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If your business is one of the thousands of construction-based companies in the United States, you probably have a solid understanding of the importance of paying attention to the needs of your customers. But how much attention are you giving your blog?

Not coming up with a definite answer? If so, then you may not be paying as much attention to your customers as you think you are; especially if you’re overlooking some steps you should be taking to direct the right kind of traffic to your blog.

With a few strategic tweaks here and there, your contractor blog could become a more efficient source of engagement with potential long-term value for your business. Give your traffic a boost and catch the eye of potential customers by keeping the following tips in mind.

Write More Blog Posts

One of the simplest things you can do as a contractor to get more traffic to your blog is to write more. Google tends to pay more attention to any business that produces fresh, relevant content.

Strive to do blog updates twice a week, at a minimum. If you need some help with content, ask your employees to help out, or reach out to active bloggers within your specific contractor niche and ask if they’ll contribute guest posts.

As for what to write about, you probably have more sources of potential content topics than you realize. Searchers typically appreciate contractor content that includes:

• Simple how-to tips from experts
• More detailed answers to FAQs than what’s provided on your website
• Topics based on common comments left on your social media pages or right on your blog
• Updates to popular posts already on your blog to make that content fresh again

Promote Your Blog Content with Your Social Platforms

Regardless of your preferred social media platform, you have a golden opportunity in front of you when it comes to blog promotion potential. Give your followers a quick heads-up when you add a new post, or use blurbs from your new posts as an incentive to encourage visits to your blog.

Grab Attention with Your Titles

Even if you are a contractor with expensive industry knowledge, most people won’t even explore your wise insights in your blog posts without an attention-grabbing title. Try the following techniques if you really want to nail it with your titles:

• Briefly state the problem you will be solving (“Got Frozen Pipes? Here’s What to Do”)
• Use a compelling fact (“The Biggest Source of Heat Loss in Your Home Could Be Your Roof”)
• Clearly state what the article will offer for the reader (“Five AC Repairs You Shouldn’t Do Yourself”)

Embed YouTube Videos In Your Blog

People who need contractors often prefer to see how to do something. Short YouTube videos in your blog can also drive home points you are trying to make in your posts.

Engaging video content can serve as a perfect complement to content that uses certain terms or discusses concepts not every do-it-yourselfer or homeowner may understand. Instead of increasing your word count to provide explanations in greater detail, keep your paragraphs short and digestible and use video clips to illustrate some of your points.

Tap Into Trends

If you are well-entrenched in a certain niche like roofing or garage door repair, you may find yourself covering topics every other contractor in your niche is also writing about. Attract more traffic to your blog by exploring trends within your niche.

Realistically, some contractor specialties (like kitchen and bathroom remodeling) are trendier than others. You still should be able to find some trending topics that can be connected with your niche if you do some digging.

Promote Blog Content with Your Emails

An often-overlooked source of traffic for contractors is existing or recent customers. If you do follow-up emails after completing a job, include links to related posts that might interest recent customers.

For instance, if a homeowner just had their kitchen remodeled, you might include a link to an article from your blog on the benefits of updating a bathroom. Use your knowledge of what’s likely to be of interest to a customer you recent spent a lot of time with on a project.

As long as we’re on the topic of emails, save yourself some time by using your blog posts in place of a generic newsletter. Segment your email list based on the topics likely to interest your recipients and include the first paragraph of relevant posts along with a prompt to visit your contractor blog to read the rest.

In addition to the tips already mentioned, the following strategies may drive more traffic to your blog:

• Making your blog content as easy to read as possible with a mix of short paragraphs, descriptive headers, and bullet lists
• Including a link to your blog in your directory listings
• Using an RSS feed to make it easy for new subscribers to get on board
• Having fun with your blog! If you’re not truly engaged in the content you’re producing, your readers will quickly notice and move on to another contractor’s blog (maybe even your competitors’ blogs).

No matter what type of contractor business you happen to have, content marketing in all of its forms should be a priority. With most consumers in need of services or products already in the habit of searching for what they need online, effectively steering traffic to your blog is even more important for any business that wants to make a positive impression on searchers.