As any homeowner knows, it takes a ton of help to stay on top of all that a house requires.
If you’re able to do it all without the help of home service providers like landscapers, roofers and electricians, to name a few, we salute you.
But chances are, you need all the help you can get from the many companies under the massive umbrella of home services. The good news is that no matter which service you need, you have no shortage of options.
What that means for home service providers themselves is that while the demand is never going anywhere, neither is the competition.
This makes home services digital marketing – particularly the all-important first step of being the top result your prospective clients are searching for – paramount.
Through its experience assisting a range of companies in this business,* Charleston, SC-based Colophon New Media has gleaned a ton of insight into exactly what it takes to stand out from the competition.
The following website tips for home service providers have proven to be a winning formula:
Now, let’s give out some actionable advice on how to effectively check all four of those boxes.
*To see our handiwork for yourself, check out some of the outstanding home service websites designed, hosted and optimized by Colophon: CharlesTownePlumbing.com, DysonTreeService.com, CandSConstructionGroup.com, WillifordRoofing.com, MulchMagicians.com.
Trust us when we say that what homeowners see on your GBP can make or break you. For better or worse, you need not only quality reviews, but a lot of them, to maximize lead generation. It’s worth every second of effort it takes to get your clients to review your business on Google.
Don’t just leave it at that, though. Other platforms where you should start strengthening your profile with reviews ASAP include Houzz, Angi and Yelp.
While those additional platforms will help, think of your GBP as your bread and butter. A lengthy sample of reviews can’t be topped, but you can also improve your GBP yourself by regularly adding up-to-date, specific information about exactly what your company provides, posting updates and photos, and using GBP tools like the helpful performance data that Google offers.
And if your NAP (name, address, phone number) info is not already readily available and consistent across every digital platform where you have a presence, that is a quick, easy improvement you need to make yesterday.
One last tip: be sure your GBP (and any other review platforms) feature a link to your website – and while you’re at it, your website should also feature links to your GBP.
A strong presence on Google and other review platforms is one form of free advertising, but we can’t overstate the importance of also investing in Google Ads and Meta Ads.
Users are constantly searching for exactly what a local company like yours can offer. If you’re not already using PPC advertising to improve your chances of being the first result that shows up in valuable searches like, say, “plumbers in Charleston,” we can assure you that your PPC ad spend will pay dividends.
The difference between a prospective client coming to your website and A) getting in touch to set up an appointment or phone call or B) leaving with no action taken often comes down to how well your site incorporates CTAs.
With this in mind, ensure that CTAs cover the website in multiple places on each page. Provide your phone number, email address and live links to the easiest ways for anyone visiting your site to let you know what they’re looking for.
It’s also helpful to provide forms for site visitors to fill out, and you should make sure that these forms are connected to your CRM (customer relationship management) system.
When it comes to your CTAs, you may be wondering whether a form or a call is more effective. In our experience, millennials and younger prefer forms, while Gen X and older are more likely to get on the phone. Regardless, cover your bases by providing plenty of both!
As promised, we’re not going to say something like this without explaining what we mean. We will give our in-depth thoughts on how to adapt to the fast-changing world of search soon (consider this a tease of a future WWW post).
For now, suffice it to say that the key is to publish as much quality content as possible about your company, your offering and your happy clients, and do it across every platform.
Anyone who tells you that they know exactly what it will take to rank No. 1 in the results for ChatGPT prompts like “provide the 3 best electricians in Charleston that can rewire my kitchen” is probably embellishing, or worse.
What we do know, however, is that AI is scouring every platform you can think of – and probably a few more that you haven’t even heard of – and comparing how you stack up on each one of them to what your competitors are putting out there.
With that in mind, we strongly recommend holistically pushing your digital presence at every turn, because going forward – if this isn’t already the case – the answer is not to just lead the way in website traffic, or social media followers, or boast the best metrics in another area, but to be as prominent as possible across every platform. Use all your platforms to consistently position your company as an authority for your services in your location to your target demographic.
In other (fewer) words, “Be everywhere.”
If you’ve stayed with us to this point, we’re confident that you would benefit from a chat with Colophon New Media — and a conversation with one of our experts is just one click away.
For decades, H2 Builders has been a leader in Bluffton and Hilton Head, crafting luxury…
As an iconic insurance spokesperson camel once said, “Guess what day it is?!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2s0RPrdB_8&pp=ygUhaHVtcCBkYXkgY29tbWVyY2lhbCBtaWtlIG9yaWdpbmFs That's…
In an inside scoop on agency M&A, Colophon New Media’s Director, Zander Barth, was recently…
CofC Intentionality is a student-led club at the College of Charleston with a higher mission:…
Crowder & Sons Construction Group, a family-owned and Christian-based contracting firm led by Monty and…
Colophon recently helped update the website for longtime partner St. Barts Yacht Sales following the…