You may think the days of using directories like the Yellow Pages are long gone, but they’ve just moved online. Directories can play a significant role in generating leads for businesses—and that’s particularly true for roofers.
Roofers need to draw in local clientele with a strong roofing marketing strategy. One of the best ways to do that is with local search engine optimization (SEO), which uses roofer directories as one of its key tactics.
So, if you’re looking to improve your lead generation in the local community, follow along as we go through everything you need to know about using roofer directories for local SEO.
How does local SEO for roofing businesses work?
Local search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing a business’ visibility for local searches on Google and Google Maps. Considering Google handles over 90% of all the internet search traffic on the planet, these spots are pretty valuable.
If you’re a roofer looking to acquire more leads, local SEO should be the bread and butter of your marketing campaign. And that all starts with a Google My Business (GMB) profile.
GMB profiles allow your business to be featured in Google’s local results like you can see here for the query’ top roofing companies phoenix.’
The local results box comes after paid ads, but before organic search, meaning prime real estate for your website and business information. Additionally, GMB profiles allow your business to appear in Google Maps.
After you’ve created your GMB profile, you can begin to optimize it and make your way to the top of local search results using roofer directories and local SEO.
To do that, you need to perfect the three factors that Google says determine local search results: relevance, distance, and prominence.
Distance
Distance is how far away your roofing business is from a search query using either location tracking or location search terms. This factor is difficult to improve. All you can do is ensure your business information is correct across all citations on the internet.
Relevance
This is how well the business information Google has from you matches a given search query. The only way to improve relevance is by adding all your specific services to your website so Google can properly match relevant keywords.
Prominence
Prominence is how well-known your company is. The smaller your business, the more difficult it will be to gain prominence, but local SEO can help. According to Google, prominence is determined by your website’s backlink profile, results page rankings, and website quality. All of those can improve with SEO.
Local SEO is the perfect marketing option for roofers who rely on local business. It all starts with increasing the number of citations your business has; thereby, improving your backlink profile and prominence.
What are citations?
Citations are online references to a business that usually contain a business name, address, and phone number (NAP) and sometimes a map, link, and reviews.
There are two basic types of citations: structured and unstructured. An unstructured citation is usually found at the end of an article you’ve written on someone else’s website. It can also be any generic reference to a business that includes some combination of NAP, a link, a map, etc.
Structured citations, on the other hand, are citations featured in either general or industry-specific directories. A general directory is something like the Better Business Bureau, where any type of business can get listed.
Then, there are industry-specific roofer directories for customers to look up businesses. These are some of the best spots for roofers to find citations.
Top roofer directories for roofing companies
Below is a list of the top ten industry-specific directories you should consider securing a citation from if you want to improve your business’ local SEO.
Roofing-directory.com
The Roofing-Directory (R-D) is a great spot to land free promotion for your business. Citations are free at R-D, and they contain NAP, a link, reviews, and directions. If you want to add your company to the roofing directory, it only takes a minute, and you can pay for a featured spot if you wish.
HomeAdvisor.com
HomeAdvisor is a site known for its reviews and ratings of home repair services. There are millions of reviews on the site, and it allows customers to book roofers through the site. It will cost you to be listed, but the authoritative backlink and lead generation from Homeadvisor’s built-in clientele makes securing a citation worth it.
Usroofingcompanies.com
US Roofing Companies has one of the largest roofing directories around. For only $25, your business can be featured on the site for life with a prominent citation that includes NAP and a backlink.
Roofer911.com
Roofer911 is another place where you can secure a citation for free. The directory can be navigated by geographical location, and it receives over 700,000 hits every month. This high level of traffic makes this an ideal spot to submit your business information for a citation.
Usaroofingdirectory.com
The USA Roofing Directory makes it easy for potential customers to find your business with tons of search options. The website may not get the traffic that some of the others on this list do, but the citation is free, so it makes sense to take the time to secure it.
Roofcalc.org
Roofcalc.org was started as a website to help people calculate the costs of repairing their roofs. However, the site also has a thriving roofer directory that gets significant traffic from people using the calculator. The listing is free, but it takes three months to finish the signup process, so get started on this one right away.
Slateroofers.org
Slateroofers.org is the only example on this list of roofing directories specifically for slate roofers. From shingle to slate, every type of roof specialization has a directory. So if you have any specialized types of services, it’s a good idea to get listed on these ultra-specific directories.
Colorado Roofing Association
There are also location-specific directories like this one from the Colorado Roofing Association. Joining these organizations will cost you a small fee, but the community and citation are well worth the costs.
National Roofing Contractors Association
If you want to be featured in association directories, but your state doesn’t have one (not all do), then you can submit to the National Roofing Contractors Association. With over four thousand companies in the association and significant traffic hitting the site, securing a citation here is a great option. It will cost you to become a member, however.
Rooferscoffeeshop.com
Roofers Coffee Shop is one of the highest traffic sites on this list. They produce quality industry news content, run a classifieds section for selling roofing gear and materials, and also have a business directory. With over 6,000 listings this is one of the largest roofer directories around.
Need help with local SEO? Give the experts a call
Local SEO isn’t always easy. It takes time and a lot of consistent effort to see any results. That’s why most roofers chose to outsource their marketing efforts to experts.
If you want to get started with local SEO using industry directories, but you just don’t have the time or knowledge to get the job done, feel free to give us a call. We’d be more than happy to help.
Or if you want to get started with SEO for roofers, check out our Roofer SEO page for more information. Or read up on 5 Roofing Blog Topics To Attract More Customers.
Markitors is an SEO digital marketing company. We work with small businesses to rank their websites higher on Google, resulting in more traffic and leads. Explore what’s in our SEO toolbox: audits and keyword research, digital PR, technical SEO, and local SEO.
