The Future of Construction Websites in 2022
There’s something wrong with most construction websites today and it is costing contractors like you money…big money. Your website talks to people willing to spend $25k, $50, $100k on home improvements.
Your construction website is costing you business
You don’t see the people who check out your site and leave without contacting you, they just…leave. Problem is, with them goes their checkbook and your next payroll or truck payment.
My name is Darren Slaughter and I’ve spent 20+ years in construction marketing and website design. I’ve talked to hundreds of contractors of all sizes in six different countries over the years, and the one thing I know for sure, 98% of you hate worrying about your website.
In fact, it took a good 5-7 years for the construction industry to catch up to they needed a website. It was the same guys who said the internet was going to be a passing fade, that social media was useless and that you already got enough work from referrals so you didn’t need a website.
Well, that was then and this is now!
You’ve gotten a website up on the web, probably kicking and screaming the entire way. I mean, no one wants to be told they have to do something, but you realized the value of an online presence, so you got your act together.
Most construction websites started out in one of these categories
- You got your brother-in-law who likes to play with computers to build one.
- You paid someone in the website business but who doesn’t have any experience making construction websites.
- You figured “I build houses for a living, I can certainly build a website myself.”
Let me go over why all three of those outcomes have probably left you wanting.
The “family or friend” website is the most common example we come across. You hired someone close to you who convinced you they could build you a website. So you throw them the keys, they whip something up, it passes for good enough, and that’s what you’ve settled on.
Why you are losing
Having no experience in construction or construction marketing, your brother just took whatever materials you had laying around in hardcopy and he put them online. Basically, you got yourself an online brochure. It worked for a while but now you realize your competition has taken their online presence seriously and they are eating your lunch. Well, I can help.
The “you paid a pro to build your site” site. I love working on these types because most design shops throw up all over the screen and put everything possible on a website just to make it look pretty, but it converts for shit.
Not only is the website not working, but you paid to have this one built! The problem is again, not having experience building construction websites is going to bite you in the ass in the end. Why? Because construction websites are an animal in and of themselves. Your website is responsible for bringing in people who want to spend a lot of money…but your site isn’t set up to convert that kind of customer. Sure, you get the occasional bath to remodel or a couple of windows or a roof here and there, but your website is COSTING you hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
How?
Because I’m sure your website already gets enough traffic, it just isn’t converting. That’s because you let Jimmy with his graphics design degree build your site. Again, your site is responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue a year…again, I can help.
Finally, we come to the “I build houses so I can build a website” crowd. Guess what? I can build a deck, but you wouldn’t want to walk on it.
These are oftentimes the worst sites I see. They are cobbled together with virtual duct tape and gum, usually with content lifted from some other website (a big no-no by the way). But since you made it yourself you are proud of your creation, and you should be, it isn’t every day you build a website.
Well, I’ll tell you what, I build websites every day and unfortunately most DIY websites stink. Now I know what you are probably saying to yourself, “who the hell does this guy think he is telling me my website stinks?” If I had you take a look at the deck I built, you wouldn’t mince words with me, right? An improperly built deck can be dangerous.
So can improperly built construction websites!
The problem is, there is no immediate sign of danger or impending doom. So this site sits out there on the web costing you one project after the other. Then one day, my phone rings and you and I are off to the races getting you a functioning website.
Does this website make me look bad?
I want you to do something right now, I want you to go to your website and look at it as one of your customers, and ask yourself this question,” would I buy from this website?” It’s a valid question because your prospects are tasked with that same thought a hundred times a month. If your answer is no, then let’s talk, and let’s get your site making you money again. If your answer is I’m not sure. Well, that is as good as a no, so let’s talk.
If you said yes, you are either too proud to admit your site is costing you money or you’re one of the 1% club who can go build houses by day and high-performing websites at night, in which case, we should talk for other reasons!
If you answered no or are not sure, I’ve got some help for you below. Here are the 5 things I see the most that cost contractors money, and lots of it.
Five Things You Can Do to Fix Most of The Construction Websites Out There
Navigation
Most people, both DIY contractors and website design shops spend little to no time focusing on the navigation of a site. Trouble is, the navigation is the sales funnel your readers are supposed to travel through to contact you. Navigation plays a HUGE part in the success or failure of your overall site. Do it wrong and it will cost you, do it properly and you just made yourself an extra $50k this year.
Linking Away From The Site
Do you know all those trade groups you belong to? Do you know that profile you have on Houzz? The listing you have on the manufacturer’s site? They are all costing you business if you do this one thing…I’ll tell you when we talk!
Pictures
There are subcategories to this one, so stay with me. The first one I want to talk about is not enough photos. You don’t have nearly as many photos on your site as you should. Words, you probably have a lot more words on your site than you should these days since people aren’t reading anymore. Finally, a word on ‘before’ images. There are only a few circumstances where using before images on a website helps. I’ll teach you those or do those for you when we talk.
Talking too much about yourself
We run websites through a platform that tells us how many times you talk about yourself versus how many times you mention the customer. This number is normally skewed big time to the former. Contractors love to talk about all the stuff they can do. They brag about how many awards they’ve gotten, just how great they are in general.
That’s fine…as long as you do this one thing that I’ll tell you about it when we talk.
Google me
Google My Business is a big deal these days and not only do you have to have a quality site, but you better have a robust Google My Business campaign going. If not, then this is going to happen…again, we’ll go over it when we talk.
Finally…Apathy
Most contractors get to a place where they figure whatever they have online already is good enough. The logic is, as long as the Jones’ have a way to find my number or email, that’s good enough for me. Well, that is costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you don’t even know it. I’ll tell you why.
To be blunt, if most contractors treated their tools the way they treated their websites, they’d be out of business. Conversely, if contractors would spend even half the time or money they spent on tools, certifications, their fancy pickup that hasn’t seen a pile of dirt in the back in years, they’d be rich.
My job is to help make you rich, or at least add a couple of hundred thousand dollars to the topline a year. If you’re ready to move your site from the backwater roads of the internet to the superhighway in leadstown, we just have to talk. So, how about it? Ready to move the needle and improve your bank account? Maybe start with a free homepage audit? If you want, you can check out one of the 300 videos I have on Youtube to help get you started.
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