Generating a steady stream of new potential clients is essential for any electrical contractor because things can change in an instant, leaving them scrambling for survival if they’re not prepared. This happened to many contractors during the 2008 crash, but it can happen during the best of times, too. For example, a major client could go out of business, a well-funded competitor could start stealing clients or an existing clients could put projects on hold. Any of these, or an infinite number of other scenarios, could reduce cash flow instantly and dramatically.
This is why it’s so important to constantly work toward creating exposure to new potential clients, even if there is already too much work to handle. In fact, it’s during times like these that the ability to pick and choose which jobs to take on arises, helping to increase profit margins.
SEO and social media can work hand in hand to create exposure to new potential clients in different ways. Publishing original, useful and engaging content on a website helps it earn organic visitors who are searching for relevant topics. Here’s part one of a two-part series on creating engaging content for electrical contractors. Stay tuned for a follow-up article on social media outreach.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
A properly executed SEO campaign can deliver a predictable stream of new prospects, which is why it plays such an essential role in marketing today. Achieving results, however, requires stepping outside of conventional thinking.
Most electrical contractors are too busy competing for the same few obvious keywords. This causes them to miss out on organic search traffic that could be earned by publishing content answering the type of questions that potential clients typically ask earlier in the buying cycle.
It’s critical to think strategically about the topics potential clients might have to consider before they’re in a position to hire an electrical contractor. For example, clients might conduct searches about:
- construction trends related to the electrical industry, including alternative energy integration, OLED lighting, or EV charging stations;
- new products for the electrical industry, such as PV roofing shingles; or
- local business and employment trends, because the success of their project is heavily influenced by their local economy.
It’s important to understand that old school thinking, in terms of keyword phrases, is dead. Google and other search engines have become far more advanced due to the evolution of algorithms, especially with the recent introduction of artificial intelligence. Instead, think in terms of topics.
In other words, an individual page (or post) isn’t necessarily required for each individual keyword phrase because today’s search engines can identify and rank a single page for multiple related keyword phrases. In fact, it’s become so advanced that it can rank a page for keyword phrases that aren’t on the page. (For those who want to dig deep into the science behind this, it’s explained in great detail in an article about the role of artificial intelligence in SEO.)
Successfully executing this strategy requires creating useful content on these type of questions that relate to, and eventually lead up to, hiring an electrical contractor. Self-promotional content is not going to work. Instead, focus on creating content answers to important questions that prospects have leading up to and throughout the planning and buying process.
Producing content to answer the type of questions that come up earlier in the buying process, and then getting it ranked highly in the search engines, helps businesses reach potential clients sooner than competitors. These related searches might occur weeks or even months before potential clients conduct a search to begin looking for an electrical contractor. It’s during this time that brand awareness and, more importantly, trust is built. If done properly, this happens long before competitors have even entered the picture.
Content published on a website isn’t the only component of SEO though; links pointing to that website from other relevant, authoritative and trustworthy websites play a huge role in where that website ranks organically. It’s critical, however, that these links follow Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Failure to do so will eventually result in a penalty, in which case the offending website will be removed from the search results entirely.
With continual work applied toward useful content and link building that adheres to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, a website will generally begin to receive increased organic traffic in four to 12 months, and it’s an ongoing effort from there.
