In the past, a large element of marketing when it came to construction businesses would be word-of-mouth or through directories like the Yellow Pages, with people recommending companies they trust and have worked with. However, there is a whole audience out there online just waiting to be reached with the right construction marketing strategy, and we’re here to help you get started with it and to improve your business development. Whilst marketing is an investment, when it’s done right, it can transform your business, so is absolutely worth it.
First up, you need to have a good website for your construction business, as this is where you’ll direct the majority of your potential customers to. Google has replaced the Yellow Pages and people now search for businesses online, and with a good website, you’ll build trust, showcase what you can do, drive leads and create an overall online reputation. Without a great website that is easy to navigate, clearly displays information, has helpful content, is responsive and loads quickly, you’ll struggle to compete. So, invest some time and money in getting your website right first, and it will make everything else that bit easier.
Next we have SEO (search engine optimisation), which is all about ensuring that when someone searches for a term relevant to your business on Google, that you’re appearing. There are over 200 different ranking factors that Google’s algorithms consider when they decide where someone ranks, and a good SEO company will be able to identify the ones that are key in your industry and create a well rounded strategy to ensure that you rank in the top positions for your chosen keywords. Many people think that SEO is simple and something they can do themselves, however it’s actually very technical and time consuming when it’s done right, so working with an agency for this is advised. Make sure it’s an agency that is well recommended, as when SEO isn’t done properly, it can be budget wasted.
The major benefit of SEO is that whilst you pay for the expertise of an agency, you don’t actually have to pay to appear in front of the user, as you do with things like social ads and PPC. Also, you’ll be appearing for keywords at the exact time someone is interested in what you offer and is searching for it, as opposed to something like a social ad where you’re just hoping you’re showing the right person at the right time. This is what makes SEO so cost effective, and an extremely lucrative channel for lead generation businesses.
As construction is usually so location focused, a big part of your marketing should revolve around this, particularly your Google My Business profile. If someone searches for your brand and you have a GMB profile, it will appear on the right hand side, with your address, opening hours, phone number, reviews, a link to your website, directions, etc. This is basically a summary of your business all in one place, yet it’s really important if you want to appear for local keywords. Also, with local keywords, you might notice when you search them a map appears with businesses listed underneath, called a MAP pack. Having a good Google My Business profile helps you to appear here as well.
One of the most important components of a Google My Business profile is the reviews, as more reviews act as a signal of trust for Google, and so this can help to improve your rankings. So, encourage your customers to leave Google reviews and it will help to strengthen your business!
An important part of marketing that isn’t directly selling is blog and content marketing, which involves creating valuable and helpful content to share with your customers or potential customers as general brand awareness, rather than trying to sell your service. However, when you show you are experts in your industry and clearly know what you’re talking about, then often as a result people will have you at the forefront of their minds in that industry and will eventually become customers anyway.
For example, you might write a blog about How To Cut Costs For Your Construction Business and share it on your social media and the blog on your website. A section in this blog might be about plant hire to save money, something that the person reading the blog hadn’t considered. When their next project comes up, they may consider you for plant hire. When you do this consistently, not only are you benefitting your SEO by adding regular and helpful content to your website, but you’re also creating content to share on your social profiles. It also helps you to come across as genuinely caring about your customers by wanting to help them.
