By Margie Zable Fisher
In a perfect world, all your roofing leads would come from referrals. But in today’s world, customers often look online to find roofers.
But how can you make sure that of the hundreds of roofing providers in your area, yours gets found and chosen? And how can you make that happen without spending all your time on marketing activities? The answer: using technology and proven marketing strategies.
Here’s how to get roofing leads with the help of technology and effective marketing.
1. Optimize your Google Business Profile
The first step in landing roofing leads is getting found online. Take the time to continuously optimize your Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business).
- Claim and verify your business profile from Google, if you haven’t already done so. If you don’t, your Google Business Profile will not populate in search results.
- Fill out all of the available fields. While it can be tempting to fill out only the bare minimum, filling out all the fields will be instrumental in helping potential customers decide to choose you. For example, including metal roofs in your business description and in photos will draw in customers interested in getting a metal roof. So be sure to list your website, phone number, physical address, hours, services, photos and business description. All of these provide keywords, near me and open now search opportunities to help your organic search result placement. Thryv also offers an additional Google Business optimization service for its users, which includes analytics and other services.
Here are some common examples of online searches that may be helped by your Google Business Profile listing:
A search for “roofers near me”
Local search, or “near me” search, is a common way people explore home service providers in their area. Here is an example:
The listings in the circle represent a grouping of three Google Business Profiles, which are called the “map pack” or “local pack.” They often show up immediately below the paid ads, on the first page, which is the best place to be “found” on Google.
To be featured as one of these listings, Google considers these three factors:
- Relevance — How well the search term matches the content in your business listing
- Distance — How close your business is to the searcher’s location
- Prominence — How do Google reviews, links to your business and website SEO look
For your business to secure its place in the pack, optimize your Google Business Profile, and use organic SEO and Google reviews (see below) to boost your prominence ranking.
A search for your business
Customers who are referred to your business will often look you up on Google before calling. When they type in your business name, your Google Business Profile, if claimed, will appear on the right-hand side of the first page of Google, like this:
Instead of potential customers sifting through information on your website, the Google Business Profile listing provides immediate key information about your business. It even includes several reviews and a description. The contact information is front and center, making it easier for prospects to take action.
2. Get More Promising Reviews
You know that reviews are important, but do you know how important? An incredible 96% of customers consider online reviews when selecting a residential home services provider.
That’s massive, but how do you get more quality online reviews in order to gain roofing leads?
Earn more reviews by making it easier for customers to leave you a review. Use marketing automation tools to request reviews for your website when you’ve completed a job, processed a payment or sent an invoice. Thryv offers pre-built email templates to ask for those reviews.
A large majority (86%) of customers would pay more for a home service provider with higher ratings and reviews.
—SoftwareAdvice
Allow online reviews to work for you by managing your review process. Knowledge is power, and Thryv’s online reputation management software allows you to see reviews on top sites as soon as they are posted. That means you can respond quickly to address any issues that could turn off potential customers scrolling through reviews.
You will also be able to compare your reviews with the reviews of your top four competitors. By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, you can look for opportunities to provide better service to your customers, thus setting the stage for more promising future reviews.
3. Use Paid Advertising
The third way to get roofing leads is to pay for them — or pay for each click of an online ad. This is primarily done on Google or Facebook.
When considering what is reasonable to spend on an ad, you’ll want to look at the average monthly spend on the ad type within your industry. If this sounds like a foreign language, don’t leave just yet.
Your spend is going to be what you are willing and able to pay for the ad space. Setting a cap will keep you from going over budget or blowing through money if the leads are not coming in.
When it comes to roofing and gutter services on a search engine like Google, the average ad PPC (pay-per-click) costs:
$101.49 per lead, with an average CTR (click-through rate) of 3.02%. The CPC (cost per click) sits at $9.03 and the monthly spend at $1,875.
For roofing and gutter services on social media, such as Facebook, the average ad PPC costs:
$116.75 per lead, with an average CTR (click-through rate) of 1.25%. The CPC (cost per click) sits at $1.68 and the monthly spend at $1,000.
When you’re paying that kind of money, you’ll want to make sure that you understand how to get the most out of search engine or social media PPC ads. But that’s not always easy.
In recent discussions with 500 small businesses, the Thryv team learned that the businesses were spending money on marketing and advertising (such as PPC ads), and weren’t sure how to determine if they were working or not and which ones were more effective than others.
That led to the creation and launch of the Thryv Marketing Center, which connects with the Thryv CRM and marketing automation software, as well as all PPC platforms. It uses AI to analyze all of the marketing options you use and provides you with an easy dashboard to manage them.
The streamlined process is easy enough to manage on your own, or, like all Thryv services, you can work with the 24/7/365 support team for onboarding and every part of the process. Thryv Support can help you set up your first campaign, recommend best practices, make changes to your campaigns, understand the reports and more.
The bottom line: Save time and money and get excellent leads for your roofing business, by using a combination of technology and the right marketing strategies.
To learn more about how Thryv can help you get more and better roofing leads for your business, click here.
