Updated November 13, 2018

Are you a roofing contractor looking for a steady stream of business? Long Tail Pro has 3 simple and clever marketing ideas for roofing companies. It’s tough to make sweeping statements about the state of the roofing business as a whole. Factors such as location and local economies can make the outlook of a roofing company in the Southeast very different from one in the Pacific Northwest.

Click here to read a summary of the state of the industry overall.

Whether your roofing business is booming or busting, most people wouldn’t mind having a steadier stream of leads and customers.

Here are 6 very practical, super affordable marketing ideas for roofing companies that will work whether your company is large or small.

1. Be Ready To Be Googled

People are searching all kinds of things related to roofing in your area. If you were based in Athens, GA, the searches might look like:

“Roof repair in Athens”

“Best roofing companies near Athens”

“Athens roofers”

Etc.

This doesn’t include other more tactical searches like “how to fix a leaking roof” that you’d ideally like to show up for.

In order to find these terms, you’d need to conduct keyword research. If you can identify the right keywords that aren’t competitive, your roofing business can easily rank high in the search engine results page.

When it comes to roofing marketing ideas, you need to make sure that at the very least you’ve claimed your spot as a Google Business. Click here to do that now.

It’s free to do, and should just take a couple of minutes.

The result is that when people look for your business on Google, or when you show up in their results for things like “Athens roofers”, they’ll see more complete and accurate information, as shown below:

Source: Google

When you set up your business’ profile on Google, you’ll be able to do things like:

• Respond to customer reviews left on Google
• Add photos of your business or your work
• Add accurate store hours and location information
• Put your best phone number and other contact information

Obviously, Google is a huge player in online search, but they aren’t the only one. There are a number of business directories and review sites that you should also take the time to sign up for.

Most let you claim a business for free, but may also offer some paid services that you aren’t obligated to buy.

The sites I’m referring to are Yellow Book online, Bing businesses, Yelp, and many more.

Here is a fantastic list of the 20 places your business should be online.

2. Answer Questions On Your Website

This one sounds simple, but most of your competitors aren’t doing it.

Customers have tons of questions, as you already know.

“Which kind of shingle last longest?”

“How much will my roof cost?”

“Should I repair my roof? Or buy a new one?”

If you hear questions like these from customers, then it is safe to assume that they are asking these questions on Google as well.

Roofing contractor marketing ideas: Who better to answer those questions than you?

If you want to pull in more free traffic to your website, then I’d suggest answering all of these common questions on your website in the form of a blog post.

The good news is, you’ll have plenty of ideas to get started by writing down all the questions you get on a daily basis.

There are several benefits for you by following these marketing ideas for roofing companies approach:

1. The traffic is easier to get. By focusing on these long, specific questions with your content – you have less competition. Tons of companies target generic keywords like “buy a roof” but far fewer actually create content for things like “how much does it cost to install an asphalt shingle roof?” We call these long tail keywords, and we suggest that you focus on them early and often with your content.
2. It’s free to do. Assuming you create your own content, you can expect to create this content for free and pick up additional leads without paying for advertising.
3. You build trust and authority with your customers. By delivering well-thought out and knowledgeable answers, you are proving that you are an expert in the roofing business. Readers will begin to trust you and warm up to the idea of inviting you out to give an estimate.

Ready to start finding keywords? Click Here to take a 7-day free trial of our keyword research tool, Long Tail Pro.

3. Deliver a Personal Touch

The first 2 ideas involved setting up a few things for your roofing business online. The content strategy should be an ongoing effort that can produce long-term results but, in a way, they are both things that you can do one time and reap dividends for years to come.

This marketing idea for roofing companies involves more of an ongoing effort, but can make a huge impact on how your roofing business is perceived and how eager people are to refer their friends to you.

I don’t have to tell you that word of mouth advertising is a potential gold mine.

People take the recommendations of their family and friends very seriously, so any steps you can take to increase referrals could be huge for business.

For Mike Doyle of Rent Like A Champion, a service that allows college football fans to rent homes near campus during game weekends, they set a standard that anytime someone lists a home for rent or reserves a rental home, they get a personal phone call. Mike admits that it’s been tough to keep up with as they’ve grown, but calling to say “thanks” and ask if there are any questions is something they see as both a customer service and marketing activity.

From the marketing side, having a personal touch helps new customers feel special and feel a connection with your brand. It can also get people talking, which has really helped Mike via the word-of-mouth advertising it has produced.

Do your customers feel special when they get an estimate or one of your services? Or do they just feel like a number?

One simple way to try this out would be to make a simple, friendly phone call to everyone who requests an estimate and just say, “thanks for the opportunity, we look forward to meeting you.”

Obviously, you could customize this message, but taking that small step would make quite an impression on a potential customer.

4. Get Your Website Optimized

Your roofing marketing goal to generate quality leads stands a better chance of coming to fruition when your website favors its execution. It doesn’t matter how you are sourcing the leads.

Whether you are using brochures, postcards, banners, or any other offline technique, chances are those leads might end up on your website for different reasons, and if their first impression of your website is below par, expect a sorry outcome.

Sanford University did a study on the same and it turned out that 75% of people often judge a business based on its website.

In general, your website has to be professional, up to date, functional, and easy to use. And since one of its main purposes is to convert those visitors into leads, information of value to them should be easy to find and a compelling call-to-action should be available, so as they are motivated to take an action.

A great example is the Valentine roofing website. In addition to well-placed graphics that encourage scrolling, it has information of value to the visitors within easy reach, not to mention an attractive design evident in the plenty of white spaces and red theme.

Today, those using mobile phones to browse are way more than desktop users, a situation that makes it vital for you to also optimize your roofing website for easy mobile viewing. This can be accomplished through Google accelerated mobile pages.
Other features your roofing website ought to have include:

• Be easy to navigate – Buttons and links should be easy to spot and they should direct visitors to exact places they hope to go.
• Be visually appealing – An attractive theme relevant to your business, white spaces, photos, videos, and sliders are among the few items that need to be featured on your website to make it captivating to visitors.
• Have lead-capture forms – Without a form to fill in their details, leads are likely to slip away. You can even make this process more effective by offering something in return, say, a free estimate or DIY guide.
• A section for review and ratings – Reviews play a huge role in the purchasing decisions consumers make. Whether negative or positive, they are an opportunity to evaluate your roofing your business as well. Set aside a section on your website where your customers and other website visitors can leave their feedback.
• Consistent content – Update your website on a regular basis with content, like the type we looked eat earlier, as this will favor your search engine performance as well as leave a positive impact on your relationship with your audience.
• Decent load speed – If a visitor has to wait for minutes for your website to load, chances are high they’ll leave right away. Therefore, your page loading speed has to be decent for both mobile and desktop users.

Keywords are also a vital part of website optimization as they are what users will look up that will direct them straight to your site, thus raising your ranking.

In order to find the right terms, probably those with low competition and proven ability to help your website rank higher in the search engine result page, you’ll need to conduct keyword research.

These are just but few of the ways to optimize your roofing website. Learn as much as you can about optimizing a website from this guide we did a while ago.

5. Show Your Roof Work Portfolio

Photos continue to find multiple uses when it comes to roofing projects. Some contractors use them to make estimations. Others used them for time-tracking the project.

Beyond these uses, there’s the marketing side where before and after photos contribute to building trust with mostly potential customers.

First, the photos have to be of high quality as that counts in determining whether a person will be interested in checking them out. That means you should invest in a good camera.

Record the pre-existing conditions of a roof. It could be about 10-20 photos. Photograph all sides of the property. Then when the project is complete, take more photos.

A good example is Global Home Improvement, a roofing company serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. They just don’t add before and after photos but also a brief overview of the project, complete with the information a reader would want to hear.

Well, after you’ve compiled the photos, go ahead and show them off to your potential customers. If possible, share them on your social media profiles, particularly Facebook and Instagram, or come up with a blog series where you feature them as ‘Project of the week or month”.

Photos sort of summarize what you are able to do as a roofing contractor, plus they do much of the explanation that would have naturally taken a lot of time and resources.

6. Don’t Be Afraid To Go Old School

Despite there being too much emphasis on digital marketing roofing advertising ideas, that doesn’t invalidate the traditional roofing marketing channels. Print media, for instance, remains relevant to date, with small businesses still using platforms such as direct mail, newspapers, and magazines to market their products and services.

When done correctly, traditional roofing marketing ideas can open an opportunity to reach a new audience and promote your business to your community.

Think of it this way. Many of your competitors have probably abandoned the traditional mailbox, which could easily be an opportunity for you to conquer a channel known to have the highest response rate.

At the same time, imagine of a project you are proud of. What if you placed a company sign outside the property? Of course, you’ll have to request permission from the homeowner. You’ll be luckier if the property sits in a high traffic area.

Chances are there are a few people who will be interested in what you can do, particularly those in need of roofing services. There’s also the possibility that some people will record your contacts just in case they might require your services in the future.  

Other channels you may want to consider include flyers, hangers, yard signs, vehicle magnets, postcards.

Even better, you can combine both online and offline techniques of marketing for roofing companies. This way, you’ll have sealed the loopholes in your roofing marketing strategy, thereby taking full advantage of what each channel can offer.

How to Market a Roofing Company – Wrap Up

Putting these marketing ideas for roofing companies into action doesn’t have to be rocket science.

It can be practical and simple.

Start by laying claim to your business listings online, then work on your website content and make sure you focus on the things that your customers are searching for online. This will give you the opportunity to be seen as an expert in your field.

Next, add a personal touch after customers start interacting with you. This way, you’ll start earning a reputation of a company who really cares about their customers – not just one who sees them as a number.

Have your website optimized as well because your roofing business needs all the leads you can get. Don’t forget to show off photos of your completed project, especially to potential customers and, lastly, squeeze all the benefits out of those old-school channels.

Best of luck in your business!

Check out Long Tail Pro today for your FREE 7 day trial.