Contractor SEO – 20 Elements to Increase Online Visibility

You know how to build a house as a contractor, but where do you begin with contractor SEO? This digital marketing tactic can seem like another world to the unexposed, but this guide will teach you the basics and how they can benefit your local business. 

What is Contractor SEO?

Contractor SEO is the practice of using a combination of digital marketing strategies to make your website rank higher in online search results. It uses keywords related to the contracting and construction industry for search engine optimization.

Optimizing your digital marketing will help your site rank higher in online search listings. SEO puts your business on the radar of more potential new customers. An effective SEO strategy can guide local search results to your website, increasing your business’s visibility and assisting lead generation.

Focus your primary efforts on four areas: content (everything you use to promote your brand online), local SEO for contractors (the keywords related to your business, featured on your website), technical SEO (how well your website functions across devices), and link building (the network of links back to your website). These four elements will give you a solid foundation to build your online presence. Read on to learn about twenty essential elements you can use to increase your local business’s visibility through search engine optimization.

In this guide, you will find:

• Benefits of SEO.
• Local keyword research.
• Technical SEO.
• Page speed optimization.
• Google My Business.
• Off-page strategies.
• Link building.
• Reviews.
• Content marketing.
• Social media marketing.
• Video marketing.
• Mobile-friendly website.
• Performance tracking.

Benefits of SEO for General Contractors

Picture the work and service you offer as your company’s frame. Your brand and digital presence are the foundation. What you can offer doesn’t matter if no one knows you’re offering it. Any contractor knows you can’t build something solid on an unstable foundation, so establish a contractor SEO strategy for your local business and watch it grow. 

A good contractor SEO digital marketing plan uses on-page (elements of your actual website) and off-page (links to your site from other websites) elements to increase your business’s online presence and visibility. Algorithms run search engines, and you must effectively use them to ensure your website is among the first results for any local search in your industry.

1. Build brand awareness and become a local industry authority

Think about how many times you’ve searched for a service on Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Now think about how often you got your information from the first page of search results. That’s what contractor SEO can do for your business. Establish yourself as a local expert in your industry and be among the first results when they look for a contractor in your area.

2. Draw organic search traffic

Your website will draw in organic search traffic if your site includes content marketing with the right keywords. Especially in an industry like contracting, potential customers organically finding your website will help lead generation at a lower cost than an ad campaign. Consider the consumer’s process:

• The customer experiences some small home repair they might be able to fix themselves and searches online for instructions to make the minor repair. 
• The first search result is a guide from your local contractor’s website explaining exactly how to fix the customer’s problem. 
• The customer later has a larger project which requires a contractor, and they remember your website’s helpful article.
• The customer then contacts you to purchase your services. 

3. Grow your competitive advantage

Your area may have larger construction contractors and firms, but a bigger digital marketing budget doesn’t always mean the best results. Going for a well-rounded, optimized contractor SEO strategy tailored to your business could make an enormous difference. A functional, mobile-optimized website, targeted keywords, fresh content, and a network of consistent backlinks will grow your competitive advantage and help level the foundation for your local business.

Local Keyword Research for Contractor SEO

The key to contractor SEO services is keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases typed into the search engine. For you, they could be as simple as “contractors near me” or “builders” to the longer phrase “general contractor Las Vegas, Nevada.” Finding the right keywords for your content marketing is one of the crucial elements of a successful digital marketing strategy. The list of contractor SEO keywords is not the same as the SEO for HVAC contractors list, so ensure you have the right keywords.

4. Determine which words reflect your business and services

Start the process by creating a list of keywords you feel reflect the services your business offers. Think like a customer trying to search for what they need. Brainstorm the words and phrases you think fit potential local search results. Make sure every page of your website uses keywords, and build pages for special keywords, such as additional regions you service or extra services clients can purchase. Give them a place to find the information they want to know. 

5. Conduct keyword research and consider SEO strategy

Consider engaging the services of a digital marketing agency if developing and implementing your own contractor SEO strategy proves to be too consuming a task. An agency will research your keywords and help you plan for appropriate content marketing to increase your local business’ visibility. 

Technical SEO

6. Optimize your website

The importance of a fully-functioning, professional, mobile-optimized website cannot be understated. Ensure your website design—and every page on your website— is technically stable and working properly. Technical SEO includes things like your website’s speed, Core Web Vitals, and the level of mobile optimization.

7. Test it on multiple devices, especially photos and links

As a contractor, you may feature high-resolution images, and it’s vital they don’t slow down your site. If it takes a long time to load or doesn’t load properly on the customer’s device, they will likely close the window and find one that works for them. Don’t let a technical issue deter them from exploring your website or submitting a contact form. 

Page speed optimization

8. Fine-tune your code

Page speed optimization is a process that allows you to improve the loading time of your site’s pages. Various speed optimization tools and services help increase your website’s speed across all devices. 

Google Business Profile

9. Establish and maintain your Google My Business profile

Google Business Profile is a free tool and one of the most valuable in your digital marketing toolbox. It shares your company’s name, address, and phone number with the public, along with additional information, like hours, website, and photos. Maintaining your Google Business Profile with the most up-to-date information is absolutely crucial, as it keeps you visible to returning and potential customers. 

You should also get your website Google verified, which adds an extra layer of credibility. It gives customers extra confidence in your site and makes it easier for Google to find and index your web pages.

Off-page strategies

10. Build your digital footprint

Google won’t just look for mentions of your local business on your website. It will look at your online reputation as a whole. You need to build your digital footprint across multiple platforms. Consider social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, as well as a series of how-to videos on YouTube and live videos on Instagram. These methods create a wider network of off-page strategies to drive traffic to your website.  

11. Develop citations for your website

Citations are listings in online directories like Yellow Pages, Google, and Yelp. They are parts of a successful SEO strategy. Citations make it easier for customers to find you and grow your brand credibility with the local community. 

12. Link building

Trusted sites linking back to your website build your company’s relevance and authority in your industry. Google sees this as another mark of your website’s credibility and will be factored into your SEO effectiveness.

SEO for Contractors: Leverage Reviews

13. Register your local business with online review sites

Online reviews are enormously important. A 2022 BrightLocal customer survey reported 77% of customers read online reviews when choosing a local business. Create listings for your local business on sites like Google, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook Ratings and Reviews, and Bing. When your customer wants to tell others about their experience with you, make it as easy as possible. Respond to reviews whenever possible and maintain a professional, courteous tone. 

Content marketing

14. Use content marketing and keywords to increase organic web traffic

Content marketing uses blogs and articles to draw traffic to your website, and keywords in the content help your site rise through the search engine rankings. In the contracting industry, there should be no shortage of useful topics to cover, and you will automatically boost your lead generation. Video is an incredibly popular medium at the moment. Think about combining your video marketing with social media marketing on platforms like TikTok.

Social media marketing

15. Use social media as a tool

We live in a digital world, which means social media marketing is crucial to building your local business’ online presence. Make profiles and pages for your business and engage with potential customers. Share interesting, relevant articles among your promotional posts and ask questions to engage your target audience. Then, use the analytics to learn more about who is seeing your posts.

Video marketing

16. Invite customers into your world with video marketing

Video can be an inexpensive way to reach thousands of new customers and generate leads. With as little as a cell phone, you can create interesting videos that share your valuable knowledge with the public. Make videos showing the before and after of a difficult or impressive project to showcase your skill. Do a series on simple do-it-yourself repairs led by a contractor so people can trust you know what you’re doing. The options with video content marketing are endless. Try different things and focus on what works for your target audience. 

Performance tracking

17. Track what works

One of the benefits of an SEO digital marketing campaign over a traditional offline campaign is the tracking data and analytical information it gives you. The performance tracking data will tell you what’s working with a campaign and where you might need improvement. Monitor the organic traffic to your website, how many people contact you or make a purchase after visiting your site, how well your keywords rank and other factors to ensure your SEO strategy performs at its best.

Brand Consistency

18. Share the same brand message everywhere

One of the most effective marketing strategies you have is your branding. Branding encompasses everything potential customers associate with your company; from your logo and advertising slogans to your color scheme, reputation, and so much more. Ensure you send the same, consistent message to everyone and focus your efforts on the information you want to convey.

Mobile-friendly website

19. Don’t alienate mobile customers

According to a 2022 report by Hitwise, nearly 60% of all online searches are conducted with a mobile device. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile users, you can guarantee a competitor’s site will be. Don’t alienate potential customers because they couldn’t navigate your website on their phones.

Digital marketing companies

20. Reach out to the experts

If the idea of developing and carrying out a contractor SEO strategy still leaves you feeling a little out of the loop, consider hiring a digital marketing agency to maximize your advertising investment. An agency will streamline the process for you, taking the stress out of the situation and letting you reap the benefits. 

An agency will already be well-versed in SEO and will know how to tailor your digital marketing SEO strategy to provide the best possible return on investment.

Hire a Contractor SEO Agency Now

Digital marketing isn’t going away anytime soon. The world continues shifting more toward the digital, and the business community must do the same to stay relevant. From well-established to just starting, all businesses could benefit from a strong online presence and a targeted SEO strategy. Whether you go alone or commission an agency campaign, contractor SEO will change your business.

Contact Mediaboom now to boost the SEO and local SEO performances of your general contractor business website.