Learn how to start or grow a handyman business
Handyman Startup
Blog in steel block letters

How to Get Targeted Traffic to Your Website – Small Business Blogging Strategy

Once you’ve built a professional website for your handyman business, it’s time to start generating traffic to that website.

Without traffic, your website isn’t going to help much (outside of building trust with your existing customers).

This is where blogging comes in.

If you don’t have a website yet, here’s how to build one.

By blogging about the services you offer and other information related to your business, you will attract customers looking for exactly what you sell. Not only will your blog help them find you online, but the posts that you write will help establish you as an authority figure in your market.

Blogging is great for both getting traffic to your website and gaining credibility with those potential clients.

Additionally, few handyman businesses put effort into blogging so the competition is low. Most pros don’t even understand how it works.

By the time you finish reading this post, you should have:

  • A firm understanding of what blogging is.
  • A solid blogging strategy to gain customers with little effort and no monetary investment.

What is a blog?

According to Wikipedia “a blog is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries (“posts”) typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first).”

There are many different forms of blogs. HandymanStartup.com is a blog and this is a post within that blog. Tweeting on Twitter is also considered a blog, more specifically a micro-blog.

There are also several different purposes of a blog. Some people just blog about events in their lives and share personal stories. Some blog about a certain niche and provide actionable information for a very specific group of readers (which is what I do with this website). Other businesses blog about new products and services that they offer so their customers can stay in the loop.

And finally, some businesses use blogging as a way to generate traffic which they can turn into leads. This is the blogging strategy that I will discuss in this tutorial.

Why should you care about blogging as a handyman?

Adding a blog to your handyman website has several benefits.  Aside from what I have already mentioned, here are a couple of really good reasons.

#1  Google likes content

When somebody Google’s a keyword, Google is trying to provide that searcher with the most relevant and useful information possible.

Google does this by collecting information from a website and evaluating and indexing the information on the site. Once this is done, Google runs the information they collected through an algorithm that helps them determine what keywords the site should rank for, and how high the site should rank.

Several factors are considered in this ranking process, but it is pretty obvious that the content on the site has a very strong influence.

Less obvious, however, is the notion that the amount of content and the frequency that content is added also play a role.

Simply building a website consisting of static pages that never change is typically not an effective way to reach the first page of Google’s search engine.

By blogging about topics that are highly relevant to your business, you will be providing value to Internet users. Google will take notice and you’re website will have a much better chance of getting to the first page.

#2  Gain trust with clients

In addition to helping your website rank higher, the content you produce will help you gain the trust of your visitors.

Customers will find your site on google, read an informative blog post, and immediately the trust will build. They will see that you know what you’re talking about, and be more likely to call you for whatever home repair or improvement they are looking for.

Sure, there are probably hundreds of other people that already know the information you write about in your blog, but the customer knows that you know it and that’s all that matters. They don’t have to keep looking for somebody to help them because they already found you.

There are many more benefits of blogging as a pro handyman, but let’s focus on how this works and other benefits will become clear.

3 Easy Steps to a solid blog post

Now that you understand the value of creating a blog on your small business website, I’m going to share my method for blogging.

This method has brought me a large percentage of my business and that percentage continues to rise as my blog matures and I add content.

Step 1 – Keyword Research

The first thing I do is figure out which keywords I want to target for a specific post.

The idea of this step is to find keywords that people would use to find services that you offer.  For this example, let’s say that you offer plumbing services in Miami, FL.  Here are some of the keyword phrases you may want to rank for.

  • “Leaking Garbage Disposal”
  • “Faucet Installation”
  • “Running Toilet”
  • “Plumber in Miami”
  • “Reverse Osmosis Installers”

There are many places you can go to find quality keywords that will bring you traffic.  I have used the following sources for researching keywords.

  1. Brainstorm things you would type in for certain repairs.
  2. Look on craigslist for common services that other handymen are offering.  If you see a certain service pop up in several ads, chances are pretty good that that service is in demand and would generate substantial leads.
  3. Look on other handyman websites to see what services they offer and pick keywords up from there.
  4. Use the Google Adwords keyword tool.  (more advanced method)
  5. Follow this guide for identifying profitable services.

Some keywords will be much harder to rank than others and can take a lot of effort to get to the top. Keywords such as “Plumber in Miami” or “handyman in Dallas” are going to have a lot of competition and will most likely take several months, or even years before you hit page one.

But, that’s ok, because there are plenty of less competitive keywords that you can rank for much faster. Keyword phrases such as “Leaking faucet in Miami, FL” or “Roof repair in Dallas, TX” are much more specific and will have much less competition.

Step #2 – Exact match title

After I’ve done some research and I know which keyword I want to target, I choose a title based on the keyword that I’m targeting.  I also make sure to include the keyword phrase in the title.

Here are some examples of exact match titles that resemble what I use.

  • “Fence Repair in Miami, FL”
  • “Roof repair in Dallas, TX”
  • “Sprinkler Installation in Albuquerque”

The most important thing is that you’re title has the keyword that you want to rank for in it. Also, if you are targeting a specific area, I’ve found it helpful to include that location in the title.

You may even want to get more specific and target a small area within your city instead of the entire city. The more specific your keyword phrase is, the less likely somebody will type it in. But, the more likely they will find your post if they do type it in.  Make sense?

Step #3 – Creating the content

Now that I have a good keyword-rich title that targets a keyword I want to gain business from, I write about 500 words about that topic. The idea here is to write useful content relevant to the keyword in the post title.

Example:  Let’s say that your title for this blog post is “Fence Repair in Miami, FL.” 

Intro:

Are you a resident of  Miami, Florida, and in need of a fence repair?  We have been repairing fences for 15 years and can have your backyard secure in no time…….

Body:

Here are some of the common fence repairs that we run into….(bulleted list of fence repairs and a brief explanation of each)

Call to Action:

At the end of the post make sure to include your company contact info so they don’t have to scroll back up to find it.  You need to make it as easy as possible for them to contact you.

And that’s it!  You don’t have to be a great writer or have some extremely insightful information to share.  All you need is a good keyword and some decent content that helps show off your knowledge to build confidence with the customer.

How often should you blog as a pro handyman?

The short answer is the more the better. But from my experience, it is difficult to keep up with everything else and consistently add content to my blog.

Ideally, you would write one post per week. However, when I started my business, I averaged about 1 post per month and experienced an exceptional ROI on my efforts.

Once I had enough leads to fill my schedule without having to pay for any advertising, I completely stopped blogging and the articles I wrote way back in 2012 still generate traffic and leads to my website to this day.

Blogging (also known as content marketing) is one of the best ways to generate business for any small business and I recommend you get started immediately.

Boost Profits and Save Time

Handyman Business Mistakes E-book

FREE REPORT REVEALS…

…three common handyman business mistakes and how to avoid them.

Learn why some handyman businesses THRIVE while others STRUGGLE – and the secrets to growing a massively profitable handyman business.

  • Charles Sizemore December 10, 2012

    How do you design and set up a website and have you ever advertised using flyers?
    If so how succful has it been?

    • Big D December 12, 2012

      Hi Charles,

      I wrote a series of posts explaining exactly how to set up a successful handyman business website. Look for a post called “how to build a handyman website” or simply click the blue “prev” arrow to view the other posts in this series.

      I have used flyers, but only once and it was not successful for me. I actually handed them out to cars. But, I have heard of others being very successful with this technique. I think it’s all about how well your flyers are put together. I suggest targeting a specific service and hand writing a price for that service as you hand them out to each house. This way you can customize the price to fit the house.

      Hope that helps.

      Big D

  • Reid Gahl February 25, 2013

    Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely comeback.

  • Your article is brilliant. The points you make are valid and well represented. I have read other articles like this but they paled in comparison to what you have here.

  • PATRICK FEARICK April 10, 2013

    Thanks a lot for info. Could you tell me what site do you go to blog on? Is twitter good for this?

    • Big D April 10, 2013

      Hi Patrick,

      I blog on my handyman business website. Since I use wordpress as my CMS a blog is already fully integrated.

      Twitter can be effective for driving traffic to your website, but from my experience, is less passive than a blog on your main site.

      Big D

  • Kevin November 12, 2013

    Hey Big D, Thank you for investing your time to share with us your experience and recommendations. Great content! I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future and possibly creating a link on our website to help get the word out to our contractor and handyman clients!

    • Dan Perry November 13, 2013

      Thanks for reading, Kevin! Let me know if there’s any way I can help you.

  • Lorenzo Bailey December 9, 2013

    Hi Big D, first congrats on the engagement! I have been on this site non stop since I discovered it. You have excellent content, and you are very motivating. I look forward to reading more as I continue establishing me business here in Atlanta. thanks again.

    • Dan Perry December 10, 2013

      Thanks Lorenzo! Good luck with getting your business going.

  • Big D,

    I have been reading you blog for about 6 months now, ever since I started a handyman business of my own, RMC Construction & Handyman Services based out of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, California.

    Luckily, I have a past of nearly 5 years in the IT field, especially website design, Photoshop, logo creation, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), as well as Internet Marketing and PPC advertising, etc. and of course spent hours weekly following Matt Cutts and Google’s every move trying to come a little closer to figuring out their algorithm as all of us in the industry dd!

    Anyways, I am finally happy with my occupation as a handyman and have been quite successful so far after only about 6 months since I started my company up! Lot’s of my success I due to you and your blog, so I just wanted to introduce myself to a fellow handyman and internet blogger, I am Ryan Clark of RMC Construction & Handyman Services, located in the Bay Area of California, nice to meet you Big D!

  • Jack Darden June 24, 2015

    Greetings to you Dan!

    I did a search for “Top Handyman Blogging Websites” and yours came to the top of the 1st page of Google. Great Job! I have been reading your Handyman Startup Tips on your website and am very happy to have found it! You provide some very good technical information! Thanks much!

    I have a background in Engineering, have been doing Web Software Design the last few years and decided to create a startup Handyman business – Utah Handyman Company. I have followed your advice and I am on the 10th spot on 1st page of Google.

    – Utah Handyman Company
    http://www.slchandymanservices.com

    Thanks,
    Jack Darden
    Owner

    • Dan Perry June 24, 2015

      That’s awesome, Jack! Congratulations on taking action and making stuff happen.

  • Handymen Dubai Services December 2, 2015

    Woo Your article is excellent. The points you make are valid and well represented. Good keep it up.

  • Awesome blog. its very informative for me and my business. Thanks for sharing it. keep it up. 🙂

  • Tait Leaney August 21, 2016

    Hi Dan, I only just found your blog post about blogging.
    I like to use twitter to give updates and then these updates are posted to my website. I’m hoping google sees this as good blog content

    • Dan Perry August 21, 2016

      Is the content something that customers would be searching for and find value in once they found? If so, then that could work. But, the type of blogging that works for this strategy is creating high quality – in depth content that Google is going to want to put on the first page.

  • robertayan August 5, 2019

    Thanks for sharing such important information to share your online promotion of small or medium handyman type services site. Please keep sharing more information related to promote your own website.

  • mary goerge June 2, 2020

    nice information, thanks for sharing.

Leave a Comment