SEO & PPC: Basics for Boosting Online Visibility

This episode is part of a 2-part series of “Build, Grow, Dominate: Marketing Strategies for Every Stage of Your Home Improvement Business,” created and hosted by the digital marketing experts at FatCat Strategies — a full-service agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina, that specializes in helping home improvement contractors grow, scale, and dominate their local markets.

In this first installment of the series, hosts Janet (Founder & Managing Partner) and Caitlin Noble (Co-owner & Head of Client Services) break down the essential marketing question that every contractor faces at some point: “Should I invest in SEO or PPC?”

Spoiler alert: It’s not an either-or — it's both. But understanding the how, when, and why behind each strategy is the key to unlocking real business growth.

Want to find out how we can create a custom digital marketing game plan for your contractor business? Schedule a call with us at fatcatstrategies.com.

Transcript

00:00:02 Janet:

Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors.  This podcast is brought to you by Fat Cat Strategies, a full-service digital marketing agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina.  We specialize in helping home improvement contractors just like you grow their businesses.

00:00:16 Caitlyn:

Today, you're listening to a series called Build, Grow, Dominate: Marketing strategies for every stage of your home improvement business.  Every Wednesday, we take a deep dive into the lessons that we've learned from supporting some amazing business owners in the home improvement industry.

00:00:33 Janet:

In Part One, we'll cover the essentials from startup to your first five million.  In Part Two, we're shifting gears to focus on what it takes to scale your business to a successful exit and/ or how to dominate your market.  Now let's get into it.

00:00:49 Caitlyn:

My name is Janet.  I am the founder and managing partner here at Fat Cat Strategies.  Today, I'm joined by my colleague and co-owner, Caitlin Noble.

00:00:58 Janet:

Hey, Janet.  I am Caitlin, as Janet mentioned, the head of client services here at Fat Cat.  Really excited to be diving into an awesome topic today.  Janet, what are we diving into?

00:01:09 Caitlyn:

Oh, what are we talking about?  We are talking, I know, I'm just kidding.  We are talking about SEO versus PPC.  And before we go any further, I am going to define what those letters mean, because I think in our industry, digital marketers tend to use a lot of abbreviations and acronyms, and we don't define them.  So SEO is Search Engine Optimization and PPC is Pay Per Click, which is a little bit of a misnomer because it used to be Pay Per Click.  Now it's really like a catch-all phrase that we use for online, that's on the internet, paid advertising campaigns.  So today we're talking about the difference between what people call organic search results versus paid search results.  And what we want to do is dive into talking about which of these strategies is right for your home improvement business.  And I'm going to lean hard on asking Caitlin, which one is right, because that's what she does all day, every day.  And she leads an amazing team of account managers.  And all they do is work with people just like you, home improvement contractors.  So, Caitlin, tell me.  Which digital strategy is right for our listeners'

00:02:28 Janet:

home improvement business that's such a loaded question and this is why we're diving into it-no matter where you're at in terms of your ability to grow your business, it is important for you to understand both of these terms, to be honest with you.  You need both.  If you're going to grow your business effectively, you need SEO and you need PPC.  But let's dive in first and foremost to what SEO is.  So, like Janet mentioned, SEO is search engine optimization.  I mean, it's funny.  I always say it's the 'free'  way to get visibility on the internet-not as free as once you realize the work and the time that goes into it.  So let's talk a little bit about like, okay, so search engine optimization, like you're showing up-it's quote unquote 'free'.  What are you having to do?

00:03:21 Caitlyn:

Yeah.  I mean, back in the day when, when search engine optimization first came on the scene, and that really was with the rise of search engines and then the dominance of Google.  You know, I used to tell people years ago, SEO is free only if your time is free.  So if you think your time is free, then it's as free as free can get.  Yes.  But if your time is not free, then it ain't free.

00:03:45 Janet:

No, it's not.  So again, there's a lot of pros, a lot of cons.  Like we said, it is time-consuming.  Algorithm changes are going to happen frequently.  I mean, I think we talked earlier in a podcast about There were 13 algorithm changes a day on Google.  In 2024.  And backing it up, Janet always likes to remind me.  So, the search engine, Google, is really where most users are going to look for your business if it's not through word of mouth or they have your business card, to be honest.  Right.

00:04:21 Caitlyn:

So let's put ourselves in the mindset of a homeowner.  I'm a homeowner and I have some old siding, either warped vinyl, or I've got some wood siding that has some rot in it.  Maybe I got some ants behind it.  I've got some crazy nonsense going on with my siding.  And now I'm thinking, okay, not only do I want to just fix this ugliness, I want to replace all the siding on my house.  And I really don't want to mess with vinyl anymore.  And I don't want to mess with wood.  Because of the whole rotten wood ant situation that I just mentioned.  So as a homeowner, I'm sitting on my deck.  It's a beautiful spring day.  And I'm thinking, my house would look fantastic with all new James Hardy siding.  So what am I going to do?  I'm going to use my phone, most likely, because in this fictional scenario, I'm sitting on my deck.  Yep.  And I'm going to open up my phone and I'm going to search.  Well, what am I going to use to search?  I'm going, most likely.  But not 100%, most likely, I'm going to use Google.  Now, I could use Siri if I'm on an Apple, which actually searches, uses the Bing algorithm.  We'll talk more about that later.  We'll get into that.  But this is what we're talking about.  We're talking about you are a siting contractor.  You serve my city.  I'm on my deck, and I'm looking for a contractor.  Who's the Cupid that's going to introduce us?  That's perfect.

00:05:57 Janet:

And what is that homeowner typing in to Google now that they've identified that they want new siding?  So bonus, level up.  You're a homeowner that already knew you wanted James Hardy siding.  But let's say you didn't know you wanted James Hardy siding.  Yeah, let's back it out a bit.  I mean, so you're sitting there.  You're like, I want high-quality, fire-resistant, long-lasting.  Those are words somebody might be typing in.  Long-lasting sitting.  Fire-resistant sitting.  If they knew, if they had already decided that they wanted sitting.  That's what they wanted.  What pops up?  That is search engine.  Well, that's your search engine results page.  It's called SERP.  Yes, search engine results page.  And there are a lot of things on that search engine results page.  More and more and more are added to it every single day.  For the purposes of this, we're telling you about those organic listings.  They're not ads.  It's not in the map.  Well, it could be in the map.  But do you have the content on your website, the written words on your website that will help your website appear on that search engine?

00:07:08 Caitlyn:

I'm going to edit what Caitlin just said.  She said, do you have the words on your website to appear on that search engine results page?  And I'm going to replace her verb appear with fight.  Do you have the words and the content and the structure and the strategy on your website to fight, scrap, and claw your way on to that search engine results page?  Because it is a bare knuckle brawl to get there.

00:07:40 Janet:

Absolutely.  So we're telling you about what SEO is.  We're kind of diving in deep.  Pros.  You've got to have it.  I mean, it's a pro and a con, I guess.  You have to have that content to fight to be on that search engine result page, thinking through what homeowners might be typing in to find your company.  Con, like we said, it's time consuming.  You cannot set it and forget it.  No, you can't because it's a fight.

00:08:10 Caitlyn:

That's why you can't set it and forget it.  Every other home improvement contractor in your city, is trying to elbow you out of the way to push you off of that page.  And not only are other contractors trying to push you out of the way or in front of a bus, so is, in some instances, the manufacturers.  They are running SEO campaigns to make sure that they show up on the first page of that search result.  So is HomeAdvisor.  Yep.  So is Angie's List.  So is Quinn Street.  So every lead aggregator that you pay, to get a lead, you are also competing with that lead aggregator to elbow your way into that search engine result page for that phrase that a homeowner sitting on their deck typed into their phone.  Exactly.

00:09:02 Janet:

So is it important?  It is the most important to back all the way up.  If you haven't started writing blogs for your website, and you don't have content on your website, start writing that right now because it's going to build credibility and trust-whether it's through your voice or somebody else's voice.  Just put the content on your website because you cannot technically run pay-per-click ads without having that content on your website.  Why can't I just throw money at it?  Caitlin, oh my lord, well, because so go back to that phrase those searches that that homeowner is thinking about.  The way Google works and if it changes, it is what it is.  But you cannot advertise for a keyword and i know we're diving right in, so you're trying to understand what pay-per-click is.  You've chosen keywords that you are going to pay per click for an ad to show up.  So, if the keyword does not connect to the ad copy, that then it doesn't point a user to a page on your website with content about that keyword in that ad, it'll never work.  So let's do a weird example.  Car wash.

00:10:32 Caitlyn:

We're in North Carolina right now.  It's the spring.  Every single surface is covered in pollen.  Yeah, everything.  It's disgusting.  It's a yellow mess out there.  So we'll take something really simple.  Caitlin, I'm going to translate this and try to, I'm going to repeat what you said in a different way and then you tell me if I'm right.  If you're telling me that I want to generate customers for my car wash, if I start running ads for the phrase 'car detailing'  or 'car wash near me', yes.  If I'm running those ads through a Google paid ad campaign, if I don't have a page on my website that has the words 'car wash', content about car washing, car detailing, if I don't have that page which has content, and what is content?  Content is just words.  It's English words on a page on your website that talks about a car wash.  You're telling me I can't run an ad.  Why not?

00:11:32 Janet:

I mean, you can run an ad.  Nothing's going to happen with it.  Why not?  Because Google will not recognize nor pick up that you have a valid service that you're trying to advertise.  So like of all the sometimes dirty things that Google can do, a good thing that Google does is they won't spend your money if you're trying to advertise something that you physically don't offer.

00:11:56 Caitlyn:

Okay, so let me.  Let's stick with the car wash for a second.  Let me think about this.  Let's say, I don't know, I'm kind of making this up on the fly.  Let's say that you were an auto parts store where you sold windshield wiper washing fluid, oil, oil pans, wrenches.  I don't shop at these stores, clearly, but like stuff that you use to fix your car.  If I own that store and then I just decide one day, oh my good Lord, I've got this amazing parking lot and I could hire a bunch of high school kids and wash cars in the parking lot, I should run some ads.  And I already have a website and my website talks about oil filters and it talks about tires and it talks about things related to cars.  But I don't have a single page or phrase or words or pictures talking about car washes.  You're telling me if I try to spend my money on Google, it won't spend.  No can do.  No.  So you could set up the ad campaign.  You could run the ads.

00:13:07 Janet:

And Google just won't take your money.  No.  A better platform would be like Facebook ads, but we'll talk about that later.  If that's for a service that you may not have built out yet on your website.

00:13:19 Caitlyn:

You know, we've actually encountered this before.

00:13:22 Janet:

Oh my gosh, yeah.

00:13:23 Caitlyn:

Talk a little bit about how a scenario where one of our customers who is offering some sort of home improvement service wants to start running ads and the ads don't work.

00:13:33 Janet:

Perfect, yeah.  So, I mean, like long-standing client, they do siding, roofing, windows, and they decided to add on solar.  So let's start advertising solar.  I mean, okay, that's awesome.  We have to make sure there's content on the website before we can run ads.  Like that's a perfect example right there.

00:13:52 Caitlyn:

I mean, so, so in that instance, this contractor doesn't have solar in the navigation on their website.  They don't have a page about solar.  They don't have a form about solar.  They don't have a picture.

00:14:05 Janet:

No, they don't have a description.  No, nothing.  Bupkis.  Bupkis.  So, I mean, so, okay.  So then we create a page.  This is that SEO.  Create that content on your website about solar.  And it's one page.  It's long.  I'm like talking 600, 700 words.  You've got some pictures, et cetera.  Google will be okay with that.  For the ad campaign.  For the ad campaign.  But in the long run, you're going to need to keep building that and writing and adding more and more and more.  On the SEO side.  And that's really where, yeah, on the SEO side.  But then for the longevity of the PPC campaign, Google will start to notice the quality of the content as well.  So not just like, do you have the content, but how is the content?  Is it real?  Is it written thoughtfully?  Yeah.  Does it make sense?  Is there a lot of it?  Are you that expert?

00:15:00 Caitlyn:

So what would low-quality content look like?  You know, let's say I'm a contractor and I'm not really ready to work with an agency yet.  Sure.  But I've got a friend or a family member or maybe my office manager has a little bit of experience and, you know, we're following the advice from this podcast and you want to start advertising, I don't know, Trex decking. Sure.  You've never done decking before and now you're getting into composite decking.  You followed our advice.  You made a deck page.  Yep, thank you.  Now you've got a paid deck campaign.  Yep.  You're now telling me that I checked those boxes, but I'm not done because it has to be quality.

00:15:44 Janet:

What does quality mean?  I mean, that's where I go back to you just can't set it and forget it.  So you have that deck page, and it's a good volume of words, et cetera.  You're driving ad traffic there.  But quality would mean, I think, more than one page.  It's unique content.  It's different.  And it might not.  Unique versus what?  Unique versus taking the same content written on one page and kind of copying and pasting it and rewriting it on another page.  I mean, we've seen that trick before.  Oh, God, yeah.  I mean, like, I'm talking, you're talking, like, here is what a deck replacement is.  Here are types of materials that your deck can be replaced with.  Here's the process of replacing your deck.  I'm kind of outlining right there, that's three different types of quality content that will help your ads perform and in the long run, your SEO perform too.

00:16:46 Caitlyn:

So it's really, you know, there's a lot of technical components to what we're talking about, search engine optimization and pay-per-click.  But a really easy thing to remember, and I'm so confident that our listeners will get this, an easy thing to remember is just try to help your customer.  You know, think about all of the things that, you know, if you're the owner or the operator or the lead sales manager and you go on these appointments.  Like you get a lead and you go on an appointment and a homeowner just starts peppering you with questions.  All the questions: How long does it take to get materials?  How do I pick a color?  Will I have to paint it in two years?  How do I clean it?  How do I clean it?  Do you offer a warranty?  Are your installers, you know, are they subcontractors?  Are you going to be on the job?  Who is the project manager?  When will you start?  What if I have a dog?  All of these questions.  All of the things that an actual homeowner.  Note them.  would want to know and ask you questions about.  Those are all great content.  Oh, my gosh, the best.  Triggering, like writing prompts.  The best.  And then, so if we're talking about quality, Caitlin, I think what you're saying is just write content as if you were talking to a qualified prospect, a homeowner with a budget and a need and a problem, and think about all the questions that they've asked you and just.  Put yourself as if you're sitting at their kitchen table and you're answering their questions.  It's not a gimmick.  It's not a game.  It's not a trick.  That, in its purest form, is really all Google was born to do.  Is to answer people's problems and questions.

00:18:39 Janet:

Yep.  And once you, thank you, yeah, for diving more into that.  Don't worry about grammar.  Don't worry about spelling.  There are plenty of free tools.  If your site's built on WordPress, I mean, there are plenty of free tools that will help clean up the content that you are writing.  So that being said, I mean, we really wanted to define, you know, what is a better strategy?  Is it SEO?  Is it organic?  Are you saying that the title of this podcast was a trick?  Which one is better?  Is it better?  Is it SEO or PPC?  And your answer is?  Is both.  Both, yeah.  I mean, but if I was to lean heavier on one, SEO.  But you're going to get faster.  This is kind of a weird, you're probably like, what is she talking about?  Because you have to write the content.  But once the content's written, you are going to produce faster leads and faster results through those pay-per-click ads.  So, put the work up front, and then your faster return will be once you start running PPC ads to those pages about the services that you offer.

00:19:50 Caitlyn:

I just thought of sort of a, this could be a silly metaphor, but, and I know people are listening to us on a podcast, but if you knew me in person, you would know for a fact.  I don't run.  I'm not going to run unless something's chasing me.  And then I might decide just to let it catch me.  Or like missing a flight.  Yeah.  I have run to an airport.  Yeah.  I have to be thoroughly motivated to run.  But if we think about SEO and PPC, let's just imagine that some of our listeners are runner types.  Yeah.  You may train for a marathon.  And you may also do some 5Ks and you may do like some sprint training exercises.  They're not mutually exclusive.  SEO is your marathon-it's the long, slow, steady pace.  It's a foundational element of your online marketing.  It's kind of in the background.  It's just this steady pace.

00:20:55 Janet:

Your PPC is the sprint; it's a sprint, it's a sprint that's complimentary, it can be faster, it can be more nimble, it can be more daunting like because of the cost, it can be like more daunting on the body, you know, yeah, oh, yeah, you know what I mean?  Like, it can be harder; it is harder; it's really competitive, but you do get feedback quickly.  You do, and I think another difference is um, you know, with SEO, you can do that pretty much on your own.  You know, if you do have the time to capture those questions and sit down and write.  PPC is very hard to do on your own.  I mean, and I'm not just saying that because we're sitting here as a digital marketing agency and we do SEO and PPC services, but PPC, it does help to have an expert in there knowing what to click.

00:21:41 Caitlyn:

I think that's really good advice for our listeners, especially if you're a level one contractor.  If you're trying to decide what should you do on your own and what should you outsource, give SEO on your own a shot.  Absolutely.  Try to do it yourself.  Yeah.  Don't try to do PPC yourself.  I wouldn't.  You're going to spend money.  You're just going to burn money in a big old barrel in the parking lot.  I mean, you may as well just burn money in the parking lot.  It'd be more fun.

00:22:11 Janet:

Google sets up so it looks like it's pretty easy.  They have these like Express.  I just, I would, if you can, outsource for PPC if you needed to choose between the two.  So again, I mean.  Today, I hope we gave you some high-level information.  I know the blog post that's going to complement this podcast is going to go into more detail about, you know, conversations to have, you know, with your agency or, I mean, some more specific details.  But I did, I did want to tease a special offer because you have listened.  And I know we just said to do SEO for yourself on your own.  But if you don't have time for that, but if you don't have time, and also if you just want more, if you want more pages, if you want some more thoughtful pages, Janet, tell us what we're going to give our listeners.

00:23:03 Caitlyn:

We are waiving the setup fee for our local SEO Dominator package.  This is typically a $1,500 value.  And you can get it for free.  Yes.  So, what does the package include?  It includes five service area pages for your top five locations, an optimization of your Google Business Profile, and next-door ad management setup, plus a few other really cool things. Of course.  If you want to find out more about this special offer, go to our website, fatcatstrategies .  com forward slash local hyphen SEO.  So that's local.  hyphen SEO.  If you go to that today, you can claim your offer, mention this episode, and you can get our service package that typically we would charge $1 ,500 for and it's yours for free.

00:23:50 Janet:

So, and then guess what?  Then you can run PPC ads, like do that local SEO dominator package for free and then start PPC.  I mean, it's almost a no brainer.  So Love it.  Love it.  Love it.  Love it. So, okay.  So next week we are going to dive into one of the biggest challenges for growing contractors, how to generate high quality leads without breaking the bank.  We're going to share some low-cost online advertising strategies that actually work.  So you can start filling your pipeline.  Even if your marketing budget is tight, you don't want to miss it.

00:24:28 Caitlyn:

Thank you for joining us on another episode.  As always, we hope you got some value from it.  If you can give us half an hour, we will give you actionable tips, tricks, and insights to help you grow your home improvement company through online marketing.  Thanks again.  Thank you.  And I hope you join us for another episode.  Digital marketing for contractors is created by Fat Cat Strategies.  For more information, visit fatcatstrategies.com.