SEO vs. Lead Generation: Which is Right for Your Contractor Business?

Written by Shannon Nieten
Published on May 11, 2022

When looking at SEO vs. lead generation, how can you know what's best for your contractor business? Well, first, you have to understand what the difference between SEO and lead generation is. Then, you can look at what makes the most sense for your business. Commonly for contractors, SEO is the ideal choice. However, you will have to weigh all the factors first before making the final determination.

When considering SEO vs. lead generation, many home contractors find that SEO services are the best option. SEO helps contractors get their business in front of potential clients faster by optimizing the pages to coincide with what customers are typing into search engines.

Before deciding which digital marketing solution is right for you, let's go through SEO vs. lead generation. Then, when armed with all the necessary information, you will be able to determine what you want to do to get more prospective customers looking at your corporation and your brand.

What is SEO?

Let's review SEO vs. lead generation. SEO is a technique used to create content or alter certain parts of a website to improve rankings. Properly optimized websites increase the visibility in search engines like Google if someone skims the internet for your business utilizing relevant keywords.

This SEO strategy includes boosting site speed, optimizing site content with keywords that are common for your industry, and developing continuous authoritative, exciting, and informative content relatable to a Google search using those keywords that keep visitors intrigued and interested in your services. It's essential to increase site SEO rankings because it puts you at the top of the search engine results page (SERP).

SEO for contractors

Did you know that most people using the web don't go past the first page when looking for a business to fulfill their demands? Quality leads will typically select a contractor from the first few businesses that show up on their SERP.

People in today's hectic, instantly gratifying, electronically powered world have a minimal attention span. Not many typically scan through pages and pages of results when checking for a home contractor. They want someone to assist them with whatever problem they are having, and they want the solution to be as straightforward and fast as possible.

Search engine optimization brings organic traffic to your site, unlike what you may receive when paying for your spot at the top. The top positions are paid-for ads and are labeled as such. Those websites are littered with countless irritating advertisements and pop-ups that nobody wants to deal with. Clients generally skip right over those and look for the websites that have attained a position because of their trust and authority.

using a SEO to grow business

Organic traffic means more visitors and a greater chance of turning your target audience into clients for substantial growth in profits. In addition, when you reach your position on SERPs organically, it's less likely that you will be bumped out of that space. It's one of those situations where you're there to stay when you get there. Also, it doesn't cost you a fortune in monthly fees!

What's Obtainable with Contractor SEO?

Home contractor businesses often set and achieve goals with search engine optimization that include:

  • An increase in traffic to an existing website through optimization of current content that's more in line with what consumers are searching for. Tools, auditors, and A/B split testing options can help fine-tune this part of the search engine optimization process. However, you likely need to partner with a qualified and experienced agency that provides SEO services to achieve substantial results.
  • Boosting sales and profits because more people are being directed to your website when searching for the services provided in your local area. You can't gain new clients without having your website prevalent online, and SEO strategies aid and ensure you get your name at the top of the list.
  • Website visitors convert to clients because people searching for your services come to you naturally. You aren't wasting time and resources actively going out to find your target audience.

SEO vs. lead generation can be eliminated when taking away the vs. and putting them to work together. We will dig into that a bit later. First, however, keep in mind, that while they are similar in the idea of getting you customers, parts of each of these strategies are different.

contractor SEO

As an agency that offers search engine optimization services, LeadsForward will help you discover more about our SEO plans and explain why it is feasibly the best option for your small home contractor business.

What is Lead Generation?

What is SEO lead generation? Hopefully, we have defined SEO adequately, and now we will decipher SEO vs. lead generation services. First of all, a 'lead' is a consumer already interested in the products or services you're selling. With access to virtually every business out there, you have to make yourself stand out amongst the rest of your competitors to gain the attention of any valuable leads.

getting leads with SEO for contractors

Qualified and experienced agencies use methods to help reach buyers in a way that makes them want to work with you instead of someone else that's offering similar services in the same region.

For instance, suppose you are one of the many local businesses that provide professional power washing services. A lead generation company will employ digital marketing strategies like backlinking and external linking to get your business name out to potential leads. It's accomplished in part by attaching your business to matching websites based on researched keywords and phrases.

So, for example, a potential customer jumps online to look for plumbing tools or products or maybe power washing equipment, and your local business website is linked to that page. After clicking through and visiting your website, the lead may decide to go with a professional service provider, you, instead of trying to do it alone.

Because they are already shopping for power washing equipment, it's apparent that they are in the market for power washing services. So you already have part of the information needed to gain their attention and draw them to your local business.

increasing sales with SEO for Contractors

Another method for lead generation is getting interested customers information about you by filling out forms or gaining their attention through other digital marketing strategies. Some of the most common include:

  • Pay-Per-Click or PPC Marketing
  • Webinar Production
  • Content Marketing - Blog and Article Writing
  • Downloadable Content Offerings - eBooks, Whitepapers, and Webinars
  • Email Campaigns
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Custom Website Design
  • A/B Testing
  • Landing Pages
  • Calls-To-Action
  • Link Building and Earning
  • Infographics
  • Marketing Automation
  • Lead Nurture Strategy
  • Public Relations
  • And of course... SEO Services!

Many businesses that invest in this type of marketing service eventually get a steady stream of qualified leads. However, is it worth it when considering contractor SEO services? It depends on what you want in the long run. Lead generation requires you to pay consistently for every client that comes your way. After you gain a heightened level of success, this can get rather costly.

why SEO is important for small businesses

However, when your name is in top search results because of the contractor SEO services you've received previously, the price tag is often much lower. That's what often makes it the preferred choice for smaller business owners.

How Do SEO and Lead Generation Work Together?

Diving deeper into SEO vs. lead generation, SEO relates to adjusting different site components to make them visible to search engines. With a well-designed website, you will appear in the search engines more prominently, and people will find your company. Therefore, well-developed SEO will ultimately boost your sales, increase your profits, and raise your revenue.

pairing lead generation and SEO for contractors

When partnered with lead generation tactics, you typically reach more customers faster. If you're attempting to scale your business quickly and are not concerned with the cost, investing in both is how to make it happen effectively.

In addition to the SEO for contractors tactics used to achieve the top position in search results organically, you'll have a company that's also going to work looking for qualified leads. So if you're in a hurry to acquire clientele, pairing the SEO strategy with lead generation will get you noticed more quickly.

Furthermore, it helps build authority and makes your website more trusted by Google and the searching customer.

SEO vs. Lead Generation: How Long Does SEO for Contractors Usually Take?

The timeframe is one of the most important and asked about parts of SEO for contractors. How long will I have to wait to see results and start obtaining clients? Thank you for asking! SEO is usually successful in three to five months, but if you use a highly competitive keyword phrase, it may take six months or even a year.

timing of SEO for contractors

Determining whether or not your keyword or phrase is highly competitive is something that your agency trained in contractor SEO can help you with. You will know upfront an estimate of what it will take to get your website ranked number one in Google search.

Alternatively, if you partner with a qualified, experienced SEO agency, they will utilize other methods such as including related, not-so-competitive keywords to drive traffic to your site as well. It will help you move up faster while also displaying any additional services that you offer.

Questions to Ask a Contractor SEO Agency Before Hiring Them

Finding a reputable, trusted, and effective agency for SEO isn't always easy. Many agencies are unable to deliver their SEO strategy promises to customers. Some SEO firms are successful in contractor SEO initially, but they may utilize unprofessional methods for digital marketing to get there. Unprofessional techniques incorporated for the purpose of "tricking" the crawlers will lead to penalties. So while you may get to an attractive spot in search results, eventually, the penalties will catch up to your website. You will either get knocked down in SERPs or, in some unfortunate cases, completely eliminated from Google searches.

Local SEO Search Customer

You need to know what you're looking for before you trust your business and your name to an SEO for contractors agency. Most importantly, do not sign any documents or pay a contractor SEO company that promises 'guaranteed results.'

Why should you avoid SEO companies that promise a guarantee?

Google algorithms are continually changing. While experienced, high-performing, advanced agencies do whatever they can to stay on top of shifts, it's simply impossible to know what engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing will start crawling for at any given time.

contracting with SEO agency

Promising contractor SEO results in a specific amount of time would mean that the agency can predict the future, which is not realistic.

In addition, companies that offer guarantees often use a one-size-fits-all approach. A blanket technique never works in contractor SEO. Instead, local SEO for contractors strategies have to be utilized to boost your visibility in your region specifically. That means a skilled human representative must carry out individual keyword research, analytics, A/B testing, and other techniques to determine what the clients in your region are explicitly looking for.

Finally, the companies that offer these guaranteed results are known for using the black-hat, blanket methods that incorporate strategies like:

  • Keyword stuffing
  • Poor external linking or backlinks
  • Scraping content or plagiarism
  • Spam linking
  • Private linking - websites that link back and forth to each other
  • Cloaked content - only showing part of your content and then requiring a payment for the rest
  • Producing an abundance of low-quality content

While these approaches may boost you up in SERPs and slip by the search engine crawls, they will never perform successfully in the long run. The automated crawlers will eventually catch up, penalize your page for deceiving the algorithms and devastate your website's authority and performance. Depending on how severe the penalties are and how many the crawlers uncover, it may even result in your page being completely erased by the search engines.

Ready to Rank #1 on Google Search? It's Time to Contact LeadsForward About Contractor SEO vs. Lead Generation Services

Wondering how to generate more leads with SEO? Are you ready to partner with the best SEO company in the United States? Then it's time to reach out to dedicated SEO lead generation companies like the top team at LeadsFoward! Our priority is making sure that your small home contractor business gets noticed. When it comes to SEO vs. lead generation, we utilize keyword research, digital marketing strategies, split testing, specialized analytics, and more to help elevate your company in SERPs and get you the organic traffic you desire.

LeadsForward SEO for contractors

Our strategies for SEO vs. lead generation and SEO for lead generation and direct marketing have proven to work, and you can see them for yourself by checking out our success stories. Take your time to review all we can help you with, then reach out for your FREE demo and consultation. We can't wait to partner with you and help your company and profits blow up with our local contractor SEO leads techniques!

Dominate your market and scale your contractor business

Get started with a free demo or chat with the team about your new SEO website design and lead generation needs!
menu
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram