What does it take to get leads online? Wish we could say it’s easy, but that wouldn’t be true. It isn’t hard though, if you focus on 3 key elements.
To get leads online, make sure your remodeling service website:
- Can be found in an online search for remodeling services
- Is mobile-friendly and easy to use
- Keeps visitors engaged and interested in taking action
Making sure your site is mobile-friendly should be the first priority. Visitors expect it and Google now considers it a must-have. Contact your local web developer for help, if needed. Once that’s taken care of, you can move on to tactics. All of these help with 1 or more of the 3 key steps above.
Top tactics to get leads
Lure them in with educational content
Whether you want to pay for leads or get them organically (for free), content serves as a great way to attract prospects. That’s why we always arrange to create new content for client websites.
Yes, writing articles or shooting photos/videos will involve extra work, but you benefit in many ways.
With content, you can:
- Educate your prospects and show your expertise
- Get found in more Google searches
- Tell Google your site is active and frequently updated
- Lure new visitors to your website and keep them engaged
- Convert more prospects into leads
Keep in mind, your articles shouldn’t always be sales pitches. Consumers mentally filter out ads or sales messages. But with educational content, you bypass that filter in a way that builds your authority, earns their trust, and eventually earns their business.
Any content you build can be published in various formats to spread your message online.
- Written articles
- Photographs
- Videos
- Infographics
- Memes
- Slideshows
- Case studies
- Pdf guides
- Podcasts or audio clips
Spread your content footprint online on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz and others.
You can also use content as part of a sales funnel. See how on our post: Creating a Sales Funnel for Small Business.
Email to stay in touch
You know that quiet employee who does great work, but is overshadowed by the extroverts in the office? That’s email, the “quiet achiever” of the marketing world.
It’s been around a long time and is often overlooked, but it can give you the best results at the best price.
It’s not the first step in the lead-generation process but it’s crucial for follow up and to keep in touch with clients and prospects.
Don’t have an email list? Start one as soon as you can. Mailchimp, MailerLite and ConvertKit can get you started with their free plans.
Don’t know what to send to your email list? Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be complicated. And the beauty of it is that you can market to past clients as well as future ones.
Use email to:
- Educate and inform prospects
- Encourage readers to visit your site content
- Remind readers of your other service options
- Ask past clients for reviews and testimonials
- Ask clients to refer you to others
- Announce new products/services
- Motivate prospects to hire you
Read our post on How to Start an Email List That Boosts Leads for Your Small Biz.
Paid ads for leads now
If your business is new or if you need new leads right away, we suggest starting with paid ads. While there are free or less expensive options, those are long-term tactics that take time to build momentum.
Facebook and Google ads are the most popular, but there are ad opportunities available on nearly every platform, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and others. Find out where your audience likes to hang out and reach them there.
Our favorite technique is to use paid ads, then slowly hand off to organic (or free) methods. It’s a one-two punch for a constant stream of leads. We start with paid ads to bring in immediate leads, while we work on long-term options like content marketing and SEO. Once SEO brings in more visitors, we ease off on paid ads.
This brings us to SEO.
Local SEO for consistent leads later
If you’ve been a contractor for a while, you know how critical it is to be found online. Local search engine optimization or SEO is the best way to do that.
There are a variety of things involved in getting your site to rank in Google, especially for local searches.
While SEO is something you can learn yourself, it’s a long-term strategy that takes at least 6 months before results begin to show. Most of our clients appreciate that we can handle it for them, because it takes a consistent and focused approach.
See how we handle Local SEO and let us know if you have any questions.
How’s your follow up?
All of the leads in the world won’t matter if you don’t have a system to follow up with prospects – quickly. Because, unfortunately, “we’ll get back to you within 24 hours” is no longer quick enough.
What do leads expect now? To be called back right away, ideally within 10 minutes.
Today, 78% of customers buy from the company that responds first, per a study by Lead Connect.
So, once you get those lead flowing, follow up STAT!
If you need help getting leads or have a question, send us a message or comment below.
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