Generating quality leads in your construction business can be challenging.
The construction industry is highly competitive, and it can be difficult to get your business seen by potential customers. Add to that, you may get conflicting advice from one “expert” to the next. Is SEO the right move? Or should you go with advertising?
At Contractor Growth Network, we ONLY work with general contractors and construction companies, so we understand the unique challenges business owners like you face when trying gain traction online. Our strategy has helped hundreds of clients dominate their local market and land high paying construction projects through high quality branding, strategy, video marketing, and search engine optimization.
This article will give you 10 strategies you can use to increase lead generation for your construction business.
Focus On Your Specialities And Services To Find The Leads You Want The Most
When you’re first starting out in business, it’s tempting to try to be everything to everyone.
After all, the more people you can reach, the more customers you’ll have, right?
Wrong.
In fact, the opposite is true. When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. That’s why the most successful businesses focus on a specific niche.
By narrowing your focus, you can better understand the needs and wants of your target market and craft a message that resonates with them. As a result, you’ll attract more customers looking for your specific service.
Do you only build or remodel homes? You could focus you marketing around beautifying and increasing value on homes to generate more residential construction leads for example.
So if you’re struggling to find consistent leads, remember to niche down and focus on a specific part of the market. It’s the best way to set yourself up for long-term success, maximize your marketing budget, and make your overall marketing efforts higher revenue generating.
Find Clients On Construction And Home Services Lead Platforms
When it comes to generating leads for your construction company, leveraging the right platforms can make a significant difference. Thumbtack is a popular choice, connecting local businesses with potential clients seeking specific services, including construction projects. HomeAdvisor, now part of Angi, is another robust platform that helps construction companies find quality leads by matching them with homeowners looking for reliable contractors.
Angi, formerly known as Angie’s List, offers a comprehensive directory where potential clients can find and review local construction services, enhancing your business’s visibility and credibility. Additionally, platforms like Houzz and Porch provide opportunities for construction companies to showcase their work, reach out to a wider audience, and engage with potential clients actively searching for construction services. By utilizing these platforms, construction companies can efficiently generate consistent and high-quality leads, helping them grow their business and secure more projects.
Our top 5 recommended websites you must be on are:
- Angi
- Thumbtack
- HomeAdvisor
- Houzz
- BuildZoom
If you are looking for more commercial construction leads you could use tools like ConstructConnect or Dodge.
Local SEO Is A Game Changer For Your Construction Business
Here is an undisputed fact: organic leads from Google Maps are among the most qualified and highest converting leads for construction companies.
Sure, some people still rely on word-of-mouth to find the best businesses in their area. But let’s face it: most of us use the internet to find what we’re looking for. Those little magical rectangles in your customers pocket are the gateway to dominating marketing this year.
And that’s why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important.
Investing in SEO can help you increase your online visibility, which can lead to more traffic and qualified leads. And as any business owner knows, more traffic means more potential customers – and more potential customers mean a greater return on investment (ROI).
Here’s the game plan:
- Work with a technical SEO expert to get your website up to par. Your site needs to be safe (SSL), fast, and easy to browse on a mobile device. Additionally, there are several “behind the scenes” optimizations that should take place like adding a specific type of code called “Schema” to speak directly to search engines
- Figure out a content publishing process – as of 2022 Google is seriously into what they call “Helpful Content“. Your job is to take all of your experience and knowledge about your industry and services and share it with the world. This establishes you and your website as an authority and have a higher chance of being ranked. Keyword research is essential here, we see a lot of construction businesses blogging without a clear plan and not getting the results they should.
- Now that you are publishing content, the next step is sharing and distributing. Google indexes and ranks billions of blog pages, so you need to get your content out to the world first before it becomes easier to find. Share to your social media platforms, republish where you can, create videos explaining the content and post to YouTube.
So if you’re not currently investing in SEO, now is the time to start. With the help of a contractor SEO agency, you can begin to see an increase in your online visibility – and your bottom line.
Create High Quality Construction Videos
Video content is one of the best ways to connect with your audience. People have grown accustomed to video content, and it is quickly becoming the dominant media format on the internet. Especially in the contractor field where you are building visual, tangible projects. Taking awesome photos and videos throughout the process can be a great way to convert more businesses and feed your content strategy. Document everything! Hire a kid to follow you around with a camera and Lavalier microphone; you will have content for months.
Current trends indicate that video consumption will make up 82% of all internet traffic in 2022.
On top of that, videos are more likely to be shared than other types of content, which means that your message will reach a wider audience.
Additionally, videos tend to have high conversion rates, which means that more viewers will take action after watching your video content.
Creating engaging video content is a great place to start if you’re looking for a way to increase engagement and reach more leads.
Show Up Consistently On Major Social Platforms
Social media is one of the most powerful tools in a business owner’s toolbox. Your Instagram or Facebook page can almost act like a second website. Your Instagram page is set up to be a lead generation tool. It’s got Stories and Posts (blogs), it’s got your contact information and messaging, it’s got room to add your contact info and offer, and users can scroll through your awesome photos and Reels you have posted.
Consistently posting on social media can help businesses reach potential customers and generate leads.
Social media is also a great way to build a healthy brand image for your company. By engaging with your customers on social media, you have the opportunity to make personal connections between your brand and your consumers.
Many consumers will take their concerns and questions to social media. Answering those questions and concerns is a great way to foster a positive association between your business and your clientele.
If you’re looking for a new source of leads and you’re not already using social media to grow your business, now is the time to start.
Get Online Reviews
One of the best ways to increase leads and sales for your business is to get more online reviews. In fact, when a product has at least 5 good reviews the likelihood of purchase goes up by 270%.
There are several reasons for this. First, online reviews increase your visibility in search engines. When potential customers search for your product or service, they’re more likely to find your business if you have positive reviews.
Second, online reviews build trust. Potential customers are more likely to do business with a company that has positive reviews. They know that other people have had positive experiences with the business, so they’re more likely to take the leap themselves.
And finally, online reviews can directly lead to increased sales. Potential customers who read positive reviews are more likely to contact your business and make a purchase.
So if you want to boost leads and sales for your business, focus on getting more online reviews. It’s a proven strategy that will help you reach your goals.
Contact Past Clients
Contacting past clients is a great way to increase your business visibility, build customer trust, and generate word-of-mouth marketing.
While it may seem like a lot of work to reach out to previous clients, the leads you’ll generate will be well worth the effort. And, with a little planning, you can make the process much easier.
First, compile a list of past clients who you think would be interested in hearing from you again.
Next, reach out to them via email, social media, or even gives them a call.
Finally, follow up with a personal message and offer a discount or special deal.
By following these steps, you’ll be sure to make a lasting impression on your past clients – and generate plenty of new leads in the process.
Invest In Referrals And Referral Systems
One of the most effective and simple ways to generate leads is through referrals. In fact, only 2% of people polled in one study said they never use online reviews.
When customers have a positive experience with your company, they’re likely to tell their friends and family about it. This word-of-mouth marketing can be a powerful tool for lead generation.
Referrals can also help to build trust and visibility for your brand. Customer referrals often requiring less efforts and a shorter sales cycle because the trust is “baked in”.
When potential customers see you’re company being recommended by people they know and trust, they’re more likely to give you a try. Investing in referral systems can be a great way to drive sales and growth for your business.
Optimize Your Website To Convert Visitors Into Paying Customers
If you want your website to generate more construction leads and phone calls, there are a few things you can do to optimize it for conversions.
First, you need to make sure your site is designed to generate leads. You can do this by including contact forms on your site and making it easy for visitors to find your contact information. Your call button should be prominent and easy to click. If you brand colors are light or fluorescent you need to make a design decision to have easy to see buttons. The below button is very hard to see on a mobile device, especially for anyone hard of site.
Second, you should create content that will appeal to your target audience and help them solve their problems. Consider making blog posts and videos that answer questions you frequently hear from your existing clients.
Third, use calls to action throughout your site to encourage visitors to take the next step. Make it clear what you want visitors to do, and provide incentives for visitors to take action. If you want a visitor to join your email list, consider offering them a free resource in return.
The last step is to figure out an offer that will appeal to your ideal customer. This could be a free quote, a no-obligation design call, or a valuable download that will answer some of their questions upfront (this is a great way to “get on the kitchen table” in your prospects home – provide a well-designed printable PDF that has your contact info on it).
Advertise Your Business on Google Ads and Facebook Retargeting
Increased demand has made digital advertising increasingly expensive. However, a well-executed digital ad campaign can still produce great results for your business.
You can reach a large audience with digital ads. There are over 5 billion active internet users, and over 4 billion of them are active social media users. That means there’s a huge potential audience for your business if you use digital advertising.
Digital ads allow you to target your audience very precisely. You can target people by location, age, gender, interests, and more but with changes in data privacy rules, this targeting is becoming harder to do. But even with less comprehensive data, you can still target your ideal customers. That specific targeting allows you to only spend money on ads that will be seen by people who are likely to be interested in your product or service.
Digital advertising is also much more affordable than traditional advertising methods like TV or print ads. And it’s more effective too – internet users are used to seeing online ads and they’re often more engaged with them than with other forms of advertising.
Google Ads (formerly Google Adwords) offers several different campaign strategies for attracting qualified leads. There are Local Service Ads and “Google Guaranteed” which are awesome for service based businesses like contractors. There are organic search campaigns which get your landing pages on top of the SERPs for specific queries (can be broad match or exact). Additionally, there are Google Maps ads that show your business as the top map listing. The final piece is YouTube Ads and retargeting efforts that keep your business top of mind. Look into Google’s 11-7-4 rule.
Ready To Generate An Endless Supply Of Construction Leads?
Getting construction leads is essential for your business, but it can be challenging. However, some planning and a few effective techniques can help you generate plenty of high-quality leads. In this article, we’ve provided 10 tips for generating more construction leads, if you would like to go deeper we suggest reading our full length digital marketing guide for contractors. We hope that you find these tips helpful and that they help you grow your business.
If you’re looking for help growing your construction company and generating great leads we can help. Contact Contractor Growth Network today so we can talk about growing your company.
