For the last 10 years or so, I have helped business owners gain a better digital footprint in order to drive more sales and brand recognition locally and nationally for their respective businesses. From direct mail to email campaigns and SEO, I have covered the gamut for my clients with mixed results. Some channels performed well some did not, but the biggest takeaway was that in order to achieve the ultimate success and footprint, it was the sum of all of the efforts that equated to success rather than any one channel. 

Do you recall the saying, "Don't put all your eggs into one basket"? It's possible that you brushed it aside as outdated counsel, much like a quaint relic from the past. Yet, let me assure you, there's wisdom in those words, unless, of course, we're discussing the literal placement of eggs. But when it comes to marketing your Restoration or Cleaning business, you need to heed that advice. The expert marketers say it takes a minimum of 7 impressions for someone to make a buying decision, so just leveraging SEO and PPC won’t cut it - you need to be omnipresent. 

Think about this, in the past you may have been very successful running Facebook ads to get inbound leads, so now you solely rely on them, ignoring other channels. What happens when Facebook ads stop performing? In 2019 and 2020 Facebook and Google’s AI was suspending profiles like it was going out of style. And recently, even the big name lead gen providers were struggling to perform, leaving a lot of frustrated business owners. 

The writing on the wall is clear. Relying too heavily on any one single channel for getting leads is going to bite you in the rear end at some point, so what do you do? You diversify. But how? Allow me to introduce you to the Digital Omnipresence Method to Marketing your Restoration Business. 

In today’s market, most of our attention is online, and your online visibility is key. Just about every buying decision flows through a cell phone or a computer, which presents a lot of great opportunities for businesses that want to connect with their target consumers. But you do not want to limit yourselves to just online channels, you gotta spread those eggs around even more…everyone is online.

Below are just a few of the channels you NEED to be focusing on to be an omnipresent business: 

• Dominate the search engines: When someone needs to find a Restoration Contractor or cleaning business, they turn to where 99% of people turn to, Google. Having page 1 placement is crucial. Below are the top ways to take over page 1 and get those leads flowing.
• Website: Your website should be the hub and destination for all of your digital channels combined. Your website should target the customer you want to reach with the services you want to sell. A professional website with the correct content, user experience, and conversion fundamentals should help them make you their first choice.
• SEO: Having a website without SEO is like printing business cards but never taking them out of your truck. If you have a website (you should) then you need to drive traffic to that website. SEO is the process of ranking your website at the top of the organic search results on search engines. With 99% of people seeking home services on search engines, having that page 1 visibility is key in getting leads. Note that page 1 rankings can take up to 6 months to achieve. Think of it like a garden, waiting to harvest those leads when things kick off.
• PPC: If we say that SEO is like a garden, then PPC is the grocery store. Pay per click is an important channel you need to invest in. While you’re waiting for your SEO garden to grow, you can get leads now by utilizing pay per click with Google.
• Google Guarantee/LSA: Google’s local service ads/Google Guarantee has provided my clients in the restoration/cleaning space with a lot of success lately. The LSA program is run through Google Ads but instead of being a “pay per click” model, it is a “pay per lead” model. Getting approved for LSA is a lot of work, you need to be accredited, IICRC certified (for restorers), have a minimum amount of reviews, and go through an approval process, but its well worth the effort.
• Google Maps: Google maps is the bread and butter of home service type businesses like Restoration and Cleaning companies. To rank in the top 3 of the maps section, you need an optimized Google Business Profile. Properly optimizing your Google Business Profile and linking it with your website/service pages will get you those maps rankings and help your organic rankings as well. 

• Industry Associations: Join all of your industry associations including the national and regional associations that make sense for your business and then get involved. Joining associations like the IICRC or the RIA, shows your target customers that you are invested in your business and that you adhere to the high standards they set. Don't forget to add that information to your website to build more trust. Join all your local organizations that have to do with cleaning and restoration. Go to trade shows, meet people... 

• Social Media: Make sure you’re active on the social media channels your target customers are on and then some. Post frequently and engage. Show off your work and post testimonials. Be sure to provide value with your posting rather than sell your services. Social media is a great way to keep your business at the top of people’s minds and having those channels for your business makes for good backlinks to your business. 

• Video: YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. People are more likely to watch a video than read text, so having videos about your company and its services on your website can pay big dividends for rankings and for building trust with your audience. Post the videos on social media and repurpose them into blog articles on your website as well. 

• Build relationships: Even though we are living in the digital age, the old school methods are still important too. Drop off some coffee and donuts to property managers, plumbers, roofers, and general contractors. Shake some hands, donate to some charitable events, or sponsor a local sports team. Just get out there and make your business known in your service area. Be a farmer, not a consumer. 

In the big picture of growing your business, taking an omni-channel approach will give you the most visibility and get you much further ahead than most. Try to stay consistent and focus on taking up as much real estate for your brand as possible.