How to Get Roofing Leads: Proven Tactics that Actually Work
Your roofing company depends on leads to generate jobs and income. If you don’t have a solid system in place for how to get roofing leads, you could find yourself scrambling for jobs when work starts to dry up. Leads are an essential part of every roofing business, and you need to be sure your business is leveraging both traditional and digital methods for capturing them. Let’s examine some of the tactics that actually work for roofing lead generation.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is one of the most important sources of leads for your business – and it’s free! 98% of consumers start their search online when in need of home improvement services like roofing. If you don’t have an active profile, you are missing out on a lot of opportunities.
Here is how to start or claim your profile:
Open Google maps and search your business name. If your company appears, you can select ‘Claim this business’ or ‘Own this business.’
If your business doesn’t show up, you can go to Business Profile Manager at business.google.com and add your business. You will be required to verify your business through a text code, phone call or postcard mailing to your business.
Your Google Business Profile is also where your customers can leave reviews about their experience with your company. At the completion of every job, you should be emailing your customer with a link to invite them to leave a review, or better yet, when they receive their warranty packet include a card with a QR code that takes them right to leave their feedback. Reviews are one of the key drivers for generating roofing leads. Once you have your profile set up, be sure to post regular updates such as photos of finished installations and happy customers!
Referrals from Past Customers
Past customers’ referrals are a powerful source of roofing leads for your business. When you turn customers into raving fans, they become promoters and will gladly recommend your business to friends and neighbors. This is why the customer experience that you provide during any roofing project is so important. Providing exceptional service and a white-glove experience makes homeowners excited to share with their friends and family.
Remember that to get these referrals, you need to make sure once a job is complete that you maintain touch points with past customers. Consider emailing them with a refer-a-friend special offering a gift card or gas card once a referral signs a contract.
Complimentary Service Work
When wondering how to get leads for roofing, a great source is reaching out to your local real estate agents, insurance adjusters, and property managers. Let them know that you are available to provide free roof inspections and estimates for repairs within a 24-hour timeframe.
A quick turnaround that can help move a home sale through or confirm whether there was storm damage can lead to repair work or roof replacements coming your way.
Your Business Website
This is probably the second most important roofing lead generation tactic for your business, right behind your Google Business Profile. If you don’t have a website in today’s digital age you don’t exist.
Think of your website as a 24/7 salesperson for your company. It needs to be easy for consumers to navigate, clearly establish your business as credible and trustworthy, and provide valuable information about the different kinds of services you offer.
SEO, or search engine optimization, used to be the buzzword for being found online but that is quickly shifting to AEO, or answer engine optimization, as a growing percentage of homeowners rely on AI platforms to search for services. Make your site AEO friendly by keeping the content fresh with a blog that answers commonly asked questions. The questions and answers on your site will help you rank higher in AI search results. Adding an instant estimator/calculator to your website also puts you in favor with AI search agents.
Paid Advertising
Google Ads - This is a good option for driving leads as people will often ‘Google it’ when they need a service like roofing. Google Ads offer both pay-per-click (keyword bidding) and display advertising options. It can be a little complicated if you are unfamiliar with how it works, especially as Google rapidly expands its AI-driven placements and automated bidding strategies like smart bidding and Performance Max. Fortunately, there are many companies who provide paid Google ad management services. It’s highly recommended to hire a professional to manage these campaigns, as keeping pace with Google’s evolving AI ecosystem requires continuous monitoring and optimization to maximize your return on investment.
Social Media Ads – These are much less complicated than Google Ads and just a small spend can give you a long reach. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have made it easy to define who you want to reach with your ads, set a budget and turn on the campaign. Keep in mind that if you are targeting homeowners, you’ll want to use Facebook and/or Instagram and if you are looking to reach commercial building owners or facility managers, LinkedIn is going to be a better fit.
Organic Social Media
Organic social media is ideal because it doesn’t cost you anything. Establishing an account for your business on any social media platform is free. The key to gaining organic reach is all about what you post on your account. Are you active in volunteering or giving back in your community? Post about it. Share photos and videos of your team in action helping others.
Does your company sponsor youth sports leagues? Post photos of banners or signs that are at the sports fields and talk about what it means to you to be involved in the community. Feature members of your company in spotlight videos where they share some of their favorite foods, parks or local entertainment venues.
Be sure to take before and after photos of the work that you perform and always explain what product and colors the finished home or building is sporting. This allows potential customers to get to know you as people and to see the quality work that you perform.
Direct Mail & Door Hangers
Sometimes old school methods turn out to be one of the tried and true that work. If you are doing work in a neighborhood, be sure to have a team member put some door hangers on the neighboring homes. When people see a neighbor getting a new roof, they start to think about their own roof and might just give you a call.
Even traditional marketing methods, like direct mail, have stepped up their game. EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) has long been the standard where you buy a list of addresses and send mailers to everyone on the list. The evolution of property and consumer data, combined with technology, can help you better target who is receiving your mailer and some companies can even provide roof condition reports that allow you to deliver valuable, personalized information to that homeowner.
Yard Signs and Truck Signs
Yard signs and truck signs are powerful before, during, and after the installation of a new roof. Putting your sign in the yard a couple days prior to the start of the job alerts neighbors that work will begin soon and once it does begin, the trucks on site with your business name, website and logo will make it easy for neighbors to find you should they recognize that they may be in need of roofing services too.
Let the homeowner know you will retrieve the sign once a final inspection is completed as that might give you a couple more days of prime exposure. Don’t forget to include your GAF certification level logo on your yard signs and trucks to establish credibility for your business.
Ramp Up Your Roofing Lead Generation Today
Get started by taking one step at a time, beginning with the free tools that can help you. Claim or set up your Google Business Profile and establish your social media presence. Most likely you have team members who are tech savvy and can assist with these steps.
Once the free services are in place, move on to your website next. Ask your web hosting company if they provide optimization services or can recommend someone to make sure you are being found.
Once you’ve started the ball rolling, bring your team together to talk through some of the other strategies and don’t forget to leverage the roofing lead generation resources that GAF provides for you as a certified contractor.
