Writing copy for your roofing website that isn’t boring or generic is hard. It’s true. Where do you start? How detailed should you be? What will get people’s attention?
When talking about content, we could go in depth on content marketing or the value of blogging, etc., but for this post, we are going to stay specific and talk only about copy for individual pages on your site.
While there are no fix-all answer to the questions, there are certainly some things you can consider and implement as a roofing contractor that will help you write engaging website copy (and hopefully book some roofing jobs!).
Here are some tips to get you started:
Message
The most important aspect of anything you write (or have written) for your site is the message. What is it you want to tell your website visitors?
The first thing you should do is analyze your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and be sure you know what your company has to offer that your competitors don’t. If you don’t already know this, how are you supposed to convey it to your prospects? And that is what your copy is all about: sending the right message of who you are as a company and why they should choose you.
While this may be easier to incorporate when writing copy for your main pages, such as your Home and About Us pages, you should try to do so for all individual pages, including service pages.
Whatever you do, DO NOT copy text from other websites. Not only can Google detect this, but people have a sixth sense for it. Keep your copy unique, detailed, and company-specific. Create value.
Lastly, anticipate prospects questions… and answer them in your copy before they are asked. As a roofing contractor, you can sit down and think about the kinds of questions you get on a regular basis for your industry.
For specific types of jobs (ex. asphalt shingle roof replacement), answer those questions on the page for that specific service. For broader topics, such as insurance, consider creating a section on your site dedicated to that topic where you can answer these questions with detailed copy.
Voice and Style
Try to stay away from generic as much as possible. Make your copy feel personal by developing a company voice that they can associate with your company, and keep it consistent.
When you establish a company voice, you can be talking about gutter guards or wind damage on a roof and it doesn’t have to sound generic or overused in the language.
Truly engaging copy comes from the “you” angle rather than the “we” angle. Rather than the “We can fix leaky roofs” style, go with the “Do you have a leaky roof? We can fix that for you” style. Not only does it directly address your prospects pain point, but it also makes it about them rather than you (let’s be honest, people love when it’s about them).
Ultimately, it says that your business is more about helping them than making a dollar.
So your copy is engaging now. Is it professional? Making website copy sound professional doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to sound stiff. You can be personal and professional at the same time.
The biggest mistake you can make in your website text regarding professionalism is in the grammar and the structure. (We can feel your cringe from here.)
Don’t panic. If you’re writing the copy yourself and grammar is not your thing, find someone who is qualified and would be willing to read through it for you. Have them check for proper grammar, punctuation, phraseology, etc. Believe it or not, some people will get hung up on these kinds of mistakes! But correcting it will help ensure that your copy is both engaging and professional.
Validity
Use your copy to show your expertise. This is why we go on and on about having detailed and unique content. If your service pages are detailed and accurate, it becomes obvious to readers that you know what you’re talking about. If they are not, it may seem like you are not quite the expert you claim to be.
Every word is an opportunity to show what you know. Use them wisely! Make every one prove that you are the best roofer in the industry.
Proving validity is why specificity matters. While you don’t want to overwhelm with unnecessary details, giving clear insight into your process will put readers’ minds at ease; especially when you are at their home replacing their roof! They will know what to expect.
SEO
Writing website copy is no haphazard task. It can be an artform, and it actually takes a strategic process, when done right. You have to be intentional when considering how it will affect SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
One of the main things you should be considering is the use of keywords within your text. Google’s algorithm is set up to detect keywords on website pages, so you want to pepper your copy with the most searched keywords and longtail keyword phrases for the roofing industry.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. Using phrases like “roofing contractor” and “asphalt roof repair,” etc. can give your copy a boost.
Some SEO tips:
-Avoid keyword stuffing
You want to use keywords, yes, but we used the word “pepper” on purpose. Packing your website copy with random keywords will not only sound clunky and unnatural, but it will also earn you a penalty from the magical Google algorithm robots that detect those kinds of things. Simply put, this will hurt your SEO.
-Note “related searches”
At the bottom of a Google page when you have conducted a search, you’ll see the “related searches” section. This can actually be a useful tool for you to see what people are searching. Try making a search like “roof replacement” and see what searches are being made similar to that.
-Consider local search
Just under 50% of searching are looking for local information, meaning that you should be considering local SEO. Targeting a local audience with your digital marketing strategy is the way to go. Relating to copy, this means using keywords like “[Your City] roofers,” because this is likely what people are typing into their Google search bar.
-Internal linking
Internal linking is actually pretty easy to implement. When appropriate on your individual pages, use text links to connect back to other pages on your site. Again, this makes it easier for Google to make connections between all the pages/information on your site and its overall value to searchers.
We’ve covered the basics of writing engaging website copy that converts into roofing projects, but aside from amazing copy, what else should be on your website? Find out here.
As a roofing contractor, you stay busy. We imagine it’s hard to manage projects, nail shingles, and market yourself online all at the same time. If you could use some help analyzing your digital marketing strategy and finding out what new tactics you can implement, contact us today to schedule a free digital marketing consultation.