Are you struggling with marketing your tree care service online? Do you need new lead generation strategies to ensure you’re getting calls consistently? Do you have no idea where to start? Then read this article with seven excellent tree care marketing tips, ideas and lead generation strategies.

#1: Design a professional tree service website

For a tree care service, your website needs to accomplish two things.

First, it needs to create a professional impression. The design needs to make you look legit, experienced and reliable.

Second, it needs to motivate action. You want visitors to convert into leads by calling you or filling out a lead form. A conversion-based design has the vital components you need.

Your website must be mobile responsive so people can convert when they’re browsing on their phones.

If your site is outdated, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage for no reason. Professional designs like this are not expensive, nor do they require a great deal of time to design. With Marketing 360® Websites, it’s easy to do it yourself, even if you don’t have any prior web design experience.

#2: Dominate local search results

Most people looking for tree care services start out by getting on their phone and asking Google.

The two mainstays of Google and Bing for paid and organic search are still vital for your tree care service lead generation.

Today, it’s important to have well-defined campaigns for both your pay-per-click (PPC) and organic (SEO) campaigns.

PPC advertising tends to work better as a direct response with short, to-the-point copy. Because you’re bidding on a position, these ads will rank at the very top of search results. And because you’re paying for each click, you want to try to target people who are more likely to convert right away.

For SEO, consider content meant to connect with the online researcher trying to understand tree health issues. Use blog articles to rank for longer, inquisitive keyword phrases. Showcase your expertise, and use this content to develop a sense of trust. The more content you create, the better your website (including your Google local listing) will rank.

Set up and optimize your Google My Business page. This is a free listing that connects to Google Maps. It’s the primary way that Google knows where your service area is so you come up for local searches. Optimize your descriptions with keywords, and get customer reviews to increase your ranking.

If you want to gain organic traffic in a wider range of geographic areas, you can create SEO landing pages optimized for those searches (for example a Denver tree care service wanting to rank for “tree care Boulder” or “arborists Colorado Springs”).

When you dominate results, you can appear in three places on page one:

 

Pro tip: Use retargeting

One type of paid advertising you’ll want to execute is retargeting. These are banner ads that “follow” people after they’ve visited your website. For example:

 

Most people who visit your website for the first time won’t convert, which is why retargeting is so important. The ad stays with the lead, reminding them to do the right thing and call you to save their trees.

#3: Your reputation is your best advertising

In today’s digital world, it’s more true than ever that your reputation is your best advertising. Word of mouth referrals now also exist as online reviews and testimonials.

Google, Facebook, Top Rated Local, Yelp, HomeAdvisor — all these sites are places leads check to see what it’s like to work with you. Like it or not, they’re more likely to trust the reviews of strangers than what you say about yourself.

Reputation management is a process where you make sure your outstanding work and customer service translates into high online ratings.

It starts with making sure your service is stellar. Today, customer service and job results are a major part of your marketing.

But it helps to ask your best customers to review you. One of the most effective strategies we’ve come up with is an email follow-up, like this:

 

If they like you, it links to a review platform where they can write a review. If not, it opens up a feedback form so they can tell you what the problem was.

Monitor your online reputation and try to spread reviews around on all the platforms. You don’t have to be perfect (in fact it’s better not to be). Just have an authentic review profile that shows you offer great value.

Pro tip: Use online testimonials

You can get a jump on the review search by offering testimonials on your website. Put them on your homepage and have a dedicated testimonials page. Use real, authentic quotes from clients and include a face shot and name when possible.

#4: Use videos and visuals

Today’s digital consumers increasingly respond to visual content. You can get a lot of mileage out of a company video, like this:

You can optimize your company video or informational videos on YouTube, where it’s easy to rank for tree-care-related services.

#5: Create a Facebook Business Page

So many tree care service leads are on Facebook today. It’s worth it to claim your presence there.

It’s free to set up your Facebook business page. This gives you a reference point on the platform and a great place to post updates about your business.

Put your video, best images and a call to action to request a quote on the page. Be sure to set up Facebook Messenger. Be responsive to requests on Messenger, which is an increasingly popular way for leads to contact businesses.

Don’t expect your organic posts to get a lot of traffic on Facebook. But you can use Facebook lead ads to target audiences based on precise demographics and interests.

Mainly, you just want to be there in case somebody looks you up. They may be checking reviews or just want to get a feel for your business. If they like what they see, you’ll get a hot lead.

#6: Market specific services and expertise

When you create online content, market your skills as an arborist with a focus on how you help with various tree health concerns, what you know about certain climates and native species to the area — anything that makes you stand out. You can optimize this content on your website blog to draw in organic traffic.

Also, highlight your value offerings with tree and stump removal. Test out your website content against your local competition. Make sure your offer, services and prices that are competitive.

Honestly ask yourself — would you choose you? If you wouldn’t, you can be sure leads won’t.

#7: Use marketing software

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of digital marketing, you’re not alone. This type of multi-channel marketing is complex enough that most businesses don’t know where to start or where to find the time.

Marketing 360® is a marketing platform that was designed to help businesses, like local tree care businesses, get all of the tools they need to build and grow their online presence from one place.

Do it yourself or work with a dedicated marketing team who can help you maximize your investment. We can make sense of the technology and consumer behavior to make sure your business is a step ahead with your marketing strategy.

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Originally published on 4/16/18