What should roofing companies blog about?

Here are five things to keep in mind when writing posts for your roofing company's blog:

1. Know who you are you writing for

Don't try to make a blog post appealing to everyone. Each blog post you write should be targeting a very specific demographic, such as "commercial facilities managers who may be looking for alternatives to re-roofing", or "homeowners who don't know what to do after a hail storm", etc. Try selecting 10 of your existing customers that most represent your target audience, then write blog posts with them in mind.

2. Write about what your customers care about
Your blog posts should be focused on answering questions that you believe your existing or potential roofing customers have, or solving problems they may be experiencing. For more on this, please also see my blog post titled 'Is your roofing website optimized for the wrong things?'. Start by writing down 20 common problems your customers have with their roofs and write about those (service work, new construction, re-roofing, etc.).

3. Write like a real person
Your blog posts should be your perspective on a particular topic, and in your voice. People don't connect with mass amounts of information - they connect with you, the author of the blog. Have a personality. Make an occassional joke. Don't be afraid to be yourself.

4. Allow and encourage interaction
Offer your blog post readers an easy way to contact you, enable them to comment on your blog post and encourage them to do so. Also make sure there is a way they can share your blog posts with their connections on social media.

5.Don't hoard information
Don't be afraid of your competitors stealing your ideas. Provide your honest insights on roofing issues and how to resolve them. Let your customers understand your thought process in recommending solutions for them using real-world examples.

Blogging is an investment
Don't be fooled - blogging is hard, time-consuming work but if you think of it as a long-term investment and are patient for the results to come it will really pay off. I recommend posting 1 or 2 blog posts per week. Trust me, there is no shortage of things to talk about if you really think about your customers' problems, how you met them, the last 20 jobs you did, etc.

If you have any questions about blogging for your roofing company, please feel free to email me at RoofPal@gmail.com. And if you have a blog already, please feel free to leave a link to it in the comments below.

Internal Linking on your Website and Blog is Critical for SEO

In terms of search engine optimization (SEO), internal linking on your roofing website and blog is absolutely critical.

Here are four reasons why doing a good job at this is so valuable to a roofing contractor:

1. Internal linking tells Google, Yahoo! and Bing that you think your own webpage you are linking to contains valuable content. If you aren't endorsing your own content, why should anyone else do it?

2. Internal linking enhances the visitor's experience on your website. Leading home/building owners and property/facility managers to other related content and information will give them all the information they need that you have to offer.

3. Internal linking reduces your bounce rate. When someone views a page on your website, giving them additional pages to link to will keep bounce rate at a minimum since they aren't going to one page and leaving. This helps your pages rank better in search results.

4. Internal linking improves indexing. Google and other search engine bots can easily travel from one page to the next, contributing to that web page being indexed quicker than normal. Again, this helps your pages rank better in search results.

There are two major types of internal links. First are in-content links, which are links in the page that lead to other related pages on your website or blog. Second are navigation links, which are related keywords and categories for your pages which are usually listed in a navigation-style sidebar or header/footer.

Every page on your roofing website and blog is its own entity. In the SEO world, that means every page must have its own keywords that tells search engines what it is about. Many blogs prompt you to add keywords so searchers looking for content on a specific topic know that your page is relevant to their search.

Establish internal linking when you create the page
For in-content links, I recommend incorporating those in your new web page or blog post for any words you use to similar content throughout your website and blog as you create it. Upon publication, your next step should be to build at least two internal links coming in to the new page or post from your existing pages where there is a natural fit.

I recommend you set up navigation links as part of your website framework (so they appear on all pages).

Can you have too many internal links?
Too much of anything is bad. Having no internal links is obviously not good, and having too many isn't good either (you need to strike a balance).

A general rule of thumb is 1-5 internal links per 500 words, so if you have a 1,500 word blog post you should have 3-15 links. It is not recommended to link multiple words to the same page, but sometimes it is helpful if that page you want to link to have multiple extremely relevant keywords.

If you have any questions about internal linking or search engine optimization, or would like help with creating roofing website content or blogging, please email Chris@RoofPal.com.

Why You Should Blog

Simply having a static webpage and social media presence is no longer enough in today's rapidly changing digital world of marketing - you now also need to blog!

A website may be an important component of your online presence, but it doesn't engage your customers and can be cumbersome to keep updated. Social media is great for building relationships and trust, but you are limited to the depth of information you can post at one time. Alternatively, a blog enables you to easily update your website with fresh, relevant content and engage your customers (and can be shared via social media to attract readers back to your website).

Similar to social media, customers can leave comments on a blog which you can respond to. But unlike a status update, the discussion is centered around a specific, detailed topic that you have shaped and encourages ongoing community conversation and debate far after the post was uploaded.

Some business owners are concerned about the time it takes to properly maintain a blog. The good news is that a blog can actually take the place of many of your existing static pages, and they become interactive (not "brochure material"). Blogs can also be easily integrated into your static website as a dynamic component, giving you the best of both worlds. Blog posts don't have to (and shouldn't) just come from your marketing department - your employees who are experts at various components of your company should be encouraged to write blog posts (published with management review and approval, of course).

A blog enables you to attract new customers, build brand awareness and compel more prospective customers to buy from you. There are also great search engine optimization (SEO) benefits when using a blog. Due to its dynamic nature, a properly set up blog can attract twice the visitors your website can, and blogs get indexed by search engines like Google 4x more often than static websites.

My challenge to you is to set up a blog today and post something - almost anything, just to get started. RoofPal uses Blogger.com partly because it is free, but mostly because it is owned by Google (and I assume as a result, Blogger.com blogs are indexed more frequently and ranked higher in search results).

If you have any questions about blogging or would like assistance setting up and even managing your company's blog, please email Chris@RoofPal.com.

5 Tips for Roofing Contractors to Win in Social Search

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been rapidly evolving over the past few years: in October 2009 Google first introduced its social search strategy, have since introduced the +1 button and now they have launched Google+ (their version of a social network).

With more than a 60% market share in the overall web search landscape, Google remains king. So, how does a roofing contractor, consultant, manufacturer or distributor like yourself achieve positive results in the search game at a time when SEO rules of engagement are evolving so rapidly?

Content
Despite the rapid pace of change, one thing that has remained constant and is actually now more true than ever before is that content is still king when it comes to SEO. Google’s Panda update is testimony to this - they want the user to have a good experience in a search, and the best path to a good experience is delivery of relevant content. You should remain committed to producing high quality content.

Content Diversity
The good news? We have many social media platforms at our finger tips to produce content. The bad news? Google and Microsoft are watching for content diversity, which puts more pressure on you to produce a diverse mix of content. This is no small undertaking. A traditionally SEO-optimized website is no longer enough to rank well for competitive keywords. You now need to produce video and photo image content that is also optimized with proper tags and descriptions. Downloadable content can also be indexed, and therefore sends positive signals to Google and Microsoft that you are a producer of diverse content. Content across other social channels are worthy of your focus as well.

Google's +1 Button
The +1 button is gaining greater importance. We know that Google is using +1 clicks as a signal, but did you know that the location of the +1 button is also significant? When someone clicks on the +1 button on say a product page, that signals that they like that product. But when someone clicks the +1 button on say a category page, that signals that they like the entire category. Take that one step further to clicking the +1 button on a home page, signaling that you like the entire website! Get the picture? The +1 button is a bigger deal than you might have realized.

Social Sharing
Since the introduction of social search in October 2009, sharing content across various channels has become extremely important. This continues to be more true every day. Google and Microsoft are tracking the extent to which your content is shared. Consequently, the social sharing buttons on your website or blog are incredibly important.

All of Your Employees Work in the Marketing Department
If content sharing is so important, then it is even more important that everyone in your company understands this point. If every employee shares your blog posts, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, Tweets, LinkedIn company pages, etc. across their social networks, that turns the entire company into the marketing department. It takes a company-wide culture with strong leadership to execute this strategy.

Social search is here to stay, and I strongly urge you to embrace this. If you would like to discuss this further or need help getting started (or getting your company to the next level), please email me at Chris@RoofPal.com.

Also, don't forget that every person's search results are going to vary based on who they are connected to on social media. Please read my blog post on this topic and incorporate that into your social media strategy as well.

Developing a B2B Social Media Strategy

Social media marketing is different for B2C (business to consumer) companies like residential roofing contractors than it is for B2B (business to business) companies like commercial roofing contractors and roofing material manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.

Here are five basic steps for B2B companies to develop a winning social media strategy:
1. Stop Calling it a Social Media Strategy
2. Know What Stage You Are In
3. Focus on Your Customer’s Issues
4. Develop a Keyword Strategy
5. Content, Engagement, Call-To-Action

Stop Calling it a Social Media Strategy
Think bigger picture. This isn't just social media, this is a marketing strategy. It is 2011, so obviously social media will play a role in how you reach and engage your customer, but don’t tunnel-vision your strategy by thinking it’s solely a social media strategy. Do you have a “tradeshow strategy,” a “direct mail strategy,” and an “email strategy?” Of course not - these are merely elements in your overall marketing plan that help you reach customers, engage them, differentiate your company, create new job leads, and ultimately move qualified prospects into to your sales process.

Know What Stage You Are In
A recent article on Mashable estimated that about half of all companies currently using social media are in the initial Launch stage of their plan. This involves things like creating branded accounts for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and now Google+ as well. The focus in this stage is just establishing a social media presence usually with little or no strategy.

Another 40% of companies are in the Management stage - seeking to drive traffic, followers, fans, subscribers and to begin engaging with their community. There is typically very little strategy involved in this stage as well.

The remaining 10% are in the Optimization stage. This is where a strategic marketing plan is in place with executive-level support (including budget for people and technology resources). The purpose is to drive revenue with ROI metrics defined to measure successes.

Focus on Your Customer’s Issues
What business issues do your customers care about? In a typical B2B sale, multiple people are involved in the research and selection process for the products or services your company offers. Often tose decision makers span different areas of a business, and therefore they have different needs. Map out the issues for each role and develop your content to address each of them. Don't just assume a “one size fits all” mindset with the content you create and share.

Keep in mind that each of their issues can change according to the stage of the buying process. Meet your potential customers where they are through your social media engagement and address them accordingly. Blog and video content is a good way to deal with this by using titles and tags that allow your content to be easily found according to the relevant issues for each role.

Develop a Keyword Strategy
This is very closely tied to developing a role strategy. Once you have identified your cusotmer roles and their issues, create a list of keyword phrases that very closely address each role's issues. The same product or service must be communicated slightly differently according to keywords that are meaningful to each role that must approve the ultimate purchase.

Content, Engagement, Calls-to-Action
In B2B marketing, slick campaigns have limited effect. B2B buyers are not influenced by sizzle - they are influenced by the steak! The steak in B2B marketing is relevant content. Blogs, white papers, ebooks, videos, case studies, and webinars all represent methods to deliver relevant content. But, the content alone is worthless without a high level of engagement. When people respond to your content, don’t be invisible, be engaging. It sounds simple and intuitive, but it takes time, effort and authenticity.

Add relevant calls-to-action in your content. It can be as simple as an invitation to contact you with your name and email address, an invitation to request budgetary pricing about your offering, a link to more information/content, etc. Calls-to-action should always be designed according to the strategic goals that can be measured as tangible contributors to the revenue goals of a B2B company.

Let me know what stage you are in by emailing Chris@RoofPal.com. If you have any questions about successfully moving to the next stage of your strategy, I'd be happy to chat with you. Best of luck!

Where to spend your time on SEO

Roofing contractors should know that it is important to keep up with how search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing are changing and adjusting their algorithms (almost daily in some cases) in order to provide the best search engine optimization (SEO) and social media results.

In 2011 there is a clear pattern of social media influencing search results. If you had to pick just two areas to focus on for the rest of the year, here is what RoofPal.com would recommend: content and social media sharing.

Content is the cornerstone for improved keyword rankings and building inbound links over time. A lot of properly optimized content written on various strategic keyword themes drives more visits and improves search results in the long run. Blogging is a great way to frequently add content to your website. If you’re not already blogging for improved SEO results, what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to start blogging and writing content now! If you aren't sure how or just don't have the time, RoofPal.com can assist you with this.

Something important to keep in mind is that search results vary according to the personalization of the person doing the search. This personalization brings us more relevant, useful search results and makes relevant, SEO-friendly content more important than ever. This means no more top rankings or number one rankings for certain keywords, as SEO results vary from user to user. Writing optimized content regularly in addition to tracking your traffic and ROI is what’s important, not necessarily tracking individual keyword rankings.

The bottom line is that the more SEO-friendly and industry-relevant content you write, the more chances your target audience is going to find you.

Once you start blogging frequently, the next step is to share it via your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. This is no small task - just like writing content takes time and effort, social media sharing takes effort as well. But the time and effort and repetition day-in and day-out reaps tremendous benefits in the long run. Social media sharing provides SEO benefits in addition to improved lead generation results over time.

To expand your reach and improve SEO even further, it is important that you, your employees, and even friends and family if possible share your blog posts. The more people sharing your content in social media, the better. Good content spreads like a wildfire. Also, make it easy for your visitors to share your content. Be sure social media buttons are on all your web pages so that your visitors can socialize and engage with you and share your content.

Search engines are starting to heavily incorporate social media into search results. Social media should work together with SEO, so start integrating social media sharing into your content strategy for improved SEO results.

If you have any questions on this topic, please email Chris@RoofPal.com.