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4 Keys to Good Contractor SEO Marketing

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Are you a plumber, electrician, or other contractor who needs to know good contractor SEO marketing practices so you can generate more leads and sales online? SEO marketing for contractors involves a few special considerations that you should be aware of.

1. Contractor SEO Marketing Should Focus on Long Tail Keywords

A long-tail keyword is a keyword that’s three words long (or longer). They right keywords won’t get millions of searches, but they will get hundreds of searches.

Targeted keywords will bring in people who are thinking of taking action right now. That means you’ll get more people who are ready to pick up the phone when they’re sure they’ve reached a contractor they can trust.

Keyword research is one of the most challenging parts of contractor SEO. Sometimes it’s a good idea to get help from an expert who specializes in picking the right keywords for a business like yours.

2. Create Amazing Content that Appeals to Customers

Of course, you should never choose a keyword without first having some unique, useful content to hang around that keyword. We recommend writing great articles first, and then researching keywords which might work seamlessly inside of the article.

This isn’t just about impressing Google’s robots. Your website has to effectively pre-sell your services to the people who care most about them. It has to build trust.

This is an on-going project, because a good contractor website is more than an online brochure. It’s a living, breathing entity that needs regular attention.

Regular blogging makes your expertise clear to your customers. Sometimes, you can even get business by teaching customers to do some of the things you do!

For example, one of our biggest customers is a gutter contractor. We do a lot of posts on cleaning and repairing gutters, even though this is a major source of income for our clients.

Why? Because most people read the “how to,” appreciate that we’re willing to teach them what to do, and promptly conclude that they don’t have the time, energy, or desire to do any of those things. They call my client to do it for them.

Sure, you’re giving away free information. You could charge for it if you wished. By choosing not to charge for it, however, you build up positive feelings in the minds of your customers. That translates into business for you!

Remember, the goal of contractor SEO is not just to get a bunch of traffic. It’s also to get a lot of business.

3. Keep it Local

It doesn’t get you any good to get a lot of traffic from Russia or Singapore if you’re doing business in Minneapolis. You need homeowners in Minneapolis to find your website and blog.

Local SEO is a three-pronged process. First, you need to claim and optimize your Google+ Local site. Then you need to build citations, which are web-wide directory listings containing your business information. Finally you need to use local optimization strategies on your own website.

When we do this for our contractors we work on two strategies. First, we include city names in each blog post. Second, we have a proprietary strategy that helps Google understand the extent of our client’s service area.

These strategies can put you on page one of Google for your city, state, and contractor type. Ranking locally is very doable and very lucrative. Local, organic search traffic is generally searching for someone to hire now.

4. Keep it Consistent

Your blog or website needs to be updated on a regular basis if you want it to be an effective marketing tool. We recommend updating your site at least twice a week.

If you don’t have time then you need to consider hiring a local SEO contractor who will take care of these details for you. TVS Internet Marketing serves contractors nationwide. We help businesses like yours get front-page results, and we can help you too. If you don’t have time to update your website regularly then call (800) 679-6005 today!

This Business Owner Does Video Marketing Just Right

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In a previous post I mentioned that video content is one method that you can use to save yourself some writing when you’re trying to market your products or services online.

Today I’m going to talk to you about a business owner who did his video marketing so well that he sold me on his product on the spot with no other encouragement. He did it all with the help of a very unassuming video that took less than 10 minutes.

Then, I’m going to talk to you about how you might duplicate his success. The business owner in question is Dale Coyner of Open Road Outfitters.

Dale sells motorcycle trailers that can also be used as car campers, and he’s got a lot of great video content on his site. It was one video in particular, however, that captured my attention.

What He Does

Coyner follows a specific format for his videos that he has followed on every video he’s made on his camper models. It’s a formula that works.

The first minute of his video gives you a little overview of the camper’s features. It gives you an interior and an exterior view, and then it gives you a very, very brief overview of some of the available accessories.

The next eight minutes of the video concentrate on showing you exactly how to set up and take down the camper. Throughout the video Dale keeps it friendly and real.

The video is professional enough that it’s not painful to watch but is not so polished that he appears fake or insincere. I get the sense that I am getting to meet Dale himself, and he presents himself in a way that instantly helps me like him and trust him.

Why It Works

The video works for several reasons. First, it answers almost all of the questions someone might have about this particular brand of camper.

The set-up and take-down is exceptionally useful information. He is basically giving you an easy instruction manual before you buy the product.

If you are intimidated about the prospect of setting up such a camper–as I was–he removes all sense of intimidation for you. For first time buyers this is invaluable.

Veteran camper buyers who have struggled with more difficult camper set-ups will enjoy the information as well.

He makes a strong case for his product and demonstrates its quality and fun without ever “selling” it. He just tells you all about it in a very matter-of-fact way.

Adapting Dale’s Method to Your Business

You do something like this when you produce video for your own business, even if you don’t have something that your customer would need to set up and take down.

If you’re a plumber trying to sell tankless water heater installation, for example, you could spend 30 to 60 seconds of each video explaining the benefits of the tankless water heater. Then you could follow it up with some useful information.

You might, in fact, be able to do multiple videos this way. For example:

“How a Tankless Water Heater Works.”
“How to Adjust a Tankless Water Heater.”
“Troubleshooting a Tankless Water Heater.”
“What a Tankless Water Heater Install Looks Like.”

Remember, there are just a few keys to duplicating Dale’s success. Give a small overview of the product or service. Then, walk the customer through easy, step-by-step information that takes the fear out of the purchase. Finally, keep it professional while keeping it real.

A Three Tweet Method to Promote Your Blog Posts

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In a previous post I talked about coming up with Twitter content using plumbers as an example. Today, I’m going to offer you a strategy for getting your individual posts more attention.

Let’s say you do a single post on Twitter that sends people to your blog posts. Let’s also say that you have 500 Twitter followers.

It would be a mistake to think that your message is going to be seen by all 500 of those followers. In reality, a tiny fraction of those followers will see the tweet for the 2-3 minutes that it is actually visible in their Twitter feeds.

The remedy is simple. As in public speaking, the trick is to “tell them, tell them what you told them, and tell them again.”

Tell Them

The first Tweet should be the title of the Blog post and a link back to the post. You might want to shorten the URL with Tiny URL (using it is self-explanatory).

It’s also not a bad idea to write self-explanatory post titles that are short enough to fit into a Tweet, since you don’t want any part of your first Tweet to get cut off.

So if the title of your blog post is “How to Clean Gutters” you’d simply post “How to Clean Gutters,” and the shortened URL leading back to the post. If you have share buttons you could even simply hit the “Tweet” button on your own page.

Tell Them What You Told Them

One day later you can tweet the blog post again. This time you’re going to use a question as a lead-in.

For example, you might ask, “Storm season is here! Do you know how to clean your gutters?” Then post the shortened URL again.

You might even strategically target a different time of day so that you capture a different segment of your follower list.

Phrasing it in the form of a question also captures the attention of people who might ignore blog post headline tweets. It also keeps you from looking like you’re just repeating yourself over and over again, which is something that most people really hate.

Tell Them Again

2-3 days later you can come in one more time with a “Hey, in case you missed this” or “Did you miss this?” type of post. You’re showing that you’re aware that you’ve already posted this content for those who did read it.

You can also use the words “Don’t forget,” or any words which indicate genuine concern for your followers and your hope that they get the valuable information you’re getting to them. Try to change it up so that your Twitter stream doesn’t start to sound repetitive.

So the post might read: “Don’t forget to clean your gutters, here’s how:,” with the URL. Or it could read, “Tips for cleaning your gutters in case you missed them:,” and the URL.

Again, for maximum exposure you might want to choose a different time of day than you chose for the previous two posts.

If you’re struggling for Twitter content this strategy gives you three updates for the price of one. If you’re posting blog content every day this can also help you get multiple tweets out every day, instead of one tweet per day.

If you’re promoting other people’s content you can use the same strategy for their content, as well. They’ll appreciate the increased exposure, and, again, it gives you more to Tweet.

Today’s Action Items:

  • Use the three tweet strategy for one of your blog posts.

How to Handle an Entire Month of Social Media in an Hour or Two

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If I were going to name any hurdle that a business owner faces when it comes to building an effective social media presence it would have to be time. There are plenty of other pressing problems that come up during a day, including the need to serve your customers.

That’s why I absolutely love HootSuite, and I think you’ll love it too. This is probably the easiest tool out there for scheduling your tweets, a strategy I outlined in the Twitter 101 post.

You can also monitor your tweets, direct messages, Twitter stream and mentions from a single, unified screen, and do so on multiple accounts. You don’t even have to download any special software since it’s all done out of your browser.

You start by creating an account. Then you can add each of your twitter accounts. They’ll all be shown on a separate tab.

But the real magic is in the Publisher sidebar. That’s where you’ll schedule each of your tweets.

From this screen you simply compose your message in the field at the very top of the page. You’ll choose your account and then click on the calendar button.

Then it’s a simple matter of putting a tweet out for the right date and time. You can sit down and load up 30 days of links and content in just a couple of hours this way if you have content to share.

I also recommend scheduling one tweet for the morning and one tweet for the night this way (different tweets). This allows you to catch different crowds during the day.

While you’re logged on you can quickly offer some @replies and re-tweets if you see anything interesting in your Twitter stream. You can also use a quick share button if you come across any interesting articles during down time just as you normally would.

If you want to follow new people you’ll need to go down to the “Contacts” tab. It will let you choose between the people you are following and the people who are following you.

These features are all available on the free account. If you want to update your account you could gain access to some other features, like analytics, which can offer some insights into how effective your campaign actually is.

This is truly a “fix it and forget it” solution. As you create more content you can continue to load up your tweets well in advance of when they’ll debut, ensuring that you won’t fade into obscurity even in your busiest seasons of the year!

Today’s Action Items:

  • Get a HootSuite account and try scheduling at least one week of tweets.

9 Ways Local SEO Consultants Can Help A Customer Retention Program

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Search Engine Land recently ran a nice article on the 5 Important Trends Affecting the Local, Social, and Mobile Industries. One of the things that jumped out while reading this article was the section on shifting from acquisition to retention.

This prompted some digging on various ways that local SEO consultants could help small business owners actually retain customers, not just get them. Here are ten ways your local SEO consultant can help you.

Establish a Regular Newsletter

E-mail marketing is a great customer retention tool if it is used correctly. Your Local SEO consultant can help you turn your campaign from a haphazard collection of buying pleas to a real tool that customers will look forward to receiving.

For example, the consultant can help you customize the content to become important to your customers. For example, if you’re a heating and cooling contractor your January newsletter could cover ways to locate expensive air leaks in the home. Your July issue could cover how to increase natural air flow in your home just as the summer heat is making such a topic relevant and useful.

Develop Strategies for Gathering Customer Feedback

In a recent post I covered how a simple follow-up e-mail could help you get more reviews. However, these reviews don’t just help you push up your rankings and make more sales.

When customers leave it is often because they believe they aren’t getting good service. Creating an effective strategy for soliciting honest customer feedback means you hear about problems and can respond to problems more quickly, ensuring a high level of service that keeps customers coming back for more.

Develop Loyalty Programs

Some small businesses struggle with loyalty programs. However, they can be as simple as a great offer sent to customers through the existing e-mail newsletter.

If you are a gutter contractor you might think about offering a heavy discount on regular gutter cleaning services. If you’re a driveway contractor you might offer customers the same sorts of discounts on driveway re-seals. Think of ways that you can make regular maintenance more pleasant and affordable for customers so that they get a longer lifespan out of the items they bought from you in the first place.

Help Craft an Effective Welcome Campaign

When it comes to your e-mail newsletter your welcome letter is probably more important than any other e-mail you might send. It sets the tone for future e-mails and determines whether or not customers will still be listening when you send out your tips 6 months from now.

There’s definitely an art to crafting these kinds of e-mails. They start simply though: by thanking the customer for choosing your company.

Customers have a myriad of choices, including doing nothing at all. It’s always nice to be conscious of that fact.

Talk to Lost and Inactive Customers

Your e-mail list shouldn’t just cater to the fully engaged, loyal customers. If possible you should create a list that helps you cater to lost customers and inactive customers, too.

It could be as simple as sending out an e-mail to customers you haven’t seen in 6 months to say “Hey, we miss you.” It could also involve posting a survey on your website that asks customers how you might improve.

Create Content that Makes an Impact

It’s always nice to be able to give more than you get. It’s also nice to give customers a reason to visit your website again and again. A local SEO consultant can typically help you out with some blogging services to keep your website looking fresh and new.

A Local SEO consultant can also help you put together some additional special reports or free resources that really help your target customers. If they learn that this content will be available on a regular basis they’ll come back again and again.

Promote Your Customers

The online world has become increasingly cooperative. People get the most help when they help others.

If your small business serves other small businesses then you have a unique opportunity. Your Local SEO consultant could, for example, help you create a “This is the face of an ABC Plumbing Customer” video campaign.

Everyone does testimonials, but you don’t have to follow the pack. Instead you could invite the owner of each company who has worked with you to spend 2-3 minutes talking about his or her business. He never has to talk about yours: it’s evident he used the business and liked it by virtue of simply being there.

Then you’re not just the company that fixed XYZ Consulting Group’s toilets. You’re the company that has contributed to XYZ’s success. You’re now in a relationship, a partnership, with that company, one that will typically lead to that company staying with you over the long haul.

Develop Awards Programs

Awards programs are extremely effective. Everyone loves bragging rights.

Whether it’s ABC Lawn Company’s Most Creative Yard Awards or the ABC Plumbing Company’s Excellence in Community Service award you can bet that the winners will feel a real sense of goodwill when you offer it. They’ll also post it on their websites, mention it to their friends, talk about it on Facebook, and mention your company every single time they do it.

Develop A System for Suggesting Additional Products or Services

Did your customer last come into your dentist’s office for a tooth cleaning? It probably makes sense to suggest a teeth whitening service too.

Suggesting additional products or services isn’t pushy, it’s helpful. That’s why the model has been so enormously successful on Amazon.com. eBay has now adopted the same model.

If customers can schedule the additional service or buy the additional product right online, at your website, then you’ve won an even greater part of the battle for customer retention.

Remember, it is much easier to sell to an existing customer than it is to sell to a new customer. It’s also less expensive. Seize every edge when it comes to using your local SEO consultant and internet marketing services to keep every customer you can.

Should You Pay for Premium Listings on Directory Sites?

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Free directory listings are an easy way to build citations so you can boost your Google+ Local ranking. When you sign up, however, you can expect to be bombarded with advertisements, e-mails, and sales calls which encourage you to sign up for paid, “premium” listings.

This of course begs the question of whether or not the premium listings are a good investment. Every business is different, of course, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

Know Your Purpose and Your Customers

If you’re using the directory listing just to create a citation then the paid listing rarely makes sense. The citation counts, even if it’s dropped to the 100th position out of 100 listings.

It also helps to know the extent to which your customers use the directory. If you know that you’re getting a lot of clicks from Angie’s List then taking the paid option might give you a good ROI.

If you are in a profession where there is a prestigious or famous vertical directory for your business that people know of and routinely go to, and you have the money to spend, it can’t hurt. Lawyers.com would be one example.

Some deals are also just too good to pass up. If your business serves a lot of elderly clients then the $10 per month that it takes to gain a premium listing on Yahoo.com, old school as it may seem, may just be worth it, as Phil Rozek mentioned over on the Catalyst Local eMarketing Forum.

Be Prepared for Headaches

Paid directory listings come with a lot of headaches. They all seem to staff their offices with hyper-aggressive salespeople who don’t know when to leave their prospects alone.

There are only so many times you can take a call about adding, upgrading, or renewing your listing before it starts to cut into your business time. Ironically, the amount of customer service rarely seems to match up to the sales effort. As soon as there’s a problem you can typically expect the amount of attention that you receive to evaporate into uselessness.

What’s more, the results you receive rarely live up to the promises made or the prices paid. You can easily see this if you maintain your own analytics. Often the directory site will provide figures on impressions and clicks that seem strangely inflated when compared to your own figures.

The Mind of the Customer

The customer simply doesn’t care if your listing is paid or free. The customer wants to find what the customer needs.

Sometimes the paid position can even work against you a little bit. I personally don’t trust premium listings if I know for a fact they are premium listings.

That means finding ways to get more positive reviews is usually a far more productive use of your time, energy, and money than paying for a directory listing. Incidentally, getting more reviews will have a positive impact on your position in the rankings, too.

Bottom line? In 99% of all cases premium listings just aren’t worth the bother.