Lead generation is harder than ever for contractors. It could be even more difficult if you’re guilty of these common mistakes.

Inflation and limited budgets are making leads challenging to find for many contractors, but a strong online presence can make you resilient in this challenging environment and help you secure leads consistently.

Are you guilty of these common mistakes? Addressing them will instantly boost your online presence and improve lead generation.

Mistake #1: You’re Buying Leads

Many contractors are struggling with finding leads, and aggregators and lead-only services are taking advantage of this challenging environment to sell leads at a premium.

There are a few issues with this model:

• Lead quality is often low.
• The same leads are sold to several contractors.
• Many leads are simply window shopping and comparing prices but aren’t ready to hire you.
• Buying leads makes you dependent on the service you use.

Generating leads organically is much cheaper, results in better lead quality and supports long-term growth.

Mistake #2: You Don’t Optimize for Local Keywords

Did you know that 46% of Google searches have a local intent? If you’re not optimizing your content with local keywords, it’s time to brush up on your SEO skills and use localized keywords.

Examples of localized keywords include:

• Your city, township and state.
• Your zip code.
• Nearby landmarks.
• Street names.
• Modifiers, such as “best”, “top-rated” or “budget-friendly”.

Use these keywords organically in your page titles, blog posts, URLs, meta descriptions, social media profiles and Google My Business description to get started.

Mistake #3: Your Site is Too Slow

Most visitors won’t wait for your site to load. In fact, 40% of users will leave if your site takes more than three seconds to load.

Browser caching, optimized images and content delivery networks can help with site-loading speed, among other strategies.

Mistake #4: You Overlook Zero-Click Searches

A zero-click search is a search where the user doesn’t visit any webpages. It can mean two things:

• They didn’t find what they wanted.
• They found the answer to their question in a featured snippet, result card, map or other result format.

Zero-click searches represent as much as 60% of searches, and you need to optimize for them. Your first step should be to claim your Google My Business profile to boost your Google Maps ranking.

Mistake #5: You’re Not Active Enough

Google values fresh content, and so does your audience. Publishing blog posts frequently and being active on social media will make your content easier to find while inspiring trust.

Mistake #6: You Lack Local Citations

A local citation is a mention of your business, along with your address and phone number. The more local citations exist for your business, the more Google will consider your business as credible and trustworthy.

You can get local citations on these platforms:

• Social media.
• Local and industry-specific directories.
• Review sites and apps.
• Your local Chamber of Commerce.
• Local news publications.

Mistake #7: Your Content Isn’t Human-First

Human-first content is developed to provide genuine value to users rather than tricking search engines into ranking your website higher.

Google’s recent changes to its algorithm have been targeting low-quality content and giving human-first content a boost, clearly indicating that the search engine wants to deliver more helpful search experiences.

As a contractor, you’re in a unique position to create a construction marketing strategy based on content that educates your audience, showcases your expertise and helps customers make the best decision possible for their home.

Mistake #8: Your Content Doesn’t Provide a Clear Next Step

Sharing human-first content is helpful to users, but you need to also keep them engaged to have a chance to convert them into leads.

You can achieve this by always providing a clear next step, whether it’s calling you for an estimate, subscribing to receive more relevant content or consuming a specific piece of content that will help them in their research.

Calls to action are an effective strategy for guiding users to the next step. A good call to action should:

• Immediately attract the eye.
• Deliver a clear promise (that you will fulfill later).
• Address a need the user has.

Mistake #9: You Don’t Nurture Social Proof

Users will look for confirmation that you’re the right contractor for their needs by checking online ratings and reviews. A study has found that over 75% of consumers trust online reviews, which makes your social proof a powerful tool for lead generation.

You can nurture this by:

• Encouraging customers to leave an online review (without pressuring them).
• Responding to the reviews you get, whether they’re good or bad, and making things right when a customer is disappointed.
• Claiming your profiles on different directories and filling out your information. It will make users more likely to leave a rating or review.
• Being active on social media, where users can leave positive comments or rate your business.
• Featuring testimonials on your website.

Mistake #10: Your Online Presence Isn’t Built Around a Clear Sales Funnel

The key to organic contractor lead generation is to guide users through their buying journey. During this journey, users will typically look for a solution to a problem they are experiencing, compare their options and gather all the information they need to make the best decision possible.

You can guide prospects through their buying journey by:

• Creating content that reflects pain points they can relate to.
• Showing how your services solve these pain points.
• Keeping prospects engaged with content that progressively delivers more information.
• Providing opportunities for users to progress in their buying journey by asking you questions or getting a quote.

Better Lead Generation With Tempesta Media Rank

Are you guilty of any of these mistakes? Making a few adjustments to your digital presence can do wonders for your lead generation efforts.

If you’re not sure where to get started, Tempesta Media can help.

After 13 years in the marketing industry, we decided to focus on the trades and create a done-for-you lead generation solution called Tempesta Media Rank.

Tempesta Media Rank is an organic lead generation solution that creates a funnel with content, SEO and other proven strategies to get you a steady stream of leads ready to hire. Learn more about how Tempesta Media Rank can keep your sales pipeline full.