SEO For Roofers 101: What To Know About Search Engine Optimization

Digital marketing is important. You know that. And digital marketing for roofing contractors is different from marketing other industries, or even other kinds of contractors. You know that, too.

But too many agencies talk to business owners as if they’re already convinced of the importance of digital marketing and don’t need to know any more about what goes on “behind the scenes.”

In particular, there’s a lot of chatter about these three little letters:
SEO.

SEO – search engine optimization – is the foundation of any digital marketing strategy. If you try to learn about SEO online, though, you’re bound to hear a lot of conflicting opinions on it.

At New York Ave, we want to help you make an informed decision about digital marketing. That stays true even if you decide to use another agency ... or end up focusing your efforts elsewhere.

Today, our goal is to demystify SEO so you know what kind of claims an agency can make – and what red flags to watch for. Consider it a crash course in what to expect from real roofer SEO.

Let’s Spell It Out: What Is SEO For Roofers?
Search engine optimization uses best practices in website design, technology, and content to:

• Influence search engines to show your content within searches related to your business
• Ideally, ensure your best content shows up higher than competitors’ in related searches
• Continuously expand the number of related searches that your content shows up in
• Continuously raise your average position on the search page your content occupies

How, exactly, do you know if a search is “related” to your business? Simply, a related search is one that suggests the user might be a future customer of yours. For example, a search for metal residential roofing Austin TX suggests an Austin homeowner who’s getting ready to buy.

SEO starts by defining your ideal customer, then determining which search queries – called keywords – represent opportunities for you. Based on that data, helpful content like blog posts and videos can be crafted, optimized for search visibility, and promoted.

A roofing contractor might post content on subjects like:

• What you can do to clean and maintain your home’s roof
• Signs to look out for that require a professional roofer
• When it may be time to invest in a roof replacement
• Seasonal roofing problems and special maintenance

Search engines recognize new website pages within a few days. Each page undergoes a complex scoring process against all other pages on the same topic: In Google’s case, about two hundred factors go into deciding what order pages should be shown in. The SEO expert’s goal is to ensure evergreen content (like the topics listed above) is displayed prominently in search.

This content brings new leads to you while helping them get informed about their options for a purchase. The more SEO-friendly content you have, the more leads will find your website in any given time. And the longer you stick with SEO, the harder it is for competitors to catch up.

Four Myths About SEO For Roofers You’ve Probably Heard Before
Common SEO myths keep a lot of roofers from pursuing a winning strategy. Of all of them, here are the four we hear most often:

MYTH 1: A Good SEO Company Can Get You To #1 On Google
No honest marketer can promise you will get to #1 on the first page of Google results, especially for a highly competitive keyword phrase like “roofers in Houston.”

The truth is, most companies get the majority of traffic by having a mix of terrific content pieces show up in position 3-10 on relevant searches. Plus, search position can vary based on the user’s location.

MYTH 2: You Should Be Able To Tell If SEO Is Working Right Away
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Nobody should promise results within a week. Numbers start to move after the first 30 days, and you’ll see real momentum from a sound SEO campaign in three months. The longer you use an SEO strategy, the better.

As part of a complete lead generation strategy, SEO can double, triple, or quadruple your leads. One of our roofing contractor clients saw 20x growth in website traffic.

MYTH 3: “SEO Is Dead!”
Start researching and you’ll hear this said every month or so – usually by someone with an “all-new strategy that blows SEO out of the water.” The factors that go into deciding search rank do change over time ... and every time, someone says “SEO is dead.”

Since 2000, however, basic tenets of SEO (like getting links from other websites to yours) have been consistent. The biggest changes are in what kind of content search engines prioritize and what user experience you should aim to provide to website visitors.

At New York Ave, we stay ahead of the changes for you. Long live SEO!

MYTH 4: No One Really Knows What SEO Results You’re Getting
SEO is a measurable process that delivers cumulative results with every month you practice it. A digital marketing agency helps you measure those results, figure out what’s working, and implement plans that keep you moving forward. There are dozens of different tools to figure out exactly what outcomes you’re getting and why, and we know how to use them.

Customers Shouldn’t DIY Their Roof – Don’t DIY Your SEO
Whether you’re a one-person operation or have dozens of roofing pros, don’t be tempted to do SEO yourself. DIY blogging and social media yield disappointing results that keep you from building the business you want. DIY digital advertising can cost thousands with no ROI.

New York Ave will get you on track with marketing for roofing contractors you can trust.

To find out more or get started, contact New York Ave today.