Digital Marketing For Contractors

Welcome to our Ultimate Guide To Digital Marketing For Contractors.

It is long, but we promise it is worth a read. In fact, take a second and bookmark this link so you can reference it throughout 2025. It is the most complete marketing guide for a contracting, remodeling or construction business like yours.

This may sound bold (how dare they!), but when you believe in a process as much as we do, it is OK to be confident and proud. Award-winning contractor marketing is all we do, and it’s what we are best known for.

We help contractors, builders, landscape design firms, and remodelers build strong brands and effective online marketing strategies.

A strong digital marketing strategy is key for contractors to build brand equity and loyalty.

This guide will show you how to go beyond “showing up” online. You will learn how to make your website THE go-to home services resource in your local market.

But it’s not just about having a website.

It’s about creating a trusted digital presence.

Branded assets that present, promote, and persuade your ideal customers to convert.

Contractor marketing consists of many different strategies that span your entire marketing funnel. You are not selling an inexpensive widget online. You are selling a lifestyle, a drastic change to someone’s home, family time.

You may need up to 11 touch points before your customers request a quote.

We achieve these touch points through the following digital marketing channels:

1. Branding & Messaging
2. Web Design
3. Audience Targeting / “Ideal Customer Avatars”
4. Copywriting
5. Content Marketing
6. Local SEO
7. Advertising
8. Social Media Marketing
9. Reviews & Referrals
10. Videos & Media
11. Offline marketing

When they work together towards a common goal ….. you get more leads, and make more money.

Do we have your attention yet? Let’s dive in.

First, What Are The Benefits Of Digital Marketing For Contractors?

The benefits of digital marketing for contractors, construction companies, builders, and remodelers are:

1. Targeted Marketing for Ideal Clients

Before, contractors would advertise in newspapers or the Yellow Pages. They hoped their ideal customers would see these ads. Remember Craigslist? With digital marketing, you can target the people who are looking for your services right now.

For example, as a remodeling contractor, you can claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. This helps your business appear on Google Maps. Ranking in the top 3 on Google Maps can get you some of the best “in the market” leads there are.

Knowing your ideal client avatar will help you create marketing content that speaks to those people.

This case study from 2022 shows how we increased search traffic by 369% for one bathroom remodeling company.

2. Attract A Wider Audience With SEO-Optimized Content

Content marketing and SEO helps your business reach a wider audience. What does this mean? It means creating content (like blog posts, infographics, etc.) optimized for search engines. Answering questions your audience is asking online positions you as the authority.

Own a residential contracting company? Ranking for keywords like home renovation, bathroom remodel, and kitchen renovation is ideal.

Create content that supports these core topics and publish to your website. Add high-quality images of your work to the content.Targeting bathroom remodeling? Your topics may include: vanity options, closet design, shower and bath layouts. Pro tip: hyperlink these articles back to your core service pages!

This case study shows how we sent over 40,000 new visitors to a pond contractor website.

3. Increase Leads and Sales with Online Marketing

Grow your business by increasing leads and sales through inbound marketing. Inbound marketing attracts local people to your website and turns them into leads. Inbound refers to the leads finding you, versus cold-calling for example. Leads could come through your contact form, phone number on the website, or newsletter. Having accurate tracking will help you analyze your inbound marketing efforts.

Once you have captured a lead’s contact information, you can then nurture them through the sales process.

Inbound marketing, tested and improved over time, can be very effective and efficient. In fact, companies that use inbound marketing can see an average ROI of 3 times more leads per dollar than with traditional marketing!

This case study shows how we increased the lead generation for a painting company by over 580%.

4. Boost Brand Awareness, Equity, and Loyalty

A strong digital marketing strategy is key for contractors to build brand equity and loyalty. Contractors can form strong relationships with their target audience using top marketing channels like SEO, social media, and video. They can share their stories, build trust, and stand out from the competition. Creating brand awareness helps you become the go-to service provider in your area. It’s why you still see GEICO commercials on TV. Staying top of mind is essential.

Create relevant and engaging content. Keep your audience interested, even when they are not actively looking for your contracting services.

Digital branding can help your business succeed because it helps people know, like, and trust you. Those are the people who buy from you.

5. Effective Campaign Tracking And Measurability

Traditional marketing methods like print ads have always been difficult to track. How many leads you are getting and how much business you are doing as a result of your marketing efforts. With digital marketing, tracking becomes much more accessible. The set up can be complex, but once up and running the data starts flowing. This data is invaluable in helping you adjust your strategy to get the best possible results.

What Are The Best Digital Marketing Strategies For Contractors?

Our top 5 online marketing strategies for contractors, construction companies, and remodelers are:

1. Local SEO
2. Content Marketing
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Google Ads
5. Video Marketing

Watch this short video for a quick rundown:

What Are The 7 C’s Of Contractor Marketing?

The 7 C’s of digital marketing are: Customer, Content, Context, Community, Convenience, Coherence, and Conversion. Focusing on these seven elements of marketing will help you connect with the customers you want to, deliver the right message at the right time, and built a community around your brand that provides an engine for growth throughout the life of your business.

Understand the following seven marketing concepts:

1. Customer: Know who your ideal clients are and what they need. Understand their pain points.
2. Content: Share useful, engaging information that solves their problems. This can be text content, audio, or video.
3. Context: Deliver the right message at the right time in the right place. Be found online using SEO, and post regularly on social media.
4. Community: Create a loyal group of followers who trust your brand. Share deep knowledge to build trust with your audience.
5. Convenience: Make it easy for customers to find, contact, and hire you. Make sure your website is easy to use and converts.
6. Coherence: Keep your messaging and branding consistent everywhere. Develop your unique selling points and make sure you let people know.
7. Conversion: Encourage customers to take action, like calling for an estimate or booking a service. Use reviews and other conversion elements to increase lead generation.

As a builder, take some time to think about how those seven words apply to your business.

What Is Necessary For Successful Contractor Marketing?

Let’s examine some of the “must-haves” when it comes to digital marketing for contractors.

For us, everything starts with the brand. No matter how small you think you are, building your brand the same way the “big boys” do will set your business apart. 

What does this mean for you?

1. Your logo should not be designed by your neighbor’s son’s friend who makes memes; it should be clear, original, and recognizable
2. You have thought deeply about your ideal customer and created customer avatars
3. Your messaging and copywriting is consistent and represents your brand while speaking directly to your ideal customer
4. Your website stands out for its clean, intentional design full of beautiful pictures and videos

If you can nail those four things you are off to a great start. Many contractors ignore these branding elements. They are important for your construction or remodeling business. Sometimes, for our design focused contractor clients, brand design for themselves comes last. 

That “take your breath away” moment your customers get when they walk through the final build, fully staged and in its element is the feeling you can duplicate with your branding, website and online presence. This will lead to more customers walking through more final builds.

The CGN Pillars of Digital Marketing For Contractors

Your website is beautiful. Your messaging is on point. So what’s next? Let’s examine our pillars of digital marketing. 

These apply to businesses of all types and sizes. Because we focus on serving contractors, remodeling companies, landscape design, and construction firms, these pillars will be specific to those industries.

Marketing for local leads is different than selling something online. You will eventually meet and interact with someone who found you online. Trust elements like reviews, certifications, and awards are important for your contractor website.

1. What is the best advertising for contractors?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising remains one of the most popular and effective ways to generate leads. With a Google Ads campaign, you show up in a top spot on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) for a given keyword. This process is an “auction”. This means you set the highest price you will pay for a click or conversion, and try to outbid other advertisers.

Your bid on keywords will determine where your company ranks on the results page. The price per click (CPC), your budget, the number of clicks, and preset parameters determine how long your PPC campaign will run.

Facebook Ads can also be effective. Especially if you have beautiful before & after photos or videos. Facebook Ads allows you to place ads on Facebook’s newsfeed and Instagram feed. The biggest difference in audience is you can target specific types of people on FB to show your ads to.

• Facebook / Instagram: target specific audiences in hopes to spark their interest
• Google Ads: target people searching specific keywords right now

With Google Ads, you are bidding for the top of the search results page, but you still have to wait for people to search your keywords. Facebook you can show ads to who you think may eventually search for your services. For example, with Google Ads you could show a Free Quote offer to people searching “home remodeler near me”. With Facebook you could show a video ad walkthrough of your latest build to all home owners in your area.

Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads require some setup and ongoing management.

2. SEO for Contractors

How does SEO benefit contractors?

Search engine optimization (SEO) creates long-lasting, organic growth for your website. Unlike a PPC campaign which ends when you stop paying, successful SEO can last for years.

Also, Google users can get “banner blindness”. The “banner” is the top section of a web page. For Google search pages, that area contains ads. Many users will scroll down to the first organic listing which gets nearly 40% of the clicks on that page.

Do not let any negativity surrounding SEO dissuade you from search engine optimization. You may have had a negative experience in the past, or heard from industry acquaintances the same thing. QUALITY search engine optimization is the key here. We are not throwing pasta at the wall to see what sticks.

Expertly assessing any technical issues with your website, from the ground up. A slow, non-responsive, and sloppy website is not what Google is looking for. 

Understanding the key elements of local SEO is the next step. Optimizing your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) to rank and stand out in search and getting as many reviews as you can. The leads you get from this alone can grow your business! These are in-the-market, I want it now, I am ready to make a phone call types of lead.

Finally, expanding your website content is the final piece of the puzzle. This is the part that everyone says takes time. One reason is that one piece of content like a blog post will not be enough to achieve your goals. Publishing content over time and acquiring backlinks is what moves the needle. More on this exact strategy below in Content Marketing.

SEO involves several crucial steps, including: 

• Keyword Research – Identify trending Google keywords for contractors
• Technical SEO – Upgrade your website for speed, usability, and security
• Link Building – Improve your domain strength with internal and external links
• Keyword Implementation – Seamlessly integrate keywords into high-quality content
• Optimizing Website Metadata – Make it easy for Google to index your website
• Google Business Profile Optimization – make sure you can be found on Google Maps

3. Content Marketing for Contractors

Content marketing for contractors is a massive topic. One that deserves its own dedicated guide. Creating content is one of the sharpest arrows in the quiver for general contractors and subcontractors. 

In a market where everyone offers similar services, companies must set themselves apart. Communicating compelling information, anecdotes, and deep industry insights to the general public can make prospective clients more likely to trust you over the competition.

Remodeling company blog creation to drive more targeted traffic

Blog & Article Writing

When you think of a blog you may picture someone sharing their life experiences and adventures. Your first thought is: “I don’t want to do that” which is 100% natural. Writing a blog every week is not easy.

There are several reasons why publishing consistent quality content to your blog is helpful:

1. You satisfy the “Freshness” check of Google’s search algorithm. 

Google has a goal to provide the most up-to-date and authoritative content to searchers. What this means varies from topic to topic.

This is evident in the 2024 leak of Google API documentation:

Google uses what they refer to as a “Twiddler” which is a piece of code responsible for updating a particular set or sub-set of data. The “FreshnessTwiddler” updates the index with information on article published and update dates.

You can calculate your Freshness Distance with this cool website.

For example, breaking news websites and topics need to be incredibly “fresh”. You can often see articles and videos indexed and ranking on page one within hours of publishing. While for a research topic that has not had new breakthroughs or advancements in years could show a more aged article. A good contractor SEO agency will calculate the “Freshness Distance” of a target query. This is the length of time between the publish date of the top ranking article and then the oldest article or page ranking. This range gives an idea of how up to date an article should be to rank for that query. 

Additionally, blogging using a popular CMS like WordPress, will timestamp your posts. Keeping your website content up to date, and publishing new content, keeps your site fresh. 

2. You capture highly valuable traffic through “long tail keywords“.

Looking at a chart showing the search volume of all keywords in a specific topic you would see most of the volume generated from a few very specific keywords. Thousands of searches that only get a small amount of searches each month make up the rest of the graph. By targeting these keywords that show in the “long tail” of this graph you can capture an incredible amount of low-competition traffic. A by-product of this is convincing Google of your core services and authority. In your articles you will use industry terminology, synonyms, local colloquialisms, and material names and brands. Google uses a technique called “Natural Language Processing” and semantic reasoning which ties all these phrases back to an original parent topic.

For example, “types of countertops for kitchen remodel that compliment mahogany”.

Or, “best materials for new deck build in north eastern US climate”

The words used in these types of articles will contribute to ranking core money phrases like “kitchen remodeler” or “best deck builder”.

Be the authority online for these types of searches (create a piece of content that answers the query) and watch your traffic surge. 

4. Podcast Syndication

Podcasts are a fairly new strategy we are teaching about and providing for remodelers, landscapers, and contractors. 

Some benefits of starting a podcast include promoting your brand on platforms you were not on previously, turning a conversation into content (share transcripts, make YouTube shorts out of the best clips, post the full video to YouTube if you record it), and also adding a layer of authenticity to your content. 

Hearing you talk about topics you are passionate about, or interviewing a past client about their experience, or speaking to other local experts about their services (interior designers, real estate agents, etc.) is an incredible way to invite your audience into the conversation, prove your expertise, and showcase your passion.

5. Social Media Marketing for Contractors

Generate your own momentum by promoting your content on popular social media platforms. Almost all successful businesses maintain some kind of social media presence on the biggest apps. Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn can all be useful. Social media provides companies with unique opportunities to interact with their customers.

Contractors can also run digital advertising campaigns on social media profiles. Target potential customers who have shown interest in your services, or meet other criteria. Owners who find themselves stretched too thin for social media can enlist the help of a contractor marketing agency.

6. Video Advertising for Contractors

Produce stunning visuals to convey your message, promote your brand, and convert more leads into sales. Video production is easier and more affordable than ever. Digital marketing agencies for contractors can help you write a script, create a storyboard, and produce a high-quality, impactful video. 

Once you finish your video production project, you can place your new commercial on the most popular platforms. Embed your video in social media posts to communicate with your existing clients. To reach potential clients who have expressed an interest in hiring a contractor, launch a pay-per-view video advertising campaign on YouTube, Facebook, and other apps.

7. Review & Reputation Marketing

Build a simple funnel to grow your online reviews. It not a suggestion to get positive reviews any more, it is a must. Have an easy way for your employees or yourself to request a review at the end of a successful project. Whether this is through a QR code on your invoice, or a automated text sent out with your review link. Get most of your reviews on Google, but then ask a few special customers to leave one on Houzz, Home Advisor, and Facebook if they don’t mind.

Negative Reviews

Even the best contractors receive negative reviews. Retain the services of a professional digital marketing company for contractors to de-rank negative press, reviews, and comments so your company will enjoy the opportunity to make its own first impression. 

Respond to complaints within minutes, not hours. Resolve disputes in such a way that clients amend their poor reviews. When you put your company reputation in the hands of an elite digital marketing agency, you magnify your bright spots and diminish any lowlights.

8. Email Marketing for Contractors

The original medium for digital marketing still holds considerable sway in most industries. However, what used to serve as the backbone of a digital marketing campaign decades ago now plays more of a support role. 

Remind your clients of upcoming meetings, consultations, and events. Supplement your video advertising with complementary email copy. A well-planned email ad campaign can give your company the quick boost it needs to meet quarterly goals.

Newsletters have become a crucial part of digital marketing for contractors in recent years. Businesses can benefit from starting weekly or monthly newsletters because it strengthens authority and credibility. You can initiate your newsletter delivery system by choosing reliable software that systematically sends emails to your clients. 

Sending out regular newsletters to clients proves profitable for a contracting company in several ways, such as: 

• Helping you gain more followers on your social media platforms.
• Improving your relationship with clients
• Keeping clients informed about new offers or services
• Increasing traffic to your landing pages

9. Direct Mail Marketing for Contractors

What does direct mail have to do with digital marketing? A lot more than you might think. Modern computers have integrated the digital and analog worlds to such an extent that consumers often fail to realize they’ve crossed over from one to the other. While an advertising postcard may be a physical object, you can still load it with digital information, like:

• QR codes
• Website URLs
• Links to viewed products
• SMS codes

Six Steps To A Dominating Online / Offline Marketing Strategy (Specific For Contractors, Construction Companies, and Remodelers)

Boost your digital marketing game to grow your contracting company even more. Increase your number of leads generated by building an online presence. Investing your time, energy, and money to create online content can benefit your business in multiple ways. Devising well-planned digital marketing strategies will allow you to reach people all over the world. 

Maintaining an online presence can elevate your company to a whole new level. At Contractor Growth Network, our business is to provide exceptional digital marketing services for contractors.

Follow these specific tips to boost your digital marketing efforts:

1. High-quality Content Creation For Contractors

We spoke above about the power of blogging, targeting long tail keywords, and including all of the natural industry related terms on your website. 

This starts with keyword research. One of the easiest ways to do this is pay attention to two sections of Google Search pages. Enter one of your core services and do some browsing. 

The “People Also Ask” section that often pops up has all of the questions that people are asking online about your service. Take note of any questions that you can easily answer. Open the questions to see the current article that Google thinks best answers this question. Also by opening the questions you will get more questions to appear. 

The “People also search for” section of the SERPs show you other related keywords that people also search when searching for your core service. For example if you enter “bathroom remodel” you could see keywords like:

Enter these keywords one by one into Google Search and check out the “People Also Ask” questions surrounding these keywords. 

You almost have an endless supply of topics and keywords that can be written about. Click on the ones you like to open, and Google will spit out 5-10 more.

SEO is a massive topic and cannot be fully explained in the context of this article. You can get a layman’s lesson on how to improve your Google rankings here. On a basic level, be authentic, mention your target keywords once or twice, and include as much original media and text content as possible. Discussing a beautiful backyard remodel? Show some original pictures (you can re-purpose your before & after photography here) and describe what the user is seeing.

Be sure to subscribe to our Digital Marketing For Contractors newsletters to get our insider tips. Also check out our podcast where we discuss a lot of these strategies weekly.

https://open.spotify.com/show/5cnu4nNhT2DcaMepbwJxGQ

2. Engage And Grow Your Audience On Social Media

Social media can be a bit of a love hate relationship with the construction and remodeling companies we work with. Most don’t post regularly or even use social media at all. 

One of the biggest opportunities with social media is the potential organic reach you can get. This means not paying for eyeballs, getting found naturally whether through searching on the platform or in a “For You” feed or page. 

Content marketing demands a holistic approach otherwise it can quickly get out of hand and unmanageable. You DO NOT need to come up with original content for each platform. Ideally you are writing articles on your website, or creating long form videos. This content can inform and trickle down to all platforms. 

Quotes or key passages from articles can become social media posts. Clips from videos or podcasts can become Reels or Shorts. Reviews that stand out should be posted and shared with your followers. Your before and after photography can be great content to post regularly. 

We often see social media fall to the wayside because the effort it takes to come up with original content week in week out becomes too much. Use the repurpose and trickle down method to avoid this pitfall.

3. Publish Before-and-After Photos

One of the best ways to advertise your contracting services involves publishing before-and-after photos. 

Last week you turned that cramped, outdated kitchen at the Miller’s into a sleek chef’s paradise — custom quartz countertops, sunlight pouring in from the huge east facing windows, a hint of fresh basil in the air. But your future customers aren’t coming to the Miller’s house. They are coming to your website.

Before-and-after photos let your potential clients feel those same emotions as walking into a brand new remodel for the first time. In fact, for design focused contractors few things resonate more powerfully. 

A dull, faded deck becomes a family’s new favorite hangout spot, perfect for sunset dinners and summer barbecues. A mundane bathroom transforms into a tranquil, spa-like retreat with soft ambient lighting and luxury finishes.

People searching for professional contractors often rely on companies that maintain their online presence. Posting pictures of your projects on your online platforms gives visitors an inside look at services so they know what to expect when they hire you. 

To take it a step further, fully staging your “after” photos is a massive opportunity to really “WOW” your potential clients. Tell the story of the room or remodel and be ready for the increase in leads.

4. Share Feedback And Reviews From Clients

Much like photography, few things are more impactful when it comes to sales and marketing than customer reviews. There is a reason companies like Amazon put a huge focus on reviews, they know for many people that is the deciding factor. People like to read and learn about other people’s experiences. 

In the contracting space, this is especially true. 

Not only do future customers want to know your work is professional and “done right”, they also want to know who they will be opening up their home to. 

Publishing customer testimonials and reviews on your blog or social media feed allows new visitors to get familiar with the quality of your services, your team, and your company values. 

You can either direct customers to leave a review on your Google Maps listing, Facebook page, or your preferred platform (Houzz, Angi, HomeAdvisor, etc.)

Or, for those special projects and where you have a close relationship with the client, you could draft a testimonial for them to “make their own”. Many people are busy and to make sure you don’t get a response back like “Highly recommend! 5 stars!” – which of course is great, but lacks the details you would want to feature on your homepage or a Featured Project Page. 

5. Use Local SEO For Regional Targeting

Google local search is the hands down #1 place to get qualified local leads. Just about everyone starts their local research for a construction company or general contractor with a local search. They will find your Google Maps listing along with links to your website and other websites where you list your business (HomeAdvisor, Angi, Houzz, etc.)

This is a large topic and requires it own guide, but the basics are:

1. Claim and verify your business on Google Maps
2. Add all of your business information to your listing – don’t hold back
3. Upload high quality pictures of your work
4. Start asking customers for reviews and direct them to your new listing

Here’s what it could look like!

6. Use The Power Of Video Marketing

YouTube is now the second largest search engine in the world. 

And….It is owned by Google. 

There is a huge opportunity with video for home remodelers and contractors in two areas:

1. Full length instructional videos or walkthroughs
2. YouTube Shorts

Filming instructional and educational videos for your business and posting them on Youtube can help you reach more people while also solidifying your expertise. Creating how-to videos that showcase your craftsmanship and attention to detail are a great way to capture interest and attention from people who are in the research phase of their project. 

For example, a homeowner is looking to build a massive deck in their backyard for entertaining. They have no clue about all the types of materials (wood vs. synthetic), railings, layouts, or structural elements. They may not be searching for a “deck builder near me” at the moment, but wanting to learn more about types of decks etc. This is a great playlist to put together on YouTube and feature on your website. Be the go-to resource in your area on decks. Share all of your knowledge upfront and for free, understanding that psychology standpoint you are building your brand in the mind of your viewers. 

YouTube Shorts are a huge opportunity for organic reach and most remodeling or construction companies are not taking advantage. The cool part is that one full length video can turn into many Shorts. People scroll through these micro-videos and YouTube’s algorithm can serve up your content even if they have not specifically searched for it. There are not many pure organic reach opportunities online anymore (looking at you Facebook!) so it can be a huge advantage to take advantage. 

These Short videos can be repurposed and shared on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook too!

The key is consistency to train the algorithm what your content is about and who you want to see it. The first video your audience will see will most likely not be the last video you published so keep at it, you never know which one could go viral!

TIP: Creating attractive titles and thumbnails to get people to watch your videos increases your view count.

Contractor Growth Network: THE Experts In Contractor Digital Marketing

If you have reached this sentence then you most likely are experiencing information overload. While we try to simplify these concepts for home services companies, at the end of the day it can get technical and complicated. The TL/DR of it is there is no one strategy – to be successful in online marketing for you contracting business you need a mix of strategies all working towards a common goal.

That’s where we come in.

Outcompete other contractors by reaching potential clients first and making a more impactful impression. At Contractor Growth Network, we specialize in contractor marketing services. Our team develops marketing strategies for general contractors and subcontractors using the concepts and techniques discussed in this guide. Use our 7+ years of experience to create tailored marketing strategies, augment your brand recognition, generate high-quality leads, and realize a level of ROI from your marketing efforts you did not realize was possible. 

Call us at the Contractor Growth Network at (980) 449-4384 or fill out our contact form to see what our expert digital marketing team dedicated to contractors can do for your business.