In today’s digital world, having a strong online presence is essential for contractors looking to attract more customers and grow their businesses.
When homeowners or businesses search for construction services online, you want your company to appear at the top of their search results. That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.
Search engine optimization is all about making your website more visible and appealing to search engines like Google.
With the right strategies, you can drive more traffic to your site, generate quality leads, and stay ahead of the competition.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know about SEO for contractors and how it can help your business succeed.
What Is SEO for Contractors?
When someone searches online for services you offer, you want your website to show up at the top of the results.
Search engines use algorithms—a set of rules—to determine which websites are the most relevant and helpful for a search. The better your website matches what people are looking for, the higher it will rank.
Search engine optimization is the process and techniques used to ensure search engines find your website and its content and rank it high for the right searches.
What Are the Benefits of SEO for Contractors?
Investing in search engine optimization provides a range of benefits, including:
Website traffic
By optimizing your website for relevant keywords, you can improve your search engine rankings, leading to more visitors. This increased traffic can result in more potential clients discovering your services.
More leads
SEO allows you to target users actively searching for your services, leading to higher conversion rates without the ongoing costs associated with paid ads.
Brand awareness
Appearing prominently in search results helps build brand recognition. Even if users don’t immediately click on your listing, consistent visibility can make them more likely to consider your services in the future.
Good long-term investment
Marketing methods like online advertising stop generating traffic when you stop paying for them. SEO can continue generating traffic for years after your initial investment.
Great return on investment
If you rank in top positions for high intent, relevant search terms, then you could see incredible returns on your investment.
For example, the term “building contractor near me” gets around 250 searches per month in the United States. That’s according to the SEO tool, Ahrefs.
Let’s say you rank number one for this term. In that case, you can expect to get around 39.8% of traffic from those searches—that’s about 99 visitors per month.
The average conversion rate for the construction industry is around 1.9%, or about 6.5 new leads per month or 78 per year.
The average lifetime value of customers in the construction industry is $1,396.
$1,396 x 78 = $108,888 in additional monthly revenue.
Small businesses usually pay an average of $1,557 per month, or $18,684 per year on SEO.
That’s nearly a x6 return!
How Contractors Can Rank Higher In Search
This section provides a step-by-step guide to the contractor SEO process.
Set up your local SEO
When someone searches for contractors online, they often want to hire a local company. This means their search is likely to be location-based. This includes searches like:
- Building contractor near me
- Construction contractor San Antonio
- Best construction contractors in San Antonio
Search engines understand that people making these searches want local business recommendations and calculate which websites to show slightly differently.
They also present it in varying ways:
- Links to services on directories like Yelp or TrustPilot are shown at the top.
- Google Maps shows where businesses are based.
- A list of relevant local services is shown along with contact details.
Here’s what it looks like—you’ll probably recognize it from your own Google searches:
To appear in these results, you need to ensure you set up profiles for your business on online directories. These are known as local citations and they are the cornerstone of local SEO.
The most important citation to set up is your Google Business Profile—without this you cannot appear in the Google results mentioned above. Luckily, Google Business Profile is free and easy to set up.
How to set up your Google Business Profile
Sign up for a Google account: If you don’t already have a Google account for your business, then set one up. Don’t use your personal account.
Visit Google Business Profile: Log in to your Google account and go to the Google Business Profile homepage. Click “Manage Now” to begin.
Follow the prompts: You’ll be asked to add your:
- Business name
- Category
- Location
- The area you deliver services within
- Your contact information
Verify your business: Google will ask you to verify your business. This step confirms that you are the rightful owner. Typically, you’ll receive a postcard in the mail with a verification code, but some businesses may have the option to verify by phone or email.
Complete your profile: Once verified, log in and complete your profile:
- Add your business hours.
- Upload high-quality photos of your work, team, or logo.
- Write a compelling business description that explains what you do and what makes you stand out.
- Enable messaging to let customers contact you directly through your profile.
Keep your profile updated: Now your Google Business Profile is set up, but it doesn’t end there. Regularly update your profile with new photos, offers, and any changes to your business details.
It’s also likely that you’ll start to generate customer reviews. You should aim to respond to these by thanking happy clients and politely addressing any concerns.
Show EEAT
Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust, or EEAT, is a set of guidelines Google uses to evaluate the quality of content on websites.
By displaying EEAT on your website, you are likely to rank higher and attract more customers.
EEAT factors aren’t just for Google. They will also prove to users that you’re a good business to work with. This makes it more likely that website visitors will convert into customers.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
Experience
This shows that you have hands-on experience in your field. You can prove this by:
- Sharing photos of completed projects.
- Publishing testimonials from satisfied clients.
- Posting case studies of successful projects.
For example, Construction Concepts of Illinois has several testimonials and images of completed projects on its homepage.
Expertise
Expertise means demonstrating your skills and knowledge in your field.
You can show your expertise by:
- Listing your qualifications or professional certifications.
- Publishing high-quality guides.
- Producing content that answers common customer questions.
For example, Novak Construction lists its employees’ certifications in each staff profile.
Authority
Authority means others in your sector trust you as a go-to professional. Examples of how you can improve your authority include:
- Generate positive reviews.
- Get mentions on social media or forums.
- Encourage other trusted websites to post hyperlinks to your website.
The last point on that list is known as link building. It’s a critical part of any SEO strategy and we’ll go into more detail about it later in this guide.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is all about proving you are a real business that is engaged in legitimate business practices. This makes customers feel safe when choosing to work with you.
You can generate trust by:
- Publishing your business address online.
- Providing information about key staff members.
- Providing your accurate contact details.
- Ensuring your website looks professional.
- Promptly addressing customer questions and concerns.
Construction Concepts of Illinois’ contacts page includes the owner’s name, the business’s address and shows its location on a map.
Perform keyword research
Keywords are the words or phrases people type into search engines like Google when looking for something.
For example, a homeowner searching for a contractor might use keywords like “bathroom remodeling near me” or “garage construction services.”
Keywords are important because they help Google understand what your website is about. By including the right keywords in your website content, blog posts, and even your Google Business Profile, you make it easier for Google to show your website in the right searches, which in turn helps potential customers to find your business online.
Keyword research is the process of finding the best keywords to use on your website. It helps you understand what potential customers are searching for online and which terms are most likely to bring them to your business.
Here’s a quick guide to carrying out keyword research:
Consider customer needs
Start by writing down what services you can provide that potential customers would look for when using a search engine.
Examples might include:
- Home renovation
- Home additions
- Kitchen remodelling
- Basement conversion
These will form your seed keywords. These are broad topics that get a ton of searches. The problem is, because they are so popular and broad, lots of companies are trying to rank for them.
Add long-tail and local keywords
As the name suggests, long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keywords. You usually get multiple long-tail keywords for each seed keyword. For example, take “home renovation”.
Long-tail keywords might include:
- Luxury home renovation
- Cheap home renovation
- How much does home renovation cost?
- Best windows for home renovation
- Home renovation designer
You can also add location-specific keywords mentioned earlier. Because these keywords are more specific, they usually get less traffic and are easier to rank for.
One way to find these keywords is by using an SEO tool. Free ones include:
- Google’s Keyword Planner
- Ubersuggest
- AnswerThePublic
Type in a service you offer, like “bathroom renovation,” and the tool will show you related keywords and how often people search for them.
However, we recommend using a paid tool like Ahrefs. It provides a ton of useful information that will help you choose the best keywords.
To find long-tail keywords in Ahrefs, go to the “Keywords Explorer” tool and type your seed keyword. Click “Search.”
On the keyword report scroll down to the section called “Keyword ideas”. This gives you a range of additional keywords including:
- Long tail keywords that include the keyword.
- Questions that include the keyword.
- Keywords that pages targeting the keyword also rank for.
- Generally related subjects.
Check what your competitors are using
Another useful feature of Ahrefs is you can check which keywords your competitors rank for.
The idea is that if they can rank for them then you probably can too.
Choose a few contractor businesses that are similar to but more successful than yours.
Next, click the “Competitive Analysis” tab in the Ahrefs top search bar. Type your website URL into the top bar and then add your competitors to the bottom ones.
Ensure the “Keywords” tab is selected and click “Show keyword opportunities”.
You’ll be presented with a list of keywords that your competitors rank for that you don’t. Add any that look relevant to your list.
Prioritize keywords
Now you have a decent number of keywords, it’s time to decide which ones you should focus on.
The best keywords will have high search volume (enough people are searching for it) and low competition (not too many other businesses are targeting it).
Add all of your keywords to a list in Ahrefs. You can do this by clicking “Dashboard” and then “Keyword lists” and creating a new list.
Open your list. You’ll see lots of data arranged into several columns. The most important information at this stage is search volume (SV) and keyword difficulty (KD).
This shows how many searches the keyword gets and how difficult it is to rank for, respectively.
You can click the column titles to order the highest SD or KD results. This should help you discover the best opportunities.
Consider search intent
Search intent is what users want to achieve when they type a search term. The two most important types of search intent are:
- Commercial: This shows someone is ready to buy a service. An example might be “best garage construction contractor Illinois”.
- Informational: This shows someone is researching a subject. For instance: “Garage ideas”.
The content you create and use to target keywords must reflect the search intent. If it doesn’t, you probably won’t rank for them and customers won’t convert because you won’t have given them the right information.
Create quality content
Now you have your keywords, you can use them to guide your content strategy.
Quality content is essential for contractor SEO because it helps your website attract and engage potential customers.
When you create helpful, informative content—like blog posts, service descriptions, or FAQs—you show Google and your audience that you’re an expert in your field.
Good content answers the questions people are searching for, making it more likely your site will appear in search results.
It also builds trust with your visitors, encouraging them to contact you for their projects. The better your content, the more traffic, leads, and clients your website can generate.
Search engines are more likely to rank websites that publish high-quality content on a regular basis.
To do this you need to set up a content production process. We suggest working with:
- Writers
- Designers
- Developers
- Marketing managers
- Social media managers
- Video editors
They will ensure your content is professional. You can either:
- Hire freelancers: Cheap but with varying results.
- Employ dedicated staff: High risk and you’ll have to manage them.
- Work with an agency: More expensive but you’ll get better results.
Here’s a suggested content production process:
📄 Come up with content ideas
📄 Choose content types that best suit the search intent.
Examples of content types include:
- Blog posts
- Service pages
- FAQ
- Research
- Guides
- Videos
- Case studies
Below is an example from Skyline Construction. They have written an article explaining trends in what law firms look for in offices. This will be useful for its clients in the legal industry who are considering a refit or building new premises.
Create a content calendar
Aim to publish content regularly. Begin by producing one piece per month and increase this if you can.
Set clear deadlines so that you keep up a decent cadence and make sure everyone involved has time to do their part.
Here are the stages often involved in producing quality content:
- Planning
- Researching
- Writing
- Proofreading
- Optimization
- Design/production
- Comments and changes
- Approvals/sign-off
- Publishing
- Promotion
Optimize your content for SEO
When Google discovers new content, it reads it and tries to understand it. This allows Google to match the right content to searches.
You can help Google do this and make it more likely you will rank by adding your target keywords naturally in headings, subheadings, and throughout the content.
You should also add keywords to:
- Titles: Search engines understand the hierarchy of titles in your content through header tags. For example, the main heading is H1, while the subheadings are H2s and H3s.
For example, if we scroll down in the Skyline Construction article mentioned earlier, we can clearly see how H2s and H3s are used to divide up subsections.
- Meta titles: The blue underlined text you see in Google search results.
- Meta descriptions: The text beneath the meta title.
- Image descriptions: Alt text is used to describe an image. It is read by search engines and screen readers.
Promote your content
Once your content is published, it’s time to tell everyone about it!
Promoting your content via social media or your email marketing channels could lead to others sharing it. This makes it more likely that Google will rank it higher.
Build backlinks
Earlier, we mentioned that link building is a critical part of any SEO strategy. In this section we suggest some of the ways you can do this.
Guest posting
Guest posting involves writing and publishing articles on another website to reach a broader audience.
You could do this yourself, although it’s often better to do it through an agency, as it requires a lot of time and resources, not to mention great writing skills!
The first step is to find a website that accepts guest contributions and then pitch an article to them.
You then create valuable, high-quality content that aligns with their niche and audience. In return, the site will publish a backlink to your site.
Guest posting helps build your online presence, establish authority in your industry, and drive targeted traffic to your website. It also helps you to build relationships with other websites in your sector.
This article lists our 15 best guest post opportunities.
Here’s an example where a real estate developer has published a guest post on economics website Noahpinion.
Niche edits
Niche edits involve adding your link to existing, relevant content on another website. You contact the site owner and suggest including your link as a helpful resource for their readers.
This is effective because it leverages content already performing well, saving time and boosting your site’s authority.
Broken Link Building
This technique involves finding broken links (links that lead to pages that no longer exist) on other websites and offering your content as a replacement.
It’s effective because it provides mutual benefit—you help the website owner maintain a good user experience, and you get a quality link.
Read our detailed guide on broken link building.
Digital PR backlinks
Digital PR involves creating newsworthy content, such as industry reports, unique data, or interesting stories, and sharing it with journalists and media outlets. This can earn you mentions and links from high-authority news websites.
This approach is effective because search engines often value backlinks from trusted news outlets more than they would other sites. Furthermore, appearing on these websites can boost your brand’s visibility.
You can also sign up for a platform like Qwoted. This connects you with journalists and bloggers looking for expert input. If your insights are used, you’ll often get a backlink to your website.
Learn more about getting press links.
Here’s an example where construction news website Construction Drive has listed the United States’ biggest commercial contractors. Each has a link to its website.
Fix technical SEO issues
Technical SEO is about optimizing the behind-the-scenes parts of your website to make it easier for search engines to find, understand, and show in search results.
It focuses on things like ensuring your site is fast, secure, and easy to navigate, so both visitors and search engines have a smooth experience.
Some steps to improving your technical SEO include:
Ensure mobile compatibility
Most users browse the internet on smartphones and tablets. A website that displays well on these devices provides a better experience for visitors and is favored by search engines. Test your site on various devices to confirm it looks good and functions properly.
You can check how mobile friendly your website is and spot related issues using Google Search Console.
Select the “Core Web Vitals” tab in the left menu and scroll to “Mobile”. This will show how many pages are optimized for mobile. Click on “OPEN REPORT” to see detailed information about any issues that need fixing.
Enhance page loading speed
Visitors may leave if your site takes too long to load. Simple actions like reducing the size of images can make your site load faster. There are online tools available that can help you compress images without losing quality.
You can use Google Page Speed Insights to check for issues.
Type your website URL into the search bar and you’ll be shown a series of factors relating to loading times.
Google gives a rating for each factor. The tool uses a traffic light system and rates every page on your website. Based on this, it gives an overall rating of pass, fail, or needs improvement.
You can then scroll down to find the issues your site has and how to fix them.
Fix broken links
Links that lead to non-existent pages can frustrate users and harm your site’s reputation.
Regularly check all the links on your website to ensure they direct visitors to the correct pages. If you find any broken links, update or remove them promptly.
We recommend using Ahrefs’ free broken link checker.
Secure your website
A secure website builds trust with visitors. Ensure your site uses HTTPS, which protects users’ information. You can obtain an SSL certificate from your hosting provider to enable this security feature.
Simplify navigation
A clear and straightforward menu helps visitors find information easily. Organize your website’s menu logically, grouping related services together, so users can navigate your site without confusion.
Is SEO too Complex? Get Expert Help
SEO is a powerful tool for contractors to attract more local customers, generate leads, and grow their business.
By focusing on key areas like keyword research, content creation, local SEO, and technical improvements, you can make your website more visible to search engines and appealing to potential clients.
However, SEO can be complex and time-consuming. That’s where Authority Builders comes in.
We specialize in helping businesses optimize their online presence with services like SEO strategy, link building, content creation, and citation setup. Let us handle the technical details so you can focus on running your business.
Contact Authority Builders today to take your contracting business to the next level!