Tradesmen advertising, marketing tips for tradesmen

August 22, 2022
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Tradesmen advertising, marketing tips for tradesmen

Marketing for tradesmen can be a challenge. But there are many ways to reach new customers, but which are most effective?

First, why are we qualified to show you the best ways to market your business? We have over ten years of experience in the field of marketing and have helped over 600 businesses to reach their target audiences.

We know what works and what doesn’t, so you can be sure that our advice is based on tried and tested methods. Plus, we’re always up-to-date with the latest trends in marketing, so you can be confident that you’re getting the most effective advice possible.

Client testimonial

So let’s get started.

One way to market your business is to create a website. This will allow you to showcase your work and give customers a way to contact you. You can also use social media to reach out to prospective customers. Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account is a great way to connect with potential customers and let them know about your firm.

You can also use traditional marketing methods, such as flyers and business cards. You can distribute these to local businesses or hand them out to customers you meet.

Regardless of your marketing methods, be sure to focus on your strengths. If you have a well-designed website, ensure customers know about it. And if you’re great at social media. The most important thing is to reach out to potential customers in a way that works for you.

Why is marketing so crucial for tradesmen?

Marketing is important for tradesmen for a number of reasons:

It can help you reach potential customers who may not be aware of your business.
Marketing can help you build brand awareness and create a positive reputation for your business.
Marketing can help you generate leads and sales.

By using effective marketing strategies, you can grow your business and succeed.

The best ways to advertise your trades business

Create a website

Your business website is a great way to showcase your work and give people a way to contact you.

Why should you create a website?

There are several reasons why you should create a website for your business:

It allows you to reach a wider audience on search engines.

- - It allows you to showcase your work and build credibility for your business.
  - It provides a way for customers to contact you.
  - It can help you generate tradesmen leads and sales.

You can grow your business and achieve success by using an effective marketing strategy.

Things you will need for your website.

1. A domain name: This is the address of your website (ex. www.YourTradesBusiness.com). You will need to choose a domain name that is relevant to your business and easy for potential customers to remember.
2. Web hosting: This service will store your website files and make them accessible to visitors. You must choose a web hosting company that offers reliable service and support. Some good companies to use are Fasthosts and Hostgator.
3. A website builder: This software will help you create and design your tradesman website. Many website builders are available, so be sure to choose one that is easy to use and offers the features you need. The easy-to-build platforms are Wix and Squarespace, but if you are up for a challenge and have some coding experience, WordPress is a better option.
4. Website content includes the text, images, and videos you will use to populate your website. Be sure to create high-quality content relevant to your business and target audience when building content with pages like your home page, about us, gallery and contact page. Also, have pages for all of your services. If you offer general building services, have a page for brickwork, loft conversions, extensions and so on. This will make it easier for Google to see all of the services you offer and they will rank you higher.
5. A contact form will allow potential customers to get in touch with you via your website.

Be sure to include a way for them to reach you by phone, email, or social media.

You can grow your business and achieve success by using an effective marketing strategy.

A well-designed website can reach a wider audience of potential customers and showcase your work in the best light possible.

You can also use your website to generate leads and sales for your business.

Submit to business directories

Another great way to market your business is to submit it to online business directories.

This will help potential customers find you when searching for companies that offer your services.

Many business directories are available, so be sure to choose the ones most relevant to your business. Some good directories to submit your business to are.

By submitting your business to online directories, you can reach a wider audience of potential customers and increase your visibility online.

You can also use these platforms to generate leads and sales for your business. Make sure your directories have consistent information throughout all of them such as your web address, company logo, contact details, business address, phone number and email. This will also help your website show up better in the local area. There are plenty of great websites for tradesmen to advertise on, you just need to do a Google search to find them.

Why are directories important for local SEO

There are several reasons why directories are essential for local SEO.

1 – They help potential customers find businesses that offer their needed services.
2 – They help businesses build credibility and trust with potential customers. Third, they provide a way for companies to showcase their work and develop their brand.
3 – Directories can help businesses generate leads and sales.
4 – Having directories linking back to your website builds trust with search engines and shows Google where you are located. This helps rank your website higher for local keywords.
5 – Getting reviews on many local directories also sends trust signals to Google that you are a good company, and they will also rank you higher because of this.

Start posting on social media.

Social media is a great way to reach a wider audience of customers. You can build your brand and increase your visibility online by posting high-quality content on social media.

You can also use social media to generate leads and sales for your business.

Post regularly and interact with your followers to create a strong connection.

Some content ideas for social media are

1 – Showcase your work: Use social media to showcase your completed projects. Be sure to include high-quality photos and videos.
2 – Share blog posts: Share your posts on social media to give your followers valuable information.
3 – Offer discounts: Use social media to offer discounts and promotions to your followers.
4 – Run competitions: Run competitions on social media to engage with your followers and increase interest in your business.
5 – Share pictures of your team working: People will check you out on social media before using your services. They are looking to see if you are an honest company. People buy from people, so make sure you have images of your team on your pages.

Some good social media platforms for tradespeople are.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
TikTok
YouTube

Benefits of each of these platforms

Facebook is great for tradespeople because it has a large user base and it is easy to use. You can use Facebook to reach a broad audience of customers and generate leads for your business.
Twitter is also a great platform for tradespeople, allowing you to share short updates and interact with your followers. You can use Twitter to build your brand, share news, and offer discounts and promotions.
Instagram is an excellent platform for sharing photos and videos of your work. You can use Instagram to showcase the projects you have completed and engage with your followers.
LinkedIn is an excellent platform for connecting with other businesses and building partnerships.
You can also use LinkedIn to find new customers and generate leads for your business.
TikTok is a great platform for sharing short videos of your work. You can use TikTok to your TikTok Followers & Likes and build your brand.
YouTube is great for sharing video content. You can use YouTube to showcase the projects you have completed, share tips and advice, and engage with your followers.

Get your business cards.

This is an important thing to have especially when you are out networking and someone asks for your contact details.

They also help you make an excellent first impression with customers and clients.

They also provide a way for people to contact you and learn more about your business.

Include all your contact information on your card and a brief description of what your company does.

Your cards can be printed at any office supply store or online printer.

Some tips for designing your business card

1 – Use high-quality paper: Use high-quality paper to make a good first impression.
2 – Keep it simple: Keep the design simple and easy to read.
3 – Include your logo: Include your business logo to make it more recognisable.
4 – Use your brand colours: Use brand colours to make it more eye-catching and consistent with your company branding.
5 – Get creative: Be creative with the design to make it unique. You can use die-cuts, unique shapes, and exciting fonts to make your card stand out.
6 – Include all your contact details: Make sure your card has your name, email, web address, and phone number and also says what you do.
7 – Include your company slogan or at least something that says the desired outcome for your customer, such as “making dream homes a reality” or “You dream it we build it”.
8 – Add a QR code to your business card to connect contacts to your online presence instantly, making networking more efficient and impactful.

If you are looking for a printer to print your cards, we recommend Vistaprint.

Vistaprint is an online printing company that offers high-quality printing at an affordable price.

They also have a wide selection of business card templates you can use to create your design.

Get your van sign written

Why you should get your van sign written

Your van is one of your most essential marketing tools. It’s a moving billboard that can generate leads and promote your business wherever you go.

So, it’s important to ensure your van is sign written and looking its best.

There are many benefits to sign writing your van, including…

1 – Increased brand awareness: A sign written van will help increase your business’s brand awareness. Wherever you go, people will see your van and remember your name.
2 – more professional appearance: A sign written van will make your business look more professional and established. This can help to increase confidence in customers and clients.
3 – Generate leads: A sign-written van can help you to generate leads. People will see your van and be interested in your services. You can then follow up with them and turn them into customers.
4 – Free advertising: A sign written van is a form of free advertising. It’s a moving billboard that promotes your business wherever you go.
5 – Cost-effective: Signwriting your van is a cost-effective way to market your business. It’s a one-time investment that will continue to pay off for years.

If you are looking for a company to sign write your van, we recommend Van Graphics UK. Van Graphics UK is a leading provider of van sign writing services in the UK. They offer high-quality signs at an affordable price. They also have a wide selection of templates, or you can create your own design.

Run Facebook ads

Why is paid Facebook advertising suitable for tradespeople?

There are many benefits to paid Facebook advertising. Still, if they are not set up correctly, they can be a waste of money.

Make sure you have a reliable agency or freelancer to manage this for you or you have done at least 20+ hours of training before you run the ads.

1 – Increased reach: Paid Facebook advertising can help increase your posts’ reach. More people will see your posts, which can help generate leads and sales.
2 – Targeted audience: With paid Facebook advertising, you can target a specific audience most likely to be interested in your products or services. This ensures that your ads are seen by people who are more likely to convert into customers.
3 – Lower cost-per-click: When you continually run and optimise ads, you can lower your cost-per-click. This means that you will save money on your advertising campaign while still reaching many people.
4 – Increased engagement: Paid Facebook advertising can help increase your posts’ engagement. People are likelier to like, comment, and share your posts when they see them in their newsfeed.
5 – Boosted posts: Paid Facebook advertising can help to boost the reach of your posts. More people will see your posts, which can help generate leads and sales.

Get a board to put outside jobs

Having a board outside the jobs, you are doing is free advertising.

This is especially effective if the job is in a high foot traffic area. Make sure to include your company name, logo, and contact information so people can quickly get in touch with you.

You can also have a photo of the job you are working on to show customers what you can do.

There are many benefits to having a board outside your jobs, including…

1 – Increased brand awareness: A board outside your jobs will help increase your business’s brand awareness.
Wherever people see the board, they will remember your name.
2 – More professional appearance: A board outside your jobs will make your business look more professional and established. This can help to increase confidence in customers and clients.
3 – Generate leads: A board outside your jobs can help you generate leads. People will see your board and be interested in your services. You can then follow up with them and turn them into customers.
4 – Free advertising: A board outside the jobs you are doing is a form of free advertising. It’s a moving billboard that promotes your business wherever you go.
5 – Cost-effective: Having a board outside the jobs you are doing is a cost-effective way to market your business. It’s a one-time investment that will continue to pay off for years.

Get loads of reviews

Why are reviews critical?

We can not stress the importance of reviews enough. They are everything when it comes to tradesmen.

People are more likely to use a business with positive reviews and less likely to use a company with no reviews or negative reviews.

Some of the best places to get reviews are

Checkatrade
Trustatrader
Yell.com
Google My Business
MyBuilder
RatedPeople
Which Trusted Trader
Trustpilot
Facebook

Populating these websites with loads of reviews will also show up on the Google search engine when people search your company name. This is also great for building trust.

Reviews can help you to…

1 – Generate leads: Reviews can help you to generate leads. When people see that you have positive reviews, they will be more likely to use your services.
2 – Build trust: Reviews can help you to build trust with customers. They will see that other people have used your services and been happy with the results. This will increase their confidence in using your services.
3 – Rank higher in search engines: Reviews can help you to rank higher and get you more leads. This is because Google and other search engines consider reviews when determining their search results.
4 – Get more work: Reviews can help you to get more work. This is because positive reviews will encourage people to use your services, and negative reviews will discourage people from using your services.
5 – Make more money: Reviews can help you to make more money.

This is because positive reviews will lead to more customers, and more customers will lead to more sales.

So, as you can see, reviews are extremely important for tradesmen. They could be the difference between success and failure. If you don’t have any reviews, start working on getting some today.

Go networking

Networking is vital for tradespeople because you meet many more people in the trade industry and can lead to more business opportunities. It’s always good to have a large network of people that you can rely on. You never know who you will meet and what they could do for you.

There are many networking events that you can go to, such as…

1 – LondonBuild Expo: LondonBuild Expo is a tradeshow that takes place twice a year in London. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet other tradespeople and learn about new products and services.
2 – The Builders Show: The Builders Show is a global tradeshow. It’s a great opportunity to meet other tradespeople and keep up to date on what’s happening in the industry.
3 – Tool Fair: Tool Fair is a tradeshow that occurs multiple times a year across the UK. It’s a great opportunity to network and see what other tools are on the market.

Attending these events is a great way to network with other tradespeople. You never know who you will meet or what opportunities might come from it.

Sign up to google my business

Why is google my business great for tradesmen?

Google My Business is a great way to market your business to customers. It’s a free service that allows you to create a listing for your business on Google.

Your listing will appear on Google Maps and in the search results when people search for businesses like yours.

This is a great way to get your business in front of potential customers.

Creating a listing on Google My Business is quick and easy, and it’s a great way to market your business.

How to create a Google My Business listing for your trade business

Creating a Google My Business listing is quick and easy and a great way to market your business.

1 – Go to www.google.com/business and click “Start now”.
2 – Enter your business name, address, and phone number. Then, click “Continue”.
3 – Choose your business category, then click “Continue”.
4 – Enter your website URL, then click “Continue”.
5 – Verify your listing, then click “Finish”.

Your listing will now appear on Google Maps and in the search results when people search for businesses like yours.

Tips for optimising a Google My Business listing

You can do a few things to optimise your Google My Business listing…

1 – Add photos: Adding photos to your listing is a great way to show customers what your business looks like. People are more likely to use your services if they can see what your company looks like.
2 – Add opening hours: Adding your opening hours is a great way to let customers know when you’re open for business. This is important because people are more likely to use your services if they know when you’re open.
3 – Add a description: Adding a description is a great way to tell customers what your business does. This is important because people are more likely to use your services if they know what you do.
4 – Add a call-to-action: Adding a call-to-action will help users know what to do next, and push them through to either a booking or contact page. This is important because people are more likely to use your services if they’re encouraged to do so.
5 – Add keywords: Adding keywords is a great way to ensure that your listing appears in the search results for those keywords. This is important because people are more likely to find your listing if it appears in the search results.

Pro tips for optimising Google My Business listing

Include keywords in your replies to reviews, for example, “Thank you for your review. It was great to do business with you, kind Regards “your company name” The loft conversion pros”. Google will see your keywords in your replies and rank the business listing higher for different keywords.

Optimise your website with multiple pages of all your services, Google will see the data on your website and rank the business listing higher.

You will sometimes see in a business listing “this website mentions “keyword”.

This shows us Google is picking up the data from your website, so make sure your website is fully optimised for all the keywords you want to rank for.

Google Ads

Why are ads great for tradesmen?

Google Ads is a great way to market your business and get more job leads.

It’s a paid service that allows you to create ads for your business on Google. You will be paying per click, so the ads must be set up correctly.

Setting up a Google ad campaign is quick and easy but takes months of training to master.

We recommend getting a professional agency to manage the ads to get the most out of your campaign, or if you are willing to put in the hours to learn, there are many courses you can take on platforms like Udemy and Skillshare.

Your ads will appear above the map listing and under the organic listings.

Key things to cover when setting up your ads

Keyword research: use the keyword planner tool to find the best keywords to target for your ads

Ad copy:

Write persuasive ad copy that includes a call to action in your ad copy.

Use copy that creates urgency like “get 20% off today.” Include a unique selling point of your business.

Landing pages: send people to a specific landing page on your website that is relevant to the ad they clicked on.

We recommend having only one or two calls to action. This can be a phone number to call or a form to fill in out.

Also, put an excellent offer on your landing page, so people convert on the first visit.

Tracking: use tracking code to track how many people click on your ads and convert them into customers.

Budget: set a budget for how much you want to spend on your ads each day

Ad scheduling: schedule your ads to only show during the hours you are open for business, or if you have someone on the phone ready to take the calls 24 hours a day, you can also run the ads day and night.

Organic SEO – Rank higher on search engines

Why is organic SEO so good for tradesmen?

Organic SEO is one of the best ways to promote your business. It’s a free service that allows you to rank higher. It can take longer than running ads but is one of the most cost-effective ways to get leads to your business.

Essential parts of a local SEO campaign to get new customers

Keyword research: use the keyword planner tool to find the best keywords to target for your website visitors

Website copy: make sure all of the content on your website is optimised for your target keywords.

This includes the titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and body copy. We recommend 750 – 1000 words of content per page.

Landing pages: create specific landing pages for each service you offer, make sure the pages are optimised for your target keywords and include a call to action.

You can also create local landing-specific landing pages such as “boiler installers Chelsea” “Plumbers in Hammersmith” etc. You can fully optimise the local landing pages with good quality content, and they will rank on Google.

Tracking: use a tracking code on Google Analytics to monitor and track how many people call you through the website. You can create this in Google Analytics events.

Also, set up a thank you page for every time someone fills out the contact form and track how many people land on this page.

Link building and guest posting

Link building and guest posting are great ways to build authority for your website and improve your organic SEO.

Link building is the process of getting links from other websites back to yours. This signals to Google that your website is popular and authoritative. The more high-quality links you have, the higher you will rank.

Guest posting is when you write an article for another website in your niche, this is a great way to get exposure for your business and a link back to your website. Make sure the article you write is high quality and relevant to the website you are guest posting on.

Both activities take time to do but are well worth it in the long run.

How to do guest posting

Titles and descriptions

Your titles and descriptions appear on the search engine results pages (SERPs), so it’s essential to make them as compelling as possible to encourage people to click through to your website.

Your title should be 60 characters or less, and your description should be 155 characters or less.

You want to include your target keyword in the title and description, but don’t stuff them full of keywords, as this will just turn people off. Write for humans first, not robots.

Your titles and descriptions also need to be unique, so don’t just copy what everyone else is doing. Be creative and develop something that will make people want to click through to your website.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is the process of optimising your website for search engines. This includes making sure your website is mobile-friendly, ensuring your pages load quickly, and fixing any broken links.

Making sure your website is mobile-friendly is more important than ever, as over 50% of searches are now done on mobile devices.

Google also gives preference to mobile-friendly websites, so it’s well worth taking the time to make sure yours is.

Ensuring your pages load quickly is also essential, as people are notoriously impatient online.

If your pages take too long to load they will just click back to the SERPs and find another website. You can use tools like Pingdom or GTMetrix to test your page speed and see where you need to improve.

You need to take care of broken links, as they can negatively impact your website’s SEO. Use a tool like Broken Link Checker to find any broken links on your website and remove them or replace them with working links.

Sitemaps

A sitemap is an XML file containing all of your website’s URLs. Google use sitemaps to index your website, so it’s important to make sure yours is up-to-date.

You can create a sitemap using a tool like XML-Sitemaps, and then submit it to Google through the Search Console.

Fixing website errors

Use SEMRush to see if your website has any website errors. These errors can include broken links, duplicate content, and pages that are not indexing.

Fixing these errors is crucial for SEO, as they can prevent your website from ranking well in Google.

SEMRush is an excellent tool for finding these errors, and they also offer a free trial so you can try it out before you commit to anything.

Leaflet distribution

Leaflet distribution is a great way to reach a local audience. It’s a form of direct marketing where you deliver leaflets to people’s homes hoping that they will read them and take action.

To be effective, your leaflet must be well designed and contain compelling information about your business.

You also need to target your distribution to deliver leaflets to people who are most likely to be interested in what you offer.

Leaflet distribution can be a great way to generate leads and boost sales, but it requires time and effort to get it right.

We recommend putting a specific discount code on the leaflet. This way, when someone contacts you, you will know that the lead has come from that campaign.

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is one of the most important marketing strategies there is. It’s a form of organic marketing that relies on people talking about your business to their friends and family.

To encourage word of mouth, you need to provide an outstanding product or service that people will want to talk about.

You also need to make it easy for people to spread the word about your business, for example, by providing them with shareable content or giving them a discount for referrals.

Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, but it can be challenging to control.

The best way to encourage word of mouth is to focus on providing an outstanding product or service simply. Everything else will follow from that.

Once your business gets to a specific size, word of mouth becomes increasingly important, as you don’t want just to keep getting clients from paid advertising.

Referrals

Asking for referrals is a great way to get more business. It’s also a great way to connect with local contractors and tell them about your business. Many local companies already work with your potential customers.

As long as you do a great job and pay the contractor for the referral, this can be one of the best ways to generate leads and build partnerships in the local area.

Another way to get referrals is by reaching out to your current clients and asking if they know anyone who might be interested in your services. You can also ask for referrals from your friends and family.

Another great way to get referrals is to offer a discount or incentive for people who refer new clients to you. This will encourage people to spread the word about your business and help you grow your client base.

Referrals are a great way to get more business, but they can be challenging to control. The best way to encourage referrals is to focus on providing an outstanding product or service simply. Everything else will follow from that.

Get seen in public places.

Seeing in public places is a great way to build brand awareness and trust with your customers.

It’s a way to get your name out there and make sure that people know you. There are plenty of ways to get seen in public places, and each has its own benefits.

Billboard advertising: is one of the most common and effective ways to get seen in public places.

Billboards are often located in high-traffic areas, which means that a lot will see your ad of people. Additionally, billboards are usually highly visible, so your ad will be hard to miss.

Screen advertising: is another excellent way to get seen in public places. Screen advertising can be highly effective because it allows you to target a specific audience.

Screen advertising is often used in high-traffic areas, such as airports, shopping centres and hospitals.

Roundabout advertising & bus stops: This is another way to get your brand noticed in local areas.

When people just keep seeing your brand everywhere, they are more likely to trust you will offer a good service.

Checkatrade and trustatrader

Checkatrade and Trustatrader are two of the most popular online directories for finding tradespeople in the UK.

They both offer an option for tradespeople to get reviews and ratings from past customers.

Both offer free listings but also have paid options that give you more website exposure.

Checkatrade and Trustatrader have a wide variety of trade categories, making it easy to find the right person for the job.

It also offers a handy search function to search for tradespeople by location, trade, or keyword.

How to optimise your listing on Checkatrade

There are a few things you can do to optimise your listing on checkatrade

1. Use keywords: When people search for tradespeople on Checkatrade, they often use keywords.

By including relevant keywords in your listing, you can ensure that your business comes up when people search for someone with your skillset.

2. Use photos: People are visual creatures and often respond better to listings that include photos.

If you have any before-and-after photos of your work or even just some pictures of your team in action, be sure to include them in your listing.

3. Constantly update your listings with testimonials: Testimonials are a great way to build trust and people are more likely to use your services.

If you have any positive reviews or testimonials from past clients, these sites rank your listing higher with the more reviews you have, so get as many as you can.

4. Use special offers: Special offers are a great way to entice customers to use your services. Good offers can be something for free or a percentage off your services.

If you have any special requests or discounts available, include them in your listing.

This will help you stand out from the competition and attract new customers.

There is a lot of positive and negative feedback about both of these websites, but we work with many clients that do very well from their listings, the best way to find out is by getting a listing and making the most out of it for at least a year.

Quick tip on getting traffic from Google to your listing

Do a Google search for the leading service in your local area. See which is at the top and get your business listing high on that website. [see video here]

Summary

We hope these marketing tips have helped and gotten you lots of leads. Getting your business noticed is one of the most important things you must consistently do as a tradesman.

If you need help getting tradesman leads, then contact our team today. We have over ten years of experience and are here to help you grow your business.

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