In the past, many home services marketing strategies typically generated leads through listings in the Yellow Pages, or billboards and yard signs posted about town.
While some of those offline marketing strategies still work, they aren’t enough in the modern age, where most consumers find and research businesses online before deciding to purchase—including those looking for local home service businesses. Companies in this industry that aren’t employing digital marketing may soon find their lead generation pipelines running dry.
There are many powerful channels to choose from when it comes to digital marketing for home services companies, but they all require a significant investment of both time and money. To make the most of your marketing efforts, it's essential to track your ROI across all channels and adjust your strategy accordingly, so you don’t end up wasting your budget.
Here are some practical tips for achieving a lean and effective marketing strategy unique to your home services business, and tips on how to evaluate it going forward to maximize your ROI.
Effective digital marketing strategies for home service businesses
Local SEO marketing for home services
Did you know that more than 50% of consumers will perform an online search when looking for home services, while they’re still in the research phase? That’s according to a recent study from ConvertRank, which we covered in our roundup of home services marketing trends.
Here are some of the best ways to generate local leads using digital marketing for home services companies.
Google My Business
If you want to be the first business to show up when someone in your area searches something like “home repairs near me” or “local HVAC business,” then local SEO is the ideal method of digital marketing for home services.
Start by optimizing your Google My Business listing, including your business hours, website, photos, and contact details. Businesses with a complete profile increase their chances of being featured in these types of searches, while those with incomplete profiles will be passed over.
Beyond that, someone in your business must be in charge of maintaining your GMB, updating your business info as it changes, promptly responding to reviews, uploading new images, and posting offers.
Local backlinks and content creation
Home services businesses can increase their local visibility online by actively seeking out backlinks from local and/or relevant websites, directories, and review platforms. These backlinks signal to search engines that the business is locally trustworthy, and authoritative, thus increasing chances of appearing in local searches.
You can improve your local SEO through content, by creating high-quality, search-optimized, and engaging content. Though this is a long-term strategy, when done well, it can help you rise to the top of a search page without having to spend money on pay-per-click advertising.
Think about the kinds of local questions your audience may be asking, and answer those questions with a well-written blog. For example, a landscaping company may write a series of articles about the different types of local flora homeowners can incorporate into their yards.
Local service ads
Finally, you can also leverage local service ads to attract leads to your home services business. This pay-per-click method of local advertising can get your business in front of people searching for your services, and potentially even push your business above your competitors. Learn more about how to use Local Service Ads here.
Social media marketing for home services
You’ve probably already heard how effective social media marketing can be for home services businesses—but it’s not as simple as setting up a Facebook page for your business and walking away.
Gaining leads for your home services businesses through social media is only possible if you focus on building meaningful connections with a localized audience.
The key to engaging your audience is to research their favorite social media channels, and invest your time posting regularly on those platforms. This requires a deep understanding of your community, its unique interests, and trends.
If you are aiming for a local audience, a good place to begin your research is on local-specific platforms, such as NextDoor or local Facebook groups. You can also search for hashtags relevant to your locality on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, or TIkTok.
When it comes to the content you post, you’ll want to start by creating a variety of posts to see what resonates with your audience. Use analytics to determine which posts get the most engagement and click throughs to your website, and monitor the platforms that bring in the most new leads.
SMS marketing for home services businesses
A huge number of your incoming leads will use a smartphone to research and connect with your business. That’s why text message marketing is such an effective form of digital marketing for home services businesses.
With a platform like CallRail’s Lead Center, you can send automated text messages to leads, nurturing them through your lead funnel. You can continue focusing on your clients, while text messages keep your marketing engine humming.
There are many different ways home services businesses can use SMS marketing to increase their revenue. Here are some examples:
A roofing company could send an automated text any time they receive a new form submission on their website, welcoming the new lead and offering a free consultation or quote. This immediate response can significantly boost customer engagement and increase the likelihood of them becoming paying customers.
A plumbing company that receives a request for a quote could send a text message with important links for the client to look at—such as FAQs, service details, or coupon codes, increasing trust and value in the eyes of the lead.
A lawn care service could send timely automated text messages, offering discounts for pre-booking services at the start of spring. This kind of timed marketing is far more effective at drawing in leads than sending a generic promotional message.
A cleaning company could send a quick follow-up text after completing a cleaning, sending a direct link to their GMB page and asking for an honest review, thus driving up the number of reviews they have and edging out the competition.
Effectively track your home services marketing campaigns
No matter which method of digital marketing for home services you plan to use, your success depends on your ability to allocate the most resources to where the most leads come from. This requires analyzing which channels are bringing in the most leads, and what methods are helping those leads convert.
With call tracking software, you can take the guesswork out of your marketing by tracking all of your marketing data in one place—including online form submissions and inbound phone calls from any campaign you run, online or offline.
By assigning different phone numbers and forms to your various marketing campaigns, you’ll see which campaigns are generating the most leads, and even track how many of those leads convert into customers.
This way, you can make sure your home services marketing budget is being spent in the right places, so you can get maximum value from every dollar invested.
CallRail's advantages don't end there. Our Conversation Intelligence software records and transcribe calls, then uses sophisticated AI to analyze conversations between your customer-facing teams and your leads. You’ll receive custom insights on the best tactics your team can use to convert leads, and where they can improve their marketing tactics.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your home services marketing strategy? Try CallRail for free and discover how it can provide comprehensive insights into the success of your campaigns.
