Construction advertising: where to advertise a construction company

Marketing For Construction is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.

Advertising that meets people who are searching

Search ads reach people at the moment they look for your service. With Google Ads you choose a daily budget for each campaign and pay per click, and where your ad shows depends on Ad Rank, which weighs your ad quality, the competition and the context of the search. Local Services Ads work differently: Google says you pay only for leads related to your business, and the leads come in as calls and messages through the ad. Both are covered in depth on the page about Google Ads for contractors.

Advertising that builds your name

• Job site signs. A clean yard sign at every job, with permission from the owner, tells a whole street who does good work nearby.
• Vehicles. Lettered trucks and trailers are seen every working day. Keep the design simple: name, trade, website, phone.
• Social media ads. Paid posts showing finished projects can reach homeowners in the areas you choose before they start searching.
• Print and direct mail. Postcards to neighborhoods where you are working can still make sense for some trades.
• Sponsorships and community events. Youth teams, home shows and local causes put your name in front of people who live where you work.

These channels rarely produce a lead you can trace on their own. Their job is recognition, so when someone does search, your name is the one they already know. Point all of them at the same website and phone number, and keep the look consistent. Our page on construction company branding covers the look.

Social posts, influencers and disclosure

If you pay someone to post about your company, give them free work, or have staff or family promote you, the FTC’s endorsement guides apply. Unexpected material connections such as payment, free products, employment or family ties must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and the FTC says a disclosure only in comments, behind a link or on a home page is not enough. Employees who review their employer must say so. Under 16 CFR 255.1, advertisers may be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser is not, and advertising agencies may be liable for their part in deceptive endorsements too.

Measuring construction advertising

The hardest part of advertising is knowing what worked. A few habits help.

1. Ask every new customer how they found you, and write it down.
2. Use separate landing pages or tracked numbers for different campaigns where it is practical.
3. Review ad spend against jobs won, not just clicks or impressions.
4. Cut what has not produced work after a fair test, and put the money where it has.

Keeping advertising honest

Ads that claim more than you can prove cause trouble with customers and, sometimes, with regulators. Avoid testimonials that are not real or typical, and note that the FTC’s guides ask advertisers to disclose the generally expected performance when an endorser’s results are not what people will generally achieve. Never advertise reviews you paid for. And remember that any ad sends people to your website, so the site has to back up what the ad says.

Advertising works best on top of channels you own: a clear website, a strong Google Business Profile and honest reviews. For how those fit together, read lead generation for contractors and local SEO for contractors.

Questions owners ask