SEO for the construction industry

The construction industry is becoming increasingly digital, and potential customers are increasingly searching online for contractors, construction companies and specialized services. This means that optimizing your online visibility is essential to bring in new projects. SEO offers construction companies an excellent opportunity to become more findable to people looking for construction solutions online. In this article, I’ll teach you how to Employ SEO for the construction industry.

Why SEO is important for the construction industry

Many construction companies rely on word of mouth and networking contacts, but customer search habits are changing. Consumers and businesses today are increasingly searching online for reliable contractors and construction companies in their area. If your company does not rank well in search results, you may be missing out on valuable opportunities.

SEO helps you appear at the top of search results when people enter searches such as “construction company in [stad]”, “reliable contractor”, or “renovation experts”. A strong online presence will make potential customers find your company faster and get in touch for a quote or project request.

What is an additional advantage is that it ensures a predictable flow of interesting leads and you do not have to use your own network to do so (after all, a network runs out). For a scalable concept, SEO is particularly interesting.

Local SEO

For most construction companies, most of their work takes place within a particular region or city. Local SEO is therefore essential to be highly visible to people in your immediate area. Here are some crucial steps:

  • Google My Business: Make sure you have a fully completed Google My Business profile. This is often the first thing customers see when they search for construction companies in their area. Fill in all relevant information, such as address, business hours, phone number, and a description of your services.
  • Local keywords: Optimize your Web site for local keywords, such as “construction company in [stad]” or “contractor [stad]”. This helps it rank better in search results for people searching for construction solutions in their area.
  • Reviews: Reviews are the biggest and most important factor within local SEO and Google My Business. Collect as many of them as possible here. Not only for SEO, this is also interesting for conversion.

What you can do with this (if you have multiple affiliates), is to open multiple Google My Company locations. That way you have an active presence on the SERP in different regions (often with a prominent position as well).

Optimize your website for SEO

In addition to local SEO, you need to optimize your website to help search engines understand what your business does and what services you offer. Here are some important steps:

  • Service pages: Make sure you have separate pages for each of your services, such as new construction, renovations, remodeling, roofing, etc. This makes it easier for search engines to index you and helps customers quickly find the information they need.
  • Use of keywords: Do keyword research to discover what terms your target audience uses. Consider keywords such as “home remodeling,” “kitchen renovation,” or “commercial construction projects.” Use these keywords in strategic places in your content, such as in the titles, meta descriptions, and headers of your pages.
  • Images and videos: Construction is a visual industry. Be sure to use images and videos to showcase your projects, and optimize them with alt texts so they are recognized by search engines.

In general, the key here is to give the visitor and Google a good idea of the whole picture. I don’t think it’s hard to stand out within the construction industry with a design, considering the average competitor in Google.

Create valuable content

Content marketing is a powerful SEO strategy for the construction industry. By regularly publishing valuable, informative content, you not only attract visitors but also demonstrate your expertise. Here are some ideas for content:

  • Write blogs on topics such as “tips for a successful remodel” or “how to choose the right construction company.” These articles not only help your SEO, but can also answer questions customers have.
  • Publish detailed case studies of successful projects. Show what the challenges were and how you solved them. This shows your expertise and gives potential clients confidence.
  • Write detailed guides on specific construction processes, such as applying for permits or choosing materials. These guides help customers and increase your authority in search results.

In particular, blogs, guides and manuals will impact SEO. These are often written more around keywords that actually contain volume. For some examples, see the image below.

Technical SEO for construction companies

Technical SEO is the basis for a properly functioning website. This includes all the back-end optimizations that allow search engines to crawl and index your website correctly. Here are some crucial elements for technical SEO:

  • Website speed: Make sure your website loads quickly. Users and search engines don’t like slow Web sites, and a slow site can hurt your rankings.
  • Mobile friendliness: Many customers search for construction services on their smartphones. Make sure your website works well on mobile devices and that the user experience is optimal.
  • Security (HTTPS): Make sure your website is secured with an SSL certificate (HTTPS). This protects your users’ data and helps you rank higher in search results.

It depends on the website to what extent this is needed to be thoroughly addressed, from my experience I can tell that the most interesting visitors still come via desktop when large purchases or contact requests need to be made. Also, these visitors usually come to the website during business hours. But of course this depends on your specific situation and company, so check this especially in GA4.

Link Building and Off-Page SEO

Link building is an important way to increase the authority of your website. This can help you rank higher in search results. Here are some link building strategies for construction companies:

  • Work with suppliers, architects or other companies in the construction chain to obtain links from their websites. This provides relevant and powerful backlinks.
  • Make sure your business is listed in local business directories and building associations. This not only helps your local SEO, but also gives you valuable backlinks.
  • If your company is involved in a major project or has won an award, try to get press coverage. An article in a local or national medium can provide strong backlinks and more exposure.

A great idea for construction companies is to issue a certain certificate which can be placed on other websites (in an iFrame). This way, as a construction company, you can easily obtain qualitative and relevant links from other websites within the market (without necessarily using your own network to do so).

Conclusion

SEO allows construction companies to increase their online visibility and attract new customers. By focusing on local SEO, optimizing your website, creating valuable content, and following a solid link building strategy, you can ensure that your construction company is more findable to potential customers looking for construction solutions. In a competitive market, it is essential to stand out, and SEO can be a powerful tool to achieve your goals in this regard.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 78 reviews

I have been working for 12 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 16 August 2024. The last update of this article was on 14 January 2025. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.