Home Services Marketing Advice that Will Bring You Results

The home services sector has experienced increased business following the work-from-home movement. Since the onset of the pandemic, over 70% of Americans have tackled home improvement projects, while the on-demand home services industry is expected to increase by 53%. By the time a customer calls a home services company, they have resolved to address an immediate problem.

Unlike retail marketing, home services marketing requires a different approach. Acquiring more leads is partly about persuading prospective customers you’re good for the job, but mostly about availing your home services business to potential customers at the opportune time through effective home services marketing. The digital age has ushered in a new era of marketing, and our brief guide will get you up to speed on how to get more customers by improving your online presence.

Digital Marketing Strategies for Home Services Companies

Focus on Local Search Engine Optimization

Brand awareness for home services used to be generated largely via word of mouth through local notice boards, pamphlets, or community classifieds. Now, 97% of potential customers use their smartphones to search online to find businesses nearby, and thanks to local SEO, it’s entirely possible for your business to appear at the top of Google’s business listing.

When done correctly, Local SEO can generate high-converting leads and local organic traffic to your web pages, as 80% of local searches bring in business.

Local SEO is one of the most qualified methods for home services companies to grow online. According to SEMrush, it is “the process of optimizing a business, product, or service for a search query that is location-specific.” Google will use a user’s location to determine which home services businesses to show the user. So, when a potential customer searches for a gardening or DIY service near them, Google will display home services closest to their location.

When done correctly, Local SEO can generate high-converting leads and local organic traffic to your web pages, as 80% of local searches bring in business. To implement local SEO, you’ll need to do location-specific keyword research, ensuring your keywords match local queries, as well as set up a free Google My Business account.

Google My Business

This tool helps businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. If you’ve ever searched for a business online and found a list of companies with pins to their locations, review stars, and operating hours, you’ve seen local SEO at work. With a Google My Business account, you can respond to messages from clients, share business updates and manage the image of your home services company when it pops up in search engines.

Using Google My Business will help your home services business rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) and deliver qualified leads because customers are already searching for what you have to offer. Local search tends to deliver a higher return on investment for local businesses through clicks and direct calls, improving your overall digital marketing strategy.

Invest in Pay-Per-Click Ads

Pay-per-click advertising, also called PPC, is a common model of internet advertising used to drive traffic from target audiences to websites, and it’s not just relegated to clicks. Google offers PPC models for mobile devices, which is appropriate considering 90% of the global internet population uses smartphones to search online. For example, with a call-only campaign, you can set up ads on mobile searches that give new customers the option to call you directly.

Calls speed up the home services sales process as clients go through minimal digital touchpoints to reach you, and there’s no need for them to memorize your number before reaching out. These campaigns also don’t require landing pages, so you can spend more time on creating content marketing campaigns for social media to build your web presence, for instance.

The caller information database gained from click-to-call ads provides you with useful information about your customers, like common call times and popular locations, that you can use to refine your home services marketing strategy.

Build a Great Website

A great website design is mobile-friendly, navigable, aesthetically pleasing, and search engine optimized (SEO) to convert leads into paying customers. SEO is the technical and creative process of getting web pages to rank higher in search engine results pages. Besides social media, the main way people discover content online is through search engines, so the higher a website ranks, the greater traffic it receives. Nowadays, most businesses will hire a digital marketing agency with SEO experts to help with search engine optimization.

A user-friendly home services websites should also be easy to navigate and clearly communicate the businesses’ unique selling proposition (USP). The website of garden design and maintenance company Love & Carrots is a good example of great website building. It has strong visuals, a clear USP, and a call to action (CTA) on the homepage. Every page of your website should encourage potential customers to act, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, sending an email, or making a call. And each action should bring them closer to hiring your home services. For example look at the list of top real estate websites.

When it comes to websites, Google’s algorithm to determine website page rank is influenced by bounce rate. This refers to the percentage of visitors who leave your site when it takes too long to load. According to Google, the recommended page load time is under two seconds for “eCommerce website acceptability.” Having a fast-loading website is important as it creates a positive customer experience online. You can test your website loading time using a tool like Pingdom.

Manage Your Online Reviews

You can gauge from Local SEO that it’s easy for new leads to find home services companies online and make a snap judgment about whether they want to hire them for business. Reviews don’t just provide feedback for home services professionals to improve reputation management; they also have a positive effect on SEO. Google uses a few different review signals to determine a website’s ranking:

• Review diversity: Your reviews should come from different sources, excluding Facebook and Google. Always try to get reviews on sites that are specific to your industry.
• Review Quantity: The more reviews and customer testimonials you have, the greater your chances of ranking. The easiest way to get reviews is to make it part of your customer’s journey by asking for them to leave reviews at the end of your transaction, whether it’s on social media, via email, or app.
• Review recency: According to the Search Engine Journal, 85% of consumers believe reviews older than three months are irrelevant. A constant stream of updated reviews from satisfied customers keeps your business relevant to prospective customers and search engines.

Case study: Commercial company Green Roofing uses their positive reviews on their website as a major selling point, so much so that it is the first thing you’ll notice when visiting their homepage. The sheer number of satisfied reviews available demonstrates the high quality of their customer and that they’re exceptionally experienced at what they do. This speaks volumes of their business before you’ve even had a chance to learn about their unique selling point or company mission.

85% of consumers believe reviews older than three months are irrelevant. A constant stream of updated reviews from satisfied customers keeps your business relevant to prospective customers and search engines.

Engage on Social Media

Engaging with your target audience on social media is a critical component of a home services marketing strategy. Social media marketing helps you build brand awareness, increase your customer base and connect with current customers. Like SEO, it takes time to gain traction, but consistency and intentional posting that aligns with your overall home services marketing strategy will eventually yield results.

Your target audience is the most important factor when choosing which social media platform to use. Facebook is an obvious choice because it has the most active users, but as for the others, it depends on the type of home services business you have and the platform that your target audience uses. In general, it’s recommended for home service companies to be active on or two social media platforms.

Twitter and Instagram

72% of U.S. shoppers search for visual content before making a purchase. Instagram is a great platform to create and publish photos and video marketing material if you want to appeal to 18-29 year-olds, as 71% of Gen Z and younger millennials use it. Its strong visual appeal works well for businesses that sell aspirational lifestyle products or services to do with interior decor, home remodeling, and landscaping.

Twitter, however, is better for engaging with your audience and customer support. While sharing videos and images is possible, communicating short messages in less than 280 characters remains the social media platform’s strong point. It’s a useful tool for gathering feedback from customers and reaching a wide audience through hashtags about a particular topic or location. Both platforms offer paid advertising for homes services marketing.

72% of U.S. shoppers search for visual content before making a purchase

Facebook

Facebook has omnipotent advertising power. You can advertise to your target audience with unparalleled specificity, according to age, location, and interests, for example. It’s excellent to keep customers informed, develop brand visibility, and broaden your customer base. Publishing social media posts that share blogs, ‘how-to-videos, and requesting reviews are all possible on this versatile platform.

You can even set up chatbots that answer questions on your behalf to improve response time and customer experience. As the most used social media platform, Facebook should be part of your lead generation marketing plan. To quote writer Lauren Johson from Adweek, “Facebook’s data is powerful, and its ads work with hyper-precision targeting and incomparable reach in digital advertising across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook Audience Network.

Follow Up on Leads ASAP

Leads go through several stages before becoming new customers. They start as a lead, then grow into what we call a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) and then a sales-qualified lead (SQL). In the world of home services marketing, strategists use engineered tactics to nurture leads at every stage of the buyer’s funnel for them to act towards becoming paying customers. This may include behavior automation, retargeting, and email marketing.

Following up on leads produces effective customer engagement, and helps them keep you in their minds when they have a need that your local business can fulfill. You’ll need to develop a conversion path that encourages your leads to make a purchase, including calls-to-action and opportunities to convert. For example, if you own a landscaping or garden maintenance company you might offer 20% off a lawn mowing, in exchange for a lead’s email address. This then helps you build a database of potential customers your market to at a later stage.

In many home services marketing scenarios, it’s often the first company to respond that gets the customer’s business. Failing to follow up promptly gives other home services businesses the opportunity to take “steal” your potential customers. Additionally, slow responses reflect poorly on customer service and online reputation.

Build Your Audience

Email marketing allows you to create personalized messages that are fast, flexible, cost-effective, and conversion-rich while building relationships with new and existing customers. Unlike paid ads or long-term SEO strategies, there’s no fee to send an email or no boost in charges to ensure they reach the majority of your database, nor do you have to wait for your website pages to move up Google ranks.

Because of its versatility, the email newsletter is an effective tool to build your audience. You can share content marketing material, as well as news of new products and seasonal specials. How often you communicate isn’t dependent on algorithms, and your audience gets to find out more about you on their terms when they open their inbox. An old lead that’s forgotten about you will be reminded of your excellent services, and a new one may be persuaded to do business with you.

Work With Other Businesses

When other businesses promote your brand, they’ll talk about it in a positive light. For instance, if a customer hires a landscaper they esteem, they’ll likely take the landscaper’s recommendation for a local residential painter seriously. According to Forbes, 78% of B2b marketers say referrals generate good to excellent leads. Referrals provide positive social proof, helping to bring in leads and build business credibility.

78% of B2b marketers say referrals generate good to excellent leads. Referrals provide positive social proof, helping to bring in leads and build business credibility.

Working with complementary businesses can also boost revenue and expand your customer base too. For instance, you might run a joint home services marketing campaign, whereby if leads like your and a partnered business’ Facebook page, they’ll receive 20% off a product or service from you and that business. This type of collaborative marketing bolsters exposure through promotion and advertisement.

Conclusion

There are tonnes of home services marketing tips and advice that when implement increased revenue. However, many businesses in the homes services industry don’t have a dedicated account manager or in-house team to ramp up their marketing efforts. Luckily, because of Comrade Digital Marketing, they don’t need to. Whether you want a social media marketing plan or are a new business that needs to be found online by prospective customers, we can help. From website development to publishing relevant marketing content, our digital agency experts can do it all. Call us at (312) 265 -0580 or click here to start your home services marketing today.