900mi² Ranking Domination Brings In $2.9M Revenue in 2023
Case Study: Home Matters Construction, basement remodeling company in Omaha, NE
Table of Contents
The Background
Meet Tony Inzauro, the co-owner of Home Matters Construction, a company built on hard work, determination, and a love for building things.
Despite Tony’s creative mind and tireless work ethic, Home Matters Construction faced a challenge familiar to many contractors: ineffective marketing.
Tony and his partner, Michael, had invested in a marketing company that promised the world and gave them nothing in return.
Listen to Tony share his experience with Contracting Empire.
They were sold on the idea of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but the reality was far from what they expected.
During our first call with Tony, it became clear that their marketing efforts were falling short.
They were manually tracking call leads and realized that most of their business was coming from sources other than the SEM efforts the agency claimed to be making.
It was a classic case of misaligned expectations and wasted resources.
They sold everything from bathroom remodeling to siding installation, and that’s not how you want your website’s ecosystem to look when operating in a market like Omaha, NE.
In essence, HMC needed something to make them stand out in the market.
Just like when choosing a doctor, you want the best doctor, the same goes for homeowners. They don’t want just a contractor, they want the best contractor to solve their problem.
Not having a clear messaging and market position is a recipe for mediocrity in an industry where excellence is the only currency that matters. At this point, we could have taken Tony and Michael’s marketing budget and focused on roofing like they initially wanted.
While roofing would have been a good niche, we wanted to take a different approach. Instead of taking your money and promising the moon; we analyze your business, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to maximize your revenue potential NOW.
We talked to Tony and Michael for 3 hours, geeking out on data and showing them where the true money was. After answering all their marketing questions without hesitation and giving them a clear path to faster revenue, we were able to map out a clear action plan. This was based on data for the best locations, the most profitable services to offer, and concise math to show them how much revenue we could tap into.
We told Tony a lot of things he didn’t want to hear, and that’s exactly why contractors love working with us. We don’t sugarcoat things, and we’ll tell you what’s wrong with your approach and where the true money is.
We told Tony a lot of things he didn’t want to hear, and that’s exactly why contractors love working with us. We don’t sugarcoat things, and we’ll tell you what’s wrong with your approach and where the true money is.
That’s why clients rarely leave us, and when they do, it’s not because their marketing is not working.
The Challenges
Do-It-All Website
When Home Matters Construction first approached us, one of the biggest challenges they faced was their website trying to be a jack-of-all-trades.
They offered a laundry list of services— basement, kitchen and basement remodeling, window and door installation, painting, roofing, storm repair, siding installation, and more. While it might seem like offering a wide array of services would attract a broader audience, in reality, it was not helping them stand out in any meaningful way.
Specialization breeds trust and authority.
When someone searches for a specific service, like “bathroom remodeling,” Google wants to deliver the most relevant and authoritative results. If your website offers a mix of services with no clear structure to your service ecosystem, Google will prioritize another company that does.
The best furniture isn’t at Walmart. You’ll find it in a specialized furniture store.
Wrong Type Of Marketing
HMC was spending money on the wrong type of marketing from the wrong provider.
Their previous agency convinced them to invest in SEM by telling Tony that it was the holy grail of lead generation.
The problem with fancy terminology is that agencies can hide behind what it actually means. Search Engine Marketing sounds fancy, but in reality, it’s a mix of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-Click (PPC), like Google Ads. On Tony’s account, nothing was being been done.
They had 13 website pages and were running anemic Google Local Service Ads that were bringing in 1-2 leads a month. This has been going on for almost two years and they were paying $1,500 a month for it.
While Home Matters Construction was busy shelling out cash for ineffective SEM, their revenue was coming from referral projects. It’s a classic case of misallocated resources – spending money on marketing channels that don’t yield results while neglecting the ones that do.
The Strategy
Here are a few things we did in terms of strategy:
- Analyzed the market data to see how to reach the best homeowners
- Evaluated their services to see how difficult they’d be to market for
- Looked into the local competitors to see their strengths and weaknesses
- Compared HMC’s strengths and weaknesses to the competitors to find an edge
- Created the right keyword ecosystems to increase HMC’s chances of ranking higher
- We told Google we are the go-to remodeling choice for homeowners in the area
With a clear focus on the services and a solid marketing strategy, Home Matters Construction saw a significant increase in leads, conversions, and revenue.
They went from doing all the things and less revenue to doing less things while making more money.
If your contracting business is struggling to stand out in a crowded market, specialization could be the game-changer you need.
Through in-depth market analysis and strategic planning, we’ll identify your business’s most profitable niche and develop a tailored marketing strategy to position you as the go-to expert in that field.
Home Matters Construction was doing EVERYTHING before working with us.
In essence, it’s great to be a Swiss army knife, but in reality, it can hurt your business both in terms of marketing investment needed to get things off the ground as well as producing all the different types of jobs.
Because Google wasn’t really seeing Tony and Michael’s website as an authority, we had to push for the most profitable service and redesign the website around it.
We ran the numbers and identified great cash opportunities around remodeling, so we decided to focus our SEO efforts there.
Our approach was simple yet powerful: double down on what works. By optimizing their SEO strategy and leveraging the power of word-of-mouth referrals, we could maximize their ROI and drive sustainable growth.
We built custom tools to help us develop these strategies, and we even created a product for you to use if you want to do this yourself for your business. It’s called The Perfect Lead Locator, and it provides a walkthrough on how to think about these things. Or you can pay us so we do what we do best while you do what you do best.
The Results
Top Basement Remodeler In Papillion, NE
One of the many paid tools we use to track your business’s growth and results is BrightLocal.
It features a Local Search Grid, which allows us to see how your business ranks in local search results across different locations and search engines.
For Home Matters, we kicked off with a humble 7×7 map grid, but we quickly expanded the map to an 11×11 grid as things were picking up.
When those red dots turn to orange and, ultimately, to green, it means your business is in the top 3 positions in search results. Home Matters Construction was telling Google and the world they’re here and they mean business.
By stretching that grid to 11×11 and then to a colossal 15×15, we weren’t just expanding boundaries; we were expanding possibilities.
This is where Home Matters Construction stands in terms of rankings in all the major areas they serve for the basement remodeling service.
This is a 15×15 grid with 2 miles between dots of pure Google domination.
And why does it matter?
Because in the cutthroat world of contracting, visibility is everything.
It’s about being seen, being chosen, and being remembered. It’s about showing potential clients that when it comes to basement remodeling, there’s only one name they need to know: Home Matters Construction.
Outranking Decade-Old Competitors
Just because you’ve been in business for over 20 years doesn’t mean Google will give you the authority needed to always rank in first place in the search results. For HMC, we combined a high-level SEO strategy with the grind needed to push them to the top.
Reaching that number 1 spot in rankings doesn’t guarantee you’ll keep that position if you stop your SEO efforts. That’s why we tell clients never to pause their SEO, even if it’s just for a month.
Because SEO isn’t just about publishing content.
It’s also about:
- Constantly updating and optimizing your GBP
- Adding your NAP to relevant directories
- Building backlinks from local and national sources
- Conducting regular keyword research
- Optimizing your content for mobile devices
- Monitoring website metrics and performance
- Staying informed about Google’s algorithm updates
- Tracking competitors and being proactive about their moves
- Reporting spam and other suspicious activity
- Updating or removing old content on the website
- And much, much more…
All of these things combined are what tell Google you deserve to be listed as the top local contractor in your niche.
And we do all of these things for you.
Google Map Pack Presence
When folks in your area search for services like yours, Google highlights three lucky winners, putting them in the spotlight. Being in the top 3 isn’t just about being seen.
This is Google telling homeowners that these three businesses are the go-to choices for the service provided in that area.
When a homeowner pulls out their phone to look for a basement remodeler in Papillion, Home Matters Construction will be the first thing they see.
The ultimate remodeling authority.
The trusted contractor.
The ones that own the market.
Same goes for Home Matter Construction’s basement finishing service. Google sees them and recognizes them as a contractor worth showcasing to homeowners in need of a basement finish.
This is the result of everything we do behind the scenes to elevate your business above the competition. It’s not magic or luck.
It’s a well-conducted plan that will build trust and reliability for your brand in the eyes of Google and homeowners alike.
This is the power of data-driven marketing decisions and working with a partner that thrives on data, market understanding, innovation, and fast implementation.
Authoritative Content
Let’s say you’re browsing the web for insights on the cost of remodeling your kitchen in Papillion. You type your query into Google, hoping for a quick answer to guide your decision-making process.
And there it is — the featured snippet — a concise summary that provides exactly what you need, courtesy of Home Matters Construction.
A featured snippet is like having a front-row seat in the digital arena. It’s Google’s way of highlighting your content as the ultimate authority on a particular topic, showcasing it above the organic search results.
This is possible because we do a lot of research on searches looking to identify the user’s intent. One area that homeowners need to be educated on is price because the prices that they find online on sites like HomeAdvisor are misleading, to put it nicely.
We get a lot of resistance from contractors who are reluctant to talk about costs on their websites, but this is what happens when you give people what they want. Obviously, there’s a right way to do it. You don’t want to just slap some prices on your website and call it a day.
This goes beyond creating brand awareness for Home Matters. Homeowners in need of a remodel who see that snippet are likelier to click and visit the website.
Once they go through our carefully designed funnel, they are likely to submit a quote request and become a qualified lead because they have the right pricing impression. All because we targeted the right keywords and capitalized on the opportunity.
That’s the in-depth analysis and level of marketing insight we bring to your contracting business.
Full Year Predictability
Imagine what it’s like to be able to have your entire year planned out in terms of projects. Or to have 25 simultaneous projects in your calendar because your local SEO started paying off.
When you’re struggling to make it, this feels like an unattainable dream. But we made it happen for Tony and we can make it happen for you.
Because, as always, we used real-life data to see where the money is and what services are most profitable for Home Matters Construction.
It could be you and I having these kinds of conversations but, for that to happen, I need to take a look at your market and understand where the homeowners ready to pay for your service live.
So, tell me, where do you want to be 3 months from now?
Struggling to survive the winter while your competitors take all your leads?
Or reaping the benefits of local SEO by having plenty of booked projects to work on?
Key Takeaways
In February 2024:
- Home Matters Construction is dominating local basement remodeling rankings in an area of 900 square miles
- Tony and Michael have enough cash flow to increase their ad spent constantly
- They’re spending their money on marketing that actually works
- They proudly received a gold award for their outstanding residential basement remodel services
- They went from $1.8M doing a lot of services in 2022 to $2.9M in 2023 doing a few services, making way more profit in the process.
If you’re looking to fill your production calendar with 20+ projects at a given time, it’s time to talk marketing that works.
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