Google My Business for Contractors and Construction Companies

Google My Business for Contractors and Construction Companies

Google My Business (GMB) is a must for your local SEO for contractors and construction companies.

In fact, claiming and verifying your GMB listing is one of the most important aspects of any service business digital marketing strategy.

It can improve your business’s visibility in Google Maps and search results.

These listings generate a lot of clicks and traffic and you can get a lot of high-quality leads without spending a dime on ads.

Here is a pro tip.

Your main goal with your Google My Business listing is to make it into the 3-pack, optimize your profile weekly, get more great reviews, and do what it takes to stay there.

For example, when someone searches on Google, for example, a “San Diego kitchen remodel”, or “Austin plumbers,” after the advertisements, the next thing people will see is the 3 -Pack of Google My Business listings.

This is called the local Google Local 3-Pack.

You do this with continuous optimization of your GMB listing that will also help you capture new customers and continue to grow your business.

recent study showed that the 3-Pack ranks in the #1 position in 93 percent of Google searches.

Research conducted by Search Engine Watch discovered that 68 percent of searchers prefer the local 3-Pack, 27 percent trust the organic search results below the 3-Pack, and only 10 percent prefer the paid advertisements.

As you can see, 93 percent of local searches will show the 3-Pack listings and 68 percent of these people will click on one of these businesses to inquire about a service or product.

How to optimize and get top rankings for your Google My Business profile

As I mentioned above, your goal should be to get on the first page in the Google 3-Pack.

To do so, you will need to choose the correct category for your main service offering and choose the right keywords.

Next, you will want to make sure that your company profile is 100% finished with your logo, cover photo, hours of operation etc.

Make sure your website is mobile and SEO-friendly and connected to your Google My Busienss listing via a link.

Last but not least, make sure that you keep your profile up-to-date.

Google allows you to add posts and images to your profile, so go ahead and regularly post updates by adding quality content to your GMB listing so you can stand out from your local competition.

Add specials, deals, and promotions.

How important are Google reviews?

Today, 90% of people read reviews before making a purchase decision.

Nothing will get a potential customer to contact your business more than a lot of great reviews.

On the other hand, bad reviews or no reviews will hurt your business and turn away potential customers.

Start asking for and collecting reviews ASAP from your happy clients.

The more glowing reviews you get, you will have a better chance of making it into the local 3-pack and getting more leads.

Also, do your best to respond nicely to your reviews.

How much does Google My Business cost?

Creating your company profile on Google is 100% free.

Once you create a profile, you will be able to manage your business from Google Search and Maps to customize, enhance, and optimize your profile.

How do I set up my profile?

Here are the 10 easy steps to setting up your GMB profile.

1. Visit the Google My Business official page and click on “Manage Now.”

If it’s not immediately clear whether or not your business is already listed on Google (it might be under a different name), click “I don’t know.”

Then enter your business name and address into the search box and click Add Your Business.

Google does not allow you to list a PO Box of a virtual office as an address. This is a quick way to get your listing suspended or banned.

But if you do not have a physical office or warehouse, you can list on your profile that you only serve people in their homes and/or offices.

Make sure your business information is accurate and consistent across all platforms (website, social media, etc.). This includes your name, address, phone number, and website URL.

If any of the information is different for your listings on Yelp or Facebook, for example, then Google will think they’re referring to different businesses and that can negatively impact your rankings.

2. Pick a service category

Choose a category that best describes your business from the list provided by Google like kitchen remodel or plumber.

Google My Business allows you to pick one primary category for your business and up to nine secondary categories.

Make sure that you set it up with your main service offering as your primary category and then list your other services as your secondary categories.

Add information about your services, including opening hours, payment methods and contact details (email address).

This will help people find you when they’re searching for contractors in their area on mobile devices or desktop computers using Google Search results pages or Maps listings.

4. Choose a location or areas served

Google will also give you the option to pick your service areas. You will want to list your main city you do business in and possibly 3-4 areas surrounding your main service area.

5. Add a logo, photos, and videos 

Add your company logo along with photos of your storefront or office location with descriptions about what services you offer, what type of work you do (plumbing, painting, roofing, etc.), hours of operation, etc.

6. Verify your business

Google will then ask you to verify your business by mail or text.

Get the postcard and input the code online or answer the call or open the text with the code.

7. Manage reviews and ratings

Do your best to monitor and manage your rating on a daily basis.

It is better to have a special software like Nice Job that helps with this process

Need help setting up your Google My Business profile?

If you are a contractor or home service business that needs help listing and or optimizing your Google My Business listing, please contact us.

We can help you set up your listing and optimize your profile to collect reviews and local citations.

Local SEO for Contractors: 11 ideas to get top rankings on Google

Local SEO for Contractors: 11 ideas to get top rankings on Google

Local search engine optimization also called local SEO for contractors and construction companies is an online marketing strategy that helps your website rank on the first page of search engines such as Google.

It is no secret that most people do research online when they are looking for help with their property.

They are looking for local professionals who are experts in their trade and checking out their reviews before they make a call.

If you have done your job by creating a modern looking website design and doing some local SEO, this makes it much easier for your company to reach these people in your market when they search for the services you offer.

It simply helps your potential clients find your website and services when they need them, and in return, your company will receive more leads on a consistent basis.

Local SEO for contractors and construction companies can be a bit tricky because there are many other companies in your area who are competing with you.

However, if you do it right, you’ll be on top of the search results, which means more leads and more money in the bank.

There are certain steps that have to be taken in order to ensure your continued success.

This is NOT rocket science or woo woo marketing.

It just takes some basic internet knowledge and a lot of online work.

You can either do this yourself or hire an expert company like ours to handle your digital marketing.

If you are ready to handle this yourself, please keep reading.

I’m going to walk you through the simple process by sharing the tips that I’ve used over the years.

Here are the 11 simple steps to local SEO success:

1. Create or redesign a professional contractor website

Your website is the first impression of your business that potential clients will see. Therefore, it is critical that you make sure you have a great presence online.

If your website is dated and lacks good content, they will more than likely go to your competitor instead.

Having a well-designed website that is SEO optimized is essential for contractors to stand out to potential customers and beat their competition in their local markets.

2. Create content on your website

Make a home page, about page, service page, contact us page, and a blog.

Then, create as many pages as possible with relevant content about your business and its services/products/locations. Make sure each page has unique content that is not duplicated across multiple pages (no keyword stuffing).

This will help Google know what each page is about when it crawls your site and determine which one should appear in search results based on the relevance of content and location data from the map on each page.

3. Search Engine Optimize (SEO) your website

If you do not have an online presence or your website is not on the first page of Google, you are missing out on a lot of new potential business.

That is why you need a website and to optimize content for local keyword searches and phrases.

Use your main service and local city in the keywords in your title tags on your home page.

For example, MasterCraft Plumbers Carlsbad, Ca. or San Diego Roofing Company.”

And you need to SEO optimize your meta descriptions.

4. Get listed on Google My Business (GMB)

Google My Business (GMB) is a must for your local SEO.

Create a GMB page for your business and add the correct information.

Choose the right location extensions for your target cities for proper GMB listing optimization

Work on getting as many 5-star reviews on your Google profile as possible.

Update your GMB listing regularly (weekly) with photos and videos.

Rinse and repeat…

5. Get in the Top 3 for Your Main Service in Google Maps

The Google Local Map Pack (also known as “The Map Pack” or “Google Top 3 Map Pack”) consists of 3 local businesses that are shown on top of organic search results.

Ranking in the map pack is simply one of the most powerful SEO ranking factors that will determine whether people will click on your listing or not.

It is a set of 3 maps that show up at the top of the search results for local searches.

The Map Packs are displayed at the top of Google Maps search results when you search for a location-based keyword, such as “kitchen remodeler near me” or “san diego emergency plumber”

If you’re a contractor looking to be found online and to get more leads on a daily basis, this is where you want to be.

6. Get listed on Yelp

Some people don’t like Yelp. They say it’s a place for negative reviews, or that the reviews are too biased to be useful.

But if you’re in the contracting business and you don’t have a profile listed on Yelp, you’re missing out on some serious opportunities.

Yelp has massive local search dominance. Often, they rank #1 for many contractors and home service business searches.

The popular review platform has become one of the go-to places for consumers to find reliable information about local businesses and services.

According to a study by Bright Local, 92% of consumers use online reviews sites like Yelp when looking for businesses like yours.

That’s more than any other source, including Google, Facebook and Angie’s List.

People looking for contractors near them will find your listing when they search for “contractors” or other relevant keywords in their area.

This lets them find local businesses they can trust without having to call everyone in town — which saves them time.

That means if you’re not on Yelp, chances are that your competitors are and they’re winning out over you.

7. Get 5-star reviews

When potential clients search for a contractor to do business with, they also research their reviews.

Search engines like Google and review sites such as Yelp also use reviews as an SEO ranking factor for your website.

So you need to get lots of reviews from every happy client. Then get more reviews. Rinse and repeat daily!

Encourage them by using special software to share those reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other review sites where they’re appropriate

8. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a must for local SEO and brand awareness.

It draws in and retains audiences by sharing relevant content such as videos, photos, infographics, articles, and podcasts that are relevant to your field of expertise.

You then publish this content on your blog or other social media platforms to attract traffic, rank well in Google, and convert that traffic into leads and customers.

For contractors and home service businesses, educational and informative content works best.

For example, if you have a home remodeling company, you might consider creating content like articles and videos that feature before and after photos of your remodeling work and share them on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

Show how to install cabinets, tile, or how to properly waterproof a shower pan.

You can create informational content based on what people are searching for online to help them get ideas before they remodel.

To do this, you will need to perform keyword research and start creating content around these searches.

You will find that people are searching for “how much does it cost to remodel a bathroom?”, “how much does it cost to remodel a kitchen?”, and “bathroom remodel ideas on a budget”.

9. Social media marketing

Social media marketing for contractors is the use of these social media platforms to promote and brand your business.

It allows you to engage with existing customers and reach new ones as you promote your company culture and services.

Use social media effectively by posting relevant content and listening to what people are saying about your industry or business

This allows you to drive traffic from social media by using optimized images, blog posts and videos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which also helps with yoru SEO efforts.

10. Get internal links and backlinks

If you want to get more traffic and sales, then you need to have more backlinks pointing to your website.

This is known as link building and it is an important part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Backlinks to your website and internal links help with your local SEO.

Backlinks are links from other websites, which point to your website. These links can either be internal or external.

Internal links point to pages on your own website, while external links point to another website.

There are many ways to get backlinks like guest blogging, building links on other websites, writing content and creating videos.

Use local citation sites to get backlinks and boost your rankings.

Write guest post articles for other relevant websites.

You should use all these techniques to build your backlink profile.

11. Video marketing

Video marketing is one of the most effective and profitable ways for contractors to get more leads and dominate their local market.

Search engines like Google now include video as part of their search results and give preference to websites that include video content on their landing pages.

They help your potential clients find you by increasing organic traffic to your website and help them stay longer which increases engagement — a key ranking factor with Google — as well as conversion rates.

Search engines can’t read and interpret video content alone, so it’s important that you optimize your videos and their content for search engines by including relevant keywords within your titles, descriptions, tags and transcripts.

You can make target areas and cities that you want to work in by including the city in your title and description.

Add videos on YouTube and Facebook that show your services in action and get backlinks to your website for local SEO.

Do you have the expertise and time to do this yourself?

It takes a lot of time and expertise to do local SEO correctly.

This can be a real challenge for busy contractors who are running their business.

That is where a digital marketing agency for contractors like ours can help your company at a fraction of what it would cost to hire an in-house marketing expert.

If you would like a consultation or free estimate, please reach out to us and we would be glad to help!

Google Ads for Contractors and Home Service Businesses

Google Ads for Contractors and Home Service Businesses

To turn potential customers into leads, you need to be found when people are searching for services like yours.

That’s where Google Ads for contractors and home service businesses come in.

Google Ads is the most popular pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform that allows you to reach people who are actively searching for products and services like yours, whether they’re searching on Google Search or Maps, or browsing websites that partner with Google.

They are a great way to get displayed on the first page of Google, bring more traffic to your website, and get leads.

If you are a plumber who serves customers in your city and surrounding areas, wouldn’t you want your ad to pop up when people type in “plumber near me”?

That’s exactly what Google Ads can help you do — show your ads to people searching for your services in your area.

Whether you’re new to Google Ads or an experienced user, setting up an advertising campaign is an important step for getting your business in front of the right people.

That being said, Google Ads campaigns can be tricky — especially if you have never done it before. Also, when you’re competing with bigger companies with larger budgets, it can feel like an uphill battle.

This is where The Contractor Brotherhood comes in.

We’re going to show you how to properly set up a Google Ads campaign that targets local customers who are looking for your construction services.

In this guide we’ll cover how to:

Create an account with Google Ads

Choose the right keywords for your business

Select your campaign type and goal

Create an ad group with keywords and extensions

Choose a location to target

Set your budget and bid strategy

Optimize your ads

*** Google Ads is a complex beast, and it can be intimidating to get started.

If you are too busy or do not have the expertise and need us to set up and manage your advertising campaign, we can handle that for your company.

Please call us at 619-333-5422 or contact us online at this link.

STEP 1. SIGN UP FOR AN ACCOUNT AND SIGN IN

Signing up for a Google Ads account is free.

All you need to do is provide some basic information and create an account username and password.

To get started, you’ll need to create or sign in to your Google Ads account.

You can do this by going to http://ads.google.com and sign in with your Gmail address or create a new account.

Then just follow the on-screen instructions to creating your ads and finish setting up your account.

STEP 2. SELECT YOUR ADVERTISING GOAL

You will have four options to choose from:

Get more calls, Get more website sales or sign-ups, Get more visits to your physical location, and Get more brand awareness with video views.

For most contractors and home service businesses, you will want to choose “Get more calls.”

STEP 3: ADD YOUR BUSINESS INFORMATION

Once your account is created, you’ll be asked to provide some basic information about your business or organization, including your  business name, phone number, website address (URL), and primary business category.

If you have a shop or showroom, make sure that you enter the correct address so that customers can find you — this info will be shared in your ad.

If you do not have a place where customers can visit, choose the option your business serves customers in their homes and add your home address as your office when Google asks for your company’s address. It will only be used for verification purposes and will not be displayed on your profile.

Then choose your country and timezone, and then click continue.

STEP 3. SET UP YOUR CAMPAIGN & CREATE YOUR AD

The next step is to create your ad with the titles and descriptions that you would like to use. Google will auto-populate your online form with all the ad copy from content found on your website.

Google does a great job at doing this, but you will definitely want to edit and add some of your own titles and descriptions as well.

STEP 4. CHOOSE YOUR KEYWORD LIST

The next page will ask you to add keywords that apply to your business.

Keywords are the building blocks of your campaigns.

They tell Google when to show your ad, which means they play a huge role in determining how effective your campaign is going to be.

A Google Ads keyword list for contractors is a collection of words and phrases that you create based on the terms you think people might use to search for your ads.

A keyword list is an organized collection of keywords that are relevant to your business and which search terms you should use on your website for SEO content and in your ads.

It is simply a master list of words and phrases closely related to what your business does.

Match keywords to search intent

The first rule when setting up a Google Ads campaign is to match keywords to search intent.

There are three main categories of keywords:

Informational keywords: terms that people use to find information about a particular subject (for example “how to fix a leaky faucet”).

Transactional keywords: phrases that people use when they are ready to buy something (for example, “plumber in Los Angeles”).

Navigational keywords: words people type in when searching for a specific website (for example, “Home Depot”).

For example, a keyword list could comprise of single-word keywords, such as “remodel” or “remodeling”, or it could be made up of more complex keyword phrases that show transactional intent like “kitchen remodel contractor” or “kitchen remodel company near me.”

If you own an HVAC company or Roofing business, for example, transactional intent keywords you might use are “HVAC contractor near me” or “roofing company near me.”

As an advertiser on Google, you can use your keyword list in various ways, including choosing keywords for an ad group or text ads, and targeting your ad to specific websites on the Display Network.

To create a new keyword list, click the + button , then select New keyword list.

To add keywords to an existing list, click the name of the list under Keywords in the page menu on the left, then click Add keywords.

You can create a keyword list from scratch or from existing keywords using various free and paid online tools like – Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, Ahrefs or SEMRush – there are many of them out there (I recommend Google Ad Keyword Tool).

Make a master list of keywords for your business and services in a spreadsheet.

Divide all the keywords into categories based on their intent (informational or transactional) and your products/services (cities/models).

STEP 5. TARGET AREAS

Google Ads gives advertisers the ability to target their ads to specific geographic locations. This is called location targeting.

You can target your ad to specific countries, areas within a country, a radius around a location, or location groups, which can include places of interest, your business locations, or tiered demographic data.

Targeted areas and radius targeting can be used together to boost your local reach, but it’s important to understand the differences between the two.

Radius targeting enables you to target a circular area around a central point that you specify by entering an address or place name.

You can set the radius to as little as .5 miles/kilometers from the central point and up to 1000 miles/kilometers.

Targeting an area is similar, except that instead of specifying a specific address, you choose a type of area such as a postcode, town or city and then enter the name of that area.

Google will automatically estimate the size of the area based on its internal data.

You’ll now be asked to choose a location for your ad campaign (where people will see it).

You can target this by:

Country, city, state, county, province, postal code or area code

Physical address (radius or polygon)

You can even show ads at specific times of day based on your customer’s time zone.

However, if you want to reach a large audience — say, the entire San Diego area — the best way to do it is with an area-based location.

You can choose locations by city or state or even specify how far from your location people must be before they see your ad. For example, you might only want to target people within 5-20 miles of your office or address.

To target customers near your business location, choose ‘Search Network with Display Select’ in step three of the campaign setup wizard.

You can enter your areas and then click Continue.

STEP 6: SET YOUR DAILY AND MOTHLY BUDGET

Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) or cost per click (CPC) basis, which means that you only pay if someone clicks on your ads.

You have complete control over your budget, which is how much you’re willing to spend each day and month on your ad campaigns.

For example, if you pay $15 for a click, and the person who clicks your ad decides to buy from you, the cost of that click won’t affect how much you receive from the sale. You only pay when your ad is clicked.

You need to know how much you can afford to pay per click and how much the leads are worth to you. The CPC also depends on the niche that you target.

For CPC bidding campaigns, you set a maximum cost-per-click bid – or simply “max. CPC” – that’s the highest amount that you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad (unless you’re setting bid adjustments, or using Enhanced CPC).

Your max. CPC is the most you will be charged for a click, but you’ll typically be charged less – sometimes much less.

Your actual CPC is based on the competition for a particular keyword in an auction. In addition to determining ad position, your actual CPC also determines how much of the total advertising revenue Google earns from clicks on an ad goes to the advertiser and how much goes to its partner site publishers.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SPEND?

For contractors, it is recommended that companies spend between 5% and 15% of their total revenue on advertising costs.

So, if your company makes $1 million per year, you should plan to spend $50,000 to $150,000 per year on advertising.

To see results, depending on your niche, most contractors will need to set it to at least $50 – $500 or more per day in ad spend.

STEP 7: REVIEW YOUR AD

The next step is to review your ad information to check for mistakes.

STEP 8: ENTER YOUR PAYMENT INFORMATION

Enter the credit car that you will pay for your ads. You will be billed when your account hits a certain threshold on ad spend and is usually every week.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Once you have gone through steps 1-8, your Google ads account will be set up but it will not be fully optimized.

There are several settings that you should really dial in to make your ads perform the best.

Below I will list the various settings that you can adjust and tweak for better performance.

ACCOUNT OPTIMIZATION TACTICS

If you want to run a successful Google Ads campaign, you need to be constantly monitoring performance metrics and making adjustments. If you don’t, your advertising efforts will fall flat and you’ll end up wasting time and money.

This is why you need to perform Google Ad account optimization on a continual basis to have success.

Optimizing your Google Ads account means adjusting your campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads so they’re performing at the best possible level.

Optimizing your Google Ads account can be a complicated process. If you have an account already, you may find that your ads aren’t performing as well as you’d like them to.

Or perhaps you’re just getting started with Google Ads and want to ensure that your campaign is set up correctly from the outset.

The first step in optimizing your Google Ads Campaigns is to take a look at the data you have available.

Google Ads has a lot of data that it keeps track of, and most of it is very useful in understanding how your ads are performing.

To view this data, click on the “Keywords” tab in your Google Ads account. Look at the columns labeled as Negative Keywords, Search Terms, CTR, Avg CPC, Conv Rate, and Cost / Conv.

These are all numbers that will help you see how well your ads are doing for you.

Whatever your situation, you will need to optimize your Google Ads campaigns to get the best ROI. Here are the details of each optimization technique.

NEGATIVE KEYWORDS

You want to make sure you don’t pay for clicks that aren’t relevant to your business. You can do that by using a combination of negative keywords and positive keywords.

Negative keywords are one of the easiest ways to improve your PPC campaigns.

Negative keywords block your ads from showing up when someone searches for those words or phrases, while positive keywords help trigger your ad when people use them in their search.

To make sure your ads appear on relevant searches, you can use keyword lists in combination with negative keyword lists containing terms that are not relevant to your business or products.

You can add negative keywords at either the campaign or ad group level. The scope of a negative keyword depends on where it’s added:

Campaign-level: Prevents your ads from showing when someone’s search includes that term. Your ad won’t show even if the term is included in an individual ad group’s positive keyword list.

Ad group-level: Blocks your ads from showing for specific searches within an ad group.

You can add campaign-level and ad group-level negatives to the same item, but keep in mind that campaign-level negatives take precedence over ad group-level negatives when there is overlap between the lists

How to add negative keywords to a campaign or ad group:

Sign in to your Google Ads account.

Click Campaigns, Ad groups.

Choose the campaign or ad group you want to add negative keywords to.

Click the Keywords tab.

Click on the Keywords subtab.

Click the pencil icon and select Negative keywords from the drop-down menu.

Check the box next to Negative match to add a keyword as a negative exact match keyword. If you don’t check this box, the keyword will be added as a negative phrase match keyword by default.

Enter your negative keyword into the box and click Save.

CAMPAIGN TYPES

There are two main types of Google Ads campaigns: Search campaigns and Display campaigns.

The campaign types currently available to businesses are:

Sales

Leads

Website traffic

Product and brand consideration (brand awareness and reach)

Product and brand consideration (store visits)

The campaign type you pick determines the ad formats you can use, the settings you can select and where your ads will appear.

For most contractors and home service businesses, you will want to use a search campaign targeted at getting leads.

Click the Campaigns tab, and then click + New campaign and give a name to your campaign (e.g., “Plumbing Leads” or “Roofing Leads”).

You can do this all yourself or use Google’s Ads Express, which offers fast and easy setup.

When you are planning your first campaign, I recommend that you start with a search campaign and you do this manually.

You will also have the option to choose Pay for clicks (CPC), Pay For Calls, Pay for conversions (CPA) etc.

Click-to-call campaign:

This campaign is best for businesses that generate most of their revenue from phone calls.

For example, an emergency plumber, water damage or restoration company might prefer to have people call them rather than fill out a form for a quote.

The advantage of click-to-call campaigns is that you can measure your return on investment (ROI) directly from calls on your ads.

For home builders, roofers or remodelers, etc., this may not work because people will want to research other companies or learn more about your company before they call you to spend tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Meaning, you should not expect every click to result in a call or lead.

Therefor, a search campaign targeted at getting leads and using pay for click along with retargeting is most likely the best method.

LANGUAGES TO TARGET

Select a specific language like English or All languages from the Languages section (or select the language that best represents your audience). For example, if your default interface language is English, you can still run campaigns in French, German and other languages.

When setting up your campaigns, you’ll be asked for a primary language. This is the language that most of your keywords use.

If you are in the US and deal primarily with homeowners, English will be the best language to target.

TARGET AREAS

Google Ads gives advertisers the ability to target their ads to specific geographic locations. This is called location targeting.

You can target your ad to specific countries, areas within a country, a radius around a location, or location groups, which can include places of interest, your business locations, or tiered demographic data.

Targeted areas and radius targeting can be used together to boost your local reach, but it’s important to understand the differences between the two.

Radius targeting enables you to target a circular area around a central point that you specify by entering an address or place name.

You can set the radius to as little as .5 miles/kilometers from the central point and up to 1000 miles/kilometers.

Targeting an area is similar, except that instead of specifying a specific address, you choose a type of area such as a postcode, town or city and then enter the name of that area.

Google will automatically estimate the size of the area based on its internal data.

You’ll now be asked to choose a location for your ad campaign (where people will see it).

You can target by:

Country, city, state, county, province, postal code or area code

Physical address (radius or polygon)

You can even show ads at specific times of day based on your customer’s time zone.

However, if you want to reach a large audience — say, the entire San Diego area — the best way to do it is with an area-based location.

You can choose locations by city or state or even specify how far from your location people must be before they see your ad. For example, you might only want to target people within 5-20 miles of your office or address.

To target customers near your business location, choose ‘Search Network with Display Select’ in step three of the campaign setup wizard.

You can enter your areas and then click Continue.

LOCATION OPTIONS

Under Location options, select either People in my targeted locations (recommended) or People in or regularly searching for my targeted location (NOT recommended).

If you predominantly serve homeowners, you will want to target people who are in your targeted location.

When you select the “People in my targeted locations (recommended)” option, your ads will run on Google Search and Display Network properties only in the locations that you specify.

Your ads won’t appear to people searching for information about your business from outside of your target areas, but you could still get calls and visits from people who live near your business location.

TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographic targeting is an important part of Google Ads. It enables you to reach people who are more likely to be interested in your products and services. Over time, demographic targeting can help improve your ad performance.

In order for us to make sure that your ads are only being shown to the most likely people to call you, we need to know things like your ideal age range, gender and they type of people who are calling you.

These options can make it easier for you to show your ads to the right customers.

MONTHLY BUDGET

You can also use tools like Ad scheduling, ad delivery method settings, bid adjustments, and device targeting to help control costs.

That way you can set a monthly limit on your ad spend and never go over it. Plus, you can pause or adjust your ad spend at any time.

Your ad can appear in the top or bottom of the search results page when people search for terms related to your keywords.

Google Ads offers a few default strategies that allow advertisers to optimize their bids automatically:

Target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) – With this strategy, you set the average amount that you want to spend for each conversion. Google will take care of bidding for you by adjusting the bid amount accordingly.

MATCH TYPES

As well as the keywords themselves, we can also set other properties for each keyword, such as its match type and bid amount.

The match type tells Google how strictly to match a search query to our keyword. For example, we could set the match type to ‘broad’ or ‘exact’ to indicate whether we want our ad to show for related or exact searches.

The bid amount is the maximum amount that we’re willing to pay when someone clicks on one of our ads. As well as setting bid amounts at the keyword level, we can also set bid amounts at the ad group level and the campaign level.

CONVERSION TRACKING

When a customer completes an action that you’ve defined as valuable to your business, that’s called a conversion. You can use conversion tracking to measure how well your ad campaign is doing at achieving your business goals.

With conversion tracking, you can see how effectively your ad leads to valuable customer activity, such as website purchases or calls to your business.

There are four different types of conversions that can be created using Google Ads: Website, App, Phone Call, and Import.

For contractors, the two best options are:

Phone calls: If you want to track how many phone calls were generated from your ads, this is the best option. You will need a phone number on your website that is different than the one that shows up in your ads.

This way, you can track how many people call from clicking on your ad versus calling from searching for your business name directly.

Website actions: If you want to track sales or other actions taken on your website, this is where you set that up. You will need access to your website’s code.

This is not something you can do within Google Ads itself; it has to be done through your website developer.

When you set up conversion tracking, a snippet of code called the global site tag will be installed on every page on your website.

Once installed, the tag gives Google Ads access to data about the actions people take when they visit specific pages on your site.

Log in to your Google Ads account, and navigate to Tools > Conversions from the menu on the left side of your screen. From there, click on plus (+) button and select “Conversions”

GOOGLE ADS ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

The Contractor Brotherhood offers Google Ads management with a dedicated team that specializes in Google Ads.

Our experts will analyze your current site and provide recommendations on how to improve your user engagement.

We optimize your Google ads and website landing pages specifically for mobile devices so that customers can make purchases, convert, and learn more about your business wherever they are.

With a dedicated team focused on Google Ads and landing page design, our Google Ads management agency provides the professional services your business needs to succeed.

Please call us at 619-333-5422 or contact us online at this link.

What is a subcontractor in the construction industry?

What is a subcontractor in the construction industry?

A subcontractor (sub or subs) is a company or individual that has a contract with a principal or general contractor (commonly referred to as a GC) for the performance of a portion of the work specified in a construction contract.

They are frequently used in construction since they can provide specialized services that would be difficult for general contractors to supply on their own.

A GC is essentially the company or person who oversees the subs during the entire construction process from start to finish.

They can be hired for short or long periods of time depending on how much work needs to be done on a project or what stage it is at.

Subcontracting is common in all types of construction projects, including residential, commercial and industrial projects.

While each type of project has its own unique needs and requirements, there are some basic similarities that apply to all.

Subcontractors are often used for large projects to help the main contractor complete their work in a timely manner for certain tasks or for all the tasks throughout the project.

They can provide this expertise without making you hire additional employees or buy expensive equipment.

The main advantage of using subcontractors is that they can perform tasks with specialized expertise that would be difficult or impossible for most general contractors to accomplish themselves (e.g., installing solar panels).

The main disadvantage of using subcontractors is that they increase costs because they must be paid separately from other parts of the project (which means more paperwork and possibly higher fees).

Normally, they are also licensed contractors who specialize in a specific trade, such as demolition, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, or concrete.

For example, if you want to build a building with glass walls at ground level and steel girders above, you’ll need expertise in both those areas that most general contractors don’t have.

In most cases, when a general contractor hires a sub, he or she will require that they meet certain standards and requirements set forth by the state or local government where they’re working.

These include licenses, insurance and bonding requirements that protect both parties from liability issues if something goes wrong during the course of their work together.

When you have many subcontractors working on one construction project, it’s very important to make sure the project is completed on time and within budget.

That’s why it’s important to have a contract or some sort of written agreement with the subcontractors that are helping you with the project.

One thing that makes subcontractors a divisive topic is the varied quality of their workmanship.

They are the backbone of any large construction project and can make or break a project, so it’s important to find and manage good subs — which can be difficult at times.

The good ones are worth their weight in gold, but the bad ones can ruin the whole project.

That’s why it’s so important to find and hire good people and companies.

But don’t take their word for it — get references and check their background before hiring them.

10 Tips for Contractors to Get More Referrals and Leads

10 Tips for Contractors to Get More Referrals and Leads

You’ve probably heard it before: Referrals are the best leads and business that you can get.

It is one of the best ways to grow your contractor or construction business.

They have higher conversion rates than cold leads because people who have been referred to you are more likely to buy from you than people who came across your website or company on their own without being referred by someone else.

They’re free, and they’re from people who already know you.

I’ve been working in the real estate and construction industries for over 20 years, and I’ve had a lot of success with getting business through referrals.

But it’s one thing to know that referrals are good, and another to get them on a regular basis.

It’s all about being intentional and proactive about providing great service and creating happy customers. You won’t get much better than those two things!

The good news is that it doesn’t take much time or effort to get the word out that you’re doing great work — so that when people need something done, they think of you first.

Here are 10 steps to getting more referrals:

1. Be a great person and leader

You know the old saying, “Givers gain.”

It’s true. If you want to get more referrals, you have to be a giver. You have to give more value than you receive.

You have to be generous and give people an opportunity to help you by referring business your way.

Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t get caught up in all the stress and money aspects of the business so you become jaded towards other people and start becoming a jerk.

2. Focus on employees

Your employees are the face and lifeblood of your company. If your customers have a bad experience or do not trust your employees, you will not get any referrals.

You need to hire good people who want to do a good job and be the best they can be.

Your employees and clients are human. Treat them all with respect and humility like you want to be treated.

This doesn’t mean that you have to pay them more or give them better benefits than anyone else in town.

It just means that when they come to work each day, they should feel like they’re part of something special — something that makes their lives better because of their relationship with the company and with their coworkers.

3. Be helpful

When people need something from us, we’re happy to give it because we know how much we appreciate it when someone helps us out in our business.

If there are people that need help with anything related to construction – from marketing tips to hiring contractors – offer your expertise freely and without expecting anything in return.

4. Do great work and provide exceptional service

The first step in getting more referrals is having a product that people want and need.

If you don’t have a great product or service, then people won’t refer you because they won’t want their friends or family members using your service if it isn’t any good!

By making sure that clients are happy when dealing with your business, they will likely come back again because they know that they will receive the same level of service each time they visit again or make another purchase.

So make sure that whatever it is that you do, it delivers real value to the customer and makes them happy with their purchase or experience with your company.

5. Give referrals

You know how they say it’s better to give than to receive?

That applies here too! If someone asks you for help, refer them to someone else who might be able to help them out faster and better than you can. You’ll make their day and it will make yours as well!

6. Ask for referrals

Don’t forget about your existing customers when trying to get more referrals for your construction business!

Ask them if there’s anyone else who might need your services and whether they would be willing to recommend you as well (make sure you ask permission first!). If they’re not comfortable giving out personal information but are willing to pass along your contact info (which is all

When you do a great job, ask your client if they know anyone else who could use your services. Make sure to follow up on those referrals once they come in.

7. Keep in close touch with referral sources

When someone sends business your way, make sure that everyone knows about it — especially the person who referred them!

Let them know how much it means to the company and how much it helps us grow our business in difficult economic times when referrals are harder to come by than ever before.

Always follow up with referral sources after you’ve helped someone out of the blue – just because you have helped them doesn’t mean they’ll remember to send you more business!

Follow up by sending them a handwritten thank-you note or sending an email thank-you note that includes a link to the article if it pertains to what they do for a living (ex: real estate agent who helped sell my house).

8. Make it easy to refer you

Make sure your website is easy-to-use and looks professional (i.e., not something made in 1998). You need a website that is easy for potential customers to find information about your products and services through

Create a blog where you can publish articles about relevant topics related to your industry or niche market that will help other professionals like yourself do their jobs better (or more efficiently).

In addition, it’s important that you include a link back to your website or social network page so readers can connect with you further if they wish (this is called “social proof”).

Create a referral card or brochure that makes it easy for people to give you their friends’ names and contact information. The more organized you make the process, the more likely people will be willing to help out.

9. Networking events, social media and other sources

Don’t just focus on your existing customers.

Build relationships with referral sources with other contractors, realtors, bankers, accountants and other business owners in your community.

Offer them free advice or services when they’re not busy with their own clients (ask permission first).

You never know who might have an idea for a new project that would benefit from your services!

Be active in online communities specific to your industry or niche market so that you can make new connections, learn from others’ experiences, share valuable information about your industry or niche market and get feedback from other professionals in the community on how you’re doing (or not).

Try reaching out to new potential clients by attending networking events or joining industry groups on social media sites like LinkedIn or Facebook, and make new connections and promote yourself as an expert in your trade.

10. Use technology to systemtize and to keep track of everything

If you want your business to grow, you have to set up a simple system that works for you and your clients.

It’s one of the most important things you can do to increase revenue and profitability.

Use a CRM system so that all of your contacts are organized into one place and easily accessible when you need them most — whether that’s while meeting with potential clients or during the sales process itself!

Software like Nice Job.

Once your customer has been enrolled in the Referrals campaign, they will receive a message that thanks them for their positive review and also asks if they have any friends that they’d like to refer to your company 🤝

The Contractor Brotherhood Conclusion

Referral marketing is one of the best ways to grow your business.

It’s an easy way to get more customers without having to spend money on advertising.

It’s a powerful word of mouth endorsement that can lead to increased revenue, increased customer acquisition, and new revenue streams.