The great thing about modern search engine optimization is that it works like a charm for various handymen and local companies. When people look for these services, they usually refer to Google Maps. So, if you appear within the search engine’s 3-Pack, you can significantly boost your chances of landing a client.
SEO is a perfect solution for any roofing company that wants to build a sustainable brand. Although it takes time to produce results, search engine optimization gives you a chance to dominate the local market. Among others, this makes it a potent weapon if you eventually decide to expand your business.
In this article, we’ll talk about roofing SEO, how you can benefit from the process, and how it can affect your overall marketing efforts.
How Does SEO Work?
Google and other search engines have advanced algorithms that allow them to assess sites and web pages. Google, specifically, uses more than 200 ranking signals to determine whether a page should appear at the top of its search results. They will analyze all sorts of stuff, ranging from technical SEO aspects (page speed, architecture, security, etc.) to content and links.
For an article to rank at the top of Google search results, it needs to fulfill numerous criteria, including:
Roofing SEO drawbacks
These are the main issues with SEO for roofing companies:
Improving various technical aspects doesn’t necessarily give you an advantage over other sites; it only ensures that you don’t lag behind. Given that most roofing contractors have properly optimized sites, you can’t differentiate yourself by simply boosting page speed a bit. Instead, you need to make efforts in other areas.
Still, technical SEO serves as a basis for all other processes. If there are too many issues on your pages, people will simply walk away after landing on your platform. In fact, there’s a chance that your pages might not even be indexed in the first place.
High-quality content
In a normal situation, people won’t find your roofing website by themselves. Instead, they will find it in a roundabout way while searching for answers to various questions. For example, they might stumble upon your blog while looking for roofing tips and tricks or exploring the best roofing materials.
This is why it’s so important to have quality content, otherwise known as on-page SEO. With each new article you create, you increase the number of leads you can attract to your roofing business. Every post should revolve around a specific keyword, which is meant to satisfy a user query. However, for a blog post to be successful, it needs to fulfill numerous criteria:
Keyword research is vital for two reasons. First, it allows you to shortlist relevant phrases for your business. Second, it allows you to prioritize these phrases based on relevancy. So, when you start creating content, you’ll know which article to start from for maximum efficiency.
Funnels and clusters
Good content can only take you so far. Even if you optimize a few articles and drive massive traffic to your roofing website, that doesn’t mean you’ll gain new clients. For the most part, this is because people don’t know what’s expected of them. In fact, some of them might not even realize you’re offering roofing services once they land on your blog.
This is why you need to guide their actions and show what’s expected from them. With clusters and funnels, you can lead visitors from one page to another until they finally land on your service pages and contact you.
While funnels and clusters are somewhat similar, they’re also very different. The main purpose of a funnel is to guide a person from one page to another with internal links. By using them, you create a logical reading structure that would entice a person to visit more and more pages.
Although clusters are somewhat similar and also rely on internal links, their purpose is completely different. Marketing agencies create these article structures to boost the relevancy of a single page, not necessarily drive traffic to other pages (although this might come as a secondary effect.
When creating a content cluster, you first need to determine what is your “pillar page.” This is the central element of your strategy and the focus of your optimization. Then, you create numerous satellite pages that would support the pillar and boost its relevancy. That way, you can internally increase the authority of a page without relying on external assistance.
Content creation
After finishing the ideation phase, it’s time to put things into motion. When creating content for a roofing SEO campaign, you need to implement the following best practices:
If you’re a new site, other blogs likely won’t be inclined to link to your post. In fact, they probably don’t even know that you exist. This is why you need to reach out to them in an attempt to build links. These are the most common strategies roofing companies implement to gain traction:
Guest posting
Guest posting is the simplest, most straightforward way of building links for your roofing business. Basically, many sites allow users to create content for them. That way, they can gain articles for their blog without spending a dime, and you’ll get a fresh link back to your platform. Keep in mind that many sites charge for this service, so you might have to spend a bit.
HARO
HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is a platform that matches blogs with news outlets. If you have an enticing story, you can pitch it through this platform. The great thing about this method is that most news sites are authoritative and can provide a better boost than your average home renovation blogs. However, you’ll likely have to work a bit more for these links.
Social media
Backlinks from social media and forums can’t match with links from other reputable sites. This is because anyone can post on these platforms, making them easily exploitable. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t profit from Facebook and Instagram.
By sharing your articles regularly on these platforms, you can expose your roofing site to a worldwide audience. Depending on the quality of your posts and your social media reach, some of them might even link back to the post organically without you pitching them.
Events and partnerships
If you’re active with events and partnerships, you can slowly build up your portfolio. When organizing events, many companies share this news on their blog and social media. That way, you can gain enormous reaction by just being active within your industry or community.
Organic outreach
Organic outreach is another common strategy that works similarly to social media sharing. Basically, you’re contacting numerous bloggers and sharing your piece with them. By asking them to take a look at your article, some of them are bound to link it via their website.
Local roofing SEO
In many ways, local search engine optimization feels like a completely separate activity compared to traditional optimization. Although it builds on the existing SEO efforts, the process targets different audiences and includes significantly different tactics.
With this process, a roofing contractor is trying to reach the top of the local 3-Pack in Google. This makes it a vital activity for any handyman or small local business, as it exposes the brand to a large audience within their city. Furthermore, by creating a Google My Business Account, your office is also shown on Google Maps, making it easier for clients to find you.
To properly perform local SEO, a roofing business needs to implement the following tricks:
- Optimize various technical aspects of your site
- Find relevant local keywords and create content for each one of them
- Add your company to various business directories, all while using the same company data
- Start accruing reviews from users
Although there are many things you can do to boost your placement in local results, the process mainly hinges on Google reviews. The search engine’s algorithms assess companies based on the feedback and star ratings that real people provide. That being said, your main task would be to get as many reviews as possible and to get high grades.
Conclusion
Roofing contractors can benefit from SEO in all sorts of ways. Besides improving the technical aspects of their website, this marketing tactic can reel in highly qualified leads to the site. While optimization might seem like a real hassle, the long-term benefits will easily trump any other promotional activity.