Most roofing companies have a website and most of you have put a lot of tender loving care into organizing its content while conveying your company’s benefits and values. Great. Roofing pros are naturals when it comes to marketing and sales, anyway. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and you understand that you have to be ferocious when competing with other roofers, and loyal as Man’s best friend with your customers.
When it comes to home improvement projects, property owners are adamant about finding trustworthy contractors. This doesn’t mean your roofing company has to be 100 years old… that helps, but just as important are the values you hold, your promise to deliver a quality job on budget and on time with a friendly, reliable work crew. These are characteristics you can promote on your company website, and in so doing, gain an edge on the competition!
Roofing Pros Appreciate Good Design
Some of the best designers across all professions are architects and builders. The functionality, symmetry, and aesthetics of a home or commercial structure demonstrate the vision and talent of the men and women behind the drafting tables. Obviously, roofs are a primary architectural component and they create as much of a visual appeal for a home as any other part of its construction. Architects, builders, and roofing specialists come together to make the roof a beautiful feature of a dwelling and roofing pros carry this design talent into their website creations, too!
As a technology company that deals with thousands of roofing contractors, manufacturers, and distributors, we’ve become very familiar with the outstanding websites in the roofing industry. So, with our decades of web design experience and insight into what the best roofing companies are doing to win customers with their online presence, we’ve identified some top aspects of great roofing websites.
The 5 Rules for Roofing Websites
Website Rule #1 - Your Credentials, Your Story
Roofing companies don’t always carry built-in credibility among property owners. While utility company representatives and monthly service providers like the Orkin man commonly visit properties with the confidence of property owners, unfamiliar work crews and contractors are not so inherently trusted. Some people associate roofing services with transient workers who may not be real employees of the contractor. Your website can help put aside these attitudes and portray your company’s solid integrity!
A roofing project has intangibles, too. Property owners have to trust that a roof system will be properly installed. They know that any “shortcuts” can lead to serious problems once rains and storms arrive. But roofers work aloft, where property owners can’t well observe their process and performance. Unless the property owner climbs onto the roof, he or she may end up seeing, from ground-level, intermittent steps in your installation or indeed only the finished product – the shingled, tiled, or metal top surface. So, how can a customer feel confident that a contractor will do the job right? Many times it starts with a well thought out company profile on your website (and on your phone or tablet if you happen to use the iRoofing mobile app!) Be sure you are including these important content considerations:
- Who’s the company owner(s)?
- When/why was the company formed?
- What licenses and certifications are held by the company and/or staff members?
- Who makes up your crew(s). Are they bonded and insured?
- What service and craftsmanship “promise” can you make to customers?
The magic of combining the website with technology tools like iRoofing, brings incredible competitive advantages and added value to your brand. Showing the customer that you can instantly measure any part of their roof right from their kitchen table as you meet with them; being able to instantly change scope and roofing material type and colors; coming to a meeting knowing the price and the project size; avoiding mistakes with digital ordering and estimating; showing the client their simulated roof after its done; closing on the spot if the client is in a hurry, and presenting from afar are just a few unique advantages that a software solution like iRoofing gives you. So, if you’re a Hi-Tech Roofer®, brag about it! Make sure that the client knows that these “small” differences will make a world of difference for them.
It goes without saying…use images and videos wherever possible! And, keep your text clear and succinct, so property owners can understand your message at-a-glance!
Website Rule #2 - Educate Customers about your Products and Services
Your website should feature all the services you offer, as well as the quality products you normally use and recommend. Try to anticipate the service needs of property owners in your area. In some parts of the country demands change seasonally, so update your website to put the most sought-after services in a prominent position on your page, i.e., roof inspections during storm seasons or de-icing services in the winter.
- Include any services you offer such as roof inspections, roof repairs, roof replacements, gutter installments, solar panel installation, skylights, vents and flashing, roof tarping, de-icing, roof and gutter cleaning, etc.
- Show off the product lines for each type of roof material you handle – asphalt shingles, ceramic tiles, slate, shake, and whatever else you offer.
- What step-by-step “process” does your company follow for a typical roof replacement? Educate your customers about your system.
- Discuss your use of roof measurement, estimating, and simulation technology, such as iRoofing, which ensures greater work safety, energy efficiency, and cost savings that could be passed along to customers.
Website Rule #3 - Ratings, Recommendations, and Certifications
Property owners want to know your track record. They feel confident about your company when they know others have had a good experience with you. Your website should feature testimonials from happy customers, endorsements from roofing manufacturers, positive ratings from Yelp, Home Advisor, Houzz, Google, and Facebook. Include these important endorsements on your website..
- Quotes from satisfied customers
- Manufacturer endorsements such as GAF Factory-Certified Contractor, Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractors, or training certificates from Boral’s Virtual Continuing Education Series
- Mentions of your recent ratings in from online brands and the Better Business Bureau
- Community involvement such as church projects, public facility roofing jobs, fundraiser support, event sponsorships, and even Little League sponsorships!
Website Rule #4 - Expected Pricing, Special Offers, Warranties, and Guarantees
The first question on most homeowners’ minds is “How much will my roof project cost?” Providing a cost estimate before closely examining the job, is tricky as each project is different based on what is needed, the roof slope, the number of slopes, needed accessories, etc. But providing some idea of your competitive approach is good. Some roofing companies include a roof estimate calculator widget on their website but something as simple as “New roof replacements starting at just $4.50 sq. foot” can help you get a qualified lead from your website.
Most contractors offer free estimates, if you do… mention it on your website and in iRoofing’s in-app pitch book presentation! It may be the reason they choose you in the end. When you receive a request from a property owner for an estimate, it gives you a great chance to evaluate the project, meet the homeowners, and figure out how aggressive you want to be in competing for the work.
- Make sure your references to pricing always include added values such as free estimates or inspections and your guarantee on roof installation workmanship quality.
- Provide some idea of a starting price per sq. ft. based on conventional roofing materials.
- Put any special offers right upfront, such “Seasonal Savings – Get 5% Off until September 30th.”
- Talk about additional customer protection through manufacturers’ warranties and optional extended warranties.
- Tell homeowners how you assist through any insurance claim process.
Website Rule #5 - Get Found with Keywords and Phrases
Besides all the ways you can drive traffic to your website through paid channels like advertising with Facebook, Google, and Bing to name just a few, it’s your organic search success that potentially yields the most qualified prospects. In order to get your website noticed when property owners search for local roofing contractors, you need to make sure the content of your site includes words and phrases that people use when searching for roof replacements or repairs. For example, “How much does a new roof cost?” is a keyword phrase that you sense many prospects are using when they perform a google search, right? Probably, but there’s no need to guess what your keywords should be. Your website platform may have a tool to score your page based on SEO strength (search engine optimization) and your Google account has free Google Analytics and Google Ad portals you can explore. There you can evaluate keywords and phrases and instantly see how many searches have been performed on them within any defined timeframe.
Good content isn’t the only way to achieve strong rankings in search engines like Google and Bing… Having a site that loads quickly and is easy to navigate helps, too. Plus, make sure your website is “responsive,” meaning it conforms to mobile devices so that all your content is easily readable whether a viewer is on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
In addition, search engines like to see that your website link appears on other websites that are related to the construction and roofing industry. So, if you can manage to get listed on such sites, your website will have an added advantage over competitors.
- Find a resource to test your website content and to find the right keywords, such as Wordtracker https://www.wordtracker.com/
- Use common sense to form the same search terms you know your next customer might use, such as, “roofing companies in Oakbrook, Illinois” or “best roofing contractors in Oakbrook, Illinois.” Then, be sure to use those exact words in prominent places within your website.
- Add a blog to your website and publish articles on subjects of which homeowners are likely to want information, i.e. “How to choose a roof shingle color;” How [your roofing company] exercises social distancing.” Keep adding articles to your blog and watch your site visits gradually increase due to SEO value!
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures
Sure people will read about your company on your website, but you better grab their attention first. A nice, clean design with great visuals of homes, buildings, and roofs— along with headlines enticing viewers to explore your brand in order to get the best return for their investment, is paramount. Use images of past projects, drone images, and images you purchase from stock photo sources, such as alamy.com. Also, show the handsome, beautiful faces of your company team. Create a personal appeal for your company using the greatest marketing tool in existence… your website!
Be Social!
While your website is arguably the backbone of your marketing program, you must wisely create avenues to get to it. Paid advertising in one way, and maximizing your use of keywords is another but never leave out social media. Yur company is probably already on Facebook and perhaps Instagram, Linkedin, and maybe even Twitter. If so, fantastic. But homeowners are also trolling social platforms like Pinterest for roofing ideas.
In Summary
This article only scratched the surface of achieving website success. The core principles of great website content are here but there is so much more to explore — website graphic design, site navigation and architecture, online forms to capture leads, and seamlessly integrate those leads into your email marketing and social media. But it all starts with understanding the basics of a solid website featuring an effective balance of images and content that property owners look for. Your website is your marketing program’s backbone. With a strategically built website addressing the basic selling points of your brand, rest assured, you’re on a road to success in the highly competitive field of roofing.
