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.

Let’s look at an example of what I call the Upside Down Pyramid to illustrate the keywords that consumers use to make a decision about basement remodeling. It looks like an upside down pyramid, with the least relevant terms getting the most searches, and the most relevant terms getting the fewest.

"The Upside Down Pyramid"

In this example, let’s say a home owner in Metuchen, New Jersey has a growing family that needs more space in their home. I’ll call her “Mrs. Metuchen.”

Mrs. Metuchen might search on Google for a term like “basements” to see what pops up. But “basements” is a broad term, and the search results include everything from basement waterproofing and basement refinishing to rap records (rapbasement.com) and a Nashville music club (thebasementnashville.com).

After reviewing a couple of links and Web sites, Mrs. Metuchen decides to narrow her search to “basement remodeling.” She finds a whole different list on the Search Results Page of options from basement remodeling companies, basement remodeling videos, Do It Yourself basement remodeling plans, etc.

And while she feels she’s on the right track, many of the companies feel national, or are located so far from Mrs. Metuchen that they couldn’t possibly help her. But if she narrows her search, she’s going to find those basement refinishing options. So she does a search for “basement refinishing + New Jersey”.

There, she finds a whole host of options for basement refinishing companies. The results are much more relevant. There are a host of providers in New Jersey and New York with Web sites. Encouraged by this, Mrs. Metuchen decides to do one more search for “Basement refinishing contractors + Metuchen, NJ.”

Jackpot. She has searched her way to exactly what she was looking for, someone local to help her with her basement. She picks up the phone and makes a call. Hopefully someone at that basement remodeling business was there to answer and set an appointment.

Terms like “basement” will always get the most traffic…but also the fewest conversions. They are not specific enough and rarely provide the homeowner with all of the information they need to pick up the phone. But searchers are impatient, and will quickly adjust by narrowing their search to the most relevant and specific levels, hence “Basement refinishing contractors + Metuchen, NJ.”

So it took Mrs. Metuchen 4 different searches. Along the way, she may have clicked on a dozen sites, spending a few seconds on one, or ten minutes on another. But it was hardly a straight or simple line.