing. An effective email marketing campaign could do the trick for you.

Advertising for Contractors

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money!

The thing about Google Ads is that it’s essential to start small and scale up as you go. I prefer to prove the concept before asking my clients to pool in their hard-earned cash for Google Ads.

The last thing you want is to send visitors to a poorly designed web page that isn’t conducive to conversion. I use a 3 step formula when advertising for contractors; here’s how it goes.

1. Identify the Right Keywords

Should you select a broad term match for your Google Ads?

This is the most critical part of advertising for contractors because if you don’t find the right keywords, your ads aren’t likely to convert. So I start with a simple search and type what my customers would. After that, I take that data and put it on an excel sheet. From there, I search for broader terms like “residential cleaning” – short-tail keywords.

Once I get an idea of which keywords have ads on them, I merge them into my excel sheet, giving myself a clear picture of what I’m working with. Of course, you can use paid tools for that (and I do), but for the sake of you doing it yourself, I’m explaining the free method.

Next, when I am ready to launch my ad, I uncheck the “broad term” match. This is because I am hunting for local clients, and “residential cleaning” is a generic term that might get me clicks from customers that aren’t located in my area.

Having a specific set of audiences might limit your ad traffic, but those who click on your site are likely to convert – they just need a push, which brings me to my next point.

2. Write Compelling Ad Copy

The right ad copy isn’t creative; it’s interesting and drives an action.

I don’t take risks when running Google ads, so I always have my team do research and take time before writing the ad copy. Conversion-optimized copy follows the AIDA sales formula.

In the first section, your aim is to build awareness, followed by interest, desire, and action. Your ad copy is your meta title on Google ads. If you are running display ads, you need a compelling picture and some more content with a CTA.

Display ads are cost-effective, but their chances of conversion are pretty low. But there’s no harm in running them alongside your keyword ads.

3. Optimize Your Landing Page

You’re getting clicks; what’s next?

A landing page could be any page on your site where you want your ad traffic to land. Optimizing this page for maximum conversions is the key to getting the most out of your ads. You can do this by making your landing page user-friendly and adding clear CTAs.

Moreover, content plays a crucial role in conversion rate optimization. When users click on an ad, they expect to immediately find what they are looking for. So figure out your buyer’s journey and design your landing page according to it. For example, if you are a roofing contractor, here’s how you can CRO your landing page.

• Have a small paragraph about yourself – An introduction
• Share your prices – Give customers what they want
• Justify your prices through your experience, services, or anything that makes you stand out – Unique Selling Proposition
• Have a bold CTA that elicits a click or call – Sell at the right time!

Social Media Marketing For Contractors

Social media is the most effective channel for local clients; are you using it to its full potential?

Social media is where your potential customers like to hang out. It’s like your local shopping mall where customers come for a good time and buy from local shops. In addition, social media allows you to market your business without relying on direct sales pitches. Here are my social media tricks you can use for contractor marketing.

1. Post Regularly

Regular posting hints Social media channels that your page is active, relevant and growing.

Social media algorithm works by promoting pages that regularly share relevant content for their audience. Moreover, your target audience might be following hundreds of pages which means your posts have a high chance of disappearing from the news feed.

Posting regularly gives you an edge over your competitors and tells social media channels that you are an active user. It’s like a race between you and your competitors because if someone falls short for even a single day, their posts would be less likely to appear on their follower’s news feed.

However, this doesn’t mean you should spam your social media account – remember, consistency is the key.

2. Engage With Your Followers

Social media is the key to building relationships with your target audience through engagements.

Engagements include likes, comments, and shares. These three are like link building for Google because it tells social media channels that your content is relevant. But, where it’s being shared from plays a crucial role in your posts’ organic reach.

For instance, if your business is in New York and your post is being shared from Australia, its reach would cross borders, and you’ll attract customers that can’t access your services. Therefore, it’s best to engage with your local audience.

Ask your friends in the area to like your post. When you receive a comment, reply to it to boost your engagement. As your engagement rate increases, your posts gain a better reach.

3. Ask for Social Media Reviews

Social reviews are lead magnets for your business, they are the outcome of how you treat your customers online and offline.

Social media reviews are the cornerstone of social media marketing for contractors. The more reviews your services have, the more trustworthy your business becomes. So ask your customers to share their feedback on your page.

Don’t worry; your customers don’t have to add keywords to their reviews because social media doesn’t work like that. Instead, the reach of your post depends on its design, your social media copy, and engagements. The leads you get through social media are more likely to convert when you have several positive reviews.

Taking Your Digital Marketing Campaigns to the Next Level

The above-mentioned tips will help you craft a complete digital marketing strategy to target your audience from all channels. If you are looking for a reliable partner to grow your contractor marketing efforts, so that you can focus on the business side of things, you can trust Search Berg.

Search Berg has been in business for more than 10 years with thousands of satisfied clients. We cater to businesses of all sizes, having won multiple awards in the SEO for Small Businesses category. Whether it’s local SEO, social media marketing, or a complete digital marketing plan, my team can handle your project!