You’ve been told before how important SEO is for any business.
But you can’t do SEO for an online store like you do for a remodeler. Or a landscaper, or a deck builder.
And the reason behind it is simple:
Which is what differentiates SEO from SEO for contractors websites. One is at a larger scale, the other is more localized.
Let’s see the differences.
SEO Vs. SEO For Contractors
When we talk about SEO, we talk about trying to rank for keywords with very high search volume internationally.
These can be “deck building materials”, “deck building codes”, “best tile for flooring”, “cost of kitchen cabinets” and so on.
These are queries that get thousands of clicks every month. And of course, you’d want to tap in and capture some of those clicks, but here’s the thing…
If you do business in Arizona, why would you want people in Oregon to click on your article?
And you’re definitely not going to travel 1200 miles to service someone.
With more localized SEO for contractors, the keywords above will become “deck building materials in Denver”, “deck building codes in Omaha”, “cost of kitchen cabinets in Arizona”, and so on.
Focusing on local SEO has several advantages…
Advantages Of Local SEO
- First of all, only people who live in Denver will look for “the best deck building company in Denver. These are your potential clients. They live nearby and they’re interested in decks, so if your blog post that answers their questions, chances are they’ll be interested in what you offer.
- Local SEO is also vital for your Google Business Profile. As long as your content is relevant for the area you service, your GBP rankins will increase.
- Doing local SEO for your contractor website will also help you rank better on Maps, where a lot of your prospects spend time on. It’s the first place they go to read reviews and look for professionals that can help them with home improvement projects.
- It's also a lot easier to rank with local SEO, as you're not competing with well-established, international website like Bob Vila, This Old House, and so on...
Not sure what’s a Google Business Profile? Read this article and learn how to create a winning GBP that’ll boost your business and get you some organic, free, and valuable leads.
What’s The Best Way To Do SEO For Contractors Websites?
There are a few techniques that we’ve seen work for SEO. We’ve tried and tested multiple roll-outs, and we’ve realized an important thing…
If there were 100 different contractors, all of them would have a unique situation. A cookie cutter solution doesn’t work, and your website might need different things in terms of SEO.
- For example, we’ve tried pushing 30+ articles in one month. The 80/20 rule says that out of the 30 pieces of content, only 6 of them will perform good enough. And that’s the best case scenario.
- We’ve also tried writing the content that our clients wanted to, regardless of the number of clicks. Needless to say, if users are not interested in a particular topic, no one will ever read it.
- We’ve also done a mix of high-intent, low search volume keywords that proved highly efficient for many of our clients.
- We’ve set our own trends too, and it worked great for several clients whose articles truly made an impact on their SEO and business.
- And last but not least, we innovated a lot behind the scenes as well. Optimizing the website, finding tricks Google loves when ranking pages, and constantly adding keywords to already ranking articles.
Without proper keyword research and market knowledge, you’re shooting blinds. You can write 100 pieces of content and realize soon enough that none is getting clicks. Check out this article to learn how to find the best keywords to target with your SEO for your contractor website.
What Are The Best Keyword Ideas
As much as I’d love to tell you the winning keywords that’ll help your business rank higher on Google, it’s unlikely to nail them without researching your market.
However, there are a few keywords that we always prioritize for all of our clients, regardless of their niche.
- [service name] cost in [location]. E.g. kitchen remodeling cost in Pasadena
- [service name] codes in [location]. E.g. deck building codes in Austin
- Best [service name] companies in [location]. E.g. best porch building companies in Omaha
- [service name] in [location]. E.g. bathroom renovation in Fairfax
These are high intent keywords that are perfect for a blog post. If you manage to rank well with an article that focuses on any of these keywords, you’ll even get some leads from them!
Some other keywords that are good for SEO for contractor websites are:
- Pros and cons of [building material]. E.g. pros and cons of vinyl windows
- [building material] vs [building material]. E.g. composite decks vs wood decks
- Best materials for [service name]. E.g. best materials for bathroom remodeling
- Top 10 materials for [part of project] E.g. Top 10 materials for bathroom vanities
How Can You Can Find New Keyword Opportunities
The only issue with keyword research is that the internet needs to have enough data about a particular topic to show you valuable info about clicks, search volumes, and related terms.
But what happens when the topic is fresh out of the oven?
If you know the market you’re in, it’s very likely that you have access to information that not everyone has. Like lumber prices, new materials, new construction techniques, new regulations, and so on.
If you’re certain a new material will change the way your industry works, start writing about it, publish it on your website, and let the internet do its thing.
We’ve done it for several of our clients and those articles always hit the jackpot and gathered a lot of clicks.
What Works Best With SEO For Contractors Websites
Look, there are cases when your contractor website SEO will be enough to take your business to the next level. It depends on the market you’re in, the competition, your services, and how people in your area buy.
Maybe you’re seeing a constant increase in clicks and impressions, and maybe your average position on Google is constantly increasing.
And that’s great, but sometimes, SEO needs to be aided.
One of the best ways to do this is by investing in paid Ads and having a campaign always running.
Send people to a landing page optimized to convert as much as possible, and then let the SEO pick up momentum as well. Soon enough, you’ll also see an increase in rankings, but also a consistent flow of leads coming from both SEO and Ads.
How to track the SEO Results?
Tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and more will help you read if your efforts have made any impact on your business. If you’re interested in learning more about tracking SEO results, check out this page!
Is SEO For Contractors Website Worth It?
If you’re patient and invested in the journey, yes, 100%. The thing with SEO for contractors’ websites is that too many times people don’t have the patience to wait for the results.
The reality is that SEO takes time to pick up. Sometimes it has a strong start and then keeps a consistent growth until you decide to stop doing it…
And sometimes it has a slow start but pops off after several months.
All you need is a winning article that’ll carry the entire SEO. From there, you’ll have to start linking pieces of content, optimize for queries that trigger your blog as the search result, and then build your other pieces of content around the winning one.
Can I do SEO For Contractors Websites Myself?
If you’re a contractor juggling business, field time, construction, paperwork, client success, and family time, then no. You can’t do SEO as well.
Even if you had more time on your hands, doing SEO is not just writing a piece of content in a document.
- It’s also about doing some keyword research to find the most valuable search terms to go after.
- It’s about writing great copy that can convert, or at least persuade users to remain on your website.
- It’s about designing a blog page that’s visually appealing and incentives users to read everything.
- And it’s about optimizing the content regularly to ensure you’re not losing rankings and keep gaining more and more clicks.
So even if you had the time, you need several other missing pieces to get the job done right.
Conclusion
It’s clear that doing SEO for your contractor website will massively impact your business.
You’ll get more traffic on your website, you’ll increase your Google Business Profile Rankings, and ultimately, you’ll get more free leads from your website and your winning articles on Google.
The only thing is… who will take care of researching, writing, publishing, and optimizing your blog posts?
Contracting Empire can take care of your marketing needs, including doing the SEO for your contractor website. You’ll get some of our ground-breaking SEO techniques that are included in all of our SEO plans. We’re committed to see you win, you just need to call the shot and start!
Gabriel Iacob, Copywriter @ Contracting Empire
Gabriel is a copywriter that makes sure your website, content, and ads are optimized to bring in high-value local leads. He loves to dive deep and research your customer’s behavior online, so every line he writes speaks to your audience.
In his free time, Gabriel loves riding his custom-made mountain bike, hiking, and discovering new music.