Claim, Verify and Optimize your GMB Listing to Get More Leads Online
One of the most crucial things that your roofing business requires to continue growing is both offline and online exposure. While there are several techniques to do this from door knocking, canvassing, or investing in internet marketing, this post will show you a free way to put your business on the map and start improving your roofing brand presence.
Google My Business is a free platform that helps roofers to manage how their businesses appear on Google Maps and Google search. Besides, it enables you to reply and monitor customer reviews, understand how prospects are searching for your business, and add photos. If you have not optimized your Google My Business profile or are just starting with Local SEO, then this post will help you improve your brand and online presence in the market.
When a prospect looks for roofing services or searches directly to your roofing business website, they must find complete and accurate information. To know how to set up a Google My Business profile for your business, verify it, and optimize your business, keep reading for more details.
Where Does Your Roofing Google My Business Listing Appear?
Your roofing GMB listing can appear in various places. Branded searches (where prospects look for your business’s exact name) are the most common.
Another place that your GMB listing can show up is when prospects perform a local search on Bing or Google. Suppose a prospect searches for “patio builder near me,” the Search Engine Results Page will include some relevant ads and a little map that contains some pins. These pins are known as Map Pack and are always 3 to 4 pins that are nearer to the searcher’s location.
Last but not least, your roofing GMB profile can show up when a prospect or client performs a search on Google Maps or using their phone map’s app. If you have a physical location for your business, then prospects will research to find out the operating hours and driving directions on your Google My Business profile.
How to Get Your Roofing Business Listed with Google for Free with Google My Business Listing
Step 1
Sign-in into the Google account that would want to be associated with your roofing business
Step 2
Head over to www.google.com/business and choose “Manage now” on the upper right-hand corner.
Step 3
Enter your roofing business name
Step 4
Enter your roofing business address
Step 5
Enter the areas that you serve
Step 6
Choose your business category. This is crucial because you are telling Google what sorts of clients will view your listing.
Step 7
Add your roofing business website and contact detail such as phone numbers that will help prospects to get in touch with you.
Step 8
Select a verification method. This is because your roofing business must be verified for it to show up in Google when prospects search for your services.
Simple Ways to Verify Your Roofer Google My Business Listing
Google provides several ways to verify your roofing business GMB listing but may not give out all the options below for verification. You have to select from the list that they give you.
By postcard
This is the most common option. Google will send your business a physical postcard (through snail mail). This postcard will come with a verification code that you will insert to verify your listing.
Instant Verification
If you have already verified your roofing business with Google Search Console, you might be given the option for “instant verification.” Make sure that you login with the same Google account that you used with Google Search Console.
Via Email
Not all roofing businesses will be given this option. If you are allowed to use this option, then make sure that the verification code is sent to the right email.
By Phone
If you are given this option, Google will send a verification code text to your roofing business phone number. You will enter this code and click submit to verify your roofing business.
Optimize Your Roofing Business’ Google My Business Listing to Get More Qualified Leads
As crucial as it is to claim your roofing GMB listing, it is essential to make sure that your information remains updated. To achieve this, you need to optimize your GMB listing properly to get qualified roofing leads. Getting your roofing GMB profile optimized is a crucial step for proving to property owners that your business has an online presence. Fortunately, this post will provide a checklist of ten actionable tips that will help to improve your listing and make it stand out from the competition.
Make sure that the Information is Correct.
Wrong data about your roofing business will be frustrating to clients. According to a study, 80% of customers lose trust with local roofing businesses if they note inconsistent or incorrect contact information or roofing business name online. This also hurts your roofing business reputation online.
To avoid that, make sure that your GMB listing has up-to-date, correct details about your roofing business. That includes your business name, phone number, address, and operating hours. This also applies to seasonal hours, make sure that you notify Google when you have closed for a holiday or during a crisis like the COVID-19 the world is experiencing now.
You may also want to get rid of any outdated information- like an old phone number or addresses have it scrapped from the internet. This also applies to duplicate GMB listings; look out for your old phone number or address and report any outdated information as no longer open or moved.
Choose the Right Category
Google allows you to add categories to your GMB listing. This shows Google the type of business you are in and the services you offer to clients.
While you usually add like ten categories to your GMB listing, the initial one is the most essential. Google considers the first category differently, so ensure that you select the right type. We advise that you be specific as possible for the first category (Like “patio builder” before “roofing company.”
Set Your Service Area
If your roofing business has a physical showroom or office where potential clients can come in for a consultation, then you need to include such details in your GMB listing. While Google does not require a physical address to verify your business location, roofers can hide this information and define the areas that they serve. This way, they can set the cities, towns, and counties which they serve.
Define Services
This is a new addition to GMB, but an important one. Under every category, you can state the kind of services you provide, list their prices, and include a short description of each service.
We recommend that you list all services, including those you don’t offer. For instance, you may only do commercial roofing and not residential roofing. The more you make your business clear online, the less work your employees will do when qualifying jobs over the phone.
Consider Adding More Products
While retailers mostly use this feature, there are various ways that roofing companies can leverage the GMB product editor in their profile. For example, roofers can use this profile to highlight specific brands/manufacturers, feature roofing products they recommend or mention kinds of materials they work with.
Add Photos
Whether you are installing a new roof, repairing an existing one, or doing a full replacement, you are somehow engaged in some visually stunning projects.
We advise roofers to keep adding new photos to their GMB profile. Make sure that the pictures are well framed, large, and showcase your work prominently. We don’t advise after and before photos unless they are within the same image file. Otherwise, clients may see before photos only and think that you did a poor-quality job. You can also include a video in your GMB profile, as long as it is within the recommended size.
Pro Tip: Make sure that you add a business name somewhere in the image. That way, if prospects come across your photos somewhere in the Google search, they will know where it is from.
Include Messaging and Request a Quote Option
According to a recent survey, over 40% of property owners prefer to book appointments with roofing contractors via online platforms, mobile app, and email. Google makes this hassle-free by adding a messaging or request a quote button on your GMB profile.
We recommend roofing contractors to download the Google Business App to their phones.
With this app, they can get alerts every time messages them and respond instantly via the app. Furthermore, this app will make it easy for them to respond to reviews, view stats, and add Google posts.
Create Google Posts
First launched in 2017, Google posts are great additions to your GMB profile. Just like a social media post, a Google post can contain an image, videos, and other characters of text. These posts will be visible in your GMB profile for only seven days. Roofers are encouraged to keep making Google posts to promote their business online.
Answer Questions
Every Google My Business profile has answers and questions section, which most roofers do not monitor. Thus Google assumes that they are ignoring clients. You should try to check the questions that property owners are asking on your profile and provide helpful answers.
Request for Reviews
If you are just like other roofers, your primary source of leads is through referrals from existing clients. Fortunately, your GMB listing allows these satisfied clients to promote your roofing business online through a Google review.
After completing any roofing job, you should ask your clients to leave a review on your Google My Business profile. This will benefit your business in several ways, increasing the number of reviews, maintaining or improving the star rating, and standing out from other roofers online.
Benefits of an Optimized Google My Business Listing for Roofing Contractors
Getting your roofing business listed with Google My Business is a hassle-free way to get noticed when prospects are searching for your services online.
Here are a few advantages roofing business can enjoy by setting and optimizing their GMB profile:
Manage Your information
When prospects are looking for your business through Map and Google searches, you can be sure that they can easily access your stress address, phone numbers, business website, and operating hours.
Collect Reviews
Your Google Map Listings is a great platform where you can gather reviews from satisfied clients and show them off to potential customers.
Interact with Clients
GMB profile allows reading and answering to reviews left by your clients while uploading awesome photos of your most recent project.
Get Insights
It will enable roofers to know how customers search for their businesses and regions where they are coming from.
Boost Credibility
Property owners have various options when looking to hire a roofing contractor. So make sure that your roofing business looks dependable and credible by verifying your Google My Business profile.
Managing Google Reviews for Roofing Contractors
Your Google My Business profile comes with Google’s review system. When a property owner searches for your roofing business online, listings that will show up will be accompanied by an average review rating. For instance, if you have one 5 star review and 1-star review, your average rating will be 3.5. For this reason, the monitoring and generation of online surveys is a vital aspect of your Google My Business listing.
Once prospects/clients click on your GMB profile, they can view complete reviews, other than an aggregated rating. Whether the review is positive or negative, you should always try to respond, either complementing the client for kind words or attempting to fix a damaged relationship with unsatisfied customers. Always remember to use a professional tone and try to continue the conversation privately with the client, where possible.
Hire BlackStorm Roofing Marketing to Manage Your Company’s Online Reputation
Online reputation management helps roofing contractors to maintain positive brand identity in the eyes of potential or existing clients. As more roofers understand the importance of online reputation management in growing their business, they devote more resources and time to manage their reputation online.
As a roofer, you have many tasks to perform, from sourcing materials to fixing roofs, making it impossible to achieve your online reviews. That’s where the Blackstorm roofing marketing team comes in to assist you in building trust, remove negative reviews, and improve your roofing keyword rankings.
Are you ready to manage the online reputation of your roofing business? Schedule a free strategy session to learn more about how our team can improve your roofing brand identity in the eyes of your clients.