Some argue that marketing in construction and the built environment has lagged behind other sectors in adopting modern digital marketing strategies while relying too heavily on word-of-mouth and traditional relationships. While true to an extent, this view is now somewhat outdated, and over recent years many construction marketers have made significant strides in recognising the importance of targeting trade and consumer audiences online to remain competitive.
In fact, recent research shows that over half of construction product manufacturers plan to increase their investment in e-commerce, acknowledging a fundamental shift in how both trade customers and consumers are searching for new suppliers. As more buyers in construction sectors turn to online platforms like Google to find the products, suppliers, and consultancy services they need, they’re relying less heavily on traditional referral methods and more on digital marketing practices like SEO and PPC.
From architects and contractors to large construction management and consultancy firms, digital marketing offers many different types of construction companies a significant opportunity to drive better traffic and generate more leads via their website. The key is in finding the right blend of construction marketing activities to address your goals, challenges, and the environment your construction business is operating in. Utilised in the right way, construction marketing strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content marketing, digital PR, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, and email advertising can all offer the opportunity to reposition your brand as a leader in the industry, engage new target audiences, and ultimately, increase your bottom line.
What is Construction Digital Marketing?
Construction digital marketing refers to the application of digital marketing strategies specifically adapted for businesses that operate within the construction industry or the built environment. This encompasses a broad spectrum of marketing campaigns and tactics, including SEO, content marketing, PR, PPC, social media marketing, email marketing, website design and development, among others. Each of these construction marketing strategies can be customised to meet the specific needs of construction businesses, helping them to effectively reach their target audience, generate leads, and grow their market share.
Why Do Construction Businesses Need Digital Marketing?
While the construction industry may have been a little slower than some others to adopt digital marketing practices, this is rapidly changing. More construction companies are beginning to see the benefits of embracing marketing tactics like SEO, content marketing, digital PR, social media marketing, and PPC advertising. As a result, many of the construction businesses who have already invested significantly in digital marketing are finding themselves ahead of the competition.
In today’s market, both consumers and buyers in the construction trades are increasingly turning to search engines like Google or Bing to find new suppliers and services. This is happening for a variety of reasons, such as the need to find suppliers who are a better fit, new services, or better value. Therefore digital marketing strategies like SEO and PPC enables construction companies to reach different audiences and attract new customers. Keyword data supports this shift, showing a growing number of people searching for construction-related services on search engines.
One of the key reasons SEO and PPC are so effective for construction businesses is the high intent behind search engine queries. When users search for construction suppliers, contractors, or services online, they are often serious prospective customers ready to make a purchase or engage a contractor. This makes search engine marketing particularly powerful in driving conversions and securing new business for many construction companies.
What Types of Digital Marketing Strategies Are There for Construction Companies?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO is all about optimising your website to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs) of search engines like Google and Bing. For construction companies, this means making sure your website appears when potential clients search for relevant services. SEO is beneficial because it increases visibility, drives organic traffic to your website, and attracts high-intent customers.
Content Marketing
Content marketing focuses on creating valuable and relevant content to attract and engage your target audience. For construction businesses, this can include blog posts, guides, case studies, and more. Content marketing is key for establishing authority, improving SEO, and nurturing leads.
Brand PR
Brand PR involves managing and improving your company’s public image through securing media coverage in the publications that your target audiences’ read most. Effective PR can help construction businesses build credibility, enhance brand reputation, and reach a broader audience.
Digital PR / Link Building
Digital PR takes brand building a stage further and aims to secure high-quality backlinks to your website from reputable news sources for SEO purposes. This not only improves your SEO/keyword rankings but also enhances your brand’s visibility and authority in the construction industry.
PPC & Paid Online Advertising
PPC is about driving relevant traffic and leads to your website via paid ads that appear in search engine results or on other online platforms. This can be a faster way for construction companies to drive traffic to their website, generate leads, and increase brand awareness.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing leverages platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to help construction companies connect with their audiences online. For construction businesses, social media can be used to showcase projects, engage with potential clients, and build brand loyalty. Paid social media ads in particular can further expand your reach by targeting specific demographics and interests.
How to Do SEO for Construction Companies
SEO is a critical component of many digital marketing strategies, especially in the construction industry. It works by improving your website’s visibility in search engine results through keyword optimisation, content creation, and technical improvements to your website.
There are many benefits of SEO for construction businesses; ranking highly for search terms related to your services, such as “building contractors” or “residential consultancy services” for example, can drive highly targeted traffic and leads to your site. The exact keywords you’ll want to target will depend on what you do as a business.
With over 200 ranking factors, SEO can be complex, but the main areas to focus on are on-page SEO, technical SEO, and link building.The fundamentals of SEO begin with a technical audit and thorough keyword research.
Start with a technical SEO audit
A technical audit will identify any issues that may be preventing your website from ranking well in search engines. Common problems include pages not being indexed, slow page speeds, or issues with how mobile-friendly a website is. While some of these issues can be fixed manually by updating content or resubmitting pages, others may require a developer’s expertise. Tools like SEMrush can provide very basic technical SEO findings, however a comprehensive audit by an experienced SEO professional is necessary for a thorough analysis.
Do thorough keyword research
Keyword research is the process of identifying the keywords and phrases that your potential customers are searching for, as well as how often those keywords are being searched in Google. This is crucial data that should guide your SEO strategy, enabling you to later target your content for the right keywords and audiences. You’ll want to identify the keywords that are most relevant for your business or services and which have the highest search volume. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs offer some keyword insights, however Google’s Keyword Planner is often the most reliable source as it uses data directly from Google.
Invest time in On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is all about optimising individual pages on your website to rank higher for specific keywords. At a basic level this involves strategically using keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, headers and content throughout your website. However it is also about creating new content and optimising existing content for your target keywords.
In addition to using those keywords in the page text, try to produce content on your website that is useful for the reader and that gives users searching that keyword what they’re actually looking for. Google actively wants to promote the type of content that is best for its users.
Avoid ‘stuffing’ your content with many instances of your target keywords, as this will likely be seen by Google and other search engines as spam. Writing content that is well written, engaging, keyword optimised and useful for audiences is a skill and may take some time to complete.
Start by using tools like SEMrush, or even a Google Incognito search, to see what the search engines are serving users for the keywords you’re targeting. This should give you a better idea of what the users are actually looking for. Then try to create content that addresses that need.
In addition to keyword research, technical SEO and On Page SEO, there are other important ranking factors to consider, such as user experience, and backlinks, which are covered later on in this construction marketing guide. For more detailed guidance on starting SEO for your construction business, the Koozai SEO team has put together a comprehensive whitepaper which you can download here.
How to Do Content Marketing for Construction Businesses
Content marketing for construction businesses involves creating and distributing valuable content to attract and engage your target audience.
There are two main branches of content marketing that we’ll highlight here: content production primarily for SEO purposes and keyword targeting, and content designed to enhance user experience (UX) and support other marketing channels, such as social media.
The benefits of content marketing are twofold. From an SEO perspective, content is a crucial ranking factor that drives relevant traffic to your website. From a brand positioning standpoint, well-written and presented content helps establish your authority in your sector of the built environment, improve user experience, and support your social media efforts. Content marketing takes a holistic approach and covers all of the content on your website; everything from your homepage and product pages to videos, interactives, blog articles and editorial content.
To get started, it is important to first:
Identify your target keywords
To start with on-page SEO, it is important to first determine the most relevant commercial keywords for your business. These are the keywords where the user is clearly looking for services or products similar to yours. Depending on your area of expertise, this could include keywords such as ‘roofing contractors’, ‘flooring suppliers’ or ‘development consultancy’, for example. You should then aim to group your target keywords into similar keyword pools based on similar themes and user intent.
Consider long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that users search for when seeking information or answers to a question. For example, this could be ‘What are the best hardwood flooring solutions?’. The right long tail keywords will depend on your construction businesses’ area of expertise. These keywords are best targeted through blog posts, guides, articles, or sometimes videos.
Create a content strategy
Before you start writing you may also want to consider creating a content strategy. This is essentially a plan for what content you’re going to create, when you’re going to create it, and which keywords you’re going to target.
If you are just starting out, it is important that avoid flooding your website with multiple pieces of content which all try to target the same keyword(s) as this may be seen as duplicate content, which could do more harm to your SEO efforts than good.
It is often best to use landing pages and product pages to target commercial keywords (e.g. “roofing contractors”, “drainage supplies” or “residential consultancy services”) and blogs to address longer tail keywords (e.g. “what’s the best type of drainage for my project”).
Also consider that your website may already be ranking for some of your target keywords, and if this is the case, it may be better to improve that content rather than starting from scratch. Remember, it is important to avoid having many pages targeting the same keyword.
Consider a content audit or keyword mapping
For this reason, you may also want to consider doing a content audit or a keyword mapping task, which can assess the performance of existing website content in search engines and your website’s existing keyword rankings for each page.
There are many different types of content audits, however a standard SEO content audit often also looks at a range of performance metrics across all of the pages on your website, such as user click through rates (CTRs) to your website, average search positions in Google, and overall website traffic for all of the relevant keywords.
This can be done alongside keyword mapping, which can look at the keywords that each page is already ranking for, highlight the keywords your website isn’t yet ranking for, and produce guidance on the best pages to optimise for each keyword.
This process can be time consuming and involves analysing metrics related to traffic, keyword rankings, and identifying any duplicate content issues that might be harming your SEO performance. You can then use these insights in combination with your keyword research to identify which pages need to be optimised first and what new content you might need to produce.
You may be able to explore some of these metrics yourself using tools like SEMrush, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics. However, it is often best to work with an SEO or content specialist if you need support with conducting a content audit or understanding metrics and what different findings mean for your website.
Start optimising content
Once you have a clear understanding of your keyword strategy, you can start optimising your content. This might involve writing new content for keywords your website is not currently ranking for, or tweaking existing content to better target keywords your website is ranking poorly for. When you’re writing this content, remember that it’s not just about including as many keywords as you can. As discussed earlier, it is important to create content that offers a positive user experience and resonates with the user’s intent when searching with that keyword.
Improve the User Experience (UX)
Content marketing also plays a crucial role in enhancing the user experience on your website, which in turn has an impact on SEO, as well as how users engage with your company.
By simply navigating through your website some issues with its user experience may become obvious, such as broken links, dead pages, or no ‘call to actions’ (e.g. contact forms or invitations to make contact with your team to find out more). However, it is also important to take a data-driven approach to user experience if you’re just starting out. This can involve using Google Analytics to see how users are engaging with your content.
For example, if people are spending a very short amount of time on your key pages, or are bouncing off your website quickly, or aren’t navigating much deeper than the homepage – then these could indicate issues with the user experience.
There are also tools like HotJar or Microsoft Clarity that can heatmap how users navigate their mouse around your website. This data may help you to identify pain points and areas for improvement. Understanding your audience through research and analytics is essential for creating content that meets their needs.
Once you have the fundamentals in place, you may then want to consider other content marketing tools, such as producing videos or creating editorial pieces that can be shared on social media platforms. This not only enhances your brand’s visibility but also drives traffic from multiple channels.
Given the complexity of content marketing and that the best strategy to take often depends on your unique circumstances, it’s often best to work with a content marketing specialist who understands the construction industry. They can help you navigate the process and create a strategy that aligns with your broader digital marketing goals.
How to Do PR for Construction Businesses
PR can be a powerful tool for construction businesses, offering benefits such as increased brand awareness, an avenue to promote new products or services, the ability to reach new audiences, and the opportunity to reposition a brand’s image. PR is also key to supporting SEO through building backlinks. Backlinks are links in text from reputable websites or online news outlets. Often secured through PR activity, they can significantly improve your website’s SEO performance and keyword rankings.
Your approach to PR will depend on your business objectives and the type of construction company you operate. However, common PR tactics include:
- News Releases related to significant company news
- Pitching Thought Leadership Articles to industry publications
- Media Interviews to share your expertise
- Opinion Polling/Surveys on relevant industry topics
- Product/Service Launches to generate buzz online
- Reactive PR Commentary in response to breaking news
- Media Launches and Events to showcase new projects or services
Build Media Lists
To get started with PR for your construction business, you’ll need to first build media lists with contact details for relevant journalists and outlets. This should include full names, job titles, email addresses, and telephone numbers as a minimum. You’ll also need to find the most appropriate and relevant journalists for your industry and the type of PR story you’re looking to pitch. This can be done by looking for contacts via Google, on publications’ websites, by networking, or by contacting media outlets directly.
Create a Press Release and Pitch It
You’ll then create press releases, commentary, or press statements (depending on that tactic you’ve decided to use) which you can use to pitch to your media contacts. This is often done via email, or sometimes by telephone, and often you’ll need to follow up with the journalists you’ve pitched to secure the best results. To get the best results, it is important to find out what the journalists you’re pitching to actually want and need. Competition in construction PR can be fierce, so PR pitches that aren’t relevant to them will be ignored. This means doing your research by regularly reading the media you’re targeting, engaging with them, or working with a PR consultant who can help you.
Success in PR often hinges on having a strong relationship with journalists and understanding what they consider newsworthy. This is why many construction businesses choose to work with PR consultants who have the necessary experience and industry connections.
What about Digital PR?
Digital PR is a more specific form of PR that focuses on online visibility and in particular link building to support the effectiveness of your SEO. Backlinks from authoritative websites are crucial for SEO, helping to improve your website’s domain authority and rankings in search engines.
This can look like many of the PR tactics mentioned above, however it can also involve tactics such as running a survey or using data to create a trends PR story. Successful digital PR requires a well-researched approach, creative content ideas, and outreach to the right publications. The key to a successful campaign lies in offering something of value that journalists want to link to, such as exclusive data or expert insights.
How to Do PPC and Paid Ads for Construction Businesses
There can be lots of opportunity for construction businesses to utilise PPC and other paid ads to generate relevant traffic and high-quality leads. Paid ads are listings in search engines that are paid for. You’ll often seem them in Google and Bing above or below the organic search results and these ads can offer a direct and focused approach to reaching potential clients searching for construction products or services.
In contrast to SEO, where results can take time to materialise, PPC campaigns offer nearly immediate visibility by placing your ads directly in front of potential customers as soon as your campaign is live. While SEO is a valuable long-term strategy, paid ads are often a quicker way to make inroads. PPC does require an upfront investment to drive traffic and leads so it is important to allocate a decent ads budget to make your PPC efforts are worthwhile. However, for many construction businesses, PPC can deliver a good return on investment (ROI), provided any campaigns are structured well. To get the most out of your ads budget, it’s usually best to work with a PPC consultant who can improve your ROI by optimising your campaigns and ensuring you’re targeting the right audiences. A well-managed PPC campaign can help you avoid wasted spend and reach high-quality leads more efficiently.
Choosing the Right Platform
One of the first decisions to make when running PPC campaigns for a construction business is which platform to use. Google Ads has the largest market share and provides the broadest reach. It’s a popular choice because it gives you access to a vast audience actively searching for services and products in different subsectors of construction. Although not used as widely used, Bing Ads can be a popular option for some where it offers a lower cost-per-click (CPC) and less competition. Choosing the right channel for you will depend on your audience, budget, and objectives.
Targeting the Right Keywords
PPC ads appear in search engines when users search using relevant keywords related to your campaign(s). To maximise the impact of any PPC campaign, it’s crucial to target the right keywords. Focus on keywords where the user intent is clearly aligned with your services or products. Depending on your businesses’ area of activity, these might include searches like “roofing contractor near me,” “commercial construction services,” or “residential renovation in [city]”, for example.
Look for keywords with a strong number of average monthly searches but a manageable competition level. This is where having a realistic understanding of your ads budget is important. Some high-traffic keywords can be costly, so balancing keyword competitiveness with your available budget is essential. Before launching your campaign, conduct keyword research to identify the most valuable terms for your business. For details on how to do keyword research, refer back to the earlier section of this guide where we cover this process in depth (see SEO).
Creating Compelling Ads & Landing Pages
It is important to create compelling ads that attract attention and encourage clicks. Usually your ad copy should highlight the unique selling points of your services or products. In addition to clear and persuasive ad copy, visuals are also key, as well as a strong call-to-action (CTA) in your ads which encourages users to click through to your website.
The landing page you direct users can be just as important as the ad itself. Ensure the page is relevant to the keyword and user intent. For example, if your ad promotes roofing services, the landing page should be all about those roofing services, not a general services page. A well-designed landing page should have a clear CTA, simple navigation, and provide all necessary information (e.g., past projects, testimonials, contact form). This creates a seamless experience for the user, increasing the likelihood that they will convert into a lead.
Bidding Strategies, Remarketing, and Campaign Management
To get the best results from your PPC campaigns, its crucial to discuss effective bidding strategies with the support of an experienced PPC consultant in your sector. Whether you should start with manual bidding or automated bidding will depend on the platform, your goals, budget, product/service, audiences, and target keywords. You may also want to consider other tactics with them, such as remarketing campaigns which allow you to re-engage potential leads who previously visited your site but didn’t convert.
Most importantly, effective PPC campaigns require frequent monitoring of performance and metrics like CPC, CTR (Click-Through Rate), and conversion rates, as well as regular optimisations to keep costs down and drive the best traffic, and frequent adjustment to your bids and ads as necessary to improve performance. To manage this effectively and avoid wasting money, it’s advisable to work with an experienced PPC consultant. They can help fine-tune your campaigns, optimise your ad spend, and ensure you’re getting the most value for your budget.
How to Do Social Media Marketing for Construction Companies
Social media marketing for construction companies involves leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Facebook to connect with your audience, share project updates, and build brand loyalty. Social media can also be an effective lead generation tool when used strategically. For construction companies, social media marketing offers numerous benefits, including increased brand visibility, direct communication with potential clients, and opportunities to showcase completed projects. It’s a powerful tool for connecting with both industry professionals and consumers, allowing you to share updates, highlight expertise, and build relationships.
A key distinction in social media marketing lies between paid ads and organic social media activity. Paid ads on platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook are designed to reach a broader audience by prioritising your content in users’ feeds. These ads allow for targeted campaigns, where you can specify the demographics, interests, and behaviours of the users you want to reach.
For many trade construction companies, LinkedIn can be useful for reaching trade professionals, while platforms like Instagram or TikTok may be more effective for engaging with direct consumers, depending on your business’s specific focus. However, these aren’t hard and fast rules; the best platform for your business depends on your target audience and goals. To determine where your audience is most active, consider using tools like Google Analytics to track which social media channels currently drive traffic to your website, review the performance of any existing social media channels, and analyse what your competitors are doing.
Organic social media marketing doesn’t involve paid ads. It focuses on regular posts, engagement with followers, and building a community around your brand. This approach is excellent for brand positioning, fostering a positive brand image, and maintaining ongoing relationships with your audience. However, without a paid ads budget, a willingness to tolerate a level of controversy in your marketing, or an established follower base, it can be challenging to extend your reach with organic social media posting alone.
Given the complexity and variability in social media strategies, it’s often best to seek the expertise of paid social media marketing consultants who can help you identify the most effective platforms for your construction business, develop a tailored strategy, and manage your campaigns to ensure maximum impact and return on investment.
Getting Started with Digital Marketing for Construction Companies
Digital marketing is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and adaptation to stay ahead of the competition. Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your existing construction marketing strategy, it’s important to remember that the digital landscape is always evolving. Keep up with industry trends, continue to optimise your website and content, and don’t be afraid to experiment with new tactics.
While it’s possible to manage your digital marketing in-house, many construction businesses find it beneficial to work with a professional agency that specialises in the construction industry and has the marketing skills and experience to help. This can save time, ensure that your strategy is effective, and ultimately, drive better results.
For personalised guidance or assistance with your construction marketing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. With over 18 years’ experience in construction marketing, we’re specialists in SEO, PPC, Content Marketing, and PR and our digital marketing specialists have a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the construction sector.
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