Must-Know Marketing Tips for New Construction Businesses

When you search for marketing tips for contractors, you will get the same old answers from a million different websites. No one tells how you should really market your new contracting company… Until now! In this article we share the real way to marketing your new contractor company and the steps we recommend to avoid the common mistakes.

Estimated Read Time: 14 minutes

[Insert drawn out, boring intro like all the other blog posts]

Maybe not, lets jump right in and get to what matters…

How can you market your new contractor or trade business online and what are the steps?

We are setting the record straight in this article. If you are a new contractor or trade business and have a limited budget to grow your company this is the article for you.

1. Professional website

Everyone says you need a professional website, but no one tells you these important facts.

Avoid site builders like Squarespace, Wix, and GoDaddy

Why?
Because you will never own the website and once you stop paying them, any money and time you invested, will be lost forever.

Do it right, from the start

Why?
Because if you don’t you will end up investing in your website multiple times and eventually end-up spending more money on cheap websites than if you hired a reputable company from the start.

Run away from companies that promise the world, for a nominal monthly fee

Why?
These companies love to throw around buzz words like SEO, social media, and rankings, to get your attention. But what you get in reality, is a cheap template website, poor marketing that will hurt more than help and no actual leads or sales. These types of companies are greasy pitchman, that lure you in with low prices and sales tactics, all to leave you disappointed.

You don’t have to break the bank

Why?
It’s the wild west when it comes to website pricing. You’ll discover everything from cheap $500 websites to $50,000 websites. We won’t talk about the cheap side of things because you know you get what you pay for.

A sweet spot for a custom professional website is between $3,500 and $12,000 depending on the scope. Just make sure the web design company actually does custom designs, many providers say they do but they are really just selling you a template.

Not sure what should go on your contractor website? No problem, we have many blog posts on this exact topic. You can browse our website design blog and get some inspiration.

If you work in a specific trade check out these links to see some of the best contractor website designs:

Best Construction Website Designs for 2025

Best Roofing Website Designs for 2025

16 Best Remodeling Website Designs for 2025

10 Best HVAC Website Designs for 2025

21 Best Architect Website Designs in 2025

27 Best Home Builder Website Designs in 2025

Discover the Best Electrician Website Designs for 2025

2. Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is one of the best free tools for lead generation, but you have to do it right.

You probably already know about GBP, but what you may not know is how to set up your Google Business Profile properly.

Choose the right primary category

Why?
Lets say you are own a remolding company that does kitchens, bathrooms, and additions. Your primary category should be set to “Remodeler” not Kitchen Remodeler etc. Don’t add a bunch of irrelevant secondary categories — only add secondary ones if they’re truly applicable to your service.

Set a service area, not a physical address

Why?
If you don’t have a staffed office location, use a service area. When adding your service areas, focus on your primary geographic region at first. Don’t just add a bunch of cities to try and target more customers.

Write a professional business description

Why?
It’s important to have a well written business description for Google to better understand what you do. Make sure to not over optimize it with a bunch of filler keywords and cities. It should be clear, concise and have call to action at the end.

Add photos and a logo

Why?
Many contractors skip this part and its an important step. Make sure if you are adding photos they are not low quality. Potential customers may not call you if your business looks low quality, due to poor cell phone photos.

Start getting 5-Star reviews

Why?
This is a no brainer, but what many new contractors struggle with is how to get reviews without having customers yet. One of the best ways to get your first reviews is to do some free small jobs for friends and family only asking for a review in return. Never pay people for reviews, or buy fake reviews or your profile will eventually get banned.

The more 5-Star reviews you can get on a regular basis the better and always make sure to reply to all your reviews.

3. Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is where the treasure chest lies, but for a new company, it’s a long game that requires real investment and has real risk.

Don’t start ongoing SEO now, wait until you are more established

Why?
Real, SEO that actually gets you rankings and leads will be a significant investment, roughly between $2,500 to $6,000 a month. As a new company it does not make sense to take on such a large monthly expense with no return for 4-6 months or longer. You’re better off spending your money on other marketing channels that can have an immediate impact on leads and revenue.

With that being said, if you are a well funded new business and can take on the risk, then starting with SEO is not a bad idea.

Do onsite SEO when you have your website built

Why?
On-site SEO (also called on-page SEO) is the process of optimizing elements on your website to improve its visibility in search engines and help it rank for relevant keywords.

Onsite SEO should be done by the company that is creating your new website. When you are deciding on a company for your website make sure they include onsite search engine optimization as part of the build.
Onsite SEO includes:
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Headings (H1, H2, etc.)
- Content quality
- URL structure
- Internal linking
- Image optimization
- Mobile-friendliness
- Site speed
- Keyword usage

Cheap SEO never works

Why?
I can’t tell you how many times in the last 17 years I’ve had contractors tell me they where paying a low budget marketing company for SEO and never got any results.

All I can say is, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
I can almost guarantee you that any company offering SEO for under $1,500/month isn’t going to get you real results. They’ll string you along, drain your budget, and leave you thinking SEO is a scam. This is especially true for companies that will offer to build your website, do your social media, set up automation, and much more all for a price under $300/month.
Here’s the #1 tip for hiring an SEO agency:
Ask for real references and the keywords they rank for, and call them to verify. Make sure they can provide 5 or more references that have been using them for at least 16 months. If they cant do this or say they have confidentiality clauses, it’s time to move on and find a company that can.

4. Google Local Service Ads

When you have your professional website, your Google Business Profile has reviews and you are ready to take on leads, this is the first advertising I recommend you start with.

Why?
Google Local Service Ads is a pay for performance advertising service. Unlike pay-per-click advertising, you only pay for quality leads.

Led generation systems like Angi or Home Advisor have bad reputations. But Google LSA is not the same thing. The big difference is you are paying for an exclusive lead that contacts you directly whereas other led gen providers generate the lead and sell it to who knows how many other contractors.

Don’t start LSA until you can respond to leads within 3 minutes

Why?
Local Service Ads can be successful but only if you are able to answer the phone when someone calls or respond to a lead message when received from your Local Service Ads.

Here’s what happens if you cant do these two simple things.

1. A potential customer calls you, you don’t answer, they hang up and call the next contractor on the results.

2. A potential customer sends you a message, and you don’t reply for hours or days, they simply contact another contractor.

Local Service Ads is best with automation

Why?
Local Service Ads is a speed-to-lead game. Typically, the contractor that answers the phone or responds the fastest gets the opportunity.
But as a new contractor you’re busy running your company, and being on jobsites. This is when you need software and automation to help you maximize the leads you are paying for.
1. Get a quality USA based phone answering provider.
2. Set up automation to respond to LSA lead messages.
3. Use automation to move the lead into scheduling an appointment.

Track your local service ads

Why?
It’s very important to track what happens with the leads you generate from your Local Service Ads. This will help you identify what lead categories are generating sales and what are not.
We will dive into this deeper in another article but you want to keep track of these important metrics:
- Lead to Appointment %
- Appointment to Estimate %
- Estimate to Close %
- Revenue
- Return on Investment (ROI)

If you don’t track your lead metrics you will end up wasting advertising dollars.

When you first start getting leads put them in a spreadsheet and keep track of all the metrics above. It’s really that simple to learn what is working and what is not.

Just make sure you have enough lead data before you make changes to your advertising. For example, if you get one lead and it was not good, that doesn’t mean you should turn off that lead source or category. You want to get at least 25 leads or more before making changes, unless you see an obvious trend.

5. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a tool that helps you organize, track, and manage your leads, customers, and jobs in one place.

For contractors, a CRM lets you:

Track every lead from first call to closed job
Follow up with estimates and appointments
See which marketing channels are actually working
Keep customer notes, documents, and communications in one spot

Top CRMs for contractors

Jobber

Great for small-to-mid service contractors
CRM + scheduling + invoicing + payments
Clean mobile app for teams in the field
Best for HVAC, landscaping, plumbing, and service based businesses

Housecall Pro

All-in-one platform for service businesses
CRM, dispatching, payments, and customer reminders
Mobile-friendly and intuitive for smaller teams

Buildertrend

Full-featured CRM + project management
Great for remodelers, home builders, and larger teams
Includes scheduling, budgeting, and client communication tools

HubSpot CRM

Not contractor-specific, but very customizable
Great for managing lead pipelines and automation
Scales well as your company grows

JobNimbus

Built for contractors
Manages leads, tasks, jobs, and documents
Strong integrations (QuickBooks, EagleView, CompanyCam)
Ideal for roofers, remodelers, and specialty trades

Don’t get a CRM if you are not going to set it up properly

Why?
There is no point in getting a CRM for your company and not setting everything up so it can be used as an effective tool. If you get a CRM and don’t use it properly it will end up being more of a hassle, than help.

Set these things up in your CRM

Lead Form Integration – Set up forms on your website that automatically push leads into your CRM.
Pipelines – Define each stage: New Lead → Appointment Set → Estimate Sent → Job Won → Job Completed. This gives you full visibility.
Automated Follow-Ups – Create workflows to text or email leads after they inquire, miss a call, or receive an estimate.
Task Reminders – Set automatic reminders for follow-ups, job walk-throughs, or next steps so nothing falls through the cracks.
Project Notes & Attachments – Use the CRM to log project details, photos, documents, and communication history per customer/job.
Reporting & Dashboards – Track lead sources, close rates, and revenue per job so you can make smart marketing and sales decisions.

Bottom line: a CRM only works if it’s set up to work for you. Otherwise, it’s just another monthly subscription draining your bank account.

6. 10 Step marketing plan you can follow

The biggest mistake new contractors make? Trying to do everything at once. It leads to burnout, wasted money, and poor results. Instead, treat your marketing like a phased rollout. One step at a time.

Step 1: Build a Professional Website

Assuming you have a logo, step one should always be getting a professional website.

Step 2: Google Business Profile

Once you have your professional website ready to go set up your Google Business Profile and start getting 5-star reviews.

Step 3: Google Local Service Ads

Get approved for Google Local Service Ads and set up your advertising.

Step 4: Track Everything

Once you start getting your first leads make sure to track everything so you can see how the advertising is performing and make data driven decisions.

Step 5: Automation

Once you’ve got 5–10 leads coming in, you need automation in place. Automation handles missed calls, sends instant follow-ups, books appointments, and keeps your leads warm—without you lifting a finger. Set it up once and let it work for you 24/7.

Step 6: Evaluate and Adjust

After your first month or 50 LSA leads, it’s time to step back and review. Look at which categories are actually generating revenue and which ones are just burning your budget. Turn off what’s not working, double down on what is. Small, data-driven adjustments at this stage will save you thousands and set you up for scalable growth.

At this point you should have a professional website, be generating leads and making some sales. Make sure the business is delivering on customer expectations and now focus on Step 7.

Step 7: CRM

Now that leads are flowing and you’re closing some jobs, it’s time to get organized. Sign up for a CRM and set it up properly.

Step 8: Capture Quality Photos and Videos

Now that you’ve got a few jobs under your belt, it’s time to build your portfolio the right way. Don’t settle for blurry cellphone pics, invest in professional photos and videos that actually make your work standout.

Your portfolio is one of the most powerful sales tools you’ll ever have. People buy what they can see, and great visuals build trust fast. These assets will fuel your website, ads, social media, and Google profile for years to come. Treat them like an investment, because they are.

Step 9: Launch Google Ads (The Right Way)

If the business is running smoothly and you’re ready to scale your leads, it’s time to turn on Google Ads. But don’t just throw money at it, you need to track everything.

Set up call tracking, lead forms, and conversion metrics before spending a dollar.

Avoid broad match keywords, skip the campaign wizard, and never blindly follow Google’s recommendations.

Done right, Google Ads can drive consistent, high-quality leads. Done wrong, it’ll drain your budget fast.

Step 10: Invest in SEO for Long-Term Growth

By now, you should have a steady lead flow, jobs in progress, and profit to reinvest.

This is the right time to build your long-term SEO strategy.

Don’t expect overnight results, SEO is a long game. Set aside a 6–9 month runway and focus on ranking for competitive keywords in your area.

Invest in strong content, quality backlinks, and ongoing optimization. When done right, SEO will become your most reliable and cost-effective lead source over time.

Success is around the corner

Most new contractor businesses fail at marketing because they try to do everything at once or worse, they fall for slick pitches and cheap shortcuts that never deliver.

This article can be your blueprint to avoid all that.

Every step we’ve laid out here is based on 17 years of working with contractors, and trades.

Start simple. Build in phases.

Need help implementing any of this? We’ve got your back.

Do you have a question or are you interested in working with our team?

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