Marketing for deck builders used to require a website, which was used to highlight previous projects and collect new leads. Then you needed to drive traffic to the website, and that is where SEO came into play. As search engine optimization became more competitive it caused pay-per-click advertising to rise in popularity because a business could achieve those top positions without the wait as long as the budget was substantial enough to land on the top spots.
This naturally caused PPC competition to increase and top bids became ridiculously expensive. Then Google shook up the search results pages and introduced its Maps listings, which many marketers refer to as the “local pack.” Consumers loved the visual aspect and the information presented to them – the details they deemed important, which includes means of instant interaction with a business: phone call, tap for directions, or visit the website.
This has made being found at the top of Google Maps so important for deck builders looking to acquire new customers and book new deck building jobs. Your Google My Business profile is the single most important component of not only displaying in the Maps results but also showing up on the top for search terms in your local area.
A properly optimized Google My Business profile is crucial to the success of your deck building business. While it’s a listing that provides prospective customers with information related to your business, it is also the data source Google pulls from for its local search results.
Setting up a GMB profile correctly requires experience and a full understanding of how the local search algorithm works. Do you have a Google My Business profile? We’re going to assume you do, so we are going to explain how to set it up properly to help you rank on top for local deck building keywords so you acquire more leads and customers for your deck building company.
Complete Every Section Fully and Accurately
Businesses that have already claimed their Google My Business profile automatically assume their information is correct and accurate, but that isn’t always the case. It’s a good idea to audit your entire profile, paying attention to the following:
- Accurate business address, exactly how it’s displayed on your website, character-for-character.
- Main business phone number
- Website URL (include the “https://” at the beginning)
- Business name spelled out correctly without any abbreviations
- Up to date business hours
- Accurate business category
- Service area
Use Google’s best-matched category, which is “Deck Builder,” but then also add in keywords based on additional deck building services your business offers.
You will also want to double check your description, and make sure that you use your main keyword and service areas that you want to rank for, along with some alternative variations within the description copy.
Make Your Deck Building Company Google Profile Visually Appealing
Optimizing the technical side of your profile is needed to help your deck building company rank on Google, but what about optimization for consumer trust and conversion rates once someone clicks on your listing?
Consumers are visual creatures by nature, so be sure to have a lot of high-quality images. Here are some images you must include in your GMB listing:
Company Logo: Be sure that this is a high-resolution image and cropped properly. Employees: Photos of the entire team are a great way to radiate that small business vibe that consumers connect with. Office: Showing pictures of your office is another way to build instant trust and credibility. Equipment: From a fleet of trucks to the tools of the trade, images of the equipment used by your deck building company give prospective clients the confidence that your business can handle any size job. Completed Projects: Let your talent and results do the selling. Any business can claim they are the best. Use professional images, as this is a direct reflection of your best work.
You will want to always add new images so your profile is always fresh and updated. Many businesses upload images and leave them for years. Over time that just makes the company appear to be outdated, and in the tech-first world we live in these days a business has to show its audience they are current and modern.
Focus on Customer Engagement to Drive Leads and Sales
The type of engagement on Google My Business is far different from that on Facebook and the other social media platforms. Someone might see a Facebook post and like and comment simply because they think the pictures of the completed deck job your company did look great. They have no interest in or need for a deck builder.
On GMB however, consumers that are searching and reading business profiles are looking to hire. They are doing preliminary research on the deck building options local to them. Solid reviews and a complete profile are a good start, but it’s the little content blurbs that can help drive leads.
Always have an appealing offer with an upcoming expiration date. This creates FOMO and can lead to a much larger number of leads generated. You can constantly update this so you always have a current offer expiring within 48 hours.
You will also want to make sure that you have the call-now call to action button enabled. This directs calls to the main number listed on your Google My Business profile, which is another reason you want to make sure your listing is always up to date.
This is the highest quality engagement your deck building company can receive online, so make sure you are positioned to take advantage of it. Individuals engaging with your GMB listing are warm leads prime to be closed.
Post a Wide Range of Deck Building Content on Your GMB Profile
Google My Business provides you with another social platform to post content, and it’s designed for shot-form. Little messages, promos, images of completed deck builds, etc. – this is the place to highlight little bits of information, whereas your deck building blog is where you can publish long-form content optimized to rank for specific keywords.
Since the majority of the people interacting with your GMB profiles are going to be potential customers this is where you can get away with being overly promotional. Showcase your deck building skills with before and after images. Post special offers to draw interest and generate deck building leads.
While you can get away with promotional, you also want to mix in some helpful information and some lighthearted fun just to showcase a little personality, which can help to establish a strong connection with a prospect before even speaking to them.
Start small – one post per week is fine, and as you begin to experience more interaction and volume, up it to twice a week. This is a great platform to announce special offers, as the audience here is actively looking for a deck builder.
Secure Google Reviews from All Past Customers
Google reviews for your deck building service help enhance your listing in several ways. Google’s algorithm rewards businesses with a large number of positive reviews as well as businesses that constantly acquire them consistently. It’s highly beneficial to always have fresh reviews being published on your Google My Business profile.
They also contribute to a higher click-through rate, as the average consumer automatically assumes the business with more reviews is the better choice. They will at least click on the reviews and begin to read them.
Ask your customers to leave you an honest review. The more detail the better. A prospect is going to take an in-depth review about your deck building quality into consideration more so than a simple “Great experience” generic review.
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers to leave you a review. You will find that most will gladly do it, and if you provide them with a link to your GMB profile it makes their job easier, which greatly increases the chance of securing that review.
Final Thoughts
Every deck builder’s marketing strategy should include optimizing a Google My Business profile to be found at the top of the local search results. This is where local consumers turn to when they need to hire a local contractor for home improvement jobs.
Simply registering an account and completing the bare minimum isn’t enough. It’s far too competitive to expect any kind of substantial results with minimal effort. The tips outlined above will help you optimize your GMP listing and achieve the highest possible position within the Google Maps results for your main keyword.
Deck builder marketing can be overwhelming if you are not familiar with the basics of search engine optimization and how Google’s algorithms work to help its users find the most relevant and helpful information online.
If you are interested in learning more about the deck builder marketing services our agency offers, please contact us for more information. Our team of marketing experts understands how to rank deck building companies on the top of Google for the keywords and search terms that customers are using when looking to hire a local business.
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