In March 2016, Google announced that over 50 million websites were culprits of getting hacked. A statistic that has ever been rising rapidly in recent years. If your roofing website has been hacked, it could adversely hurt your rankings, so prompt action is essential. As a roofer figuring out your next course of action may be your biggest headache. This post will help you to understand why roofing websites are hacked and ways that you can use to shield the bad guys from accessing your site.
Many roofing websites are created using the four significant Content Management Systems like Drupal, WordPress, Magento, and Joomla. WordPress controls over 60% of the total CMS market. So, this post will generally concentrate on WordPress sites, although the concepts can still apply to the other content management systems.
Why Would the Bad Guys Want to Hack Your Roofing Website?
Quite often, roofing contractors misinterpret the importance of securing their sites because they see themselves as unlikely to get hacked. However, roofing websites can be cut because they are perceived as vulnerable, so the bad guys can use software to hack massive sites automatically. So, what do hackers gain from their malicious acts?
Website Data
As a roofing website owner, you will have several clients making payments online; hackers see this as an opportunity to sniff financial information of your clients like debit or credit cards.
Automated Black Bots
Roofing websites can become vulnerable to hackers through an automated script. Same way, Google crawls your site to index content hackers use black bots to check for vulnerabilities.
Blackhat SEO
This is where hackers place redirects or links in your site to earn affiliate revenue. Note that these links or redirects are not visible.
System Resources
Here hackers try to access your server and send out thousands of spam emails; this will get your site and server blacklisted easily, increase utility bills, or even get your roofing website shut down.
Malware
Hackers can infect your client computers with malware such as key loggers, viruses, or other malicious software to capture information.
7 Important Steps to Take If Your Roofing Website Has Been Hacked
Inform Your Web Designer/Hosting Provider
This is the first crucial step you need to take immediately after you realize that you are a culprit of a hacking incident. In most cases, your web hosting provider can help to fix hacking problems because they are equipped with the necessary expertise to handle such issues. If your hosting service provider is not in a position to help contact your roofing website designer or system administrator.
Run a Complete Virus Scan On all Your Computers
The bad guys in their efforts to hack your roofing website infect your computer with spyware, viruses, malware, and Trojans. Use an effective commercial antivirus to detect such problems. The hackers create backdoors, which help them to avoid the normal authentication process to access your roofing website.
Remember those un-used plugins and inactive themes are soft spots for creating hackable back doors. Many renowned roofing website designers help roofers in scanning malicious and malware codes.
Assess the Nature of Damage
It is vital to know the severity of the hacking attack and the damage caused to your roofing business.
By knowing its severity, you will develop an appropriate strategy to fix it up. Get the data from the Google Search Console, where you might have received messages on malware and spam.
Also, look at your webmaster tools under the “security issues” segment to know the kind of hacking that was experienced. Checking all threats can be quickly done by comparing it with a backup.
Change All Passwords
Changing passwords is one of the initial steps to take when your roofing website is hacked. Just do it- alter your passwords even if you will write them down in a book, after doing thorough clean up and virus scan-reset, all the passwords. Since the bad guys are about your email addresses and passwords, make sure that you reset a password that is hard to guess.
You should change passwords on all sites where you have entered financial and personal details. Try to reset passwords that are hard to crack.
Shut Your Roofing Website Down
You should take your roofing website offline temporarily after the hacking incident. This action will help to save clients and people who access your roofing website from malicious span files and malware. Secondly, it will give time to your web designer or hosting provider to fix the issues without any interruption.
Clean Your Roofing Website
Before you begin the process of cleaning up your site, you should first check the backup of your site because it might contain crucial information. You need to clean up your database and file hacks by checking what the hackers have modified or changed and ought not to have been changed.
Get rid of all the URLs created by the bad guys, but be careful not to remove pages that you don’t need, because hackers might have infected useful pages that are crucial to your roofing business and which can be restored to their initial original state through your backup.
Ask for a Google Review
Once you have finished all the steps discussed above and have reset your website successfully, make sure that you request for a Google review to unflagging your site as risky. You should head straight to the Google search consoles and check for issues. Google will ask you to provide details on what you did to clean the site for every category that was hacked. This review process may take several weeks for it to be completed. However, this wait is worthwhile because, in the end, Google will leave a positive review that will describe your site as safe and secure. Don’t forget to ask for this review.
Final Thoughts
Getting your roofing website hacked is no fun. But you can regain control of your website. Remain calm and call the right design or hosting team to keep your site running.
So there are various lessons that roofers can learn from this unfortunate experience. Some of these include hiring a reputable roofing website designer, checking reviews regularly, and installing a powerful antivirus. Having the right roofing website design team can make all the difference when your site is hacked.
Schedule a free strategy session with our experts to know how we can help to secure your roofing website from malicious attacks today.
Improve the visibility of your roofing website, get new leads, and book more jobs with PPC ads.
Google Ads (Adwords) is a crucial marketing medium available to roofers throughout the U.S, as long as it is appropriately utilized. On the flip side, it can be a waste of your marketing dollars if managed by a novice roofing marketer without prior experience in paid search marketing campaigns. Getting leads, converting clients, and attracting clicks is the ultimate goal of many roofing contractors online, and achieving any of these objectives needs marketing savvy, leave alone the three tactics stated above.
Pay per Click advertising is an integral part of a comprehensive internet marketing strategy that brings instant results. You can achieve various goals with PPC, and some of the main reasons why roofers need to use these ads are driving relevant traffic to your roofing website, improving visibility, increasing conversions, and getting new leads. In the long run, however, most roofers use such ads to grow their business online. While PPC is simple to execute, it requires some preparation and planning; fortunately, this post will show you how to make most of your roofing PPC campaigns.
How to Create a Successful Roofing PPC Campaign in 8 Simple Steps
Start by Optimizing Your Roofing Website
Before you launch any roofing PPC campaign, you must look back and craft a useful landing page that will resonate with your ad. Here is why it’s so crucial; when property owners’ click on your PPC ad, it is because your ad content intrigued them and they want to explore more. If the link they click directs them to a generic or unrelated page in your site, like your homepage, that prospect is likely to bounce and go to your competitors.
A click on a roofing PPC ad portrays a willingness to explore more about your ad, which explains why you need to create a landing page that coincides with the content in your ads. For example, if you are running a PPC ad providing free roof inspections to homeowners, then your landing pages should provide more details about the offer or something else that resonates with content in the advertisement.
Besides, you should optimize your landing page for performance because if property owners
Click on the ad only to be directed to a page that loads slowly, or is hard to navigate, then they are likely to bounce back. Invest your time now to improve conversions so that property owners who will come later will be able to follow through. Here are a few tips that you can use to maximize your roofing website conversions:
Use images and videos strategically to retain the attention
Make information simple to digest by using stand-out quotations, bullet s, and visuals.
Research Your Roofing Keywords and Select Them Wisely
Keyword research is a crucial element of a successful roofing PPC campaign because it is the lifeline of the whole process. Without keywords, search engines like Google or Bing will not know when to display your roofing ads. Besides, selecting the appropriate keywords can guarantee the success of your roofing PPC campaigns and help you achieve a higher click-through rate, more traffic, and conversions.
Here are a few tips that will help you get the right keywords for your PPC campaign;
Examine the keywords your competitors are using
Consider what you would search if you were a property owner looking for roofing services or products
Use keyword research tools to refine your search for appropriate roofing key phrases
Be more specific with your keywords rather than generic or vague
Select local keywords when possible
Another crucial aspect of keyword research is negative keywords because these will exclude the keywords that you don’t want to use in your campaign. For example, you want to promote a roof repair service but don’t sell roofs, and then you would use tents as a negative keyword to exclude searches for that product.
Choose a Bidding Strategy
There are various bidding options that roofer can choose from, and picking the correct one will depend on several factors, including your PPC management experience, budget, and objectives. One of the first options you will have is to decide whether to use automated or manual bidding. If you are new to roofing PPC, it is advisable that you start with manual bidding as it allows setting a cap on the cost of each click. The major drawback of manual bidding is that it does not give you a chance to optimize your bids.
On the other hand, automated bidding reduces the time you spend managing your PPC campaign, but you will be required to pay more. When it comes to automated biding, you will have several bidding strategies available to help you make most out of your roofing PPC campaign.
On Google Adwords, such bidding strategies include:
Cost-Per-Click: Here, you will pay Google every time a prospect/ client clicks on your ad.
Cost per thousand viewable impressions (vCPM) bidding: You pay Google each time your ad appears one thousand times to prospects/ clients.
Cost per Acquisition (CPA) bidding: You will pay Google every time a prospect clicks on your ad, but the amount of money to be paid will be determined by the cost of acquiring a client in your niche or a similar conversion trend from your roofing website.
Cost-per-view: You will pay Google each time your video ad is viewed or engaged in YouTube.
Necessarily, you can choose any of the above-discussed strategies depending on whether your goal is to increase traffic, visibility, or conversions.
Set Your Budget
Budget is a crucial part of any roofing PPC campaign, but the good thing with this type of advertising is that you can still work with a limited budget, and you can control the dollars you spend on the ad. In fact, if you are just starting out with PPC and don’t have enough marketing dollars to dish around, you can even get started with a minimum investment of $30. When setting your budget, it is crucial that you look at your competitors and the right roofing keywords that you want to target. Unless you have a huge marketing budget, you should always look for ways to optimize your campaign to prevent wastage spend.
Create Your Landing Pages
Landing pages are crucial to the success of your roofing PPC campaign since they are the pages that provide answers or solutions to prospects /clients. While you might be tempted to link your ad with the homepage of your roofing website that will offer a poor user experience because it will not give users the exact answers they are looking for.
When you answer a prospect’s question, you just don’t give them details; you prove to them that you are a reliable and smart source of information in the roofing industry. That implies they can trust you, and once they believe in you, they can quickly become clients.
Write a Killer Roofing Ad
Once you have crafted your landing page, decide on a bidding strategy and budget, and carefully select your roofing keywords, now, creating your killer ad is finally here. One of the crucial things to remember is to keep it brief and to the point since you do not have much room or time to grab the prospects.
Another vital thing is to have an end goal in mind and write an ad copy based on that goal. For example, if you want to increase sales during a storm or hail damage period, your ad should reflect a roof repair or installation storm damage sale. You need to be creative to grab the attention, pique property owner’s curiosity and hold their interest.
To help grab property owners’ attention, think of a unique value proposition that will make your ad stand out from others, and describe how your service or product will benefit them in one sentence. Now that you have created a killer ad make sure you encourage customers to take action after reading your ad.
Don’t Forget the Call to Action.
Now that you have grabbed the attention of prospects, you can motivate them to convert using a clear call to action. ”Call now,” “schedule a consultation,” and “register now” are persuasive examples of compelling, clear calls to action that tell prospects exactly what to do to become clients. While it may appear redundant to have a CTA on an ad, they assist in acquiring clicks and, by extension, customers.
Without a call to action, there is no reason for running the ad because it merely tells clients what to do next. The call to action should be sweet and brief, but it must also be concise, compelling, and clear.
Track Your Ads to Ensure Performance.
Once your roofing PPC campaign is set up, and you are working hard to improve conversions, your work does not end. This is when the real work begins, which includes monitoring your ads, measuring performance, and making tweaks as necessary to improve results. Part of the reasons why PPC is vital to the roofing marketing industry is because it is simple to track results. You can know the exact times your ad appears somewhere, the number of clicks, and who clicks on your ad. With all that data, you can make most of your roofing PPC campaign and improve other marketing tools.
Some of the most crucial metrics in roofing PPC are click-through rate, bounce rate, and impressions. Impressions refer to the number of times your ad has appeared in searches. The term “impression” refers to a prospect/ client viewing your ad.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) refers to the percentage of prospects who click on your ad after seeing it. So, if a prospect sees your ad but doesn’t click, it is just an impression. If your chance sees and clicks on your ad, then that goes towards increasing your CTR. Your goal should be to obtain a high CTR as possible.
Lastly, the bounce rate is the number of prospects who see and click on your ad but leave without doing anything on your site. Generally, a higher bounce rate of over 90% implies that people are not getting what they want from your roofing website, and you are offering a poor user experience. You need to go back to the drawing board and revise your PPC ads to lower the bounce rate and get more leads/ clients online.
BlackStorm Roofing Marketing Manages PPC Accounts Every Day
PPC can be overly daunting because it needs some knowledge of how the process works, research, and planning if you want to make most of your campaigns. The important things to remember include choosing a bidding strategy, setting a budget, and optimizing your landing pages. Then comes the laborious task of researching and selecting the right keywords.
At BlackStorm Roofing Marketing, we have a team of passionate PPC experts who continuously meet and surpass the expectations of our clients, and they want to offer the same for your roofing business! We stay abreast of the latest PPC news so that we can use the new trends and strategies to help your roofing business earn more money.
If you want to make most of your PPC campaign, work with a roofing marketing agency that understands your business and has a track record of helping roofers improve their PPC advertising campaign performance. When you partner with us, we will help your business get more booked jobs and leads through PPC as we have helped thousands of roofing contractors throughout the country.
From selecting the right keywords to the ad copy, competition analysis to customer interest, and many things are bound to change in the roofing market. That’s why you need to hire an agency that will stay abreast of these changes to succeed in PPC advertising.
If you need help growing your roofing business online with PPC strategies that work, then schedule a free strategy session with our growth experts today.
How do clients search for your roofing business online?
Your roofing website may be ranked #1 in Bing and Google, but what about Siri?
According to a recent report by Pew Research, over 80% of Americans now own smartphones, and another study showed that over 90% of those phone owners use their device’s digital assistants. Iphone’s Siri is one of the most famous voice assistants that most people use to look for roofing products or services online.
As voice search and use of smartphones continue to increase, more and more clients looking for roofing contractor’s recommendations turn to Siri rather than to their search engines. If you don’t leverage Siri to get found by prospects, you are losing leads to your competitors.
More and more roofers ask us how they can get found by Siri when prospects look for their products or services via voice search. The good news is that getting your roofing business findable on Siri is super simple. Without further ado, let us dive in to understand why and how to get your business found by Siri.
Why Should Your Roofing Business Get Found by Siri?
Siri is made famous with iPhone users, and that popularity is on the upward trend, as new iPhones with Siri enhancements to Siri continue to be released in the market. Siri offers notable advantages to users. Here are some reasons why you need to put Siri to work for your roofing business:
Roofing Company Listing
As voice search gets smarter and smartphones increase, more and more prospects seeking local roofing services are turning to Siri than Google. To that end, ensure that your roofing company is listed on popular maps like Google Maps and Apple Maps, as well as sites like Yelp, Foursquare, Citysearch, and Google Places. Ratings and reviews from local sites help your roofing business to get found on Siri.
Banking and Payments
Siri allows you to send money verbally to suppliers or vendors through apps such as Square Cash, Venmo, and PayPal. For instance, you can say, “pay supplier X $230 with Venmo.” The good thing is that you don’t require to download the app-just utilize the cards that are already in your wallet.
Time Management
There are many hours in each workday, and when you want things done in sequence and quickly, Siri will help you set the time limits of each task. This will help to improve the productivity and morale of your employees.
How to Get Found by Siri as a Roofing Contractor
Siri utilizes Apple Maps to locate businesses, so the first thing you need to do right now is to list your roofing company on Apple Maps.
Here is how you can check if your roofing business is currently listed on Apple Maps:
Grab your iPhone and tap on the Maps icon
Go to the search box and type your roofing business name
If you see the name of your roofing company, then you are on Apple Maps
If you don’t see the name of your business, it means that your company is not listed on Apple Maps.
If you did not see your roofing business in Apple Maps, then you need to add it manually using the Apple Maps Connect Website.
Here are some actionable tips to add your roofing business on Apple Map Connect:
Keep your phone near in case they request for a security code
Once signed-in click “add place” link at the top of your page
Enter your roofing company name and city in the queries box.
If your business appears, click the listing to begin the process of claiming it.
If your company does not show up, click the link again and “Add New Place.”
Here’s how your Roofing Company can Get Found on Siri
Get on the Map First
One of the most popular applications of voice search is to ask for directions, and over 80% of prospects who perform a voice-based local search are likely to use driving directions on smartphones. Here’s how to ensure that those prospects can find your business on Siri: Apple Maps: Go to Apple Maps Connect and enter your Apple ID to list your business.
List Your Roofing Business on Local Directories
Siri depends heavily on local listings; therefore, make sure that your roofing company is listed on every local directory site you can find like Yelp, Citysearch Four Square, amongst others. Most Siri searchers ask for roofer near me; thus, your proximity to them can make a huge difference, but if your business is listed on major directory sites, it could stand above other competitors in the market.
Be Consistent to Get Found by Siri
Check all your listings to make sure that they are consistent in terms of spacing, abbreviations, and even spelling. If your business is listed as Acme, Inc at 101 Main Street and Acme at 101 Main Street at another, then Siri might assume that those are two separate business entities. Go through your listings to make sure that your listings are consistent with your roofing website as well.
Keywords are Crucial to Getting Found by Siri
Use highly descriptive keywords about your roofing business in the listing and on your roofing website. The more Siri understands your business, the higher the chances of recommending your company to prospects.
Claim All Your Local Listings
Siri gives priority to legitimate roofing companies, and you can make sure that your company is legit by claiming all the listings in your roofing website. The process is simple, as you only need to visit the local directory site and click claim your business page and look for your company name.
Get online Reviews to be found by Siri
Siri uses reviews and ratings to determine which roofing business to recommend, so ask clients to post reviews, rank your business as much as possible, and give more details about your services.
Beef Up Your Tags
Use schema microdata and rich snippets on your roofing website; include crucial information like your address, operating hours, and phone number, to make it easier for your roofing business to get found on Siri.
BlackStorm Roofing Marketing Will Help Your Roofing Business Get Found by Siri Almost Instantly
Voice search popularity will continue to increase as more sophisticated smartphones hit the market. To keep abreast of this trend, you should make your roofing website voice search ready. At Blackstorm, we have a team experts who will help your roofing website get found by Siri almost instantly.
We are a full-service roofing marketing agency that specializes in website design, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and reputation management. We have more than ten years of experience in creating internet marketing campaigns that drive results. Our experts know how they can adapt your SEO strategy for voice search.
If you are searching for a reputable roofing marketing agency that drives results, then look no further than Blackstorm Roofing Marketing.
Our clients can bear witness that we over-deliver on our promises. We have countless positive testimonials that attest to the great work we do for our customers.
Get Found by Siri Today
If you are ready to begin optimizing your roofing website for voice search, then kindly schedule a free strategy session with our experts to get your business listed with Siri today.
Give Your Roofing Business a Voice, Stay ahead of the Competition and Book More jobs with Alexa
Hey, Alexa, where can I find an experienced roofing contractor near me?
In the modern roofing landscape, most of your clients are finding your business online through Google. They turn to Google and type roof replacement (service type) contractor in (name of the city or town).
But now, with the rising popularity of Alexa, the rules of the game are slowly changing. Why?
Because local voice search is the new norm, and thus roofing contractors must optimize their websites to get found on Alexa, Siri, and Google Home Assistants.
Here are a few suggestions why you must get found on Alexa when crafting your local roofing marketing strategy, as well as surefire tips you can implement today to make your business voice ready.
Why is Getting Found on Alexa Important for Roofing Contractors?
While some property owners still use Google’s search bar, the dramatic shift to using Alexa is becoming prominent. From smart home devices, like Google Home to Amazon Echo, property owners are no longer using the search bar to get their roofing questions answered. Instead, they use a voice-enabled device to ask them. But the words they speak are very different from the keywords you have been using on your internet marketing strategy for years.
For Instance, if they want to find a roofer, they will ask, Alexa, who is an experienced roofing contractor near me? As opposed to typing in the search bar, “roofing contractor in Murfreesboro.” They could also ask questions like “Who can I hire to replace my roof?” or “is there someone near me who can fix my roof?”
So the secret to success in today’s voice search world is to think about the type of questions property owners are asking and then incorporating them in your online marketing strategy accordingly.
3 Ways Roofers can use to get found on Alexa for free
So, major roofing contractors have been investing in voice search and reaping maximum benefits. But all they do is to fix or repair roofs, just like your business. So, if they are booking more jobs via Alexa, what is stopping you?
Much like having a mobile-friendly roofing website or an app, voice activation is also another platform worth considering, and being found in Alexa is as crucial as being found on a tablet, desktop, or mobile. Here are three tips that will help you get started with Alexa:
Alexa skills kit
Amazon has compiled an excellent guide to help your business get involved with voice. Just like building a roofing website or app, there are guidelines to consider and rules to follow. It incorporates their voice design guide, which takes you through all the stages of the design process.
You will need to think about questions that property owners will ask and the way your design will answer, and this ultimate guide to ensure that your interaction feels natural, answers accurately, and offers excellent service. Consider partnering with a reputable roofing marketing agency for more support.
Schema Markup
As a roofer, you need to make sure that your business is showing up in voice search results. One excellent way of achieving this is by using structured data known as schema markup.
Schema assists search engines in understanding the content of your roofing website. When direct queries are asked in Alexa, such as “where can I get the best roofer near me?”
Correct schema markup will assist your roofing business to show up in search results on Alexa.
Understanding Intent and Conversational Content
Your content is paramount for success in voice search. Question asked on Alexa and Siri are more structured than the typed ones. We talk as if to a partner or friend. As a roofing contractor, you need to make sure that your content answers questions that property owners might have naturally. Write informative, conversational content.
Try to know the intent behind each query. If the user is requesting to know about the differences between a roof replacement and roof installation, they might be looking for your services. If they want to know how much it costs to fix a roof, then they have more intent to book a roofing job.
Make sure that your content will incorporate long-tail keywords that will be relevant to the searcher’s intent.
Alexa is here to stay. Make sure that your roofing business gets found on Alexa and book more jobs today.
How can Roofing Contractors Optimize for Amazon Alexa?
Alexa has the highest percentage of the total smart speaker’s market share. However, it only occupies 25% of the overall voice search market share when you consider devices like (computers, games console, and phones amongst others)
Alexa gets your local roofing business details, reviews, and photos from two primary sources. Yelp offers most of your local business details, reviews, and photos for the Alexa search. So, if you optimize your Yelp listing, your roofing business will easily get found on Alexa.
Let’s make sure that your roofing business is optimized for voice search and get found on Alexa by prospects.
At BlackStorm we are Roofing Marketing Pros, our mission is to empower and educate roofing contractors like you to understand your options to make better business decisions that will increase your sales and grow your roofing business. We develop effective internet marketing solutions that convert leads and drive relevant traffic to your business. Stop losing qualified leads to your rivals. Schedule a free strategy session with our experts to make your roofing business get found on Alexa today!
Create unparalleled customer experience; outrank your competitors and Book More Roofing Jobs with Voice Search SEO
As many roofers know, SEO is a dynamic field, yet it is an essential component of any internet marketing strategy, as discussed in our previous blog post. The trend for searching online has changed as well. Nowadays, property owners use voice search to look for roofing services or products online.
With voice assistants such as the Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri becoming mainstream in most American homes, your roofing business must have a voice search strategy to stand above the competition. So what does voice search entail, and why is it making waves in roofing marketing? And, why is voice search so important for your roofing business? You will be surprised to know how ignoring this emerging roofing SEO trend could adversely affect the traffic and visibility of your roofing website. Read on to get all your voice search queries answered.
What is Voice Search?
Voice search is a speech recognition technology that allows property owners to use the voice command to search your roofing website or app. Users here conducts an online search by saying the terms aloud instead of typing them in the search query box. Property owners use voice search because their hands are full since it is quicker to speak than type, plus you don’t need a screen or keyboard.
Reasons Why Voice Search is Making Waves in Roofing Marketing
Nowadays, most of your customers are finding your roofing business through Google. They simply turn to Google and type (roofing service type) contractor in (name of the town or city) and hire the roofer who pops up on the first page. But now, with the rising popularity of Google assistants, Siri and Alexa, the game of search is changing. Why? Since people don’t speak the same way they do when typing on the search query box, thus all the keyword research you have done using your internet marketing may no longer be helpful.
Roofers who want to remain visible to property owners in the coming years will be required to find a way to incorporate voice search into their internet marketing strategies because of the following reasons:
A Voice Search Strategy Can Improve User Experience.
Implementing a voice search strategy not only helps your roofing business to remain relevant but also creates a unique customer experience that can foster relationships and increase brand royalty.
Since Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa can differentiate between voices, they provide insights about users that result in more personalized content and messages, which is fantastic for improving user experience. Furthermore, voice search technology can help users to interact with your roofing brand more naturally and seamlessly, thus encouraging loyalty and retention.
Lastly, voice search interactions take less time than text-based ones, which is more convenient for busy property owners who expect instant gratification and stellar experience every time they interact with your roofing brand.
Voice Search Affects Your Roofing SEO
Another primary reason roofers must incorporate voice search into their internet marketing strategies is because voice search affects roofing SEO best practices.
One of the main reasons for such changes is the phenomenon that people interact with search engine queries differently, whether on voice or text. Voice searches tend to be longer than text-based searches, and you can solve this by including long-tail keywords in your content.
Similarly, voice search is going to impact SEO by increasing the importance of Local SEO because many mobile searchers have a local intent, such as identifying a roofer in the nearby city or town.
Furthermore, Google Assistant seems to concentrate more on the featured snippets when giving answers to users. This means that your roofing business has to incorporate such best practices in your roofing SEO campaigns.
Roofers Use Voice Search to Drive Traffic
Although the benefits of voice search have not been exploited fully, one thing is clear that roofers who will implement voice search strategies will be rewarded with high roofing website traffic. When a voice assistant provides an answer, it also prompts the user to visit the roofing website in which the response was pulled from.
For roofers, that are successful with voice-optimized SEO; this could imply a boost in traffic if your roofing business appears typically as a top result or a featured snippet that provides solutions to users.
A Unique Voice Search Strategy Helps Your Roofing Business to Outrank the Competition
Having a roofing voice strategy is not just crucial for ensuring that your clients can find your business online, but also prevents prospects from visiting your competition instead.
For instance, if your competitors have implemented a voice search strategy and your business has not, they will rank high in search engines and thus be found more by clients. At the moment, voice search still is a new concept; therefore, many roofers have not jumped into the bandwagon, allowing your business to stand out from them.
Voice Search Helps Your Business to be Available for Clients When They Need Your Services
The fantastic thing about voice search is that property owners tend to use it when they need specific roofing services or products speedily. Nowadays, consumers are looking for services or products that they are going to use at that moment. For roofers who have adopted voice-optimized SEO, it means that their business will be at the top of the results page when homeowners need roofing services and obtain traffic.
Just like mobile-first indexing changed the digital marketing landscape and forced roofing websites to change from the conventional form of SEO, voice search will do the same. Because of this, your roofing business needs to create a voice search strategy that will help stay ahead of the curve. Fortunately, this post will provide helpful tips to make your roofing website voice-search ready in 2020.
How to Optimize Your Roofing Website for Voice Search Results
Implement Structured Data
Schema markup or structured data is one of the crucial factors that assist search engines in classifying and organizing your content. In simple terms, this data helps Google to understand information on your roofing website. Having this information will not impact rankings directly, but it will allow you to appear in voice search and featured snippets results.
Using schema markup is crucial for local roofing contractors because property owners usually search for office hours, a phone number, or address. By listing all the details about your roofing company, you stand a good chance of getting conversions, improved digital footprint, and better rankings.
How do you implement structured data on your roofing website? If you are using WordPress, look for schema plugins, and you will see hundreds of schema markup functionalities. If your hands are full, consider outsourcing your SEO to a reputable roofing marketing agency.
Claim Your Google My Business Listing
To ensure that your roofing business is ready for local search, you will want to claim and optimize your Google My Business profile. Include accurate contact details and the name of your business, operating hours, and correct phone number. It is also advisable to write a short description of your business and the roofing services/products that you provide. Be sure that your information is consistent in all the directories. Finally, make sure that you select a category that corresponds with your business.
You should also try to add high-quality images that depict the services that your business offers and you plus your employees. This will help to build trust among property owners searching for your roofing business. One effective way to make prospects find your roofing business is to include business contact details at the header or footer of your website.
Speed Up Your Roofing Website
Prospects/ clients using voice search can be in a hurry; after all, voice search is faster than typing a query in a search query box. To ensure that you achieve your prospect’s need for speed, make sure that your website loads in less than three seconds. Page speed is a crucial factor that influences search engine rankings.
You can use various tools like Google’s page speed insight to check your roofing website loading time. The good thing with this tool is that it gives you numerous suggestions on how to improve your page speed. Ensure that you prioritize visible content, minify CSS & HTML, optimize images, eliminate unnecessary plugins and theme elements, and implement browser caching.
Make Your Roofing Website Mobile Friendly
As a roofer, creating a mobile-friendly experience should be the core of all your optimization efforts. After all, the majority of voice search queries occur in mobile devices. When optimizing your roofing website for mobile devices, you need to remember the following things:
Avoid using flash to add media or effects on your site instead of using HTML5.
Make your site easy to navigate by making clicks and links significant enough to read.
If you want to know whether your roofing website is compatible with mobile devices, try out a mobile-friendly compatibility test on Google.
Focus on Long-Tail Roofing Keywords
Short-tail keywords are slowly becoming less relevant in conversational search queries, and the trend is bound to continue in the coming years. Prospects using voice search ask direct questions, to obtain more relevant answers. That’s where long-tail roofing keywords come in.
Long-tail keywords are generally specific. As the name suggests, these are keywords that are longer than a typical search query. Prospects act like they are conversing with a human being during a voice search.
For example, when typing a search query, a prospect uses relevant keywords like the best roofer in Tennessee. While conducting a voice search, a prospect might ask, Hey Siri (or Ok Google), where can I get the best roofing contractor in Tennessee? Therefore, it is highly recommended that you find and utilize conversational keywords that prospects would use while talking. You need to find long-tail keywords and include them in your content.
Improve Your Online Reputation
As a roofer, you already know that bad reputation (whether offline or online) can adversely affect your voice search rankings-Google even shows ratings on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 star being described as worst, 4-5 shows your business is the best. If you want to improve your prominence on result pages, make sure that clients/ prospects are talking positively about your business.
Client testimonials are another effective way of proving your trustworthiness and authority. So are positive mentions on Home advisor, Social media, and Yelp. Fortunately, Blackstorm Roofing Marketing can help your roofing reputation by sharing positive client testimonials on your website, collecting reviews from your previous clients.
Stay Ahead of the Game by Implementing a Voice Search Strategy in Your Roofing Website Today
In today’s competitive roofing landscape, your roofing business needs to stay ahead of the curve. If you want to stand out from other roofers, voice search SEO is something that you cannot afford to ignore.
Voice search allows your business to create an unparalleled customer experience. Stay ahead of the curve is what we believe in here at BlackStorm Roofing Marketing. That, combined with our primary focus on the roofing industry, makes us the best choice for your digital marketing needs. As a roofer, you might have worked with different marketers who don’t know the ins and out of your industry.
Now that you have understood what voice search is and why every roofer is swearing by it, its time to improve your SEO strategy to incorporate this new trend.
If you need help finding experts to create and implement voice search strategy in your roofing business, schedule a free strategy session with our SEO professionals today.
Choosing a name for your new roofing company presents a great opportunity because it helps you to communicate your ideas, personality, expertise, values, and uniqueness to potential clients.
A well-chosen roofing company name can help you to find more clients and set your business above competition, particularly online.
Your roofing company name is the medium through which property owners meet your business for the first time. It creates brand equity and becomes a valuable asset, just as other intellectual properties like logos and trademarks.
That said, choosing a unique name for your roofing business can be an uphill task, but not an impossible one. This post will guide you through the process of selecting the right name for your roofing business, one that you will be proud to put on your roofing company website and business cards.
What is in a name?
Selecting the right name for your roofing company is a crucial step in your brand development strategy, as it represents the potential clients what your business stands for. Choose the wrong name, and you could turn away prospects before you have a chance to explain to them what you do and who you are.
Here are crucial things to consider when naming your roofing company:
Choose a Roofing Company Name that is Memorable
As a roofer, you will want to check the pronunciation, length, and spelling of your business as a priority when choosing a roofing company name.
If your target clients cannot pronounce your company name easily, then that could result in a branding disaster. Imagine property owners going around mispronouncing your roofing company name. Before choosing a roofing company name, select a few people to read the name and see how easily they can pronounce it. This will help you know if your name is hard to pronounce.
If your name is too hard to spell, then it will be difficult for prospects to type in search engines or other platforms where prospects are looking for your roofing business online. If property owners cannot spell your roofing business name, the best-case scenario would be that they will stumble upon your business.
On the flip side, worst-case scenario, they will find your competitors first. If prospects are looking for your roofing business, make sure that complicated spelling does not turn them away from your company.
If your roofing company name is too long, then clients will struggle to remember it accurately. Therefore make sure that your name is short to attract more clients. You want your roofing company name to showcase your brand in a way that is simple to the prospects you are targeting. This will make your roofing business sharable, findable, and, most importantly, memorable.
Add Some Visual Vigor to Your Roofing Company Name
Several studies have shown that people tend to remember what they see than what they hear. So, including a visual element in your roofing company name increases the chances of being recognized by prospects when they are making buying decisions. This could imply using catchy names that spark imagination or incorporating your roofing business name visually in the logo. Make sure that your name stands out from other roofers operating in your city or town.
Choose a Roofing Company Name that Fosters Positive Brand Connection
Select your words tactfully during this phase of coming up with your roofing brand strategy. Different words have various connotations for various people. As a roofing contractor, you want to make sure that your company name contains descriptive, persuasive, and positive words that won’t trigger negative emotions in your audience. Make sure that you check the meanings of your roofing company name in the languages and regions that you want to do business.
Choose a Roofing Company Name that is relevant to your business
Even with a well-executed roofing brand strategy, your business name will not become a household sensation overnight. Therefore, make sure you select a roofing company name that gives a hint to property owners about what your business does. This will help to clearly define your business and make it easier to find online. Whatever name you select, make sure that it is meaningful for the roofing industry and prospects.
Ensure the Domain Name is Available Before You Choose a Roofing Company Name
One of the most crucial steps in selecting a name for your roofing company is checking whether the domain name is still available. Without a domain name, your roofing business will not have an online presence. Your online presence plays a critical role in your roofing marketing strategy, and if you don’t have a domain name, then you will lose a huge chunk of leads /clients.
As you are brainstorming roofing business name ideas, try to check the availability of corresponding domain names. Alternatively, you can consider buying a domain name for your roofing business, if you find out that all your preferred names have been taken.
Choose a Unique Roofing Company Name that will help you stand out from other roofers online
Branding is very vital for the success of your new roofing business. As roofing marketers, we know that a unique roofing company name creates a unique identity and existence for your roofing business. A roofing company name using plain initials and letters is not only dull but also detrimental to your roofing marketing. Use a roofing company name that is vibrant and unique to stand out in the market.
Trademark Your Roofing Company Name
Although ensuring that your roofing company is official is one of the final steps, you should make sure that your name is available for registration. Trademark applications must be forwarded to the U.S Patent and Trademark office. A simple Google search can help you to know your trademark’s availability. Still, you need to hire an excellent attorney to do a thorough search to ensure that your company name is available. It is crucial to safeguard your business from any liability by forming a business entity with the secretary of state in the area where your company is located.
How to Come up With Names for Your Roofing Company
Once you have a clear perception of your ideal clients, competitive advantages, business vision, and strategy, you need to brainstorm ideas to come up with a name for your roofing company. It is also advisable to check roofing company names that are already in the market.
Existing roofing business names will always follow some distinct patterns that will help you generate ideas. You can find examples of proper roofing company names on directory sites such as HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, and Angie’s list.
Start the naming process by determining what precisely you want to convey to your customers. Consider the main benefits or advantages the client will gain from working with a roofing business like yours.
Many companies, not just roofing contractors, try to create a name for their company before anything else. This is a common blunder. In fact, it should be vice versa. Before you develop a name for your roofing company, first create your mission statement, tagline, ideal voice, and your roofing brand message. All of these critical elements will work together to help you create a catchy name for your roofing company.
Here are some tips that will help you give your roofing company the most effective and attractive name:
Select a roofing company name that you prefer and one that resonates with your ideal client base
Pick a familiar or comforting name that conjures up nice memories so that clients can contact your business from an emotional perspective.
Avoid roofing company names that are incredibly confusing or too long
Stay away from the language that the typical client would not understand.
Don’t include any extraneous information such as INC., LLC. Co., LTD, unless your business has gained those credentials.
Use roofing company name generator tools (free or paid) online to get ideas
Avoid using technical jargon that your prospects/clients will not understand.
Roofing Business Success Factors
Develop a business plan
With a good business plan that indicates your long-term objectives, narrowing down your options for a roofing company name will be more comfortable.
Select a Business Structure
Partnerships and sole proprietorships may have fewer restrictions on name registration since they are not regarded as legal entities under the law. Structures like corporations and LLCs have to meet strict requirements to get their name registered.
Choose a Roofing Specialty
For instance, if you have decided that you will specialize in repairs, then it makes sense to include “repairs” in your roofing company name. When prospects see your roofing company name, they will no doubt that you are a roofing contractor who specializes in roof repairs.
Reach a wider audience
If you have various skills and not sure which direction you want to go, you don’t want to limit your roofing company name based on specialty. This way, you may choose a name that portrays you as a general contractor who offers roofing services. You can select a general term such as Elite contracting as your roofing company name.
Think about Your Target Audience
What kind of clients do you want to attract? If you are in an affluent neighborhood, names like “Affordable Roofing” will not make sense to the wealthiest customers. In such a scenario, you would stick to a general roofing company name that indicates prestige and quality. If you are operating in a low-income region, you may want to use terms that depict the affordability of your services.
Choose a Simple Roofing Company Slogan with a Catchy Slogan
You may pick a simple roofing company name and concentrate on a catchy slogan that will differentiate your business in the market. “Your Roof Replacement Expert” can be a tagline associate with your roofing business.
Make sure that Your Roofing Company Name is legal:
After picking your company name, you will be required to register it with the appropriate institutions. Make sure that it is not being used or trademarked by another roofing contractor in your area. Registering your roofing company name is mandatory for taxation purposes.
Choose an excellent roofing website address that complements your company name:
While it would be a great idea to the roofing company name as the actual address, it is not necessarily meaningful. You can also select a web address that reflects your specialty. The key here is choosing a web address that is easy to spell and remember.
Whatever name you choose, make sure that it is relevant to you, your clients, and the roofing industry in general. Since you name your roofing company only once, invest your time to pick a name that will differentiate and set your business above the competition.
Most Popular Roofing Company Names Patterns
Your Initials or Names
Most roofers opt to name their company after themselves. Real-life examples of roofers who have adopted this pattern include; Williams Roofing and Drainage Ltd and Springer-Peterson Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.
Naming your roofing company after your partner or yourself gives your business a personal feel. Clients will be attracted to you because your business seems small, dedicated, and responsible. They feel like they can contact you directly; which is essential to many property owners.
However, there are a few blunders that you can encounter if you opt to use this approach. If your roofing company name is difficult to spell or is not a common name in your region, it may be hard for clients to find you online. The same applies to names that have similar spellings.
On the flip side, if your name is too dull or common, it may be difficult to create a roofing marketing buzz around it. It will be hard to set your roofing business ahead of the competition if you select “John Roofing.”
You could also be restricting your roofing company growth by using your name. It will be difficult to sell a roofing business based on your identity because it will be challenging for the new owners to continue with your legacy. While you might not be concerned about selling your roofing company, think about your retirement plans. Many roofers sell their business at a handsome profit when they are ready to stop working.
Your Location
Another popular trend when choosing a roofing company name is to include location in your business name. Real-life examples of roofing companies that have adopted this trend include; America Roofing and Remodeling, Langley Roofing Co. Ltd., Music City Roofers, amongst others.
When you first launch your roofing company, having a secure connection with your area of operation is critical. Your roofing website’s traffic and search engine visibility may benefit from including a location in your company name, and potential clients will instantly know if you are available in their area.
On the flip side, a location-based roofing company name can restrict you. Potential clients will think that your name depicts your whole service area. If you move to another service area, then it may be an uphill task to attract new clients. You might not want to leave your hometown and want to keep your business small, but a time will come when property owners will desire a new type of roof at a lower price. Moves are essential to keep your roofing company strong.
If you choose a location-based roofing company name, try to go as wide as possible without appearing too broad. If you only serve one city, then naming yourself Middle Tennessee Roofing Company is a bit odd. Choosing a county is a great strategy, as it helps your business to access customers who are outside your city.
Your Specialty
Adding your specialty to your roofing company name is a smart strategy because it helps potential clients to understand your target market or the additional skills you can bring on board. Real-life examples of roofers who have added specialty to their company names include; High-Tech Roofing Restoration LLC, Direct Roofing and Waterproofing Ltd, amongst others.
On the flip side, adding specialty in your roofing company name can restrict you too, but not as the location-based business name. It is advisable to include specialty once you are sure that the specialty will constitute a huge chunk of your business. Besides, specialties are extremely powerful and can help your business to stand out from the competition.
Animals, Colors, and Objects
Using objects, animals, or colors in your roofing company name can create a real trait and make your business stand out from the competition. Some of the roofers who have chosen to adopt this strategy include; Apple Roofing Company, Roof Monkeys LLC, Black & White Roofing, amongst others.
You will note that roofers who opt to use this trend select familiar, common things. Since most roofers serve the general public, they want to make sure that everyone understands their reference.
Assuming that you will serve any property owner, you will be required to choose something that is familiar to them. Choose something you feel attached to and one that you can stand behind for many years to come.
Adjectives
Adding an adjective in your roofing company name can convey a particular message about your business. Real examples of roofers who have adopted this naming pattern include; Precise Roofing Ltd, Standard Roofing, and Exteriors Ltd, amongst others. Each of these names gives you an overview of what the company does.
The most crucial thing to avoid when using this pattern is being too obvious or cliché, such as the “best roofing company in Nashville” or “Strong roofing.” In fact, the most prominent roofing company names seem like they are disingenuous.
On the flip side, there are some typical advantages of selecting certain adjectives for your roofing company name. A potential client may be using those adjectives when looking for your roofing business. “Reliable roofer,” “Best roofing contractor,” and reputable roofer are terms that prospects will use when searching for your services online.
If you want to show the strength of your business, you can name your roofing company after something that represents the adjective. Roofing contractors who have done this include 5 Star Roofing & Restoration, LLC. 1 Stop Roofing, and exteriors, amongst others. These roofers pass a powerful message, symbolizing tradition or strength.
Made-up Roofing Company Names
Many roofers nowadays name their companies by just pilling letters or combining words. Roofing companies that have adopted this trend include Protouch Restoration and Ecotek Energy Roofing & Solar.
Usually, such names will not work for new roofers who are just starting their business. However, such names are generally unique and available; they can appeal to your target audience.
How to Make Sure That Your Roofing Company Name is Unique
Your prospective roofing company name should be unique to appeal to customers. It should also be unique to adhere to the law since no two businesses have similar names in the same industry. You cannot apply for an existing trademark on your roofing company name, either.
Your initial step should be to take any potential roofing company name and running it through an online search. You can use Google or check directory sites such as HomeAdvisor or HomeStars.
Legislation governing trademark, intellectual property, and the copyright is different in Canada and the United States. Before you register your roofing company name, you should consult an attorney to sure that the name is available. Please know that your proposed roofing company name should not be used if another roofer has the same name, even if the other contractor did not get a registered trademark for the same.
Your local area may apply certain restrictions to your roofing company name; you should check them online or enlist the assistance of a legal professional. Legal guidance is crucial when opening and searching for a roofing company. Lastly, make sure your roofing company name is unique and helps your business to stand out from the crowd.
How to Register Your Roofing Company Name
Once you have picked a name, you need to register it with the authorities. The exact process will depend on the kind of business structure you select and your area of jurisdictions. If you opt for a sole proprietorship model, then you will be registering your business in your province or home state. Every state has its business authorities. It is advisable to enlist legal professionals who will make sure that your company is adequately insured and licensed. After all, a simple blunder can cause you significant legal battles in the future.
Besides, you will be required to register for a Tax Identifying Number or Tax account when you register your roofing company name with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is crucial to seek professional assistance to understand your tax obligations. Remember, once your roofing company name is registered, your business now officially exists.
Choose a Roofing Company Name Today!
Picking a name for your roofing company presents a massive opportunity for refining your business vision. An excellent roofing company name will help to convey your business strengths, marketing message, and skills. Looking at other roofing company names and getting recommendations from friends or family will help you choose a unique name that will make your business stand out in the market. Plus, optimizing your roofing company name digitally and considering your internet marketing options will make your business more successful.
If you are not sure how to go about choosing your roofing company name, let BlackStorm Roofing Marketing assist you. Schedule a free strategy session with our experts and get a roofing company name today!
Nowadays, Google reviews are very important for any Plumbing and HVAC business in any city. Studies show that 88% of consumers rely on online reviews as much as they do on personal recommendations. 90% of these consumers go through online reviews before purchasing a product, using a service, or even visiting a business.
Apart from being the main factor that influences prospect customers, positive Google reviews also rank your Plumbing and Heating & Air site higher in search engines. The more the positive reviews, the higher the search rankings, which, in turn, generate more sales and leads, thus increasing revenue. If you’re looking for ways to improving your online presence through increasing the number of positive Google reviews, stay tuned. This article will discuss 10 Ways to Generate More Business Reviews on Google. Let’s take a look at each method and how to use it to increase your site’s Google reviews.
1. Creating custom Google review cards and placing them on your app or website
One way of getting Google reviews is through using custom Google review cards that have shortened versions of your Google review link. Randomly pasting Google review links on your website may hamper the legitimacy and authenticity of your website. Including custom-made Google review cards on your website will assist clients in accessing your Google review page. You can use a floating button or an animated graphic object on your website to redirects your customers to the review page.
2. Simply Ask for the Reviews in Person
One of the simplest ways of getting Google reviews is by requesting your Plumbing and Heating & Air clients for them. Have you just had a good conversation with a satisfied client in person? Or are you having a customer who has been impressed by your service delivery? During your interactions with clients, you can take advantage of the interaction atmosphere and ask for Google reviews. But ensure that you’re asking for the customer reviews at the right time (that’s after they’re fully satisfied with your services) to get optimal results.
Picture a scenario where you ask for a Google review from a client that’s dissatisfied or completely pissed off. This could result in the client leaving a negative Google review that will be read by hundreds of people.
3. Stress how easy it is to post the reviews
You can proceed and educate them on the importance of their reviews and how they’ll assist future potential clients in making decisions. You can do this by word of mouth, using printouts or posting the steps on how to leave a review and the advantages of the review on a blog page. Most people don’t have time to post Google reviews because of the fear of wasting time in the process or simply not having an idea of how to do it. Here are some tips you can use to persuade your clients to do Google reviews:
Asking your clients to leave star rating only if they don’t have time type the descriptions.
Asking them to make short reviews of one or two short sentences only if they can spare some time to do so.
Using formal terminology like “please leave a review” or “please drop a quick review” instead of “rate us “when asking for reviews. Using polite language on customers will encourage them to make reviews compared to using a commanding tone.
4. Creating a Google Review Email Campaign for your Plumbing and HVAC company
After completing a successful job or sale, you can also make a follow up of your customer via email and ask them for a Google review. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a personal email or a company email; using emails is also an effective way of generating more Google business reviews. It’s not a crime to ask your loyal customers for reviews. Educate them on how those reviews will help other future Plumbing and Heating & Air customers who may be looking for similar Plumbing and Heating & air services. Moreover, if your customers are happy and satisfied, you’ll be surprised by how fast they’ll willingly post the reviews. You only need to ensure that the entire process is clear and easy. This will likely increase the number and quality of Google reviews you receive.
5. Adding a Custom Google Review Links to Your Site
Just like the name suggests, a custom Google link is a custom URL created and placed on your website to redirect your clients to the Google review page. When a client clicks on a custom Google review link, a pop up with a Google review interface will pop up. Custom Google links can be added to your website in various ways. They include embedding the link in your website’s footer or header. You can also use a lightbox popup to request your customers to leave a review. These links will make it easier for your customers to access your reviews page, thus increasing the number of Google reviews.
6. Including Google Review Links in online Surveys
Adding Google review links to online surveys also increases the number of online reviews for your business. Asking your clients for their feedback in online surveys gives an impression of how much you value their opinions and how you have their best interests in mind. Anyone who’s willing to fill out a survey or poll is already in his/her proper mindset. Taking advantage of their willingness and momentum by requesting them to give a review of your business on Google is a bold step towards increasing your number and quality of Google reviews.
7. Share the positive customer reviews you’ve received on your website.
After receiving positive Google reviews from your clients, don’t keep them to yourself. Instead, keep the momentum and the positive vibe by highlighting and sharing them on your website, blog, and social media handles. This will not only improve your Plumbing and HVAC business’s Google rating but also inspire other satisfied customers to post their reviews. Most review sites, including Google, Yelp, and Facebook allows website owners and visitors to mark specific reviews as helpful, which recommends the reviews to new users. This is why it’s essential to periodically share and highlight the positive reviews to rank them amongst the best.
8. Respond to your customers Google Business Reviews
Responding to your clients’ Google reviews lets your potential reviewers know that you care about your client’s feedback, and they didn’t waste their time when writing their reviews. Here are three types of reviews that you’ll come across and how to respond to them:
Positive reviews: Positive reviews are specific, straightforward, and grateful. How you respond to positive reviews determines how many more positive reviews you’ll get. Positive reviews should receive positive responses and motivation to use the service again.
Neutral reviews: These are three-star reviews that lack details on whether the reviewer strongly likes or dislikes a service. These types of reviews have both positive and negative comments. Respond to these types of reviews by reinforcing the positives and addressing the concerns. This will show a prospective reviewer that you’re concerned about.
Negative reviews: These are one-star and two-star Google reviews. Responding politely to a negative review and fixing the issue in time can oftentimes convert the negative Google review into a positive one.
9. Embed a Google Business Review Request link in Your Email Signature
Including a Google review link in your email signature is also an excellent way of asking for more Google reviews of your business without actually demanding for them. This is more effective in cases where you do communicate with your customers frequently via email.
10. Adhere to Google’s Business Review Guidelines
Lastly, please don’t forget to adhere to Google’s guidelines when asking for reviews from your customers. This means you shouldn’t offer rewards for five-star reviews and you should treat all your Plumbing and Heating & Air customers equally, without discriminating them based on how they’ve rated your products or services.
In conclusion, the availability of smartphones has made most individuals rely on the internet to make purchase decisions. Google Reviews are powerful marketing tools that should be used by Plumbing and HVAC business owners to improve online presence and credibility. Positive Google reviews will not only boost your Search engine ranking but also increase your conversion rate. These time-tested tips will come in handy for anyone who needs Google reviews for his/her Plumbing and HVAC business. Use these tips to increase your Plumbing and HVAC business’s authority and reputation.
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How to Create a Google Business Review Link
Before going into strategic methods of generating more Google customer reviews, it’s important that you take this important first step of creating a shortcut to review your business on Google.
Here’s how to generate a link that allows customers to get to your review form in one step:
1. Go to the Google Maps Place ID Finder
2. Search for your business
3. Copy the place ID that comes up with your result.
3. Paste your ID into this link:
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=[paste your place ID here]
We work with plumbing + HVAC business owners all over the country to uncover their problems, analyzing their competition, also developing a dominating growth strategy; we could easily charge $1,000.
We are offering this $1,000 strategy session completely Free. We will invest the time, resources, and expertise… all you have to do is invest your time.
Those who don’t take Step #1 can never take Step #2. Schedule your strategy session now.
Below we offer a few tips and some of our services that will help you accomplish these goals…
DETERMINE THE VALUE OF EACH LEAD
Client Lifetime Value is the single most important metric for understanding your clients. CLV helps you make important business decisions about sales, marketing, service offering, and Customer Support. CLV tells companies how much revenue they can expect one client to generate over the course of the business relationship. The longer a client continues to purchase from a company, the greater their lifetime value becomes.
Basically, It refers to the total amount of money that you expect a consumer to spend in your business during their lifetime. Although CLV may not sound significant, failing to calculate it can put you behind your competitors.
How to Calculate CLV
Several methods exist, which you can use to calculate CLV. The calculations can either be predictive or historic. This implies that you may want to calculate CLV based on your prediction of what clients will spend or based on the actual purchases over the years. Regardless of the method selected, it is imperative to know the client acquisition cost, which is the amount you spent to get the clients, the average profit margin for purchases, and the duration of your relationship with the client.
When calculating CLV, get the average purchase amount and multiply with the average buying frequency rate to determine the value of the client. Then multiply the average client’s lifespan by the value of the client to decide CLV.
Here is a stepwise process that you can follow:
Determine the mean purchase value: you obtain this by dividing the actual revenue of the business in one year with the number of purchases over that year. It does not necessarily have to be one year; you can choose any period depending on your business.
Determine the mean buying frequency rate: divide the number of purchases within a specified time by the number of clients that made purchases within that period.
Determine the value of the client: you calculate this by multiplying the mean purchase value with the mean purchase frequency rate.
Now, determine the mean client lifespan: you can get this by determining the average of the number of years that a client continues to buy from your business.
Now, calculate LTV: multiply the mean client lifespan with the client value. The answer is an estimate of the amount of revenue to expect an average client to generate for your business.
Once you get the CLV, you can calculate the possible profits the business can make. It is also important to calculate CLV so that you can focus more on retaining existing clients than incur a lot, trying to identify ways to attract new clients.
Now that you know your client lifetime value, use it to express to your team how important every lead that rings your phone or pings your email is… For example, let’s say you calculated your client value to be worth $5k, you need to treat every phone call like that is $5k calling you.
OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR CONVERSIONS
When clients land on your webpage, they have expectations and expect to find some basic elements.
Make your CTA a Phone Number
Most businesses should display their phone number so that clients can contact them. Users often make a note of a phone number on a site and use their mobile phones to call the number. Clients may have questions concerning the product or methods of purchasing, and mobile phones are by far the best way to obtain this information quickly. Moreover, mobile phones have become increasingly popular, and with the advancement of the internet, people use them to search for the business.
A report by BrightLocal shows that 61% of mobile users to contact a business with a mobile site. If you want leads on your business, the decision of a mobile number on your CTA is no longer an option.
Include the Number in a Site-Wide Sticky Header
Site-wide sticky headers stay in place when a client scrolls, and they are a popular element of website design. They help the client to navigate without the need to scroll up and down. Therefore, the phone number will remain visible as the user navigates through the page. A user can always contact you anytime they decide because the number remains visible as they scroll.
Display Local Phone Numbers
When shopping online, we all go for something close to where we live. Wherever possible, use local phone numbers on the website to attract nearby clients. Local phone numbers act as leads and can give you profit. It is easy for someone to contact you with local phone numbers. Well, there is the advantage of familiarity as well as low costs compared to international phone numbers. Moreover, using local phone numbers shows the client that your business is trustworthy and easy to contact.
MAKE SURE YOUR OFFERING WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR
In your marketing
You run Facebook ads, Google AdWords ads, and maybe other types of pay-per-click ads too. Your ads will most likely have a headline, to capture attention, text that will dive more into the details of your offer, and then maybe a small image.
Now, what happens when someone clicks your ad? They get redirected to a webpage.
And here’s the question you have to ask yourself: Is your landing webpage consistent with your ad? Your ad has an offer, a specific message that it conveys, so will someone who clicks on your ad find the same content once they land on your landing page? In 90% of the cases, I see, nope.
This problem is called the message match problem. It happens when your ad does not precisely match the end offer on the landing page. It’s a total mismatch in terms of the message being conveyed. Chances are most people who clicked on the ad or listing did because of the advertised sale or service, but when they arrived at the destination and saw nothing mentioning the sale or service they wanted, so they left.
Message match and scent match problems are easier to avoid that you would think. The concept is pretty basic: Your ad should look and feel like your landing page, and the message and offer should be the same. Voilà. Simple, eh?
Now, the best way to obtain a perfect scent/message match is simply to create a specific landing page for each variation of your ads or service.
In your Customer Service
Offering what consumers are looking for means that you are meeting their expectations. Ensure that you know your clients by gathering adequate information about your clients. It is crucial to determine what clients frequently buy, why they opt for that product, and the frequency of their purchases. When you are determining the needs of your clients, it is vital to know details such as their interests, occupation, and lifestyle. Also, include any potential clients that have previously inquired about your products. You can find out more about researching clients here.
Every client has a unique need and holds different views and opinions concerning Customer Service. Therefore, you must know the needs of the client to provide what they are looking for and, as such, provide excellent Customer Service. Make sure you identify ways that the clients expect you to meet their needs. This involves undertaking thorough research on your target market and the marketplace to understand what the clients are looking for in your business location.
Your level of service should meet the expectations of the clients. Go beyond to make the client say ‘wow’ after receiving your products or services. Some ways to know whether you are offering what clients are looking for is to undertake a client survey, client focus groups, or use the suggestion box. You can obtain a lot of input from such activities. If you have an online page, use add-ons, such as “Would you like computer monitors as well?”
The message match problem is one of the most cited by marketers. The problem occurs when your ad fails to match with the end offer on the landing page. As such, a user clicks on the ad but does not see anything mentioned when they land on the site. Ensure that your ad looks like your landing page.
NURTURE YOUR LEADS
Nurturing leads is the process of creating a relationship with clients at every stage and throughout their journey. It involves focusing on communication and marketing efforts on listening to the needs of clients and providing them with adequate information. To develop leads effectively in today’s marketplace, you need to establish and nurture client relationships with a thorough content marketing plan.
Normally, most clients will not take a step in the client life cycle, unless they hear from you or feel engaged with your content at least more than seven times. This is very important, especially in this age of constant information and competitive advertising. Just having a webpage will not do it. To reach clients, you must diversify your message to communicate both when and how leads would like to hear from us. It is crucial to nurture your leads towards sales. Therefore, you will have to use more than one medium such as email, retargeting ads, social media messaging, and SMS, among others. When your Plumbing and HVAC company creates mixed media messages that have highly engaging content, your business will garner more leads and generate consistent sales.
When you venture more into business, you will start realizing the vitality of having an effective nurturing strategy. Research by Forrester shows that marketers experience a mean of about a 20% increase in sales opportunities from nurtured leads compared to those who use non-nurtured leads. The same report shows that companies that nurture their leads have a 33% lower cost and 50% more sales.
ONCE THEY CONTACT YOU, SHOW THEM YOU ARE THE RIGHT CHOICE
The fact that your phone is ringing constantly does not mean that you have hit the jackpot yet. You may have leads, but the main issue is converting those leads into sales. This process requires effective Customer Service and the ability to convince clients to purchase.
Tip 1: Capture the Lead Right Away
The way that you present yourself to a client matter a lot. When the phone rings, use a kind tone and take time to listen first without responding. Once you understand the query, portray a willing spirit. It is crucial to collect the lead info early on like the name of the caller, their phone number, and their address and anything else you need- without this, you may not have a second chance.
Tip 2: Develop a Relationship with the Caller
You want the caller to feel comfortable so that they can talk freely, and to achieve this; you have to establish rapport. You should act very professionally. Remember that you are representing a Plumbing and HVAC company. Therefore, your tone of choice and how you tackle the issue matters a lot. The client will perceive the value of your Plumbing and Heating & Air services based on these things. In the opening line, mention the name of the company and be at service for the client. Show your willingness to help.
Use excellent listening skills by giving the caller time to explain the issues and ask follow-up questions that can help in clarification ensure that you focus on the problem presented by the caller in the best possible way. Doing this will leave the client satisfied.
Always assure the caller then you can solve the issue. You do not want to start creating doubts or suggesting incompetency in your Plumbing and HVAC company. Assure the caller that is the specialty of your Plumbing and Heating & Air service, and you will handle it immediately. If it is something that your department cannot solve, tell the caller that you are transferring them to an individual department that can help them better.
Tip 3: Book the Appointment
During the call, one of the things that you do is understanding the needs of the client. Once you know these needs, proceed to book an appointment. Book an appointment as early as possible to encourage the client to look for your Plumbing and Heating & air services. Before calling you, the client may call two more companies to make informative decisions. Book that appointment if you want to convert your calls into a sale. You can convince a client to purchase by giving them an attractive incentive such as a discount or wave if they book in the next ten days. Try to sell your company by convincing the client that you offer the best services compared to competitors. Once the client schedules an appointment with you, you can be sure that they will come to purchase. Ask them to choose a day that they will be free to book and send them a message reminding them of the appointment.
Tip 4: Regularly Audit Your Call Handling Team
All call handlers need training. If you check well, you may find that there are one Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) in your Plumbing and HVAC business who does not represent your company well to the clients. You must undertake frequent auditing. Auditing does not focus on punishing or sacking an employee.
On the contrary, it helps you to check drawbacks and train employees to represent the company well. You may need to incur a little amount on training whereby employees can learn how to talk to clients can convert your leads to sales. During auditing, it is also vital to commend your staff if they are doing a good job. Never underestimate the power of motivation. You can do verification by listening to call records when made and correcting later. Alternatively, you can encourage employees to listen to each other’s calls and help to improve each other’s skills. Employees with excellent call handling skills can mentor others.
One way to do this is through BlackStorm’s phone call tracking and tagging services (our BEST clients fully embrace this service). With our phone call tracking software, you can monitor all the calls that are coming into your Plumbing and HVAC business and be able to determine precisely where there are holes in your conversion process. You might think your call staff is doing a great job, but how would you know unless your sitting right next to them while they answer every phone call, well with us, you can listen in on every call that you wish.
READY TO BOOK MORE APPOINTMENT FOR YOUR Plumbing and HVAC BUSINESS?
Do not wait long to book an appointment to grow your Plumbing and HVAC business. After going through the above tips, you should be feeling motivated and ready to generate leads. Just follow the steps slowly and ensure that you nurture leads to create sales. In every step that you take, remember that the goal is to convert leads to purchases. Start today.
Roofing contractors are always after one thing; get qualified leads at a lower cost. There are various ways of generating leads for roofing companies, but one method outshines them all, which is PPC ads. It is an effective method, where your roofing business can be placed in front of property owners that require roofing services.
Keeping Google Ads spend low while driving maximum conversions is the ultimate goal of any `roofing marketer. Although roofing PPC can be useful, it can also eat your marketing dollars if you don’t come up with ways of maintaining a high ROI and reducing costs.
Cost per acquisition, which measures the average spend of acquiring one lead, is one of the crucial metrics to look out for any roofing PPC campaign. It is based on real, individual conversions.
Reducing your cost per acquisition helps to cut your marketing budget, sounds good, right?
But if you are going to lower your CPA, you need first to do some diligence because Google will take your dollars, whether you know about cost per acquisition or not.
What will lower your roofing PPC budget?
Review Your Locations
One major cause of why roofers waste their marketing dollars on Google Ads is non-converting locations. As a roofer, you might be tempted to target as many areas as possible, but targeting too broadly means that you will be placing your ads to uninterested prospects and spending money on unqualified clicks. You can be more tactical in retargeting locations by looking at geographical data at the granular level. That way you will instantly know ways of lowering your roofing Google Ads spend
Once you have identified the least converting regions, you can minimize or switch off the bids for the affected areas. Targeting your roofing PPC to a specific location can help you to lower your cost of acquiring leads.
Pay Close Attention to Search Engine Optimization
Significant strategies and concepts like roofing SEO services come into play when we are discussing reducing your spend on Google ads, particularly keywords because they form the backbone of any successful PPC campaign.
So, if you want to get most out of your roofing marketing efforts, pay close attention conversion rate optimization and ranking your site on top of SERPs.
Google ads are lead generation machines that can be altered or influenced to produce desired results. Thus, getting qualified leads and higher conversions.
If you diligently follow the basics of CRO and SEO, you can reduce your cost of acquiring new leads. If you want to dive deeper, feel free to contact our roofing SEO experts for assistance.
Capture Lost Leads with Retargeting
When a homeowner needs a new roof, they will do some research online, ask for recommendations from family or friends and shop around for the best price before they finally make a decision. Many times a potential client is willing to contact your roofing business, but along the way, something pops up and distracts him from doing that. With roofing retargeting, you can win that lost lead back to convert.
Since prospects have short concentration spans, using a video to showcase your roofing services might keep your business ahead of the competition and boost your conversions. Roofing videos tend to give real-time experience, without leaving to the imagination. Therefore, by using videos, your business stands a good chance of enjoying higher conversions and reducing its Google ads spend.
Capitalize on Mobile
With the advancement in technology comes an increase in smartphone use. This implies that many of your clients will be using mobile phones to engage with your roofing business. So, how do you optimize your roofing website to give a pleasant experience to mobile users?
Most roofers tend to focus on more website ads that are optimized for desktops, without knowing that the vast potential lies in mobile advertising.
Focusing more on mobile-friendly sites comes with its benefits; for example, you can use in-apps to target particular clients. These can lead to higher conversion rates and a steady stream of qualified leads-reduced cost of acquiring such leads.
Improve Your Roofing Website Performance
If your business has a poorly-designed roofing website, prospects will not spend much time looking for your services. Therefore, you have to create a more exceptional user experience so that prospects would love to stay on your website and learn more about your roofing services.
Monitor your website loading speed regularly to make it appealing to prospects. If a potential client comes across a roofing site that loads slowly, they will likely leave to your competitors.
Lastly, check your roofing website compatibility with various screen sizes, browsers, and mobile devices.
Use Different Marketing Platforms
In the world of roofing marketing- the more prospects you reach, the higher conversion you will get at the end of each day. To achieve this, you need to use various platforms like Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, Google Ads, and Amazon Ads. This will make sure that you have an extended reach and more opportunities of converting prospects into clients in the shortest time possible.
Both Google and Facebook ads have adapted to the people’s searching trends, and they have modified their adverts according to ensure they achieve desired objectives. Likewise, you need to consider other advertising channels to make sure that you are reaching the right prospects.
What Next? Scale Your Roofing Business
Since the goal of any marketing campaign is to lower costs and improve ROI, we trust that the tips discussed in this post will help you grow your roofing business through Google Ads.
Just know that your roofing company’s success and profits depend on improving your conversions, so it is incredibly crucial to assess how many conversions you generate against what you spend for each click.
