13 Construction Marketing Ideas to Build Leads

If you’re in construction, be it home renovation, remodeling, flooring, painting, roofing, or general contracting, you know how challenging it can be to generate leads. Leads are the lifeblood of your business–if you’re not generating net new opportunities, you’re probably having a hard time succeeding or growing.

That’s where construction marketing comes in. In this article, we’re going to outline 13 impactful strategies you can leverage now to start generating more opportunities at closing business. Let’s jump in.

Contents

1. Build a professional website
2. Buy leads
3. Pay attention to your Google Business Profile
4. Highlight your testimonials and reviews
5. Try Local Service Ads (LSAs)
6. Showcase your skills in videos
7. Get referrals!
8. Offer a free consultation or estimate
9. Make sure your website shows in search results
10. Write relevant and educational content
11. Use Google Ads
12. Get in prospects’ inboxes
13. …And their mailboxes

13 construction marketing ideas to try

Try a mix of these construction marketing ideas to build success for your business and make getting leads more affordable.

1. Build a professional website

Let’s be honest. If you’re savvy enough to be seeking the advice of this blog post, you probably already have a website, or at least a landing page. If not? Now is the time!

Your website is your digital storefront. It represents your brand and allows you to reach thousands, if not millions (the potential is there!) of prospective customers that, otherwise, would not have known you existed. It should be mobile-friendly, SEO-optimized, and sticky, or difficult for a prospect to leave without inquiring about your services.

A savvy landing page can pay huge dividends.

Invest in a professional website, and you’ll be well on your way to generating new business.

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2. Buy leads

Depending on who you talk to, this may be somewhat of an unpopular opinion. But construction firms have been buying leads from sources like Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, and other aggregators for years.

A lot of marketers nowadays will tell you that doing so is a waste of time. Why? Because while these sources are like faucets–all you have to do is enter your services and zip codes and they will distribute leads to you for a predetermined fee–they are not branded leads. The customer didn’t choose you. They were matched with you.

For that reason, taking an Angi’s contact from lead, to estimate, to completed job is far from a given. That said, if you have strong systems in place to reach out to these leads, set appointments, and create estimates, they can still be effective.

3. Pay attention to your Google Business Profile (GBP)

Want to generate affordable leads for the long term? Optimize your Google Business Profile. For my money, Google Business Profiles are the most important channel for local businesses and construction marketers. Because time after time, when customers want to know who they can trust with their new roof or siding, they are looking at the reviews of businesses near them.

Start by claiming your GBP listing and ensuring all your business specifics, like your address, hours, and services, are accurate and up to date. Post photos of your completed projects to showcase your work. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews, and include relevant keywords in your description to help local customers find you easily.

Make your profile more robust than your competitors, and you will see top-line lead growth skyrocket.

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4. Highlight testimonials and reviews

Speaking of reviews–it’s not just GBP where reviews are crucial. Yelp, Angi, Better Business Bureau–there are plenty of places where customers can (and will) review your business, and you can and should be encourgaing 5-star reviews on these platforms whenever you can.

But generating reviews and testimonials isn’t enough. You need to showcase them. Take a snapshot of some of your top testimonials and reviews and feature them liberally on your website. Post them regularly on social media. Do whatever you can to show potential customers that, every time you’ve had the opportunity to aid your existing customers with a project, you’ve done so honorably, satisfactorily, and with aplomb.

5. Try Local Service Ads (LSAs)

What’s the second most effective marketing channel, after GBP, for construction marketers? In this writer’s humble opinion, it’s Local Services Ads (LSAs).

If you want high-intent, local leads, LSAs are the way to go. Unlike traditional Google Ads, which operate on a pay-per-click model, LSAs operate on a pay-per-lead basis, meaning you only pay when a potential customer reaches out to your business directly through the ad. This ensures you’re getting tangible results, not just clicks.

LSAs appear at the top of search results, often above organic listings and regular ads, making them highly visible to people searching for local services. They also leverage the “Google Guaranteed” badge, which gives potential clients more confidence in your business.

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6. Showcase your skills in videos

Creating video content is an impactful way to market your construction business. Videos allow you to showcase your expertise and build trust with potential clients by giving them a closer look at your projects, operations, and success stories.

Want to give customers the kind of real-world validation they need to sign a contract? Video does just that. This could take a few forms, depending on your strategy and goals:

• Document projects from start to finish, offering an authentic, behind-the-scenes perspective of your customer service and workmanship. This is an especially great choice for home renovation and remodeling companies.
• Client testimonial videos that show off your quality and reliability.
• “How-to” videos, like tips for home improvement that position your company as an industry expert and help you connect with your audience (and sell your services!).

YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. Post your videos there, and you will start to reach a broader audience and drive leads by turning passive viewers into potential customers.

7. Get referrals!

Want some free business? Referrals are the way to go. Referrals are hands down one of the most tried-and-true means of generating construction revenue. Satisfied clients are your best advocates. Guess what? That means that when they spread the word about your services, you have the opportunity to bring in new business. People trust referrals from friends, family, or colleagues because they come with personal validation.

To leverage this, actively encourage referrals by asking satisfied clients to share their experience with others. Don’t wait for them to do it on their own, because they won’t. Building a formal referral program will instantly streamline the process and keep clients engaged and referring more people.

8. Offer a free consultation or estimate

Free trials, free tools, and other free offers work in nearly every online business for lead generation. And guess what? they work just as well in construction.

When you offer customers a free inspection or free estimate, you instantly remove a barrier for prospects who may be hesitant to commit without understanding costs or project scope.

A free consultation allows you to showcase your expertise, assess your customer’s needs, and build trust from the start. It’s also a super low stakes agreement from the customer, and gives them the chance to ask questions and get a clearer picture of how you can help them achieve their goals.

Like any relationship, transparency between a contractor and its customer is key. You want to make sure you are both aligned on expectations from the start. The inspection is a great time to set these expectations. In addition, consultations provide an opportunity to demonstrate the value of your work, differentiate yourself from competitors, and increase the likelihood of closing the deal.

9. Make sure your website shows up in search results

We’ve talked about a lot of cost-effective ideas in this post, but this one might just take the cake.

SEO is essential for boosting your construction business’s online visibility. And while it may require a bit of upfront investment, the dividends can be huge in the long run.

By targeting local keywords relevant to your services, you can rank higher in search results and attract nearby clients. Optimizing on-page elements like meta descriptions, headers, and images increases the chances that you show up first when it counts: when your customer is trying to decide between you and your competitors.

These businesses have optimized their websites for this local keyword to help attract new leads.

10. Write and publish relevant and educational content

You probably know content marketing and blogging as effective strategies for showcasing your expertise and engaging potential clients. That’s true. But the real value? Getting your business in front of way more potential customers.

Content marketing goes hand in hand with SEO. When you write an informative blog post on a construction trends, or a DIY tip, or a case study, you not only position your business as an industry leader: you gives yourself the opportunity rank for highly valuable keywords in the search results.

That means more traffic. Which means more leads. Which means more revenue.

Regularly publishing high-quality content attracts visitors, keeps them on your site longer, and boosts your rankings. And if you want to make sure your content really ranks well, take a hint from our last tip and make sure your posts are optimized with keywords that local customers are searching for.

11. Use Google Ads

If you want to play with the big boys, you need to pay to play. And as the owner of the most popular search engine in the world, Google deserves their share.

Google Ads is going to be your best bet for targeting potential customers actively searching for services like yours. Is it a bit more expensive than Local Search Ads? Sure. Here, you’re paying per click. (The average cost per click for the  home and home improvement vertical is $6.96.)

Still, if you can do it effectively, PPC (pay-per-click) represents a powerful tool for lead generation. By setting up local campaigns focused on high-intent keywords like “roofing contractor near me” or “construction services,” setting an aggressive bid, and creating some relevant and enticing ad copy, you can ensure your ads appear at the top of search results.

This puts your business in front of prospects at the moment they’re ready to make a decision.

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12. Get in customers’ and prospects’ inboxes

We’ve talked a lot about what happens at the top of the funnel: SEO, content marketing, and paid lead generation. But what about what happens after you’ve already generated a potential lead? Or after you’ve run a free estimate, but haven’t gotten the sale?

Email marketing is what happens. Email is an extremely cost-effective way to stay connected with past clients and nurture new leads. Sending newsletters with project updates, special promotions, and industry news keeps your audience engaged and informed about your services. And, it might just serve to rehash a few old leads and generate revenue that you didn’t know was on the table.

Regular email outreach helps build long-term relationships, reminding clients of your expertise and keeping your business top-of-mind when they need future work. Keep sharing valuable content and hitting your customers with successive touchpoints, and email will pay huge dividends for you.

13. …And their mailboxes

We’ve talked a lot about digital. And while digital marketing is one of the easiest (and most effective) ways to market your construction business, there’s something to say about traditional marketing tactics like direct mail.

Direct mail is a super effective offline marketing strategy for construction businesses. Sending postcards, brochures, or flyers with promotional offers, project highlights, and company information helps you target local homeowners or businesses directly. Take it a step further with a personalized mailer, and you’ll ensure your business stands out from digital noise and makes a lasting impression.

With direct mail, you have the ability to highlight special services, seasonal deals, or recent projects to attract attention. When combined with a robust digital strategy, direct mail is a killer way to increase brand awareness and generate local leads.

Execute these construction marketing ideas, drive revenue

There you have it! 13 impactful construction marketing ideas. Tackle even three of these effectively this quarter, and we’re certain you’ll increase your construction lead flow. And if you need a hand from an expert, reach out today for a demo.