How Contractors Generate Leads Online

For an industry that relies so much on who knows who and referrals, most contractors don’t even realize that there are things that they can do online to help generate more leads and generate more business.

Well I’ve got good news for you: there are a LOT of things that you can do to generate more leads online, starting with having a quality website that is well optimized. Before we get into any of the other inbound marketing tactics that you can do to get more customers, you need to start off by having a great website that search engines are able to locate or find. Make sure that you have certain elements included in your web page, such as:

Make sure that your webpage clearly displays your contact information, and in a number of different areas
Ensure that you include pictorial evidence or video evidence of your work (or, better yet, have a video of yourself at work)
If you don’t know the first thing about keywords and optimizing your site, strongly consider hiring on an SEO or inbound marketing firm. Having appropriate keywords incorporated into your site will not only help Google, Yahoo!, and other search engines find you, but it will also put you ahead of the competition

Getting your website up and running will likely be the largest expense that you will have when it comes to online marketing. The rest of the suggestions below are relatively inexpensive (or free!) and will require nothing more than your time.

Also, be sure to check out our FREE Ebook, “How Successful Contractors Grow Their Business Using Inbound Marketing” to learn more about generating traffic and leads for your company.

Build a Blog

Nothing will get you more business in your niche than having a blog. Blogs serve a number of different purposes, all of which are incredibly beneficial to you and your pocketbook. Here are just some of the things that a blog will do for your ‘biz:

Having a blog will allow you to tell your story. You can talk about jobs you loved, jobs you found challenging, and how you managed that work. Blogs allow potential customers and clients to get to know the real you and to get a sense of your work ethic and your performance. It’s also a great place to include pictures of your current and past projects so people can get a first-hand look at your handiwork
A well put-together blog will have you looking like an industry expert in no time. Clients and customers only like to hire the best for a job, so your blog can a) help a customer or client justify hiring you over the competition for a job, and b) help a customer or client justify paying you more to get a job done
Having a blog incorporated on your website means that you will enjoy higher rankings in the search engines (and considering that most contractors don’t have well optimized websites and/or blogs, this will definitely put you ahead of the pack, particularly when it comes to local SEO)

Get a Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Account

Social media is the new wave “word of mouth” marketing. If you want to connect with clients and customers, then you’ve got to jump onto Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Facebook: Facebook allows you to share a ton of great media and promote your site and blog to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. If you want to get noticed, then post to your Facebook account at least once a day, sharing blog entries, interesting videos, and groundbreaking information about your industry.

Twitter: This microblogging site will allow you to send out short blasts to any of your “followers” about anything you like. Send out quick messages about new blog entries, interesting links you’ve found, or promotional offers that you may have

LinkedIn: This is where all contractors should sign up first. LinkedIn is a bit different from most social media sites in that it allows you to connect with people in your industry rather than potential customers. This will benefit you in a number of ways, such as:

You can connect with other people in your industry and share experiences, knowledge, etc.
You can participate in forums and contribute to group discussions, show your expertise and hook up with other contractors who may be looking for someone like you to help them out with a job
You can provide testimonials on your site from those who have been happy with your service
Your LinkedIn account is locatable through search engines

Key Takeaways:

There are a number of ways that contractors can generate leads online, not including the inbound marketing methods above. Explore your options and make sure you look into other tactics like landing pages, pay per click campaigns and video marketing.