There are numerous challenges with owning a successful pool design and build business, including weather and unforeseen building process obstacles. Budgeting and labor planning can almost seem like a roller coaster ride. One thing that is a constant is the need to drive leads, more customers. While building beautiful pools that create happy homeowners are an obvious crucial essential, getting enough customers to sustain a healthy business is even more important.

The need for transparency in SEO services is the main driver in HALSTEAD’s mission to change landscape and pool contractors’ perception of this area of marketing and help them understand how it all works. Our strategies align with data-fueled insights from hundreds of case studies—our approach is based on experience of what works, rather than assumptions or guesses.

Old-school contractor marketing was largely limited to display ads in regionally focused, industry-specific magazines, and setting up booths at a home show or two. These marketing methods are referred to as “outbound marketing.” They still have their place in the world, but are often compared to “yelling” at prospects and hoping they’ll listen. Sometimes they do, but it’s more effective to gear your strategy more toward inbound marketing and effective content marketing.

Ignoring the importance of online marketing would be a costly setback for your growing design/build company and so would failing to evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen marketing strategy. So, what is the best way to approach marketing your landscape or remodeling services online?

Around October 2016, we kicked off their Search Engine Optimization efforts. We began by identifying the most searched keywords in their service areas along with cities that had the best HHI (household income) and population combination. Weekly, professionally written articles targeting these keywords along with ongoing new local landing pages, and now high-quality backlinks, this landscape design/build company now has 45% of the keywords being tracked on the first page (first 10 spots). They began with only 5% of their tracked keywords on that page! 

Home improvement review sites like HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List are not a necessary fact of doing business in the digital age for landscape or design/build companies. If you will choose to live on there, it may not be in your best interest to put all of your marketing dollars into these platforms. There are be better ways to generate leads and build your business, such as SEO or Facebook/Instagram Advertising.

Using Blackwood Group's inspiration website, Halstead created a highly image driven website. The new look placed each project into a separate case study - into what developed to be a true, high-end elegant digital portfolio. The projects are all accessible via the homepage - but city as well as by category. Awards and about the company are accessible via the menu.

Capturing elements that were important to Gary Duff Designs in their new website and making sure the new website represented the brand, the new website offers a perfect combination of classic sophistication and company info.

No matter the size or market of your landscaping, design, or construction business, you should be updating your company blog to help with your website traffic and leads. But with numerous variables in play, it can be difficult to determine the frequency with which you should be blogging. We're here to help provide some clarity!

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? 

Spoiler alert: Squarespace wins, hands down. There is a ton of misinformation out there about website design building sites - including platforms like Wordpress. So to help get our home improvement contractors up to speed on what is best for them in terms of design, responsiveness, style options, seo friendliness, and more, we are breaking down the difference between Wordpress and Squarespace.

If you're feeling the heat of new competitors (or suddenly more popular older ones), then it may be time for you to take your strategy online. Maintaining a healthy revenue today in a home improvement business often means dominating the digital world. So how exactly do you do this? Here is your five step plan to making sure you get the attention you need from the customers you want in your local area.

The way homeowners find and hire architects today—like many other segments of the home services industry—is drastically different than just 5 short years ago. While word-of-mouth advertising and media attention is still relevant, most of it has shifted online. And just like all other purchasing decisions - over 80% of your potential customers are researching before they call you (of course, online). So what are the three ways to drive leads online today?

Thinking back to decades ago, when a storefront business needed more foot traffic, they looked to traditional advertising to increase awareness of their store. The store owners would make sure they are trying to bring in the right buyers and advertise to them in place those buyers would be in and use advertising material that would grab their attention. Well, today's online marketing is not much different. 

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. 

SEO isn't mysterious; it's not witchcraft. There is a formula that works and factors that don't. What makes SEO complex is that the formula includes hundreds of variables. In our previous blog post, we mentioned that Google's algorithm includes 200+ factors. Some are foundational (such as high-quality content) which will severely impact your rankings and some are complementing (like image descriptions). And since there are so many SEO factors, it's easy to lose track of what is still relevant and what's not. We believe (and hope) this is the reason for using outdate SEO tactics. To check your knowledge (or quiz your SEO person), check out this incredible infographic on what SEO used to be versus what it is now.

We here at Halstead Media are obsessed with understanding how today's SEO works. We say today because SEO techniques change almost everyday; its a constant flow of change. And with Google's 200+ ranking factors (source: Google) in their algorithm to rank web pages, we keep busy with our obsession of SEO learning. Equally as obsessed, are home remodeling and landscaping business owners in getting more revenue, more leads, and more traffic. There is nothing that drives that more than first page (top of page) ranking in search results for keywords relevant to your services. If you're looking for ways to boost your rankings, we have a million ideas, but here are a few to get you started.

As the beginning of the next season gets closer, outdoor living professionals put their marketing efforts in overdrive. Rightfully so, this is prime-time pickings. Successful landscaping, pool-builders, and really any home improvement professional that is dependent on good weather looks to (and can) book up a good portion of the season by the end of March. And if you have all the right things (content/blogging, social media presences, good photography of past work) in place, its possible. For those struggling to get the right boost in enough jobs, Google AdWords can be a good additional to your overall marketing approach - but before you jump in, make sure you know the tool inside-out. 

The number one way to getting leads for projects you want to design and build is through your website. Period. Yes, there are numerous other ways to bring in some leads - referrals, home shows, PPC, print advertising, you get the point. But in terms of return on your time and money, your website is your best bet.

Before we discuss why you're not getting enough traffic to your site, how do you know whether or not you're getting enough traffic? What is considered enough traffic? Easy: ask yourself these two questions:

Blackwood & Associates, based out of Canonsburg, PA, contacted Halstead Media with two goals in mind: to transform their website style and to increase the company's revenue.