Websites for construction companies need to utilise a variety of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) elements if they’re to attract ideal clients. Having a non-optimised website is great if you merely want it to serve as an online business card that you direct people to. But if you want your website working for you to attract the type of work you love and want to do, then optimising it is a must.
SEO can seem complicated because it has a lot of moving parts. And as a builder, engineer or marketing manager of a construction company, I know you probably don’t have time to get your head around it and work out what it all means for you. This is the reason I wrote this blog – to give you a quick overview of what SEO means.
I liken SEO to a jigsaw puzzle that is multi-faceted. On-page, off-page, and technical elements all need to work together in order to be successful, and even then, there are no guarantees.
What is SEO?
Basically, it’s work done to your construction company website to give it a chance of ranking highly (on the first page and ideally in the top 3 spots) of a Google search. A key element of this work is Keyword Research to discover what words or phrases your ideal clients are typing into Google to find the services or products that you offer.
There are three main types of SEO that need to be in sync in order to give you the best chance of success.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO is about creating website content that is both user-friendly and search engine-friendly. You want your content to appear in front of your ideal clients and convince them that you’re the best company for the job.
Armed with keyword research, a construction copywriter like myself can then incorporate keywords strategically through your on-page content in order to optimise it. Elements where I use keywords and their synonyms include headlines, subheadings and text. This text also extends to meta titles and meta descriptions (the words you see on the search results page). By optimising these elements, you can improve your chances of ranking higher, which can ultimately lead to more traffic to your site.
However, using keywords isn’t enough to ensure the success of on-page SEO. The content needs to be easy to read, understand, and navigate. This means using clear, concise language, breaking up text with subheadings, and using images and other visual elements to break up the page and make it more engaging. No doubt many are now using AI to write their websites, but if you’re going down this path I would do so cautiously.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to the optimisation of other elements outside of your own construction company website. Essentially, it’s a set of strategies and techniques that aim to improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) by building a strong online presence outside of the website itself.
Backlinks are an important part of off-page SEO. They are links from other reputable sites to your own. A backlink acts like a vote of confidence, indicating that the other website trusts your content and is willing to link to it. Search engines like Google use these backlinks as a way to gauge the authority and relevance of your construction website. The more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your site, the more likely it is that your content will rank higher in search results.
Although not a direct influence, other tactics such as social media marketing can also help build your website’s reputation and authority by driving traffic to it.
Technical SEO
The foundation of good SEO is found in the technical aspects of your construction company website. This involves making sure Google (and other search engines) can easily crawl and index your website’s content and that the site is structured in a way that’s easy to navigate.
So when your website developer or designer is creating a website for your construction company to take advantage of SEO, they need to pay attention to site architecture and structure, site speed, and performance and mobile responsiveness among other things.
Without technical SEO being sound, your on-page and off-page SEO could prove fruitless. So it’s really important to pay attention to all aspects if you’re serious about wanting your website to rank and win you clients. It’s a good idea to ask your website designer what they know about SEO if you’re choosing to go down this path.
Organic v Paid SEO
One of the misconceptions about SEO is that it needs to be expensive to be effective. This isn’t necessarily the case, although a decent investment is required.
Confusion often arises between organic and paid SEO. Organic SEO is what I’ve described above. It involves optimising your website’s content, structure and other elements to improve its ranking in search engines naturally. Organic SEO efforts do not involve directly paying search engines. Your rankings are earned.
Paid SEO on the other hand involves paying for ads or sponsored listings in search engine results pages. You’ll notice these listings at the very top of the page when you search for something. Paid SEO can sometimes provide quicker results than organic SEO, as ads can be displayed in SERPs immediately after a campaign is launched. However, the traffic generated through paid SEO is typically less sustainable than organic SEO, as the traffic will decrease when the campaign is ended or the budget runs out.
Some businesses will benefit from organic SEO, while others will benefit from paid SEO. And sometimes, a hybrid model might be beneficial.
Organic SEO results get more clicks
Studies have demonstrated that organic search results drive more traffic to websites than any other element including paid ads and social media posts. In fact the top 10 organic search results on page 1 get over 86% of clicks. Further, on average, the top organic search result gets 27.6% of those clicks, with second position getting 15.8% and third position getting 11%. So it’s certainly beneficial to work on long term organic SEO and try to snare one of those top three positions in the search results.
Basically, organic search results are clicked more often because they are trusted. To rank on the first page of Google and in particular the first three spots, your content has to be high quality. Savvy users of the internet know this. In most cases, they will find what they are looking for in one of those top positions. That’s why SEO for construction company websites like residential builders and engineers is so competitive.
Why I can’t offer SEO guarantees
As you’ve probably gathered by now, organic SEO is multi-faceted and can be complicated. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
It would be nice if SEO for construction businesses was an exact science. I would like nothing better than to guarantee you results. But I can’t. There are just too many variables.
I could promise you a ranking for an obscure keyword that doesn’t have much competition. And I could probably get you the number one spot for that. But if nobody is searching for that term and nobody is clicking through to your website and buying your goods or service, what is the point? Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous SEO companies partaking in dodgy tactics like this simply to line their own pockets. But that’s not how I work.
The truth is that nobody, not even the top-ranked SEO experts know what Google’s secret algorithm is. They get many clues and study patterns and pass all that information on to SEO copywriters like me. But nobody knows for sure. Even Google themselves have stated that “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” So the minute someone promises you a guaranteed number 1 ranking, it’s time to question motives.
SEO websites for construction companies – the long game
The timeline for seeing results from organic SEO efforts can vary greatly, depending on a variety of factors, including the competitiveness of the keywords being targeted, the quality of the content and backlinks, the age and authority of the website, and the overall strength of the SEO strategy.
If you have an established website with good traffic already, you may see improvements in 3-4 months. A brand new site though could take 6-12 months to start showing results – although this will still be dependent on multiple factors like site speed, and backlink building. Search engines typically take time to crawl and index new content and backlinks, and it can take time for a website to build up its authority and reputation in a particular niche.
It’s important to have realistic expectations and be patient when embarking on an SEO strategy. The most effective organic SEO campaigns are those that are sustained over time, with a focus on producing high-quality content and building strong, relevant backlinks.
Updating your website
Part of the long game of SEO is keeping your website updated. SEO is simply not a set and forget element.
You need to keep building your online presence and proving to Google that you have E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
Some great ways to do this after you’ve optimised your site:
- Build backlinks
- Write blogs and other content that will educate and give you the opportunity to rank for more keywords
- Stay active on social media and drive new users to your website
- Share your website
Ready for your new construction company website?
If you’re serious about building your business and your brand, and becoming a leader in the construction industry, an optimised website is a given.
If you’d like some guidance or help with creating your website, get in touch. As The Construction Copywriter, I concentrate on getting the on-page SEO right – and that includes doing keyword research to help you make informed decisions. But I also give advice about off-page and technical SEO and can recommend web designers that also understand and can implement these other important SEO factors.
Don’t waste any more time wondering how to make an impact with your website. Find out more about my offering of SEO for the construction industry and get in touch.
You might also be interested in the following:
The ultimate guide to Google Business Profile optimisation for your construction business