Just like any other business, painting companies must implement effective marketing strategies to grow and expand. Many painting contractors are reluctant to invest in marketing and, as a result, have low profits margins. With some streamlined marketing strategies, your painting business can start gaining the sustainable leads it needs to gain more revenue. One of the most cost-effective marketing tools painting contractors can use is search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential business tool for painting contractors. If you aren’t using SEO for your painting business, it will be hard for potential customers to find your website. If your website can’t be found, your lead generation efforts won’t be successful. While SEO encompasses a wide span of marketing practices, there are three big SEO strategies to keep in mind.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Before I delve into key SEO strategies for business success, it is important to understand what SEO is and how it influences lead generation. SEO involves optimizing your website—using specific words and technical features—so that it performs well in an organic search. In simple terms, SEO allows you to connect with potential customers searching for your product or service. When SEO is done well, you will show up high on search result pages for keywords that are directly related to your business objectives.
Most painting contractors use paid search as their primary source of lead generation. While paid search and ads can provide your business with quick exposure, it doesn’t provide the lucrative leads that directly result in new customers and profits. That’s why focusing on organic rather than paid search is essential for painting contractors. Not only is prioritizing SEO cheaper than paid search, but it also provides long-term sustainable business exposure. Below are the three primary SEO strategies that are essential to the success of your painting business.
SEO Tip for Painters #1: Location
The first tip is to ensure you have the correct location on your website. I cannot tell you how many times we have done a diagnostic assessment of a website and someone has stated their location outside of their service area. They’re in a suburb, but they want to get leads from the city. They’re in the city, but they want to get leads from the suburbs.
You can build city pages, and you can build pages that will allow you to get on the first page of Google. However, in many situations, that’s putting you two-thirds of the way down the page, and you may never get a lead. So, the first step in SEO is to make sure that the correct location shows. The full address; the whole thing. Don’t try to hide that information.
Put your location where the boundaries of your city are. If you don’t know if your business is located inside or outside of a city’s boundaries, just look up the city in Google maps, and a little red outline will show up. If you’re outside the red outline, you will not appear in search very often.
SEO Tip for Painters #2: Create a Strong Keyword List
SEO for painting contractors revolves around a simple question: Is your keyword list valid? I see so many people building websites that have only a handful of pages with very little content. Additionally, most websites don’t feature the keywords and phrases that are being searched by users. This is because most painting contractors don’t have the industry expertise that I have from working with national painting franchises, manufacturers, and independent contractors. As a result, most painting companies build their entire website around keywords that are not related to the industry.
Often, this happens if you hire someone to build your website that is not familiar with the painting industry. So, are your keywords relevant? Is there enough stand-alone content per page where each keyword can be found? Think of each page on your website as a mouse trap for a particular keyword.
SEO Tip for Painters #3: Optimize for Google My Business
My last SEO tip for painters is to optimize your Google My Business page. There’s not a whole lot you can do on a Google My Business page, but each and every detail is important. Some questions to consider when optimizing your Google My Business page include:
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- Have you named your pictures after keywords before uploading them?
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- Do you have keywords inside your reviews? You can prompt these very easily with your clients.
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- Are your hours of operation listed?
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- Have you picked the categories for painting contractors that are out there for the services you provide?
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- Are you posting during the busy season or when you have a promotion?
Asking yourselves these questions will ensure you don’t miss any opportunity to optimize your Google My Business page. If it’s been a few years or months since you’ve looked at your Google My Business account, it’s critically important that you do so.
Summary of SEO Tips for Painters
In summary, the first thing you need to do is look at your location. If the location is too competitive, consider locating your business elsewhere. Additionally, analyze different areas to identify locations where there is untapped opportunity. Sometimes, this means opening a secondary location.
The second thing is creating a strong keyword list and making sure that you’re using keywords that people actually use in their Google searches. When your keywords are created solely from your gut instinct rather than any research, you’re not going to attract potential customers.
The last SEO tip is optimizing your Google My Business page. This is especially important for painting contractors, as it can generate a lot of leads.
In this video, we’ve just scratched the surface of SEO. If you want more in-depth information, I would suggest that you download the free report in the video training series exclusively for repaint contractors. You can find the download on this page. In the report, we provide an in-depth look at SEO, and I provide examples of the importance of effective website development and local SEO.
Use Painter Academy’s Expert Business Coaching Services to Grow Your Painting Business
Many painting contractors are reluctant to take time away from painting to focus on improving their business. This results in contractors struggling to make a livable salary. As a painter, taking the time to invest in your business—specifically in effective marketing strategies—is the best way to increase your profits. With hard work and dedication, you can watch your business grow, expand, and excel.
Often, many painters outsource their website development to professionals who are not familiar with the painting industry. As a result, their websites lack the valuable keywords that generate leads and, ultimately, conversions. At Painter’s Academy, our team intimately understands the painting industry and the marketing strategies for an effective website. Our services have a proven track record of helping painters develop websites that provide profitable returns. If you want to grow your painting business, call today at (423) 800-0520, or fill out our online contact form.