Home Services Marketing Trends You’d Be a Dumbass to Ignore in 2021

The Home Services industry has been in a whirlwind since early 2020. After the initial shock of lockdowns due to COVID-19 wore off, people started realizing just how much work their homes really needed after spending countless hours in them while working remotely.

While most industries seemed to have taken a hit, the Home Services industry has largely grown as a result.

This sudden surge in business has made it that much more important to stay on top of the latest marketing trends so that you are able to do everything possible to be at the top of the list when someone searches for your services.

In this article, we will review the latest Home Services Marketing trends and strategies to be aware of in 2021;

• Search Engine Optimization for Home Services
• Local Services Ads for Home Services
• Search Ads for Home Services
• Reviews
• Awareness Ads for Home Services
• Content Marketing for Home Services
• Nextdoor for Home Services
• Video Content for Home Services

Let’s get started…

A Solid Foundation with Search Engine Optimization

Any successful Home Services marketing plan will be based on a solid Search Engine Optimization campaign.

In the majority of home services, over 55% of consumers turn to Google Search before scheduling an appointment (Source: LSA).

That means if you aren’t showing up on Google search results, you are potentially missing at least 55% of your target market!

By coming up with an effective content strategy and utilizing the best techniques and practices when laying out your content on your website, you can help ensure that your pages will show up when someone searches for your services.

But getting them to land on your website isn’t enough. You also need to consider the users’ behavior and try to predict exactly what they are looking for. Your goal should be to convert as many website visitors as possible into leads. You do this with conversion-focused design techniques on your website. Feel free to read more about Home Services Web Design here.

It’s a fact that over 40% of consumers who call a home services company from an online search make a purchase (Source: Google).

Local Services Ads are a Must for any Home Services Company

Local Services Ads by Google is a relatively new platform that has become a powerful weapon in the arsenal of Home Services companies like yours.

This platform is basically Google’s response to other advertising options such as Home Advisor and Angie’s List which provide a pay-per-lead model.

With the average cost of Home Services leads skyrocketing in recent years, this platform has introduced a more predictable option to companies looking to expand their marketing portfolio.

We have written an in-depth article on why Google Local Services is important and how it works, so we won’t get into that here.

While Local Services is a great tool, it is best utilized in tandem with other marketing tactics.

PPC Search Ads Provide a More Targeted Approach

By utilizing Pay-Per-Click(PPC) Search Ads, you can target a very specific problem which allows you to tailor your message to a precise target audience.

The power of PPC Search Ads for Home Services lies within the messaging. If you offer a special rate for Pool Repair, you can now offer that rate to the exact people who need your services at the exact moment they are looking for it.

Studies have proven that when an ad, a landing page (mini-website), and an offer all speak to the exact same message, your conversion rates will increase. This ultimately means more service calls for you.

PPC Search Ads offer a scalable solution to Home Services companies looking to generate more service calls, however, you need to be prepared to have a considerable marketing budget set aside for this form of marketing.

Depending on your industry, the cost-per-click can exceed $50 (Sources: WordStream, HubSpot). While that is a considerable amount of money, you need to keep in mind the average amount that a service call will yield.

PPC Search Ads aren’t right for every client, nor are they right for every industry. But with Home Services, a potential customer is incredibly likely to turn to Google Search when they are in need of an AC Repair technician, for example. Utilizing PPC Search Ads along with other forms of marketing can ensure that your company shows up at the top of those search results.

Real Client Reviews – The Golden Goose Egg of Home Services

With so many one-man operations popping up on what seems like a daily basis throughout every home services industry, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd at times.

From the outside looking in, a potential customer may not know that you are the hardest working plumber in your city with the best work ethic and the most qualified team of technicians.

So how do you get the advantage over less qualified competitors?

Reviews.

In today’s “always-on” digital world, it is absolutely essential that your Home Services company has a large collection of positive customer feedback available online. This is one of the biggest elements that will set you apart from the competition. And best of all, it’s free!

When someone searches for “Plumbers Near Me” on Google, they almost always see a map of their location with a list of plumbers in a 10~ mile radius. There is very little to differentiate these options aside from their physical location and…you guessed it, reviews.

If out of 20 potential plumbers, you are the only one with 100+ 5-Star reviews, who do you think this potential customer is apt to choose?

Not the schmuck with no reviews…that’s for sure.

Our society today is utterly dependent upon digital word of mouth. Whether it’s a Home Services company, a piece of clothing, or the latest new cellphone, people will gravitate towards the product or service with the best overall rating. In fact, 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses online and 57% of consumers will only do business with a company that has a star rating of 4 or higher (Source: BrightLocal).

So do yourself a favor – start asking every single client for a review of their experience with your company.

Your Home Services Company is a Brand that Needs Branding

We understand that you started your business to create a stable future for yourself and your family while being able to do something that you love and are skilled at.

But the bigger picture is that your Home Services company is actually a brand and it needs to be treated like one.

If you had to think of the most recognizable HVAC company in your city right now, it wouldn’t take long. That is because they have positioned themselves as such by branding their name.

The most effective way to brand your company through digital marketing is by utilizing Awareness Ads.

This style of advertising is the modern-day billboard on the freeway. Only much, much more affordable.

By coming up with some simple brand guidelines and promoting a consistent message through social media ads, video ads, and display ads on highly trafficked websites, you are able to establish your company as a household name.

This type of advertising isn’t necessarily asking the customer to submit their information and turn into a lead (which is why it tends to be much more affordable compared to something such as PPC Search Ads). Neither would a billboard on the freeway. This form of Home Services marketing is meant to put your logo, colors, and message in front of as many people in your service area as possible.

That way, the next time they need someone to install a new ceiling fan in their house, they immediately think of that electrician whose ads they saw all over social media and on the news websites they visit.

Establish Your Company as The Go-To Source for Industry Information

The most qualified and skilled company in the industry is bound to have the answer to practically any question an individual may have regarding their service. So why not provide those answers so they are available to everyone?

If you establish yourself as the expert in your industry, you will be regarded as the best possible choice a potential customer could make when they are in need of service.

Another thought on this is simple; if you provide enough information to equip a person with the knowledge to DIY a problem they are experiencing, odds are they will become overwhelmed and just call a professional to do the job for them.

And where will they turn?

Most likely, the source of the information they got in the first place. You.

Don’t be afraid to give out the “secret sauce”. To be honest, the information is probably already available somewhere on the internet anyways. So why not make your company the local source of that information for your ideal target market.

If you regularly post blog articles answering the most asked questions in your industry, people will be directed to those articles when they search for the answer to their problems on Google.

This is known as Content Marketing. This is a very valuable tool in a Home Services company’s marketing arsenal and is relatively inexpensive.

Bring Your Company Directly to Your Local Community with Nextdoor

Nextdoor is a popular community-based platform and app that allows a person to stay in tune with what is going on in and around their neighborhood.

Up until recently, Nextdoor has been a platform for individuals and not businesses.

But that has changed.

Now, you are able to claim your business on the platform and use it to promote to a verified group of people who you know live in your service area. That is an incredibly valuable audience.

Nextdoor has three levels of marketing options, with one being free, one being very affordable, and the last being a pretty significant investment (if and when it’s available).

If you haven’t already, go and claim your business on the Nextdoor app and start utilizing the 2 free posts per month.

The next step would be to see if your ideal zip-codes are available for advertising, however, odds are there is a waiting list as this form of Home Services advertising is both affordable and effective.

While you may not be able to utilize every method of advertising on Nextdoor, it still provides a great opportunity for local Home Services companies to get their name out there.

There are constantly people within the community asking for recommendations and information regarding different issues they are experiencing around their homes. This would be the ideal moment for a qualified company to leave a comment on their post offering their advice and services.

Video Content is Becoming the Norm

You may be thinking that what you do isn’t so interesting that you need to produce videos of it.

But keep in mind that there are people who will watch videos of a person’s reaction while watching a video…like millions of them. It’s insane.

So it’s safe to say that there is all sorts of video content being consumed in large amounts online today.

What you do for a living is interesting to the people who are experiencing problems that you fix for a living, making them your ideal target audience.

The beautiful thing about video content is that it can be incorporated into practically all of the methods and tactics of Home Services marketing that we have mentioned in this article.

Are you running awareness ads on social media? Well then create a short company overview video as an ad.

Are you writing an article on “How To Clean Your AC Condenser”? Well then shoot an instructional video of yourself cleaning an AC condenser.

Did you just get a client to leave a review on Google? Well then ask that customer to also leave you a video testimonial so you can post it on your social media account.

With so many people consuming content from their phones, it’s no wonder that video content has become as popular as it has.

With the technology that is being packed into our cell phones nowadays, you don’t even need a fancy production company to come shoot a video for you. You just need to know how to operate the camera on your phone and you can get a moderately high-quality video in no time.

Knowing When to Use What Methods and Tactics is Crucial

There is no individual method or tactic in Home Services marketing that will provide a blanket solution to your growing pains as a Home Services company.

As equally important, simply applying every possible method and tactic to your marketing campaign could be just as ineffective in growing your business as applying none.

It is important to know the pros and cons of each method of marketing as well as when and how to utilize them for your company’s specific needs.

Understanding your goals as a company and how to best achieve them is what will make the biggest impact on the overall growth and success of your business.

Take the time to fully understand each form of marketing and how it will directly affect your business.

As a Home Services Digital Marketing company, we have spent countless hours analyzing the effectiveness of each method in this article and more. If you feel overwhelmed by your home services company’s marketing – give us a call today at (281) 940-7463 and maybe we can answer a few questions for you.