As a roofing contractor, you may find that getting new customers is one of the toughest part's of the business. Word-of-mouth referrals are wonderful, but they're few and far between to sustain your business. The most effective way to bring in new customers is a combination of digital and traditional marketing focused on your local area. The following three strategies can help attract new customers to your roofing business.

1. Focus on Local SEO

Whenever someone does a search for "roofing company near me" or "roofing contractor in (your town)," you want your business to appear on the first page of Google. Local search engine optimization (SEO) means focusing your Google SEO efforts in just your local area. 

How To Succeed at Local SEO

You could start a blog on your website that gives out weekly roofing tips or educational bits. Also, get on social media. Have an active Facebook page and other social media profiles, which will often turn up in local Google searches. Creating content based around your services (and what you think people will search for) can help you rank  for various search terms and words.

Get your company listed in local business directories. There are many tools available to do this as kind of a set and forget action. It's a small detail, that goes a long way.  Also, make sure your website is optimized to convert customers. You have a website right? Good, make sure it look great on mobile phones, as many people use their smartphones to search for nearby services like roofing. Have a call to action such as a phone number presented right up front so the customer can call you right away. There are many additional steps to take to fully optimize your website for search. If you're serious about having your website show up on the first page of Google, then you should seek help from professionals.

2. Set Up Your Google Business Profile Page

This tip is extremely powerful for any business with a local clientele. If you haven't already set up a Google My Business page, you should do so right away. This is a special page that Google provides to every business for free.

Once yours is set up and optimized, which doesn't take long, your business will have a good chance of appearing at the top of page one. To see this in action, search "roofing near me" on Google right now, and you'll see three roofing companies displayed beside the map.

How To Optimize Your Page

If you'd like to appear among those top three local recommendations, make your Google My Business page more attractive than your competitors. You can do this by putting up some really nice pictures of your workers doing a great job. Also, fill out all your business information and write an attractive description of your services, mentioning any clear reasons why you're better than the local competition.

Encourage Positive Reviews

Once your account is set up, encourage happy customers to leave a nice review on Google. Most people like to use positive reviews to help them decide who to hire. Monitor these reviews carefully and respond promptly and politely to any less-than-happy remarks.

3. Launch an In Your Neighborhood Campaign

Traditional roofer marketing methods such as flyers, billboards, local newspaper adverts, and good old-fashioned door-knocking have lost their effectiveness. The key is to focus with pinpoint precision on one local area that gets your message into the hands of homeowners. What if you could keep your crews and equipment in the same neighborhood for weeks - saving you time, money and gas?

An In Your Neighborhood campaign is a customized mail piece with your personalized message and your branding that goes right into the hands of homeowners and  gives them something tangible they can feel, keep and refer to whenever they choose. It will get your message into the hands of homeowners and clusters all jobs into one neighborhood at a time. This decreases the distance traveled to and from job locations, saves time and gas between jobs and estimates. Plus, it allows you to target high-income homeowners in the neighborhood you want.

Patience and Persistence Win the Day

By steadily and consistently spreading your presence throughout the area over weeks and months, you'll soon become noticed, known, and be top-of-mind of homeowners. Gradually, you'll find that whenever someone nearby needs a roofer, your company's name comes to their mind, especially if you're appearing on Google, as well.

If you'd like a roofing marketing specialist to help you find more customers, contact Avanti Local today. We help roofers just like you generate leads and build their businesses.