Lead generation is an essential part of growing your home service business as it will help you gain new customers and better retain existing ones.
Your company’s blog can be among its most powerful (and affordable) lead generation tools. Keep reading as we walk you through the process we’ve used to help several home service businesses generate significant leads through their blogs within a matter of weeks.
In this article, you will learn:
- Designing a lead generation-friendly blog
- Different ways to choose lead generation-friendly blog topics
- Making the most of leads once you’ve collected them through your blog posts
- Advantages of hiring a digital marketing agency to help with your blog lead generation strategy
Designing a lead generation-friendly blog
Before you even think about content, it’s important to make sure your blog’s design is lead generation-friendly.
The most helpful tool on your blog post in this regard is the call to action (CTA). We’ve seen CTAs used successfully in a variety of places within blog content, including
- At the top of the page
- At the end of the post
- Within the post itself
- In the sidebar
- Floating or scrolling popup
- Sliding popup
- A full-screen overlay
Among the most effective is the top of the page. You can implement a CTA here easily using a plugin called the Hello Bar. Here’s what it looks like:
We’ve also noticed a high degree of effectiveness with forms embedded directly into the page. Unlike with a Hello Bar, users don’t need to click and land on a different page, which can be useful if your blog post is about a directly actionable topic (i.e. “how to choose a {your service} company in {your location}”).
Here are some tips to keep in mind while designing these Lead Generation Forms:
- Keep the fields short
Don’t add too many form fields, and just try to get basic information such as name and email
- Don’t make the form overly complicated with visuals
- Make sure the form is accessible and easily-filled
- Choose button text that makes it incredibly clear what will happen when users enter their information (i.e. will they receive a phone call, quote, or appointment?)
No matter what type of CTA you use, avoid having advertisements (i.e. Google Ads) on any blog post you plan on using for lead generation. Advertisements will compete with your CTAs and drive conversions down.
Example of lead generation-friendly blogs
A great example of a lead generation-friendly blog design is one of our clients, American Home and Air.
Here you can see we have contact information in the top nav, which makes it easier for customers to get in touch if they need immediate assistance. We have also used a popup assistance plugin that helps the user to ask fundamental questions about the service.
The main attraction is the Lead Generation form on the right with the correct number of fields. While going through the blog, the visitor can fill the form at any point, and we have a potential customer ready.
Another great example is Neil Patel’s blog.
At first glance, you can see that the page is filled up with lead generation opportunities. The use of the Hello Bar is just perfect, and there is a uniform colour scheme throughout the blog, which shows professionalism. As a side note, Neil Patel is one of the most popular digital marketing experts out there and he pumps out tons of great content related to search engine and conversion rate optimization.
Different ways to choose lead generation-friendly blog topics
Not every blog topic is great for generating leads. Good topics meet these criteria:
- Relevant to potential customers in your area (otherwise you’ll end up attracting irrelevant leads)
- Relevant to people who actually need your services
- Proven demand (aka search volume, which represents the average number of people searching for a given topic monthly)
The first point is especially important. Google tries to show local results first, so if you are trying to reach the first page, it is best to stick with localized blog posts that highlight your locality and rank higher on Google Search Pages.
Here are some examples of location-specific content we’ve created for lead generation purposes:
- https://americanhomewater.com/how-to-beat-the-heat-in-phoenix/
- https://americanhomewater.com/how-to-deal-with-arizona-heat/
- https://americanhomewater.com/average-yearly-cost-of-water-heater-in-arizona/
Users who land on any of these articles will likely need one of our client’s services (air conditioning installation and repair or water heater replacement).
We don’t just pull these topics out of a hat, mind you. Rather, we use data-driven strategies to identify the most suitable topics. Here are some great resources that will walk you through the process:
- Keyword Research for SEO: The Definitive Guide by Brian Dean over at Backlinko
- 4 Ways to Find Untapped Keyword Ideas with Great Traffic Potential by Joshua Hardwick over at Ahrefs
- How to Do Keyword Research for SEO by Tim Soulo over at Ahrefs
Here’s the thing, though. Finding the right topics and subsequently handling supporting content tasks (i.e. backlinking and regularly updating articles to ensure they remain SEO-friendly) is a lot of work. At Build Media Group, we handle these tasks for our clients and let them focus on what they do best – providing home services.
Click here to learn more about our search engine optimization services and how they can help your company.
Understanding the Difference Between a Blog Post and a Landing Page
There is a difference between a Blog Post and a Landing Page. The primary being that the landing page is your final step in getting the lead, whereas the blog is the initial step which is inviting a visitor to check out your work and get a hold of the service or product that the business is providing.
A landing page is created in the sense of giving the visitor a bait such as an offer or an incentive so that they visit this page and purchase a product. The most common way users land on a landing page is via paid advertisements.
A blog post is usually free content generated by the owner of a website that is just used for educational purposes and to rank up organically on Google. A blog post usually contains a link to the landing page of the related post.
This distinction matters a lot when you’re looking for topics that make good lead generation-friendly blog posts. Avoid keywords like “{your service} in {your city}” as these are better left to landing pages. Instead, focus on informational topics like “how to {perform tasks related to the services you offer}.”
Making the most of leads once you’ve collected them through your blog posts
There are five simple ways you can maximize the most out of the leads you have generated.
- Connect with them on social media
You want your lead to feel that you have an interest in them becoming a regular customer. Following them on social media will help build a better relationship. This way, you can engage with them in multiple ways.
- Create lots of Content
Using your blog for lead generation isn’t a one-and-done process. For best results, keep updating your blog regularly. Again, we can help you with this! It’s our specialty.
- Send thoughtful non-sales messages
Not all messages to your leads should be related to sales. Wishing them on Holidays and a general check-up with questions is thoughtful. As long as you are genuine in your outreach, you will receive positive feedback to strengthen your relationship with the customer.
- Optimize your emails for deliverability
First, just don’t spam your leads with a bunch of emails. You don’t want to end up in the Junk folder. It is also a meaningful way to implement the above three points. Don’t use too much punctuation or capitalization in your subject lines.
Advantages of hiring a digital marketing agency to help with your blog lead generation strategy
There are many benefits to hiring a digital marketing agency, as they have a lot of experience creating these campaigns. No Home service business in-house marketing person can create such a strategy that has this much optimum impact. Digital marketing agencies have many employees who can focus on various aspects of one set strategy, which will generate way more leads than a single person.
At Build Media Group, we have years of experience in running such strategies. To get in touch with us regarding lead generation for your home service business, click on this link.
