Do I Need a Blog on My Contractor Website?

To blog or not to blog? And what’s the point of creating all this content?

You might not have thought about adding a blog to your site if you’re getting leads through word of mouth – but you’re not the only tradie in your area. Leads are coming in everyday, but people can’t call you if they don’t know you exist.

A blog puts you on Google and brings new customers to your contractor, trade or home improvement website.

What’s the big deal about adding a blog?

If people need your help they’ll pick up the phone and call you, right?

Unfortunately, this logic doesn’t work when people don’t know you exist. When someone runs into trouble around the home or is looking for home improvement, they’ll typically do one of two things.

• Call a contractor they know and trust
• Jump on Google and search for solution to their problem

Right now you’ve got clients who trust you. These are your regulars and you can count on them for business. But what about the people who jump on Google and look for help, are you putting your contractor, trade or home improvement business in front of them?

Unless a lead is searching for your business name specifically, you won’t appear on Google without publishing content. That’s leaving customers and money on the table. And the best way to publish content? Well it’s through your own blog.

So the answer to the question, “Do I need a blog on my website?” is no, you don’t NEED one.

But yes, you should WANT one if you’re looking to generate consistent, quality leads.

In this post we’ll cover 3 key reasons your home improvement, trade or contractor site needs a blog, plus simple tips to publish content if you don’t have the time to write.

Blogging is a numbers game. When you get more people on your website, you give yourself more chances to secure new leads. That’s why small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than those that don’t.

All you need to do is publish content written around the same keywords that your potential customers are using to search on Google. Think about your own browsing habits as an example. Maybe you’ve searched for tools and ended up on a site comparing prices. Those sites used content – full of the same keywords you entered into Google – to find you.

If other plumbers, electricians and builders have blogs, it means they’re ranking above you on Google – and getting more visitors to their site than you. By adding your own blog you can start taking that traffic from them instead.

Not everyone wants to pay for a contractor, home improvement or trade business. Plenty of people would rather DIY their own plumbing, even if it means risking a basement filled knee-high with water. There’s nothing you can do to stop these people – but you can HELP them.

Before you accuse us of being mad for suggesting you help your customers DIY their problems instead of paying for your services, hear us out.

Plenty of your potential customers are going to try and fix problems around the house themselves. There’s nothing you can do to change that. Whether it’s painting the walls, installing a new water heater, or attempting a full on bathroom reno, most people will try and save a few bucks by doing the work themselves. And the first place they’ll look for tips is Google.

By publishing blogs centred on self-help and DIY, your business will be the first article they find. Let’s say you’re a builder, so you publish a blog post on ‘10 ways to renovate your bedroom on a budget’. For someone looking to renovate their bedroom this is striking gold. They read your article and start implementing your tips.

The only problem? Renovating is damn hard work.

The majority of people won’t follow through on their project and will realise they need help from the pros. And which professional do they choose to help them? The one who wrote a valuable blog post, full of value, and was willing to help them with FREE tips.

Blogging is about putting your contractor, trade or home improvement business in front of as many people as possible, so when they become leads, yours is the first business they think of.

Posting ads in the paper costs money. So does running ads on Google. So does printing flyers. But blogging you do once – and it sells forever.

97% of customers learn more about a business online than anywhere else, and by publishing blogs you give customers a way to find you and learn about you – all while keeping money in your pocket that you would have spent on marketing.

With extra money in your pocket you can upgrade your tools, service your van, or invest it in your personal life (go ahead, you deserve it).

Setting up a website can cost as much, or as little as you want. Website builders like Pedestal, Wix and WordPress can be set up cheaply and can be set up in a matter of hours.

And once your site is live it doesn’t cost a thing to publish a blog, so the only resource you’ll need to invest is time.

You don’t need to be a professional writer to be able to blog. People who are interested in what you have to say will come to you because of your expertise, not your english.

If you’re an electrician you know more about wiring, outlets and electrical safety than the average Joe. And that’s what people care about. They don’t care if you left school in year 10 or if you don’t know the difference between a colon and a semicolon. They want to know if their home’s wiring is a fire hazard in waiting, and they’ll click on articles that teach them how to find out.

If you’ve got the time, then you can blog. It’s worth pointing out you’ll need a keyword strategy, otherwise you risk creating content that never ranks and no one ever searches for, but if you know what keywords to target it’s a matter of helping people solve their problems, not winning awards for being the smartest writer, that counts.

Wondering how much blog content you’ll need to rank? Find the honest truth.

If you’d rather focus on providing your top-notch service while someone else manages your blog, it’s best to find an SEO agency you trust.

But if you want to start blogging to save money and attract leads, there’s nothing stopping you. You’ll end up with better results if you use keyword research tools to find the words people are using (not to mention the type of competition you’ll be facing for each word) but you can get the ball rolling on your own.

Try asking your customers what problems they wish they had help with and you’ll have a list of topics to write about in no time. Focus on being valuable over sounding smart, so don’t stress if your writing skills aren’t your best strength. As long as you help people solve their problems, you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Interested in ranking your blog posts but don’t have the time to create content?

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