Above All had an existing SEO strategy that involved content marketing. They had a Facebook account, Houzz profile, good looking website, and they had new monthly content pages built on their website, some were even blog pages (and for anyone that knows us here at Halstead Media, you'll know we stand behind content as SEO). They were doing many of the essential puzzle pieces that you would expect to see in a successful landscaping company. So what exactly was wrong? 

An aggressive search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing effort kicked off March 2016. In addition to the SEO campaign for the NY region including NY, CT, PA, and NJ, UNILOCK was also looking to harness the power of professionally written content to engage website users, increase website traffic and lead generation, and build brand loyalty across the region. 

First impressions are meaningless  - said no one ever! Your first impression of basically anything is the foundation to your relationship with that entity - whether it be a person, a business, a place, or thing. Sure, first impressions are sometimes (almost never) editable - with serious hard work. Or you can just make it right (or do everything you can to make it right!).

How does your website do with landing the best first impression with visitors? Does it push people away or make them stay? And those that stick around, are they the right people to be enticing? Or are they the ones that waste yours and their time because they misunderstood your approach and design and/or build services offered? 

Most websites average a 30-60% bounce rate (read more about how Google defines bounce rate here). That's the percentage of people who leave your website right after viewing the only page that brought them to your site. So imagine that - all that hard work on improving your search ranking results

The home services industry is going through an interesting time. GCs, landscape contractors, roofing and siding contractors, kitchen design firms, architects, and interior designers are all facing stiff competition and ever decreasing margins.

With the target market for these businesses doing all their research and decision making online, effective marketing for contractors and the sales process have both completely changed. Today's buyer is extremely educated and now has all the power in the sales process. That's right—ALL the power. 

So what exactly are home services professionals to do?