Winter 2025–2026 Industry & Digital Marketing News Roundup: What Contractors Need to Know Before Spring

Welcome to Digital Marketing for Contractors, a podcast for home improvement contractors to help you crush your lead goals and take your business to the next level. Join us each episode as we give you powerful insights and practical tips on the best digital marketing strategies to help you grow your home improvement business. Let’s get started.

Caitlyn: Welcome back to Digital Marketing for Contractors. I’m Caitlyn Noble.

Meredith: And I’m Meredith. And we are officially on the other side of what feels like maybe the coldest winter that we’ve had in years.

Caitlyn: It was. It truly was. It was… This isn’t anything new, but it was dark at 4:30. It was freezing. The kind of winter where you question your life choices, just like taking the trash out. I think, like, John and I were, like, flipping a coin to decide.

Meredith: Oh, 100%. It made me… The only bad thing about having dog and being a dog owner

Caitlyn: Oh.

Meredith: … you actually have to take them outside.

Caitlyn: Yeah, I’m sitting here,

Meredith: Thinking

Caitlyn: … “Did we? we?”

Meredith: Oh, you just open the back door, let him run out, come back in.

Caitlyn: But yeah, no, I mean…

Meredith: We made it.

Caitlyn: You made it, full parka.

Meredith: No regrets.

Caitlyn: We’re here. It’s definitely getting lighter outside, praise. The sun is sticking around a little longer. I know we walked outside after work yesterday, I was like, “Wait, it’s

Meredith: Oh, my God. Exactly.

Caitlyn: And it’s warming up. And the best part of all, if you’re in the home improvement industry, which I don’t know why you wouldn’t be listening to this, but you know exactly what this means.

Meredith: Oh, 100%. Spring is coming, and the industry loves spring.

Caitlyn: We sure do. Phones start ringing, estimates stack up, home shows kick off, marketing budgets suddenly feel exciting again.

Meredith: Yes. So today, we’re going to say goodbye to and hello to spring by doing our winter roundup. It’s basically winter 2025

Caitlyn: February.

Meredith: this month, yeah.

Caitlyn: Yeah. Is that still winter? Yeah. Spring starts in March.

Meredith: If you walk outside, it still

Caitlyn: So, when you listen to this, y’all, it’ll be spring, but we’re gonna recap all the joy that was…

Meredith: The winter.

Caitlyn: The winter.

Meredith: Exactly. So, this is our industry and digital marketing news roundup. We’re gonna talk about what happened this winter, what does it mean, and what should contractors be paying attention to as we head into your peak season.

Caitlyn: We’re breaking it all down. Let’s get into it. So, the first industry, home improvement industry-related news that we’re gonna dive into is an article from the Roofing Contractor Magazine. And it’s a huge shift in this industry, talking about how mega mergers are redefining roofing distribution.

Meredith: Oh, absolutely. And it’s definitely not small news. I mean, it’s in the name of the title, mega mergers. But this basically is about big players getting even bigger.

Caitlyn: What?

Meredith: Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: We are seeing continued consolidation in the roofing supply chains. Larger distributors are acquiring regional players. Private equity is still heavily involved. National agreements are becoming more powerful. And if you’re a roofing contractor, you might think, “Okay, that’s distribution news. Why does it matter to me?” It matters because it’s impacting your pricing, your availability, leverage, and of course, competition.

Meredith: Exactly. You know, when suppliers consolidate, pricing power shifts, and smaller contractors feel squeezed if you’re not being proactive about it.

Caitlyn: Mm. So, here’s what this means practically as we’re heading into spring. Number one, lock in your supplier relationships early.

Meredith: Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: Number two, watch your margins. If material costs fluctuate, your bids need to reflect that. Number three, strengthen your brand.

Meredith: I love this one.

Caitlyn: We can definitely help with that. Because when supply chains consolidate and products feel similar, brand differentiation… I can’t say it. Say it.

Meredith: That was good. Differentiation.

Caitlyn: Was that right?

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: Wow. Brand differentiation.

Meredith: Oh, well, we got the first time. It’s okay.

Caitlyn: Becomes even more important. How are you standing out against your competitors?

Meredith: Absolutely. You can’t just compete on your price or your materials. You really have to try to compete with your competitor’s… Compete with your competitor’s? I mean, what else would you do with them? But yeah, compete on the trust that you build, your reputation, and really the experience that you’re delivering to your customer. So making sure that you’re focused on that is gonna help you stand out. It’s gonna help you win the bids that you are putting in with customers who could be looking and shopping around.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: So, focus on your brand and what makes you different and better, of course. All right, so talked a little bit about mega mergers. Next bit of news we wanna talk about is a report from the Hardware and Building Supply Dealer. Basically, consumer confidence is dropping. It, we The report shows a drop in confidence in January.

Caitlyn: Everybody was getting better.

Meredith: I know, I know. And so, you know, this is something we always watch carefully.

Caitlyn: Because when confidence drops, homeowners don’t necessarily cancel projects, but they delay them. And goodness gracious, have we seen that and felt that.

Meredith: absolutely. You know, we’ve heard that from our clients, and we just, you know, seeing this report and this data just backs it up. It’s a a, a universal problem.

Caitlyn: I mean, I

Meredith: cycles are getting longer.

Caitlyn: Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly, decision cycles.

Meredith: Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: Sorry, I know I’m talking over you. But I mean, we were I was looking at lead numbers you know, for a couple different clients this morning with one of our account managers, and I was actually really impressed. The lead numbers were so high. I mean,

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: astronomically higher than I was honestly expecting. And the bad news is the set rates of those numbers, like, of those leads that came in are, were just terrible.

Meredith: Mm.

Caitlyn: And

Meredith: it’s not ’cause they’re unqualified.

Caitlyn: No, no, no, exactly.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: No, we went through that. I mean, no, it’s just, it’s exactly what’s going on with this consumer confidence dropping.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: I think inflation fatigue is still lingering.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: Interest rate hesitation is definitely still a factor.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: And homeowners are more cautious with-Discretionary spending. I’ve got all the hard words today.

Meredith: You do, and I’m proud of you. So, if you’re seeing those slightly slower close rates or close periods, longer follow-up timelines, it’s not just you. You’re not crazy. It’s the economy’s behavior

Caitlyn: And, and I know you don’t wanna hear it. I mean

Meredith: No.

Caitlyn: you don’t.

Meredith: But it’s a reality, and we’re here to talk about it. And one thing that you can

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: is talk about financing. Make sure you have financing offers on your website. Talk about it during the sales process. I mean, I would say even when you call a lead after they submit a

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: could be worth mentioning it before you even start or set your appointment. Now is the time. Definitely hone in on those financing offers and make the most of them, ’cause I think that’s what’s gonna help stand out when customers and homeowners are looking for their, their options.

Caitlyn: Looking for their options, like wavering on their decisions.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: You know, I, I could tell a story about how we replaced the windows on the front side of my house, but not the back side of my house. And I mean, Merideth’s gonna laugh at this ’cause she knows my husband, John. I walked into our bedroom, and all the windows in our bedroom are on the back side of the house, and it was ice cold the other night. I … we just talked about how winter is over, but it’s just, it’s not. It was ice cold, and I’m like, “What is happening?” One of the windows was, is so

Meredith: Oh, my God.

Caitlyn: … it like had just like fallen open. Like it was

Meredith: Oh, God.

Caitlyn: fell. It was just open. Like the window was just open and cold air was coming in, and I’m like John, should we really be debating getting our windows on the back of the house replaced right now?”

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: I mean like, honestly, so.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: That being said, I think in addition to financing, shift your messaging. Like think about the story I just told you. Energy effici, efficiency is something you can lean into, long-term savings, protection, please.

Meredith: Yeah, if your window’s open.

Caitlyn: I mean like, who knows what our heating bill’s gonna be. And maintenance prevention. In uncertain markets, value and that type of language is always gonna win.

Meredith: Right, and I think it’s also, I mean, messaging, yes, as well, but I think you could also take this time to strengthen your follow-up systems.

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: slower decisions from homeowners are gonna require longer nurturing cycles.

Caitlyn: that’s good.

Meredith: So email, nurture automations and follow-up, SMS follow-up it’s time to take a look at those and see how you can make those a little bit more efficient.

Caitlyn: I think that’s a great point, and I think as we’re talking about messaging and how to like tighten that up as well, this brings us to our next article in terms of industry news that happened over the last couple months. The Home Improvement Research Institute, great resource, highlighted a growing preference for American-made materials.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: Yay. Go USA.

Meredith: Go USA. Coming off the Olympics, feeling even more patriotic.

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: But no, and it’s not just a political thing. It’s emotional.

Caitlyn: It really is.

Meredith: Yeah, I mean, homeowners associate made in America with quality, reliability, and honestly, a big one being supply chain stability. So you know, if you work with domestic manufacturers, you should absolutely talk about it. You know, put it on your

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: landing pages. Mention it in your ads. It’s a positioning advantage that people are really in tune with right now, and so take advantage of it while it’s making this strong resurgence in what homeowners are valuing.

Caitlyn: Merideth was super passionate about that.

Meredith: Super.

Caitlyn: I was supposed to say all of those words.

Meredith: I just couldn’t help myself.

Caitlyn: You get into it. She’s gonna, can kick off the next

Meredith: I’m gonna

Caitlyn: about digital marketing, right?

Meredith: into it. Yes.

Caitlyn: So we’re switching from the home improvement industry. Hopefully we’re gonna see things pick up this spring as the weather improves, despite homeowner confidence being shaky. We’ve got some messaging ideas that, you know, maybe could turn things around for both.

Meredith: Yeah. No, absolutely so like she said, we’re going to pivot into some digital marketing news. This one is from One Click Contractor their LinkedIn post. So we talked about messaging. I think something important to keep in mind, and this article highlights, is all about digital engagement and speed.

Caitlyn: Mm. We’re gonna say it again because it matters. We didn’t say it yet on this episode, but we’ve said it a thousand times. Speed to lead wins. If a homeowner fills out your form and doesn’t hear from you, I mean, I can’t even believe I’m saying this, for 24 hours, they’re gone. But like, no, I’m telling you, if a homeowner doesn’t hear from you in five

Meredith: Yeah, some, yeah, They will have gone to the next contractor, the next company.

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: And yeah, no chance. So speed to lead, super critical. We know that your potential customers, any homeowner, they expect a lot of things now along with instant gratification,

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: … getting a phone call immediately or hearing back from you. but they expect online scheduling ’cause it’s convenient. Digital proposals are much quicker.

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: Fast communication, like we just said, picking up the phone or giving you a text, email, whatever your preferred method of contact is. And text confirmations, that’s a super easy

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: even if you’re not having a back-and-forth … over SMS, you are at least giving them a text message to say, “Hey, we got your form. We’re getting things in order and we’re gonna contact you shortly to talk about your, your project.” So, I think all those paper-heavy

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: … they’re losing ground. They take too much time and again, homeowners are all about, I mean, not just homeowners, we as a society are all about instant gratification,

Caitlyn: We really are.

Meredith: try to, try to tighten that up and, again, speed to lead.

Caitlyn: And I talked a little bit about this during our webinar that we recently hosted, that the homeowners, like, we, we’re getting, we are, we’re getting just more tech-savvy. We’re getting

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: and we want to know something instantly, like Merideth was saying. So, I, I couldn’t agree more. Again, this is where automation comes in. I know One Click Contractor is an amazing resource to help out with this. Audit your lead response times, automate appointment confirmations, and use SMS text message follow-ups. This isn’t nice to have anymore, it’s honestly a baseline expectation.

Meredith: Oh, for sure. For sure.

Caitlyn: Oh, I get the next one.

Meredith: Sure do.

Caitlyn: Another digital marketing industry update that happened over the last few months came from our friends at the Search Engine Journal. We love the Search Engine Journal.

Meredith: Love SEJ.

Caitlyn: Love SEJ. Is that what you said, SEJ?

Meredith: Yeah, that’s what I call

Caitlyn: SEJ.

Meredith: when we talk. Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: Cute.

Meredith: Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: So, they talked recently, I mean, this was, like, probably within the last couple weeks, about why SEO KPIs are failing businesses. I, we, if we didn’t already say it, we loved this one because traffic does not equal revenue.

Meredith: Yeah. I think ranking number one for a term doesn’t mean it’s going to convert. In a lot of cases, those are what we call vanity metrics. Sure, it looks nice, but is it converting into a lead?

Caitlyn: No, exactly. Clicks don’t pay crews, sales do. So, if you’re reviewing reports that highlight impressions, traffic rankings, but not qualified leads, cost per acquisition, and revenue per channel, you’re looking at the wrong scoreboard. And we have gone back and forth with

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: clients about this, full transparency.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: I

Meredith: Absolutely.

Caitlyn: … in terms of how to report on that the right way.

Meredith: Right. Because for so long, years and years and years, when you look at SEO, that is your dashboard that you’re looking at. You’re tracking rankings for keywords.

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: You’re looking at organic traffic. And yes, you do still want to rank high and you do want organic traffic to increase, but you only want those things because they tend to lead to conversions.

Caitlyn: Yep.

Meredith: I will just go ahead and plug a webinar that we just did. If you’re generating a bunch of traffic to go to your website and it’s not built to convert, you’re wasting a bunch of money. So, looking at these vanity metrics without looking at if they’re actually converting, how much it costs per conversion, I mean, you’re not tracking, tracking your marketing revenue and, I mean, you’re wasting a bunch of money, honestly.

Caitlyn: Yeah. No, I think you’re completely correct. And another good plug for that webinar. All right, more digital marketing news.

Meredith: Our friends at Google.

Caitlyn: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Google releases a lot of great articles as well. I mean, and that’s the

Meredith: Mm-hmm.

Caitlyn: … right now. So there was some search discussion on Google reducing visibility for overly self-promotional GEO content. I know that’s a lot to explain.

Meredith: Lots of words.

Caitlyn: A lotta words. Basically, there have been conversations in the SEO world about Google cracking down on overly self-promotional listicles. You know the ones, “Top 10 Roofing Contractor Companies in Charlotte,” written by that roofing company. We see ’em all the time.

Meredith: Yeah. And I mean, it, I mean, there’s a reason why people have been doing it ’cause it worked at one point, but

Caitlyn: Google’s cracking down.

Meredith: Exactly. Google has caught onto it. It’s not organic, real credibility that Google prioritizes. So Google is instead turning to prioritizing helpful and authoritative content, and then self-serving pages like these listicles are really risky and Google really isn’t gonna reward you from it. And in fact, it could be the opposite. You could get dinged for it.

Caitlyn: Should you, like, remove them then?

Meredith: It’s definitely something to look at. I

Caitlyn: I’m almost wondering, like, if you bulk ’em up, you beef ’em up.

Meredith: Right. Yeah, I mean, if they’re gonna, if you’re going to have them, say, I mean, first of all, I would look at the page. Look at the traffic it gets.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: Is anybody even going there?

Caitlyn: That’s a good point.

Meredith: Then look at the conversions from the page. What kind of engagement do you have on it? If it’s there just to be

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: … nobody’s looking at it or going to it, that’s something that I would

Caitlyn: Kill

Meredith: and that’s just a SEO strategy in general, a

Caitlyn: Prune equals remove it.

Meredith: Yes. Prune it. Basically, if you have a bunch of thin pages that don’t have much content on them or they’re not really impactful, there’s no need to have them on your website. It’s just extra junk. And depending on how that page is performing of your listicle if it’s getting some traction, maybe do what Caitlyn said.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: Beef it up.

Caitlyn: I’ve seen

Meredith: more relevant content.

Caitlyn: … tables

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: … as something to add.

Meredith: I I would say that would probably help. Also, you’re giving the user something visual to look at.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: It’s easier to digest information. I would also put some FAQs in there. We know

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: AI search engines love FAQs.

Caitlyn: Answer those questions.

Meredith: Answer the questions. Put them on that page. So, unless that page is already performing okay, I I would get rid of it. But I think there’s some other things you could focus on.

Caitlyn: Yeah. Merideth totally said, like, focus on FAQs, focus on educational blogs that are also answering those questions. Deep service pages I mean, when we say deep service pages, what is that? Like, just, like, a-Yeah.

Meredith: Yeah, no, it’s a more in-depth page where you’re not just surface level talking about, “We do roofing.” But rather going into depth about what types of roofing you

Caitlyn: Yes.

Meredith: … the types of materials, maybe which materials are the best for your specific service area.

Caitlyn: Your manufacturers.

Meredith: that you use.

Caitlyn: That’s good.

Meredith: Featured projects from that area that you’re in you know, just beefing it up. Again, it, it needs to be authoritative, and it needs to answer a lot of questions that a homeowner would or want to know the answer to if they hit your page.

Caitlyn: I think you hit on something. I think regardless, like, of whatever type of content you are putting out there, make sure you’re also including real case studies, real projects.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: You know, I think that’s gonna beef up those pages as well. Helpful content wins in 2026.

Meredith: Absolutely. And so I think

Caitlyn: Is last?

Meredith: I’m the next one. Look at me. We have a closing after that, but,

Caitlyn: No, this is the last, like, news article, though.

Meredith: Okay. Yeah. Well,

Caitlyn: There was a lot of news.

Meredith: It’s a fun one. It’s about ChatGPT, but it’s a potentially scary one. Not just because it’s AI.

Caitlyn: I’m excited about this one.

Meredith: I am. It’s just a really big shift.

Caitlyn: I’ve alarms.

Meredith: You have been. Every… Running around the office telling everybody it’s happening.

Caitlyn: What am I doing? What am I doing?

Meredith: Exactly. So, there’s this huge shift right now that’s happening. Openai, the creators of ChatGPT they have started testing ads inside ChatGPT.

Caitlyn: So crazy.

Meredith: instead of just the organic search bar, or, I mean…

Caitlyn: Results?

Meredith: Your results, your little… your pocket-sized robot.

Caitlyn: You can now pay for those results?

Meredith: You sure can, and it’s significant.

Caitlyn: I mean, we’re just trying to right now get listed on ChatGPT.

Meredith: We’re still refining those techniques.

Caitlyn: But take my money too.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: But in all seriousness, this is significant because AI search experiences are growing so fast. And if ads enter those environments, digital visibility is going to change once again.

Meredith: Exactly. Always changing, and it’s moving towards you know, AI summaries and overviews fewer traditional

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: and more conversational search.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: I mean, I know when, when I talk to my friend I do tend to make it more of a conversation.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: And that means that the content that you’re putting on your website needs that structure and authority so that it does show up in a more conversational search.

Caitlyn: Yeah. I think that’s great advice. And again, we’re talking about, like, things to do now. I… We can’t predict when those ads are gonna drop.

Meredith: Right.

Caitlyn: I maybe by the time this

Meredith: Oh my gosh, yeah.

Caitlyn: the ads will drop. And if so, we’ll do a follow-up. But brand recognition matters more than ever. If AI tools recommend businesses, recognizable brands are going to win.

Meredith: 100%.

Caitlyn: All right. We quickly covered some of, some of, if not…

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: you know, some of the big news stories on both the digital marketing and home improvement side of things. I mean, we could have gone on and on. I know this past week, Yelp bought Hatch. That was huge.

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: I mean, there’s just a lot going on still. We just try to pick things that may be, you know, are connected seamlessly.

Meredith: Yeah. No, for sure. And if there’s some piece of big news, and… By the time this is published, surely there will be. But if there’s something that you guys are curious about that you wanna hear us dive

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: shoot us an email, fill out a form on the website, and let us know. We’re happy to dive into it on the next episode.

Caitlyn: Yeah, we would love to do that. So, let’s get into our spring strategy mindset because definitely tested our patience. But as you know, spring rewards preparation.

Meredith: Absolutely. So if you strengthen your operations now, you align your marketing and your sales

Caitlyn: Mm-hmm.

Meredith: you make sure that you’re using automation to the best of your ability, where it makes things more efficient and just a smoother process. And then honestly, all of that will help you focus on revenue-based metrics. We talked a little bit about those vanity metrics. We were talking about traffic and rankings. If you can do all those things I just listed, it’ll give you time to focus on what’s actually generating revenue for you. So do these things, and you’re gonna be better positioned to go into your peak season ready to win leads.

Caitlyn: Let’s do it. Spring demands… Gosh. Spring demand exposes weak systems. Fix them now before the phone starts ringing nonstop.

Meredith: We survived winter. Even though that little groundhog saw six more weeks.

Caitlyn: Yeah.

Meredith: I don’t know. He has a horrible, like,

Caitlyn: Track record?

Meredith: Yeah.

Caitlyn: I mean, but the, the Northeast did just get a blizzard.

Meredith: Oh, for sure. But, I mean, it was like 70 degrees this week in here. So, maybe he lives in the Northeast. I genuinely don’t know where lives.

Caitlyn: He yeah.

Meredith: Does he?

Caitlyn: He’ll… Pennsylvania.

Meredith: Pennsylvania. Okay. There you go. Sorry for you guys up there.

Caitlyn: in terms of the winter.

Meredith: Yeah, exactly.

Caitlyn: If you didn’t know, now you know. Thank y’all so much for listening to this episode, Digital Marketing for Contractors. Subscribe it. I do think Meredith shouted out Joe at one point.

Meredith: I sure did. Share it with Joe. We still love Joe.

Caitlyn: We do. And we will see you in the next episode.

Meredith: Bye-bye.