Finding that magic formula for premium website performance can be challenging, especially for roofing contractors new to the world of search engine optimization (SEO). In today’s podcast, Nolen and Jason discuss the various elements that Google demands for website optimization. So if you’ve been struggling with lackluster search rankings, be sure to listen in.

Key Elements to Listen For:

Reputation management is essential, especially for newly-minted companies.
Schema and geo-tagging offer profound benefits for your Roofer SEO.
Roofing SEO demands effort from many parts of your marketing, not just your website.
Bounce rate isn’t the top metric for your website optimization.

The Key Pillars of Website Optimization

When optimizing your website for Google Search, there’s no shortcut to instantly rank #1 on Google. Website optimization relies on a combination of elements, including:

Internal Content,
Site Design,
External Listings, and
Reputation Management.

Thankfully, there’s lots of digital marketing research on roofing SEO and services willing to aid your company. Below, we’ve listed some of the most important tools our industry specialists can use to ensure premium rankings for our roofing clients. Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list, so don’t go jumping into web design without doing your due diligence.

Keyword Strategy & Optimization

You probably know by now the crucial role of keywords when it comes to SEO for roofers. Most roofers, however, only focus on securing the highest volume words and phrases known as primary keywords. For example, “Roofing contractor” and “shingle repair” may offer incredibly high volume on a national level, but they also come with extreme competition. After all, numerous other roofing companies compete for the exact words and phrases.

Winning Strategies to Rank Higher

Tip #1: Try adding popular industry brands to your primary keywords.
Tip #2: Sprinkle in secondary keywords (low-volume, low-competition) around your primaries.
Tip #3: Optimize your keywords for your service area.

Using brand names around your primary keywords provides two benefits. First, it draws in people with brand-specific roofing materials to your website. You’d be surprised how many clients just ten brand-optimized pages can bring in. Second, branded and other secondary keywords also allow your business to rank high for hundreds of words and phrases. A high number of low-volume keywords equals a considerable boost for your site traffic. If you haven’t done so already, make sure to incorporate long-tail keywords with your primary city, state attached. Not only will you avoid accidentally competing with roofers outside your service area, but you’ll also earn higher quality leads too.

Last, of all, remember to continue releasing keyword-rich content. Blogs, professional guides, and infographics offer great ways to engage customers and keep your website ranking high on Google Search results.

Streamlined Navigation & Call to Action

Did you know that most people need only 0.5 seconds to form an initial opinion about your website? That’s less than a second before your visitors make that crucial first impression. Our team at the Roofing Webmasters likes to throw this fact around because it displays the impact of professional graphic design (or lack thereof).

Follow These Guidelines for Site Design:

Tip #1: Restrict your menu to a maximum of four service categories (if possible).
Tip #2: Maintain a clear call to action at the top of every page and the bottom.
Tip #3: Create a sitemap of all your pages so that Google can crawl your pages.

Of course, web design isn’t just about engaging colors and pretty shapes. One of the essential parts of creating a successful roofing company website optimization is honing the user experience (UX). For example, suppose a designer includes a simple menu system, clean page structure, and visible calls to action. In that case, your site visitors will naturally respond with longer visit times, deeper engagement, and more phone calls.

Outside Factors Affecting SEO for Roofers

Did you know that part of improving your website rankings goes beyond the confines of your site? These two activities profoundly impact the future success of your online marketing (and your company’s success in general). These are reputation management and listing completion.

Reputation management generally refers to the collection and maintenance of customer reviews, though the term sometimes broadens to include both consumers’ and Google’s perception of your business. If you don’t believe in the power of consumer reviews for (or against) your roofing company, read Qualtrics’ article on the subject. You’ll quickly change your mind. According to consumer studies, 93% of people state that reviews affect their ultimate purchase decisions.

In our research with reviews collection, we’ve found that Google prefers a broad spectrum of reviews sources for your company. That means you’ll want to invest time in getting recommendations straight from Google Reviews, plus social media (especially Facebook), and third-party citation companies like Angie’s List. If possible, try to incorporate a widget into your site design that collects and showcases reviews from multiple sources.

Your Business Listings

Fill out your Google My Business (GMB) listing, and be thorough. As a rule, any free tool from Google offers lucrative benefits for your company’s local search results. However, your GMB listing is essential if you want to show up in Google Maps local search packs. As we’ve mentioned already, these capture a remarkable share of traffic on front page listings.

Google also rewards businesses that create listings in citations sources like the Better Business Bureau or Yelp. It’s great exposure for your brand, plus a fantastic way to collect those savory 5-star reviews. While some of these companies require an investment to get listed, the benefits usually make for a beautiful return via additional leads.

Examining Website Performance

Roofing contractors sometimes misunderstand which site metrics they should be watching. For example, while Google Analytics provides a wealth of data about your performance and website optimization, companies mistakenly believe that bounce rate is the primary metric for success. “Well, I have 200 people visiting my site every month, but my bounce rate is ridiculously high at 70%. So why don’t I have more lead calls?”

The problem isn’t the bounce rate. 70% is an excellent rate for many industries, including roofing companies. The bounce rate describes the percentage of people that visit your site and leave within a couple of minutes. Only the most heavily interested parties will stay beyond that threshold, which is why high percentages are perfectly normal.

Your valid metric for success should be site volume. Professional search engine optimization allows Google to rank your business higher. In turn, your listings earn more traffic from potential customers. A portion of those will go on to choose your company for their roof repairs and other services. Ultimately, you want site traffic volume to climb until it plateaus with a comfortable rate of new leads.

For many people landing on your site (especially first-time visitors), most of the information they’ll need will be located on your homepage. That means that they won’t necessarily click around your services or spend more than a minute perusing your content. Don’t feel discouraged by this. Any marketing company will tell you that only a tiny fraction of site visitors will make it through the sales funnel to become customers. That’s par for the course for roofing contractor SEO. Just continue to optimize your website and release fresh content, and you’ll see a steady inflow of customers as your rankings climb.