SEO recap for 2023: The year the robots started taking over

(Queue all the references Skylab, killer robots and Terminator. In our humble opinion, 2023 may be the year that the sh*t started to hit the proverbial fan.) So, what changed in last 12 months? And how do those changes impact your need to generate home improvement leads? Let’s take a look! What did Google change […]

Level Up Your Contracting Business

A couple of business owners leveling up their contracting business

Below is the transcription for the Digital Marketing for Contractors Podcast: Level Up Your Contracting Business. Click this link to listen to the podcast. We enjoy this topic around here at Fat Cat because really what it’s about is helping you contractors to be able to figure out where you’re at in your business. Where do you […]

What Level Is Your Contractor Business? 

Owner learning how to level up his contractor business

Below is the transcription for the Digital Marketing for Contractors Podcast: What Level Is Your Contractor Business. Click this link to listen to the podcast. Today we’re going to be talking about the levels of a contractor business. It’s the heart of what it means to be an entrepreneur and what it means to be […]

Google Business Profile – What Is It and Why Do I Need It?

Google Business Profile - What Is It and Why Do I Need It?

Below is the transcription for the Digital Marketing for Contractors Podcast: Google Business Profile. Click this link to listen to the podcast. Today we are excited to jump in and talk about something that is a hot topic for a lot of home improvement contractors. We want to provide some clarity today for you all […]

What Are The Benefits of Social Media For Contractors In Home Improvement?

A phone with social media icon going over The Benefits of Social Media For Contractors In Home Improvement

Check out the transcription for the Digital Marketing for Contractors Podcast: Social Media – Why Do It? below. Click this link to listen to the podcast. Today we are going to get into the always interesting topic of social media. Janet, I know this is one of your favorites. So social media, like I said, […]

Helping a Bathroom Remodeling Company Successfully Expand Into a New Market

CASE STUDY: FatCat works with Express Bath to build brand awareness in a new target market. Discover the strategies FatCat implemented to help the company expand into a new area while maintaining success in its current market. Northern Alabama bathroom remodeling company, Express Bath, had been serving local homeowners for years but was looking to […]

A Step-by-Step Guide to SEO for Home Improvement Contractors

A survey by the Construction Marketing Association found that 73.1% of contractors planned to increase their SEO budget. Eighty-one percent stated that their search engine optimization strategy resulted in more leads. The majority believed that SEO for builders, plumbers, and home services was more effective than PPC ads. This article provides a step-by-step guide to SEO for […]

6 Ideas for Generating More Online Reviews

Generating Additional Online Reviews

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Here are 5 takeaways: 6 Ideas for Generating More Online Reviews Welcome back for the final installment of our four-part Online Reviews series! We’ve gone over the importance of reviews, how to respond and share them, and finally, we’ll go over how you can solicit reviews from […]

The Importance of Sharing Your Positive Business Reviews

In this edition of our Tip of the Week series, we’ll continue our focus on online reviews. By this point, you’ve learned how important reviews can be for home improvement contractors. We’ve also gone over the importance of responding to your customer’s reviews, whether good or bad. Business reviews act as a signal to potential […]

Best Practices for Responding to Online Reviews

Best Practices for Responding to Online Reviews

Whether you love them or hate them, reviews are a significant part of your remodeling business’s online presence. Not only do they inform prospective customers about the quality of your workmanship, but they’re also often one of the first things people check about your company before ever contacting you. Put simply, online reviews are essential […]

Why Online Reviews are Crucial for Home Improvement Contractors

Online Customer Reviews are Crucial

One thing we’ve noticed when speaking with some of our home improvement clients is a certain reluctance to do anything with online reviews. While some are afraid to solicit reviews from past customers, others don’t even want to acknowledge they’re out there. Either way, it’s a mindset that can negatively impact your remodeling business.  Because […]

Does Your Remodeling Company Own its Google My Business & Google Ads Accounts?

Owning your Google My Business and Google Ads

Welcome back to the third entry in our “Who Owns It?” series. So far we’ve covered domains, web hosting, and social media. This time we’re focusing on Big G’s own internet-based services, Google My Business (GMB) and Google Ads, and why owning them is crucial for home improvement business owners.  Let’s get started.  Why Google […]

7 Tips To Make The Most Of Your Home Improvement Company’s Instagram

Home improvement companies and contractors might shy away from Instagram at first, assuming that the visual platform doesn’t fit their needs. But don’t be intimidated! Instagram is a great tool to show off your brand, for free, no matter the industry. Here’s how to make the most of your home improvement company Instagram account and […]

The Buyer’s Guide: How To Make One And Why It’s Important

Online shopping has not only become the preferred method of shopping for many consumers but also the preferred method for hiring a service professional. Up to 95% of homeowners will search online prior to hiring a service professional. Unfortunately, your consumers may be too overwhelmed by the choices available to them on your website. This […]

The Easiest Email Marketing Tip to Build Your Home Improvement Email List

This post will show you how to leverage the home improvement and remodeling knowledge you already have to grow your email marketing list. The strategy is dead simple: Write something truly useful for your prospects. Offer it to your website visitors in exchange for their contact info. Use Your Home Improvement Knowledge to Build a […]

Are your home improvement sales people doing it all wrong?

That’s the question posed in a recent blog post on improveit360. If your sales staff is still selling features and benefits instead of trying to understand the homeowners’ underlying problem, then you may want to surf over to this blog post. When you focus on selling real solutions and building trust with customers, you will be […]

Is Automated Email Marketing part of your Home Improvement Lead Generation Strategy?

You’re probably generating leads through your website, at home shows and maybe a through remodeling sweepstakes contest. But, what do you do with the ones that don’t sell immediately?  The right answer is to nurture those leads with automated email marketing (sometimes called drip marketing, or marketing automation.) What is marketing automation? Marketing automation, or […]

What’s your follow-up plan for home shows?

Home and garden shows are a tried-and-true method for generating leads for your home improvement company. They give you the opportunity to be in a room full of interested, motivated homeowners, and the chance to pitch them face-to-face. We’ve seen contractors get really creative with how to entice people to stop by their booth, how […]

Using Google Trends to Research What Home Improvement Prospects Search

This article shows you how to use Google Trends – a free online tool – to better understand prospects search for home improvement topics online.  What is Google Trends? It’s a free online tool, created and maintained by Google.  It allows you to see how often specific keywords, phrases and subjects have been searched on […]

Turn your Website’s Galleries into Home Improvement Lead Generators

Is your remodeling gallery turning your web visitors into prospects? This article walks you through key strategies you can try on your gallery pages to get your visitors to take action. Your website has one purpose and one purpose only: to turn visitors into email subscribers and email subscribers into customers. We’ve written about landing […]

Develop a Marketing Strategy for Your Entire Home Improvement Sales Cycle

Too many contractors and home improvement websites focus exclusively on the bottom of the sales funnel. Don’t let the need for short-term leads hurt your long-term lead generation and growth strategy. If your home improvement website is totally focused on bottom-of-the-funnel lead generation offers, you might be hurting your long-term goal of consistent, qualified web […]

High-Pressure Sales Tactics may Backfire When Selling Home Improvement Projects

When it comes to remodeling services like custom bathroom makeovers, high-end kitchen redesigns or large scale renovations, high-pressure sales tactics are probably not going to work. If your customers can afford the type of services you offer, it’s safe to assume they are accustomed to paying for premium services and they have certain expectations about […]

How a buyer’s guide can help remodeling contractors sell to homeowners

We’ve worked with several home improvement companies, with specialties ranging from outdoor pool installation to bathroom remodeling. But across the board, we’ve seen one piece of marketing consistently perform well on all fronts, and that’s a Buyer’s Guide. So what’s so great about a buyer’s guide? First of all, it’s one of the only evergreen […]

Use remarketing to generate quality home improvement leads

You’ve certainly experienced this before: you’re surfing the internet for a new set of tools. You find the perfect one, but you’re not ready to buy just yet. Even though you didn’t give the website any of your personal information, suddenly you start to see ads for the toolset all over the internet – on ESPN […]

5 Tips for responding to reviews to generate home improvement leads

As a contractor, reviews are important to your business leads. Your website is no longer the only place that customers can go for information about your business. Sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Facebook and Houzz have all given the power of reviews to the consumer, allowing your customers to connect with each other to share […]

Are all your home improvement sales people men? You may be hurting sales.

According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, women initiate 80% of all home improvement purchases. So, why do so many home improvement companies send super competitive men to prospects’ homes to do the selling? Based what we’re reading, if that’s what your company is doing, you may be missing an opportunity to improve your closing […]