Writing Targeted Content for Your Construction Website

1. Zero in On Clients’ Needs

For content marketing to work, it needs to be performed thoughtfully and with purpose. This is true regardless of industry. Your articles should solve some sort of problem for prospective leads (your future clients). The more tailored your content is to your business, the more effective it will be.

When preparing content for your website, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What kinds of things do my ideal clients need help with?
2. What kinds of searches would they perform?
3. How can my services benefit them?

Your content should place your clients as the heroes and you as the guide that helps them achieve their goals. Understanding your demographic is arguably the most important thing that you can do when keeping a blog that is designed to garner leads; if you do not know your customer and write content that is irrelevant to the audience which you are attracting, you will fail miserably at meeting your end goal: more business.

Be sure that your call to action also addresses your demographic specifically, i.e. “If you are a homeowner who is in need of a new roof, contact our professionals today for a free quote.” You can also use pictures of people (such as a family looking at a new home) to target your demographic and attract leads.

2. Include Client Testimonials

Your website visitors want to see what your past clients have to say about your business in the form of testimonials. Hearing positive stories about your services is very powerful, and shows that you are a trusted company with which to work.

Some tips regarding how to write and share client testimonials include:

• Be specific. Testimonials with the most impact include tangible proof of how you helped your client.
• Add pictures. Testimonials accompanied by pictures are more effective. They put a face to a name.
• Include testimonials throughout your website. For example, if the testimonial is about a great design you created, include it on the design page of your website.
• Make the testimonial traceable. Provide a link back to the website of the person who left you a testimonial. This will make their testimonial more believable.

3. Create a Comprehensive List of FAQs

When your construction company comes on site for a project, what’s the first thing that they do? How much time does a project take? Can a client occupy their building while it’s being worked on? What happens if the customer wants to modify a design during construction? What if the company breaks something during construction - will they pay for it? Is your company responsible for cleanup after the project is finished? What payment methods do your company accept?

These are just a few of the many questions that a potential client will want to know about your business; catalogue these and create thorough responses to each question. When customers ask new questions, keep building on your FAQ – it’s a great way to get fresh content on the site and address valuable customer concerns at the same time.

4. Turn FAQs into Blog Articles

Someone searching for topics related to your industry is probably looking to hire a construction firm for their project. If they find the answers to their questions on your blog, they’re more likely to turn to you when it is time to start the RFP process. Plus, you have already created a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions and written answers for those questions. Now, all you have to do is expand on those answers in a blog article form.

Including content that answers questions for your website visitors shows them that you are not only an expert, but that you understand what they need and are interested in helping them find solutions. It highlights the fact that you are on their side and want to provide them with as much information as possible.

Responses should be honest, of course, but they should also be well written and engaging.

If you do not want to write the title of your blog as a question, you can also present it as a statement i.e., “Everything You Need to Know About the Signs of a Leaky Roof.”

5. Deliver Expert Insight

Simply stating that you are an expert is not enough; many of your potential customers are going to want to understand why you’re the expert in your field. As a construction business owner, you’re in the unique position of being able to deliver insightful information to prospective customers through educational articles that demonstrate your expertise in the areas in which you specialize.

Write do-it-yourself or step-by-step guides, and don’t be afraid that you’re going to lose customers! A certain segment of the population is going to attempt the project by themselves via your guide and won’t pay you for work, but if they read your expert guides and appreciate your craftsmanship, they are going to tell other people where they got their ideas.

Create a high quality site with intelligent, informative content and you will make your readers your company’s evangelists. With every blog post, article and other piece of content you generate, you are setting the foundation and building a framework that will turn into a steady stream of viable leads.

6. Create Blog Articles that Are Based on Numbered Lists

One of the best ways to create content that will drive targeted traffic for your construction website is to create blog articles that are based on numbered lists. You can use your FAQs, your own expert knowledge, and even other companies' blog topics to generate list ideas.

For example, consider these topics:

• 4 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Construction Company
• 3 Signs that It’s Time for a New Roof
• 10 Things Your Spouse Would Love in a New Home

Get creative with your lists! The more fun and informative, the better. Create content that others will want to share with their friends and family. As you’re about to publish your blog, think, “Would I want to read this if I was a customer?”

7. Use Infographics to Draw in Customers

Perhaps one of the most creative and engaging content marketing advents yet, the infographic is attractive, informative, and eye-catching. An infographic is exactly what it sounds like – information that is presented in graphic form. Remember, when choosing content for your website, your blog is not the only thing that users will pay attention to; the more visually appealing your website is (which is aided by the use of infographics ), the more drawn in clients will be.

You can create your own infographic in-house, or purchase a premade infographic from a graphic design, content marketing, or image site. If you have a great idea for an infographic, read this article on 5 Tools for Creating Your Own Infographic .

8. Share Newsworthy Topics Related to Your Industry

Sharing news articles, construction trends, or other happenings in the construction industry is a great way to provide consumers with information that they care about and that is relevant to them. And one of the best parts about sharing news content is that it is one of the easiest types of content to blog about; all you have to do is find a news story that is relevant to construction, summarize it in blog form, and conclude with a call to action that encourages readers to contact you.

Searching for relevant news stories is easy, too. Use a search engine to look up keywords related to your industry. Even just “construction” will do, although you can get more specific depending upon the type of construction projects you specialize in. Click the “news” button that is found at the top of the search engine–the result should be a list of stories related to your keywords. See below:

Also, keep in mind that newsworthy information isn’t always limited to just news; you can also write about changes to laws or proposed legislation related to construction.

Writing about current trends is also popular—summarize current trends and summarize the article with how your company is committed to staying abreast of top trends in the construction industry, and can help home/business owners to meet their goals.

Start Generating Leads With Your Website Today

The eight ideas listed above should provide you with a solid foundation when it comes to creating content for your construction website. If you are still stumped or running low on ideas, consider writing articles that focus on how to work with others in the industry (like architects, developers, electricians, contractors, mortgage companies, etc.), new technologies, customer and construction success stories, pain points and how your company addresses them, design considerations for a particular project, product application guidelines, or anything else that is relevant and engaging.

When it comes to content for your website, the sky’s the limit—just be sure that the content is well-written, interesting, and targeted to the appropriate audience.