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5 DIY SEO Tips to Improve Your Website Ranking

Marketing

In today’s competitive digital landscape, it’s essential for trades companies to establish a strong online presence. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can significantly enhance your website’s visibility, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately help grow your business. While hiring an SEO professional is an option, the industry is full of snake oil salesmen promising you to rank on the first page of Google, all for a not-so-small monthly fee. As a construction and trades company owner you can take several actions yourself to optimise your website’s SEO performance. This article will provide you with five effective actions to implement and improve your company’s website SEO.

local community

Marketing to your local community

Marketing

Small building and trades companies often rely on local clients to thrive, making a strong regional marketing strategy essential. It can also make sense to use a local marketing focus as a way to differentiate your business from your competitors, especially when they are bigger than you. With a targeted approach, you can outshine competitors and establish your brand as the go-to choice in your area. Here’s how to craft an effective local marketing campaign

TOFU-MOFU-BOFU Sales funnel

Using content to improve sales conversion

cash flow, Marketing, Sales

Up to half the people who first contact your business aren’t ready to buy yet. And by contact it could mean just a visit to your website without your knowledge. This is especially true if it is a discretionary spend project they have in mind or a large ticket item. Understanding the buyer’s journey is essential and creating an effective content strategy can keep the potential buyer closer to you and more likely to buy.

The buyer’s journey is often segmented into three stages: Top of the Funnel (TOFU), Middle of the Funnel (MOFU), and Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU). For trades businesses—such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or building services—tailoring content to these stages can significantly enhance the conversion rates for any leads. This guide outlines some content category ideas for each stage of the funnel to help you attract, engage, and convert prospects. For examples of what specific content material might suit your company at each of the customer journey stages, email me at andy@tradescoach.co.nz and I will help.

lion doing a lead generation exercise

Lead generation in construction – Step 1

Marketing

There is a growing problem in the building trade.  Consumer confidence has declined, the cost of living “crisis” is making some people close their wallets and interest rates are more than double what they were 2 years ago. Suddenly lead generation is top of mind for owners of construction related businesses. It can cause a bit of a downward spiral if you don’t take action. A typical story goes like this…

man watching phone

Lead generation for construction businesses

Marketing

A comment I hear from a lot of people in the construction industry at the moment is that the market is significantly quieter than last year and they need to increase the flow of sales leads. Those business owners who have invested time and money into their marketing over the years are a lot better off, but many people rely too heavily on word-of-mouth marketing for their opportunities. 

While a solid, long-term marketing plan is best, for those who need more leads quickly, I have outlined a few options in this article to broaden your marketing reach and support word-of-mouth referrals.

Sell with stories

Using stories to sell your services

Marketing, Sales

If you operate in the residential construction space you need to be aware that emotions play an important role in how your customers connect with you. You need to connect first at the emotional level and using stories is a great way to do this.

Best of all your past customers become your extra sales team and will have much better credibility in the eyes of prospective customers than you will.

Click on the picture below to start the video

Late nights quoting

An end to free quotes

Marketing, Sales

If you are in the residential market and still providing free quotes, you should stop. It’s called free consulting, and you won’t be successful giving away your time. Doctors don’t. If you have had the unfortunate need to visit a specialist medical consultant to discuss a problem and consider a potential course of treatment, they will probably charge you between $500 and $1,000 an hour for the privilege of their advice. It is unlikely your hourly rate is that high, but you are still providing a similar advisory service to your potential customer.

In providing a quote to a potential customer, you may be doing everything from putting together some initial numbers to providing some preliminary design work and saving the customer significant money through your experience. Learn how to start charging for your quotes and increase your sense of worth.

The Ant or Grasshopper Marketing Strategy

Marketing

Like the Aesop fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, it is the ant that survives the winter because he spent the nice summer weather gathering food in preparation, while the grasshopper spent his time singing.

That’s the same problem if you have no marketing strategy in place. There is a habit of many business owners in the trades to just take what the market dishes up and not put some proactive systems in place to generate work. “I get all my work from word-of-mouth”. That’s great when WoM is working, but what if it isn’t? What’s the back-up plan? Usually there is none. This is particularly true when you are busy, or the market is stronger and the perceived need to generate leads is less. Before the economic winter arrives you should review your marketing strategy and make some changes.

marketing machine

Marketing in a softer market

Marketing, Owner

The market in New Zealand for construction services is definitely softer than it has been in recent years. With the rapid increase in interest rates and people spending their money on other things, like international travel, the demand for new home builds and renovations has reduced.

It is likely that this will continue for the next 12 months and so it has become more important to review your marketing and improve your lead generation performance. This video goes into what you can do in the short term and make the best of what you have, at the lowest cost possible.

Click on the picture below to start the video

website building

Importance of good website design

Marketing

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is vital for the success of any business. A well-designed and user-friendly website can be a powerful tool for attracting customers, boosting brand credibility, and driving conversions. While DIY website builders like Wix and Squarespace offer convenience and affordability, there are compelling reasons why companies should opt for the services of a professional web design company. In this article, we will explore the key advantages of choosing a proper web design company over these DIY platforms. Read more……