SEO for Contractors: Boost Your Online Presence & Get More Projects

The U.S. construction industry is expected to surpass $1.53 trillion by 2028.

With such massive growth, you can’t miss any opportunity!

To capitalize on those opportunities, you should adapt to your audience and show up when they need your service.

According to a recent report, 96% of people learn about local businesses online. 

It includes contractors as well.

So, whether you specialize in roofing, plumbing, electrical work or general contracting, a strong online presence is crucial to reaching potential clients actively searching for your services.

If your business is not visible in search results, you lose valuable leads to competitors.

This is why SEO for contractors is important.

Ranking high in search results increases your visibility, attracts more visitors, leads to inquiry, and converts into your customers.

But the question is, “how to do SEO for contractors?”

Don’t worry! To help you, I have created this detailed guide that will walk you through the key contractor SEO strategies.

Keep reading!

What is Contractor SEO?

Contractor SEO is a strategic approach to making your business more visible when potential clients search for your service in search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Unlike general SEO, which targets a broad audience, contractor SEO is designed for construction, renovation, and home service businesses.

It focuses on helping professionals such as roofers, plumbers, electricians, painters, landscapers, and general contractors who depend on local clients to sustain and grow their businesses.

Why Do Contractors Need SEO?

SEO helps you make a big impact at lower marketing costs.

When people are in need of a contractor, they just simply pull out their smartphones, search “best home remodeling contractor near me” or “best painting contractor near me,” and contact them.

If your website is not optimized for those terms, your customers won’t see you, and in the end, you lose them to your competitor. 

But when you rank at the top of the search results, your potential clients will see you as a reliable, authoritative, and credible professional.

Nearly half of all Google searches have local intent. 

A well-executed contractor SEO strategy ensures that your business appears in relevant searches when potential customers are looking for services in your area.

Imagine you provide roofing services in Jacksonville. If someone searches for “best roofing contractor in Jacksonville,” and your website ranks at the top of the search results, you will receive more inquiries and bookings. 

This is why you need Contractor SEO for your business.

7 Best Contractor SEO Strategies That Will Boost Your Ranking

Just having a website and Google Business Profile won’t be enough to attract clients, you need strategies to showcase your presence. Here are the 7 best strategies you need to do it:

1. Keyword Research for Contractors

Keyword research is the key to SEO.

It helps identify what your potential customers are searching for and what phrases or words they use to look for your service.

Identifying the right impactful keywords helps you improve your strategies and performance.

Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Ubersuggest, and Google Keyword Planner for keyword research.

Imagine you’re a painting contractor. For the term painting contractors, I have got 4,869 keywords.

You can’t use all of these keywords and optimize your website. 

You must carefully assess each keyword, analyze its intent, consider its search volume and difficulty, and choose ideal keywords to optimize your website. 

To attract local audiences, choose keywords like “[Your Service] in [city]” or “[Your Service] near me.”

Instead of generic terms, focus on long-tail keywords such as “affordable roofing contractor in Austin” or “emergency plumber in Chicago.” 

Most probably, these long-tail keywords have less competition and higher conversion rates because they’re more specific, niche-focused, and have a clear user intent.

Apart from that, using long-tail keywords and optimizing your website can help you rank for voice searches. 

2. Local SEO for Contractors

Local SEO helps attract local clients.

Start by optimizing your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).

Google shows its Local-3 pack at the top of the search results whenever a web search has a local intent. 

It consists of 3 local businesses relevant to the searches.

For example, when I search for “best home renovation contractor in Miami”, Google shows these 3 companies in their local-3 pack. 

People trust Google’s top results. They view contractors ranking at the top of the search results as leading professionals in their area and hire them.

Google shows these results by pulling data from the Google Business Profile database.

This is why optimizing your Google Business Profile for local SEO is essential.

Ensure all details are complete and accurate, including your business name, address, phone number, website, services, and operating hours.

Upload high-quality photos of past projects, encourage satisfied clients to leave positive reviews, and update your profile regularly with posts and offers.

Google considers reviews as a ranking factor.

The more positive reviews and ratings you have, the higher you can rank. So, get a Google review link or QR code and make it easy for your clients to leave a review.

However, sometimes, your customers leave negative reviews. This can tarnish your reputation, credibility, and ranking. In such cases, know how to deal with negative reviews.

Building local citations by listing your business on platforms like Yelp, Angi (formerly Angie’s List), Houzz, BBB (Better Business Bureau), and HomeAdvisor can enhance online visibility. 

Your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) should be consistent across all listings to avoid discrepancies that could harm your rankings.

3. On-Page SEO for Contractor Websites

On-page SEO directly impacts your website’s ranking on the search engine results page.

Use unique title tags and meta descriptions incorporating relevant keywords for each page.

Ensure your title and descriptions are clear, attractive, and compelling enough to entice your audience to click on your page in search results.

This is a good example of how to use their title tag and description.

It is simple, clear, includes keywords in the title tag and description, and is within the word limit.

If you provide more than one service or run a contracting service in multiple locations, you need to do multi-location local SEO. 

Create separate pages for each service and location, such as “Kitchen Remodeling in [City]” and “Emergency Plumbing Services.”

Optimize each page with relevant keywords, including your business location, contact details, opening hours, etc.

When you run a business in different locations providing the same services, using the same content might look easy, but it could affect your search ranking because of duplications.

So, create unique content for each page addressing the local audience’s unique needs and pain points.

Look at how the Kasper Custom Remodeling website has created different pages for different locations and optimized them with local keywords.

Use internal linking to guide your users smoothly through your website while improving SEO.

4. Technical SEO for Contractor Websites

Technical SEO ensures that your website is well-structured and optimized for search engines. 

Since 57% of local search queries are from mobile phones and tablets, your site must be responsive and easy to navigate on all screens.

Another crucial factor is website speed. 

If your website loads slowly, it can frustrate visitors, make them move to your competitor’s website, and negatively impact rankings.

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your website speed on mobile and desktop and optimize them by minimizing unnecessary Java scripts, leveraging browser caching, and more.

Apart from that, the security of a website is important. 

Your audience might be worried about data privacy. 

Installing an SSL certificate ensures your site is HTTPS-secure, protecting your business and visitors from cyber threats.

Also, use schema markup to help the search engine crawler understand your website better and display information such as operating hours, contact details, and booking services. 

5. Link Building Strategies for Contractors

A strong backlink profile can improve your website’s authority and rankings.

The more backlinks you receive from high-quality and authoritative sites in your industry, the higher you can rank on the search engines.

Backlinks are like a vote of confidence. 

Each backlink you receive from an authoritative site in your industry signals to Google that “this website is an expert, authority, credible, and trustworthy in the field.  

Guest blogging is an effective strategy to build backlinks.

Reach out to home improvement blogs and offer high-quality articles to build backlinks.

Another great strategy is to partner with suppliers and manufacturers and ask for link exchanges to benefit both parties.

Even though this strategy provides excellent benefits, building backlinks takes time and effort.

No webmaster would agree to give a backlink to another website or brand they aren’t familiar with.

If you already have connections with industry experts, that’s an advantage; otherwise, it could be challenging.

You have to establish a relationship with them and request them for a link.

Every month, finding new authoritative websites in your industry, building relationships with them, requesting them for links, and creating content would be a hefty task.

This is where you need a partner like Stan Ventures.

We have connections with influencers and webmasters in the construction industry and follow a tried-and-tested link-building process that has delivered success to hundreds of our clients.

By leveraging our powerful link-building service, you easily build backlinks from the most authoritative sites in your industry.

This will help you improve ranking and attract more local clients.

We don’t stop there. We continue to find link-building opportunities and create links to improve your authority and increase service bookings.

6. Content Marketing for Contractors

A strong content marketing strategy helps establish authority and attract organic traffic. 

Blogging is an excellent way to engage potential clients. 

Look how the USA HOME REMODELING company has leveraged blogging to attract visitors to their website. 

Look for what your audience is looking for and write informative articles to attract visitors such as:

• “How to replace roofs”

•  “How to unclog your kitchen sink”

• “DIY vs. Hiring a Professional: What You Need to Know.”

Video content is another powerful tool. 

Create before-and-after project videos, customer testimonial clips, and behind-the-scenes footage of ongoing projects. 

Share these on your website, YouTube, and social media platforms to boost engagement.

7. Tracking and Measuring SEO Success

Monitoring your SEO efforts is essential for long-term success. 

Use Google Analytics to track website traffic and understand user behavior. 

Google Search Console helps monitor search performance, indexing issues, and keyword rankings.

SEO tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush provide insights into backlink profiles, competitive analysis, and ranking improvements. 

Use Google Business Profile Analytics to track your phone call enquiries.

Regularly review your data and refine your strategies to optimize results over time.

Common SEO Mistakes Contractors Should Avoid

Many contractors make SEO mistakes that hinder growth. 

• Ignoring local SEO: Your business will not rank in local searches unless you optimize your Google Business Profile and local directories.
• Stuffing Keywords: Overloading content with keywords makes it unreadable and can result in penalties.
• Not Mobile-Friendly: Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing so that a non-responsive website will rank lower.
• Neglecting Website Security: Not implementing HTTPS can reduce trust and hurt rankings.
• Failing to update outdated content: Not updating old blog posts and refreshing website content can cause rankings to decline over time.

Conclusion

SEO is a long-term investment, but it delivers lasting results. 

A strong contractor SEO strategy helps you outshine competitors, establish credibility, and grow your business organically without relying solely on costly ad campaigns.

By implementing these strategies, contractors can rank higher, attract more local leads, and grow their businesses. 

Start optimizing your website today.

Transforming properties is your specialty. Transforming marketing is ours. Contact us now, let’s transform many lives together.