The Upside Down Pyramid for Home Improvement Keywords

One of the most common misunderstandings I hear from home improvement dealers is that “Homeowners type in a keyword, click and then call you.” It’s that simple.

Except that it isn’t. Never was that simple. Never will be that simple. Home improvement types like to think that the consumer/homeowner makes quick, straight line decisions. But that’s not the case. While homeowners who go online are obviously looking for a solution to a home improvement problem, their line to an answer takes them all over the keyword spectrum.

How Small Home Improvement Players Beat Big Brands Online

Last time out, I discussed how well-known offline home improvement brands can win or lose in the online world. Today, I’m throwing the truck into reverse to talk about how small home improvement businesses without a major offline brand can beat out their larger competitors.

Here are 4 key points:

Easy-to-Find = Easy to Work With
When a homeowner goes online and enters a search term, they’re obviously looking for something. The terms “replacement windows,” “bath liners,” “basement refinishing” and “sunroom company” all denote that the individual is looking for something specific to the home improvement industry.

Do Strong Offline Home Improvement Brands Have an Advantage Online?

As a home improvement company, your marketing efforts have likely been primarily offline. All of the home improvement veterans I know built their businesses with traditional advertising media, such as TV, radio, newspaper and direct mail.

While these veterans were obviously looking for leads, offline media served an additional purpose – to help build their brand, which over time would compound in value and generate even more leads. Thousands of successful home improvement companies were built this way – and many are still successful with that approach.

But do all those years of offline brand building mean anything as homeowners increasingly go online? The answer is: sort of.

An Internet Lead is Promised to No One

After talking with many different home improvement dealers about internet marketing, I hear a
common frustration: my competitors are “stealing” my leads.

But that’s not the half of it.

It’s not just their competitors who are “stealing” leads, it’s also online lead generation companies
themselves who jockey for position on the Search Engine Results Pages. Then they take those
leads and sell them to the highest bidder – namely other replacement window companies or
familiar names like QuinStreet and ServiceMagic.