Why should we talk about this?
I have been working as a project manager and sales manager for a construction company. And I know that typically sales managers are googling by themselves to find new leads, come up with new strategies for how to open discussions with potential clients through cold emailing, calling, etc. But once I realized the power of search engine optimization (SEO), I was mind-blown. Mostly, because currently its potential is not used by most of the contractors out there that are used to only showing off their project portfolios on their homepages. But they do not get much traffic. Hence their team is trying hard to get new clients.
It is so easy for any contractor to rank on the first page of Google, get free visits, and turn those visitors into potential clients. All this can be done with little resources, and only very few contractors are doing this.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results pages (SERPs) through organic, unpaid methods. The goal of SEO is to make it easier for search engines to understand the content of a website and provide relevant results to users searching for information or solutions to their problems. SEO uses many different methods, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, content creation, link building, and technical optimization, to increase the amount and quality of organic traffic to a website.
All of this may sound complicated, but in this article we will focus mainly on why we need it and what is the least effort that can be done to have some impact.
What is the average homepage for most contractors?
Sadly, but probably on average, around 20% of contractors don’t have a homepage, or if they do, it is under construction. This is mainly for small contractors. Then, around 40–60% of contractors have homepages, but the information is outdated and the last edit was a couple years ago. 10–20% of contractors have great homepages that are built like a beautiful portfolio. Finally, maybe only a maximum of 5% of contractors are paying attention to their homepage and trying to attract these free clicks from Google. How do I know this? I have gone through the homepages of thousands of contractors, and even for me, it can be difficult to understand what the contractor does.
| Homepage Status | Percentage of Contractors | Description |
| No homepage/under construction | 20% | Small contractors who either don’t have a website or have a website that is under construction |
| Outdated homepage | 40-60% | Contractors who have a website, but the information is not up to date and has not been edited for a couple of years |
| Homepage with references | 10-20% | Contractors who have an attractive and informative website that shows their portfolio |
| Active homepage | Max 5% | Contractors who pay attention to their website and actively try to attract free clicks from Google to increase traffic to their website, but still lacks SEO |
Avoid making a portfolio
Don’t get me wrong; of course you need a portfolio, which consists of your reference projects. But your portfolio is basically your business card! And when do you give out your business card? Only when you have found a lead by yourself. If you go with such a homepage, Google thinks you are another Pinterest focused on some kind of rare project named Green Garden, Hemingway Street 15, and so on. Would you be interested in going to Google and seeing Hemingway Street 15? I believe no. Homepages with reference projects don’t rank!
What does Google rank?
Long story short, you need to create content about what you do, how you do it, use case studies, and give valuable lessons. You are a contractor, and you must be smart at what you do. Besides, not many know how to perform the work you do. Which is extremely valuable. Write a few articles, target your clients, and in time you will start to see results!
For example when I type the keyword ‘footing and foundation contractors’. The first result is for a 5-year-old youtube video about footings. Technically this spot is free. Google doesn’t want to show you old sites but for them, there is nothing better to show.
How do I start?
Ok, that was a short answer, but now let’s make an example. Let’s make a case for a contractor who is performing concrete services and whose homepage is above average. According to statistics, if someone visits your homepage, you have their attention for about 5-10 seconds. If he doesn’t find an answer in this timeframe, he leaves. Yes, this is the time you have to convince the user to stay and confirm that he has come to the right place. Think about yourself and how you search for information online: you are also visiting other pages, and if you don’t see what you are searching for in that time range, you leave.
Let’s go through the homepage
We opened the homepage, and we saw a great looking picture of the finished apartment house. How can a client know that you provide concrete services? It looks more like an investor! Then we opened references; he had a great portfolio, but we still couldn’t understand what kind of work he performed! Next, we moved to the section ‘About us’. There we saw how he cares about values, people, and culture, and that he has ISO standards, and that’s it. Still, we couldn’t understand what concrete services he provides. And then there was a ‘Contact us’ page where you could find contact information for the office. If you want to find leads, you must give contact information for your salesmen and not the office. This is rule number one. In the end, after crawling the whole homepage, we can barely understand that contractor provides concrete services.
Remember, it is you who must explain to the user within 5 seconds what you do. That you are a contractor (not an investor), that you perform only concrete works, and that you specialize in foundations and slabs for residential and industrial projects!
Our first steps
First, we would change the first landing page, add new pictures of concrete works from his site, and explain that he performs concrete works and specializes in foundations and slabs. Mainly with residential and industrial projects.
Second step
We would add contact information for the sales team and make it visible in the front so that when users go to this tab, they can immediately find the right salesperson. We also would upgrade the ‘About us’ page, where we would list his previous values, but in front we would add more content about what he does, with some showcases. Now we have a homepage where, once the user comes in, he can clearly see that he has landed on the homepage of a contractor, see what they perform, and have their contact details.
Technically, we have a great business card, which is also a website.
How to collaborate with Google
Now we have our website, but it doesn’t stop there. Google will not bring you customers yet. Because you are a contractor with a name who performs concrete work. Google will only show you to users who enter your company’s name as a keyword. It is now time to give Google information about who you are, what you do, and some valuable information that it can then show to your customers.
Finding the right keywords
We imagined our client, who is the procurement manager. And he has a project where he needs a concrete contractor who will cast foundations. We then went to Google to find possible keywords that our client could use: concrete subcontractors, residential concrete contractors, residential concrete foundation contractors, and many more with low competition and low search volume.
Don’t go after the keyword “concrete contractor” because it has a high search volume and a high competition. You have to stay in your niche; you have to think about what your client really wants and what his keywords are when he is googling for the services you provide. Imagine you are on the other side and try to Google yourself to find your homepage.
Target these keywords
Once we have all the keywords, write at least 100. We would decide with whom we should start and focus on them. We would create a page with case studies and a blog. In case studies, we would go into details about what the contractor has done on site, with images and some tips and tricks. While for the blog, we would go with articles where we talk about concrete foundations and other concrete works. Our goal is to let Google know that this is a site where users can find case studies and that the authors are experts in what they do.
Final results
Negative aspect of SEO is: it usually takes quite long to see first results. Usually, it can take up to six months before Google starts to index your page and show it on the first page in Google engine. SEO takes a lot of time, but it is well worth it, and then you will be able to have free visits to your homepage.
Here, you can see an example with keyword concrete foundation contractors.
One of the pages is old, and Google would love to replace them with fresh content, but no one is going after that place! Don’t you want to be standing under such a keyword for 8 years on the first page?
Where should you start?
If you want to be in the first spot, then you can order services from us. Why should you choose us? Because we have expertise in the construction industry, we know construction terms, we understand your needs, and we have a team that helps with copywriting. The problem with most SEO agencies is that they can’t truly understand the needs of contractors hence they can target the wrong keywords, and you end up with traffic that doesn’t convert into sales also they will need more time to understand the business and niche you are working in. Not many have knowledge and experience in construction and can create content and talk about it.
Author – Emil Berzins. Follow me on 