When no one offers a solution to your problem, sometimes you have to become the answer! Through a strange adventure filled with twists and turns, a long-time professional in the home security industry became the founder of an SEO and web design company. Nolen and Jason talk about the history of Roofing Webmasters!
Table of Contents
Key Lessons for Roofing Professionals
Marketing is one of the most powerful factors contributing towards roofing company success.
Online marketing grows your digital channel of leads.
It takes dedication to make page one in search results, but the payoffs are huge.
In-house marketing is impractical (and expensive) for most small businesses.
A Brief History
Roofing Webmasters actually grew out of a completely different industry! Years ago, our founder Nolen Walker ran a home security business out of the Dallas / Fort Worth area. When telemarketing began to face strong federal backlash, he saw that online advertising and website optimization was the best way to further his business.
Unfortunately, few local marketing companies had any experience with SEO. Those that did charged a fortune for the most basic services. Their cockiness and patronizing drove Nolen away from their services very quickly!
Dissatisfaction Breeds Innovation
Nolen decided to take matters into his own hands by hiring an in-house team of marketers to promote the business. It was a very expensive proposition at the time, but it laid the groundwork of what would ultimately become Roofing Webmasters! Today, our team consists of over twenty content writers, web designers, programmers, video specialists, and SEO analysts.
We take on the online marketing challenges that are too time-consuming or costly for many roofing professionals to handle themselves.
Earning a Spot in the Local Map Pack Can Mean Significant Increases in Site Traffic and Leads!
Crucial Lessons From Our Past
It took years of trial and error to find the well-balanced team of professionals we have today. We learned some crucial marketing lessons during that time.
The most successful businesses typically invest heavily in marketing.
Not all digital marketing firms have the necessary experience to manage SEO.
In-house is an expensive challenge that most businesses can’t manage.
Cockyness isn’t always a sign of expertise.
Clear communication with your marketing team is essential for long-term success.
These are lessons that we continually honor and share as we serve businesses across the country. They are why we strive so hard to provide timely, customized service for our clients. But enough about our business! Why does online marketing matter for your roofing company?
Why Online Marketing Matters
The concept behind marketing is a simple one to grasp: if you want people to know about your services, they have to be told. If you need prospects to choose your team over a competitor, you have to persuade them. Marketing accomplishes both of these goals, providing the necessary information and persuasion to draw clients into your revenue stream.
Marketing is simply part of doing business.
That truth extends into the realm of search marketing, which connects your company brand / website with local consumers on Google Search. With so many people relying on Google to find their essential services, it’s amazing how many professionals in the roofing industry still don’t quite grasp the significance of this type of marketing. Yet there are so many benefits to reap from it!
Expanded Revenue Potential
Think of all the consumers looking for roofing service online! Search marketing provides roofers with the essential visibility and authority needed to earn premium rankings. Scoring page one rankings could land you thousands of dollars in new revenues each year. The best part? Organic search results are so much cheaper than buying leads from a seller!
Search Marketing Increases the Number of People Exposed to Your Brand.
Enhanced Branding Growth
How people perceive your business is just as important as what you have to say about it, if not more. With a high ranking website on Google Search, people automatically perceive your business as more authoritative and trustworthy. Enhance that site with professional web design, plentiful client reviews, and verified local citations (from Yelp, BBB, etc) for an even stronger online performance!
These are all activities your search marketing strategy should include.
Empowered Customer Service
Be where the customers are. That’s a crucial pillar of business and an even more essential facet of customer service. If your potential clients can’t even find your business online, then how can they find the relief they need? Search marketing enables your company to better communicate with the thousands of homeowners, through your website and other online assets.
Thousands of contractors claim superior skill and expertise, but few take the time to answer the key questions that consumers ask every day.
Search Marketing Also Reveals Which Keywords are Securing Clicks for Your Business.
So much of our time in digital marketing is spent trying to sway people in the direction we desire.
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Considering the inescapable volume of advertising and other marketing noise we hear on a daily basis, it’s no wonder that the majority of these calls to action fall on deaf (or overtaxed) ears. That’s why a well-crafted roofing landing page is so important for cutting through the noise and communicating with would-be clients. Today, we’ll dig into how to construct a winning landing page design (or reoptimize an existing layout).
Let’s dive in!
Landing Pages are Designed to Target a Specific Audience Coming From Specific Channels.
What is a Landing Page and How Does it Work?
Sometimes, a business needs a consumer to see a specific message, service, or offer without the distraction of other website materials. Many companies achieve this by creating links, ads, and other hyperlinked objects that transport the potential customer to a simple page with a focused message. That page typically has a header, imagery (or video), short text, a compelling offer, and a call to action.
These specialized and (often) temporary pages are designed with the consumer’s place in the sales funnel in mind. With capable planning, they often enjoy higher conversion rates than traditional website copy. Of course, their lead-generating power makes them a heavily used tool for advertisers and digital marketing companies.
So what qualities make a perfect roofing landing page?
Quality #1: It Has a Clear Purpose
It’s easy to jump straight to goal-setting, click-thru-rates, higher subscription lists. Try to begin your roofing landing page with a one or two sentence goal. Think about what you are trying to get out of this project. Don’t even worry about key performance indicators at the very beginning.
Here are some examples of a landing page vision (or mission):
“I want to earn more metal roofing sales.”
“I want to convince more people to come to our business for maintenance work.”
“I want to generate exposure for a new service I’m offering.”
“I want people to see our wide list of roofing material options.”
“I want potential customers to think about our brand more often.”
Decide ahead of time what you want to get out of your landing page. Obviously, it should coincide with your company’s long-term goals. It should also link naturally to whatever channel your potential clients are coming from, which leads into our next point.
Google Ads are a Particularly Common Origin Point for Landing Page Traffic.
Quality #2: It Fits the Source & Audience
Where is your landing page traffic originating from?
This extends a little beyond the design of the actual roofing landing page, but consider where people are coming from when they land on this special page. Is your target audience scrolling through their Facebook or Instagram feed when they haphazardly click on an ad? Are they coming from a Google Ad after searching a related term?
As you design your landing page, consider its traffic source(s), as well as how rushed, interested, and/or familiar the associated audience is with your business.
You may need to shorten the content, include flashier imagery, and require less information for people coming from a more casual social media source. Then again, you might take a little more time to talk about an offer if you’re confident your audience is already interested.
Quality #3: It Uses a Compelling Header
What’s the first thing you notice when you enter a website? It might be the logo, but most likely the header caught your attention first. When it comes to landing pages, your header needs to instantly convey what the page is all about. The best headers focus on the potential client’s benefit, establishing their stake in the offer to come.
Notice How This Template Immediately Draws the Eyes to the Header. Image Source: Affapress
A compelling header not only communicates the main purpose of the page, it draws the eyes to the starting point of your offer. From there, your roofing landing page can begin conveying whatever offer and benefits you wish to present to the audience. Notice how naturally your eyes fall to the lorem ipsum text and the two calls to action.
A weak or overly-cheesy header can put a bad taste in their mouth however, so don’t focus too hard on being clever.
Quality #4: It Stays Focused in the Copy
Landing pages are meant to be short, concise, and to the point. Many businesses make the mistake of overly-selling their brand or their services. While you need to convey exactly what’s included in the offer, effective copy continues the focus on user benefits too. It also emphasizes the pain points of your target audience, your role in addressing them, and how they can respond.
Your copy is also the perfect place to personally connect with each reader. As Hubspot’s Christina Perricone puts it, “Compelling copy also speaks directly to the visitor by using ‘you’ and ‘your’ to make them feel engaged.” As you or your marketing team writes your roofing landing page, take a moment to empathize with the reader and acknowledge their feelings in the situation.
Finally, wrap all those pain points and desire for relief into a final solution statement that leads to your call to action. Speaking of calls to action…
Quality #5: Its CTA Offer Matches the Effort Required
Have you ever started to fill out a survey (for your local grocer, restaurant, etc.), then quit after realizing it would take 15 minutes? Carry that same mentality into your design process as you craft the perfect roofing landing page! Whether you decide to ask for a full email form or a simple call, make sure you have a tempting offer waiting on the other end.
Remember this rule of thumb: if reward is greater than or equal to effort, then adoption rises.
The Free Estimate Offer on the Left Involves Very Little Participant Effort, Increasing Likelihood of Completion.
Notice in the above example, how this free project estimate is available without even calling the contractor. An interested homeowner or business can ask for an estimate, and the roofer will get back to them. In return, the contractor receives both the potential client’s number and email.
That’s a win-win scenario for both parties involved!
Quality #6: It Uses an Authoritative Call to Action
You don’t see many landing pages taking a passive stance on your involvement. “Hey, if you feel like it, you can click this button and maybe call our team. You know, if you feel like it.” There’s a good reason for this:
People actually like being told what to do.
It’s true. While many people are naturally wired to resist authority, everyone desires a measure of direction. Just as we appreciate highway lane divisions and drive-thru arrows, online readers appreciate instructions. Remember, many of the people on your roofing landing page want to be there! Simple directions help them find the relief they need.
What a Powerful CTA from Khan Academy! Address Pain Points, and Use a Commanding Voice.
In the example above, we see just how convincing a call to action can be when the pain points have been carefully touched on in the preceding copy. Khan Academy sure knows how to write a landing page! Use the same level of conviction as you link your copy and call to action together.
Your roofing services solve some of the most frustrating situations that homeowners will ever encounter, so don’t be afraid to take authority.
Quality #7: It Incorporates Vivid Images
What your roofing landing page readers feel is just as important as what they learn. While stirring copy certainly paves the way towards your reading clicking through, you’d be amazed at how much faster images are at communicating the subject! Since your landing page readers don’t have time to read 1000 words (as the adage goes), an image is worth even more.
Find Applicable, Stimulating Images That Either Touch on Pain Points or the Solution!
Images provide useful tools for creating space around your text blocks, then focusing attention on the call to action. If you’re torn between two or more high-quality photos, feel free to test them all out and see what works best. The great thing about landing pages is that you can always update and reuse them for future projects!
Quality #8: It Eliminates Distractions
We’ve touched on this a couple times already, but it’s a point worth dialing down on. Distraction is the enemy of conversion! If your readers are too busy trying to read through a list of links instead of reading through your offer, the entire purpose of your roofing landing page has been defeated.
Homepages rarely make for fitting landing pages!
This Great Homepage Might Be Too Distracting to Be a Roofing Landing Page.
In the above example, we see many different elements vying for attention. While this is certainly a well-designed homepage, it might be too distracting to function as a high-conversion landing page. Ideally, there should only be one (or at max two) call to actions that are clearly indicated by the surrounding page elements.
The picture below shows a wonderful (albeit minimalist) example of a great landing page.
Notice How the Faded Image Supports But Doesn’t Distract From the Call to Action Button. Image Source: Moz
Quality #9: It Changes as Needed
It’s relatively simple to design the perfect roofing landing page. But goals, audiences, and markets change over time. What works (or doesn’t work) one day can change month to month! The ideal landing page can be easily adapted to target new audiences and support new marketing channels. So don’t feel overly committed to one particular call to action or image.
Need Help With Design?
According to reports, Google Ads alone earned over 116 billion dollars in revenue. Clearly, businesses have faith in the power of advertising. However only 22 percent of US consumers believe brands can provide the exceptional customer experience they crave (eMarketer).
If your company can learn to better serve potential clients with tailored ads and simplified shopping, you’ll be one step closer to creating that exceptional experience consumers admire so much! Our team at Roofing Webmasters would love to help you develop deeper client relationships and earn sustained growth for your company. To learn more about our web design services, contact us today at (800) 353-5758!
The best way to kick off your online marketing is with an open mind and zero assumptions. Marketing changes year after year, and the strategies that guided roofing professionals five years ago don’t always apply to today’s standards. Thankfully, your first steps toward building your brand and earning online leads are pretty simple.
Below, Nolen and Jason chat about claiming your domain name, setting up your Google My Business account, and earning reviews. Be sure to listen in if you’re operating on a tight marketing budget because most of these steps are either free or very low-cost. Let’s get started.
Helpful Tips for Roofing Online Marketing:
Local SEO begins with three key elements: your GMB listing, website, and reviews.
Cheap is better than nothing! Even a cheap website can start building equity for your brand.
Reviews heavily impact your results in local search, so keep asking for them!
Avoid complications later by getting your domain name registered under your business.
Just Starting Out
Even the idea of building your own roofing company is still fresh in your mind. You don’t have any website, specially wrapped trucks, or even a brand. But, you’re in the perfect place to craft a successful, optimized online marketing strategy! It all begins with three simple yet crucial steps.
How to Begin Your Online Marketing
Step #1: Pick and Claim Your Website Domain
Step #2: Claim Your Google My Business Listing
Step #3: Craft Your Starter Website
Depending on the competitive nature of your service area, you should be able to complete these steps for a few hundred bucks (maybe less). First, however, these are tasks you need to nail. So let’s take a little time to dig into each marketing task.
Choosing Your Domain Name
A considerable part of your online branding, the company domain name heavily impacts how easily people find your business. However, so many roofing businesses struggle with the selection process because they’re suffering from outdated strategies. For example, ten years ago, the most powerful domain name you could pick was (city name, plus “Roofer”).
Try employing that same domain strategy today, and you’ll almost certainly fall into the back pages of local search (where no one ever clicks).
When a potential customer makes searches for “(city) roofer” now, they see results dominated by local guides, lead sellers, and listicle articles dedicated to the most experienced contractors in the area. Unfortunately, Google can’t distinguish these domain names from a general search, dramatically reducing the chances for a company with that name to succeed.
In short: don’t pick your city with a generic roofing term for your domain, or no one will ever find you.
Nailing the Domain Name
Aim for uniqueness. If your domain stands out from the established roofers within 50 miles, that’s a serious win. There are a few tactics to distinguish your brand from other roofing companies:
Use a distinct personal name. Example: jimbobsroofing.com
Pick an uncommon symbol. Example: 7wiseroofingguys.com
Try a different domain extension. Example: htownroofing.co
Add your state abbreviation for better results. Example: roofingbrostx.com
Your domain name doesn’t have to be funny or clever to succeed. Just make sure that it’s clear enough for people to remember and Google to distinguish from general industry terms. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll have an excellent start for your online marketing!
Claim Your GMB Listing
If you want your roofing company to appear in Google Maps searches, you must claim and complete your Google My Business listing.
All you have to do is fill out all the necessary contact/location info, answer any industry-related questions, and go through Google’s verification process.Your GMB listing information should be the same details you use for all your other citation sources. When you claim a Yelp company profile (for instance), be sure that even your address abbreviations perfectly match those in your GMB account.
When your GMB listing finally activates – this usually takes a week or two – you’ll also gain access to a company Knowledge Graph when people search your business directly. From there, potential customers can access your reviews, website, company number, and much more! You can even create promotional posts in your GMB account specifically for the Knowledge Graph.
Build Your First Website
One of the great perks of starting an online website these days is that you have access to a host of great starter templates. While they don’t have the same schema coding or professional SEO of designer sites, you can always start with a free template to get the business going. In addition, a functional website contributes to your domain’s searchability as your business ages and earns new customers.
Start by choosing a color scheme and layout that’s appropriate for your community and client type. From there, most templates allow you to add pages for each of your roofing services. You’ll want to consolidate them under a handful of service categories (we generally recommend sticking with four or less) because this makes it easier for people to find their desired solutions. Next, make sure your pages are keyword-optimized, then craft a company blog post at least once a month.
Looking for an SEO Expert?
Building a sustainable roofing business is a real challenge, especially in more competitive markets. Still, these beginning steps will take your business a long way towards creating a successful brand. As your company grows, you’ll be able to invest in more refined website design, PPC campaigns, and social media outlets.
When that day comes, our team at Roofing Webmasters would love to help take your brand to the next level! Our roofing clients regularly earn page one rankings for dozens of keywords, producing higher traffic and better quality leads.
Generating roofing sales can be challenging, especially given all the competition in the industry. Having an effective marketing strategy is the best way to stand out. When you have an effective marketing strategy, you reach a broader audience and expand your influence.
But one thing that is often forgotten in branding is the need to acquire repeat customers. Reaching new customers is fine and well, but you can’t grow your business unless they come back regularly. With this in mind,
check out some ways to improve your marketing and generate more sales for your company.
1) Launch a Sales-Oriented Website
Your roofing website should be the top way to interact with your customer base and prospective clients. With this in mind, site speed is essential so that potential customers remain on your site as long as possible. Most importantly, your website has to be mobile-friendly. Over 57% of users access the internet through their mobile devices. If you don’t have a functional mobile version of your site, you are behind the eight-ball.
Finally, it needs to be informative. Prospective customers are coming to your website for information about your business. Informational statistics and reviews are the best ways to make your website as informative as possible. Leave your prospective customers with no unanswered questions.
2) Acquire More Leads Through SEO
The roofing industry is crowded in every city or state. Many businesses are competing for a limited number of customers. Therefore, it is so essential to make sure that your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings are as good as they can be. SEO leads are the easiest to convert as the prospect has already demonstrated interest in your services before the sale.
In a practical sense, SEO is how Google and other search engines sift through to find the most relevant search results. You want to make sure that your business comes up in the Google search rankings. And because your website is so important, you want as many prospective customers to see your website as possible.
For example, there was an infographic on SEO, and this is what they saw:
Over 90% of website visits start via a search engine
47% of users click on a top 3 SERP result
It’s a good idea to invest in SEO services for roofers, if possible, as it can work wonders for your business and produce sales consistently.
3) Make Use of Pay-Per-Click Ads
One of the most effective strategies that you can use is to implement pay-per-click ads. For example, investing in Google Ads places your ads at the top of search results. So if your business is located in Austin, TX, and someone searches “Austin TX roofing,” your ad will appear.
While PPC costs money for each click, it’s one way to get roofing leads quickly.
Additionally, PPC pushes visibility to your website without having to fight through those challenging SEO rankings. The best part is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to see actual results. Instead, allot a small amount, say $50-$100, to these PPC ads and see what it does for your business. It won’t be massive, but you should see incremental growth.
4) Consider Google Local Service Ads
Local Service Ads are in the same vein as Google Ads, but they explicitly target your local service area. You can pop up near the top of the search engine page results and receive a total of 13.8% of the local SERP clicks. Local service ads are great because they target services, not keywords.
Again, your goal is to target within your service area, and with these Google Local Service Ads, you can keep your sights set on the local service areas instead of slogging through search results that might not directly impact you. In addition, LSA ads are a great way to advertise locally and close sales.
5) Email Marketing is Your Friend
It might seem like an outdated way of marketing your roofing business, but email marketing gets your name in front of prospective customers. It is crucial to keep in mind that not everyone who receives those emails will become a customer; the goal is to get as many eyes on your service as possible.
Another great feature of email marketing is that it lets you keep in touch with your current customers. While you want to get as many customers as possible, you also want to retain existing customers. Personalized emails make them feel as though they are unique and special and in the mind of your business. Plus, this is an excellent way to present coupons, specials, or rebates to those customers to get their return business.
Email campaigns are simple, cost-effective, and a great way to reach both current and prospective customers.
6) Place Lead Magnets on Your Website
Your website, as mentioned, is one of the essential tools that you have in your arsenal to reach new, prospective customers and develop the leads that are the lifeblood of your business. Getting these prospective customers to your website is a huge first step, but you must convert them once they enter.
Make a contact form on your website one of the first and most important things to any visitor. Forms are one of the best ways to develop leads: have them fill in basic contact information in exchange for coupons or rebates. So you get a potential lead; they have a service to keep in mind the next time they need assistance.
Consider investing in a WordPress-compatible plugin like Thrive Leads, which allows roofing companies to create appealing pop-up forms that encourage visitors to submit contact information in exchange for a value proposition.
7) Retargeting Ads Help Close Sales
What is a retargeting ad, you might be asking? It is the kind of ad that will “follow” you around as you make your way around the web. It will pop up on whatever website you are on, making you aware of the company. It is a common way of advertising and one of the best ways of getting your company noticed.
With something like roofing needs, a lead can take many months to develop. Therefore, keeping your company in the mind of a prospective client is essential so that you always remain in their mind’s eye. This way, when they finally make their decision, your company can close the sale.
With remarketing ads, you might not see immediate benefits, but it is a great way to keep prospective customers from forgetting about your business. If nothing else, retargeting will keep your company relevant in the mind of prospective customers.
8) Develop a Value Proposition
Let’s face facts: in an industry as crowded as roofing, your company is one of many vying for the attention of a relatively small customer base. Considering that most of these companies have a local reach, there are only so many people that will need the service.
Companies must stand out by giving prospective customers a reason to choose their service. With a unique sales proposition (USP), you can offer a specific benefit and communicate to your customer how you plan to solve the problem. And most of all, it shows that you can offer something to the customer that the competition either can’t or doesn’t.
The best way to separate yourself from the competition is to make your company seem different, as if the customer can’t get the same service from anyone else in the industry. When your company can do this, you set yourself apart and will be the first to jump into the minds of prospective customers by offering something that no one else can.
A value proposition is a great way to make your company a recognizable brand in a crowded industry. That’s a win for you and the customer.
9) Manage Your Reputation
When it comes to roofing sales, your reputation proceeds you. So the first thing a prospect does is check online reviews and the company website.
A website sets a great tone and first impression, but it will not necessarily establish a reputation. Positive reviews on Google and other 3rd party platforms provide the social proof that consumers covet online. People will often check multiple sources to get a feel for a company’s standing.
With websites like Facebook, HomeAdvisor, and others, customers can find genuine reviews from real customers and develop opinions about that company. Positive reviews encourage trust, while negative feedback raises red flags.
Roofers can cultivate reputation by sharing positive reviews on a website, social media accounts and even using them in advertising material.
10) Make a Promotional Video
There was a time where TV commercials were the best way to reach a prospective audience. The concept still works, but the medium has changed substantially over the last decade.
YouTube videos that promote your company can have a similar impact. You can even produce “how-to” videos that show your prospective customers how to do certain things that maybe don’t warrant a call to a roofing contractor.
Because it’s easy to share YouTube videos on a website and social media, roofing companies can quickly build trust with prospective clients and make the sales process more manageable.
It has never been easier to create a professional-looking video for a cost-effective price. Moreover, most smartphones can film high-quality videos and also offer video editing tools. Take advantage of this convenience by making frequent videos that positively feature your company, connecting to your prospective clients in new and exciting ways.
11) Partner Up
Many businesses make one mistake: they treat advertising as an “us versus them” scenario. And sure, your company is in competition with the others in the industry, but that does not mean that you have to go it alone.
Look to local businesses in your area that might make good partners. Create campaigns that promote your business in their building and vice versa; give the customer a reason to use your service. For example, think about partnering with a local hardware store. This way, the relationship is mutually beneficial, and prospective customers get exposure to your business that they may not have had before.
Use selective partnerships to enhance your overall reach and visibility. It can only do good things for your company, and it will give you exposure that you may not have had previously. Your company can succeed, but it doesn’t have to do so alone.
12) Be Patient
There is a significant flaw in how roofing businesses promote their business. They are looking for massive, immediate results. Unfortunately, without an enormous advertising budget, fast results are rare.
Try to stay realistic. If your ad budget is limited, don’t expect everyone in town to rush to use your service. The results will only be incremental, but they will add up over a long period.
The key is to be patient and be persistent. Ensure that your ads are relevant and informative so that any prospective clients can get the best understanding of your company possible. The results will come, and you will see growth in the revenue that your company generates. It just takes patience and an eye toward the long-haul instead of immediate results.
13) Answer FAQ on Your Website
As stated (a few times at this point), your website is one of the most important tools you possess to make the most of your business. It sets the first impression that is so important when trying to reach prospective customers, and it can draw those prospective customers back to get a second look at your company.
Developing trust in your company is a great way to increase sales. Customers value trustworthiness in the service companies. When you create an FAQ on your website, you make the kind of trustworthiness those customers love.
Answer common questions and post them to your website. Then, if you need ideas, take feedback from users over the phone, social media, and Google My Business, and publish the most frequent concerns in question form. FAQs will get them coming back to revisit your website and will help build trust for sales conversions.
The results won’t be instant, but you will see a repeat in visitors as they frequent your website to find the answers to their questions. That in and of itself is a massive victory for the marketing tool that is your website.
14) Personalize Sales Interactions
Customers generally feel that most companies don’t care about their concerns. However, roofers can change the narrative by delivering a personalized sales pitch that puts competitors to shame.
For instance, Roofing Webmasterstreats each client as a top priority and customizes everything from their website color scheme to their contact forms.
Roofing companies can apply the same sentiment to their roofing services by giving a personal touch to sales interactions. Never make the consumer feel pressured into buying your services, but always make yourself available for any additional questions. Treat your customers like friends and family, and you will increase roofing sales in 2022 and beyond.
Monthly billing helps businesses save valuable time and effort, not to mention thousands of dollars. That’s because this type of accounting pushes your local search marketing team much harder to produce results. Jason and Nolen talk about the roofing industry, roofing marketing, and some glaring red flags to look out for as you reassess your online investments.
Key Lessons for Roofing Professionals
Transparent pricing and reporting are key in accountable PPC advertising.
Flat fee, lump-sum pricing can trap you in a low-performance search marketing plan.
More expensive doesn’t always mean better in PPC or SEO.
Winners and Losers (in Search)
In local SEOfor roofers, there are clear winners and losers. Most people gauge success by rank position, whether their business makes the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP). However, the more experienced marketing professionals know that their clients (and their agency, by extension) truly win when those keyword rankings turn into site visits and roofing leads. That’s what separates the search marketing champions from the rest of the industry.
Winners continually strive to produce higher volume, higher quality, and lower cost leads.
Losers look for surface-level results, the kind that makes them look good on a monthly report. So much effort goes into producing just enough results to maintain their clients, but not a lot into creating long-term success. That’s the unhappy truth for many roofing companies and their marketing agencies.
So what kind of qualities can a roofing professional look for as they hunt for a winning team?
Marketing Quality #1: Expertise
A little obvious, right? Unfortunately, most contractors don’t understand what expertise looks like in the search marketing industry. After all, they (probably) didn’t go to school for digital marketing and advertising! That’s why knowing the critical signs of fundamental expertise is so crucial.
Signs of a Winning Search Marketing Team
Excellent Keyword Rankings (For Their Company)
Great Keyword Rankings (For Their Clients)
Impeccable Communication Skills
Clear, Measurable Service Deliverables
Basic Understanding of Your Industry
Keyword rankings serve as a resume for companies that work in local search marketing. If they enjoy page one rankings for their primary industry keywords (such as “roofing seo services” or “seo for roofing”), that’s a good sign! Should their clients enjoy excellent keyword rankings in organic search, that’s even better.
Your marketing company should know their craft well enough to explain it to anyone in your staff effectively. Winning search marketers also learn how to communicate their services and deliverables so that you can accurately set your expectations for the coming months. But, of course, all that expertise is specifically adapted to help your business, which in turn demands a basic understanding of the roofing industry. If they can’t understand the lead development cycle for a homeowner or commercial organization looking for roofing services, how can they market those services?
Marketing Quality #2: Accountability
Have you ever received a shady service bill? It’s not a pleasant feeling, especially when you see fees that you didn’t anticipate. Unfortunately, when there’s little to keep a service provider accountable, these sort of shady practices can creep up in any industry. As a relatively new sector, however, digital marketing still lacks many of the safety mechanisms consumers rely on to ensure quality service.
Sly businesses often use sketchy reporting and costing measures to skim money out of your marketing budget without investing it in your local SEO or PPC campaigns. Unfortunately, this practice is prevalent among lump-sum, flat fee service packages where money can easily be distributed wherever the agency desires. At the Roofing Webmasters, we’ve heard this story a lot more often than we’d like.
How can you make sure that your search marketing team is held accountable?
Examine their reporting process ahead of time.
Make sure PPC spend is provided directly through Google (or Facebook, etc.).
Pay month to month instead of an annual or long-term contract.
Keep your PPC and SEO services charged separately.
Talk with their current clients and ask about the process for implementing changes.
Reporting is a fickle thing. On the one hand, industry giants like Google make it their goal to provide thorough, detailed accounts of your spending and results. But, on the other hand, agency reporting and even third-party services tend to blur where your money is going. That’s why it’s always prudent to arrange your PPC billing to go directly through your advertising platforms (Google, Facebook, etc.). Transparent billing prevents marketing agencies from up charging ad costs per click.
Understand your search marketing company’s process for implementing website changes (for SEO) and ad campaign updates (for PPC). If you discover it’s almost impossible to receive updates once your services go live, then it’s wiser to look for another provider. Consider talking with a handful of your prospective marketing agency and see what they have to say about their service.
Marketing Quality #3: Adaptive
When it comes to local search marketing, a successful business must know how to adapt to industry changes. Google regularly shakes up its algorithm so that one type of content buoys to the top while the other sinks to the back pages of search results. For instance, how-to guides and Q&A-styled articles tend to rank very well for consumer searches.
Potential Challenges to Overcome in Local Search
Rank drops
Traffic slumps
Surges in poor quality leads
Technical errors
Industry shifts
When your website traffic takes a dip for a month, how does your local search marketing team respond? There are many potential reasons for the lower volume. If your company quickly works to understand the problem and present a solution, you know you have a winner on your hand. On the flip side, a sluggish (or nonexistent) response could indicate your company doesn’t care.
Ready for Results?
Local search marketing takes time and effort, but an experienced and dedicated team makes all the difference! If you’ve struggled to make headway with your current agency, our team at Roofing Webmasters would love to talk with you. In addition, we offer free consultations for anyone looking to understand their recent search marketing performance.
