Above All had an existing SEO strategy that involved content marketing. They had a Facebook account, Houzz profile, good looking website, and they had new monthly content pages built on their website, some were even blog pages (and for anyone that knows us here at Halstead Media, you'll know we stand behind content as SEO). They were doing many of the essential puzzle pieces that you would expect to see in a successful landscaping company. So what exactly was wrong? 

In the past, referrals were considered the best way to get leads for a home improvement business. Whether your company relies on referrals as a primary or secondary source of leads, referrals are a critical part of maintaining a sustainable landscaping, remodeling, or general contractor business. But what happens when the referrals stop coming in? What went wrong? Are your customers unhappy? Perhaps disappointed in  the quality or service? Or maybe, just maybe, they're incredibly happy but just forgot to recommend your company to their neighbor during a conversation about a service you do.

Let's be honest. The world has changed a lot from the days when relying solely on word of mouth referrals was a safe strategy for home remodelers, landscaping companies, and other home improvement contractors. That’s not to say that referrals aren't still the most qualified leads to get. But today, when a customer gets a referral from a coworker, they don't simply pick up the phone and schedule a time for you to come out and provide an estimate. No, no. They thank Susie for the recommendation and then they go online to learn more—a lot more. 

If you're feeling the heat of new competitors (or suddenly more popular older ones), then it may be time for you to take your strategy online. Maintaining a healthy revenue today in a home improvement business often means dominating the digital world. So how exactly do you do this? Here is your five step plan to making sure you get the attention you need from the customers you want in your local area.

The way homeowners find and hire architects today—like many other segments of the home services industry—is drastically different than just 5 short years ago. While word-of-mouth advertising and media attention is still relevant, most of it has shifted online. And just like all other purchasing decisions - over 80% of your potential customers are researching before they call you (of course, online). So what are the three ways to drive leads online today?

Thinking back to decades ago, when a storefront business needed more foot traffic, they looked to traditional advertising to increase awareness of their store. The store owners would make sure they are trying to bring in the right buyers and advertise to them in place those buyers would be in and use advertising material that would grab their attention. Well, today's online marketing is not much different. 

An aggressive search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing effort kicked off March 2016. In addition to the SEO campaign for the NY region including NY, CT, PA, and NJ, UNILOCK was also looking to harness the power of professionally written content to engage website users, increase website traffic and lead generation, and build brand loyalty across the region. 

SEO isn't mysterious; it's not witchcraft. There is a formula that works and factors that don't. What makes SEO complex is that the formula includes hundreds of variables. In our previous blog post, we mentioned that Google's algorithm includes 200+ factors. Some are foundational (such as high-quality content) which will severely impact your rankings and some are complementing (like image descriptions). And since there are so many SEO factors, it's easy to lose track of what is still relevant and what's not. We believe (and hope) this is the reason for using outdate SEO tactics. To check your knowledge (or quiz your SEO person), check out this incredible infographic on what SEO used to be versus what it is now.

Blackwood & Associates, based out of Canonsburg, PA, contacted Halstead Media with two goals in mind: to transform their website style and to increase the company's revenue.

Google accounts for about 90% of all searches (Source: Moz). And 97% of all consumers use online media to research when buying something local (source: BIA/Kelsey’s study). So what does this mean to local home improvement contracting companies? It means that Google is King. It also means that Google is focused on providing quality search results to shoppers, hence its popularity and ability to continuously interest people to use its search engine. 

Lets take a step back together. You've been hearing this acronym for years now. You know that you need to make sure your website is SEO'd and all that good stuff. Heck, everyone's paying a lot of money for this stuff. Maybe you're even thinking that its been a while since your website was redone so you need a new website to help with SEO. But what exactly is SEO? It's really not all that mysterious. 

SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is indeed something you need to make sure is at the top of your priority list, when it comes to driving leads. We'll help you understand why.

SEO is...

Content is king. Trust me—we eat, sleep, and breath content. Content is an amazing tool for creating meaningful connections between buyers and sellers. It is arguably the most efficient way to create emotional buy-in while simultaneously educating and influencing the reader. Enough said—we love content.

But content is only an element of the inbound marketing methodology; so be it a critical element. As a home services business, you can write amazing blogs all day everyday, resulting in a bazillion visitors every month to your company's website. Last time I checked, website traffic doesn't pay the bills for home builders, kitchen design firms, or landscape contractors. 

Email is good. Yes, we all receive a lot of it, and perhaps, we'd rather not get a lot of it. The reality is however that we do read our email. In fact, over 50% of respondents say they read most of their emails (source: HubSpot). That's a pretty good chance your note will be read. 

As a home remodeling contractor, landscape design/build owner, custom pool builder, or home builder - you have a lot that you can be sharing with your prospects, current clients, and past clients. The easiest - a blog recap. Some others include discounts, reading guides, holiday gatherings. In exchange, emails allow you to stay fresh on your prospects' minds (so that they remember to choose you when they're ready), help increase your referrals, and help you win a bid. All you have to do is make the emails are sent to the right people and with the right info. 

Tens of hours (maybe hundreds) into talking, discovering, pitching, persuading, and pouring your heart and soul into bidding for the project of the year (or project that's good enough) and... you lost. Perhaps even to the new guy or a home contracting company that doesn't even normally do this kind of job.

Ever heard the expression that potential customers don't look for reason to buy from you - they look for reasons to not buy from you? Well, in today's buyer's world, this is exactly the case, almost 100% of the time.

Now you could've lost the bid because the world just sent you bad luck that day.

Today’s consumers have all the power. The sooner business owners realize that, the sooner they can begin to build lasting relationships with prospects and customers. The way to do that in today’s busy world is by providing useful content and helpful information to prospects throughout their journey. The buyer’s journey typically lasts over 100 days for large purchase like a custom home or remodel. That’s 100 days of online research, searching about potential companies to hire, how the process works, costs and budgets, and other related topics. And each year, that amount grows at a rate of almost 20%.  

From the beginning days of on-boarding to the years that proceed, inbound marketing isn't easy. Whether you've hired a marketing agency or writing your own content, it takes time, dedication, and patience. And it all pays off; the results it delivers don't compare to any other marketing approach. There is a lot that home service contractors can be thankful for with inbound marketing. So here is your list of things of the top ten reasons to say thank you to inbound marketing!

It’s no secret that across most segments of the home improvement industry—kitchen design, bathroom remodeling, and outdoor living design—it is the women who make the decisions and drive big purchases. The home construction market is no different. 

The most successful home builders today build homes with features that attract women buyers.Adapting the designs they build to include things like laundry rooms that are located next to the upstairs bathrooms and

Good landscape contractors often find themselves in a situation where they are ready to grow their businesses and make the jump to a higher revenue level. These are not new companies. They are landscape construction companies that have earned enough project experience over the course of 3, 5, or even 10 years (depending on the revenue target sought) where they now know their level of quality is superb. Regular positive referrals, possibly an award or two, and increased project detail, size, and sale price. But how do you make the jump to selling and building high-end projects for most of the season? How do you cater to more affluent clientele who award these projects soring above the $100k mark?

You built it...and no one came. Your beautiful website, that you paid for or completed yourself, is up and running. You've poured hours and hours into developing the right colors, font, messaging, everything! Perhaps you've even redesigned your logo. Everything about your site seems perfect - but why isn't anyone calling? 

Don't fret. We've got some ideas for boosting your traffic

With all the marketing options out there - from content, inbound, outbound, print, radio, tv, its hard not to depend on the tried and true advertising options that have existed for what seems like forever. Its probably easier to choose an approach that you know has been around and is familar to you.

Still, no matter how familiar, with all the industry changes as well as marketing changes, now might be the perfect time for you to evaluate print advertising. To help with your decision, you should do print advertising if: