Best Way To Get Leads For Lawn & Landscape Businesses
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Introduction
As a niche-based marketing agency, we are always listening to what our audience is talking about. One of the most common questions that we come across is how to get more leads. It’s a simple question with a complex answer.
Every business is different, so we’ve developed a list of options for you to choose from!
One thing universally true for 99% of Lawn & Landscape Marketing strategies: You want to focus most of your time and energy on Google. Leads that come from Google are internationally seeking out a service provider, which usually means they’re ready to buy. Therefore, our list is primarily Google-related!
#1 – Google Business Profile (GBP)
What is it?
Previously known as Google My Business (GMB), your GBP is the source of your Local SEO. This just means it’s how people who are local to your area find you through the Local Map Pack. You know how when you Google something like “food near me,” and it shows you a map of the closest restaurants, their reviews, and contact info? That’s your GBP!
Your Google Business Profile often shows in the 3rd section of the Google Search Results Page, under Google Local Service Ads and Google Search Ads (PPC). Your GBP is organic, meaning you don’t need to pay Google for it to perform. Instead, it’s based on your Google authority. Usually, 3 to 4 businesses are shown unless the user clicks “See More.”
It Needs Attention!
Most businesses have a GBP, but it’s not optimized. It might as well not exist without basic optimization. The good news is that once you have it optimized, minimal maintenance is required to keep it that way.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile
There are a couple dozen optimizations that you’re going to want to implement into your GBP, such as:
- Service Categories: Tell Google what type of business you are.
- Primary Category: Use your primary service, typically landscaping or lawn care. Your primary category will get the most push from Google.
- Secondary Categories: Select other relevant secondary categories based on the services you offer. Make sure to search for all your different service types, including things like irrigation.
- Note: After selecting categories, you will choose service options for each category. E.g., landscaping would have services like mulch, flower beds, sod installation, etc. You can also manually add services that were not captured in the category selection.
- Business Address: This is arguably the most important part of optimizing your GBP. Remember that your GBP is the source of your Local SEO, where proximity plays a crucial role. Google wants to show your business to people who are close by, so how can they do that without an address displayed?
We have more good news for you.
We’ve created the Ultimate GBP Checklist for you to DIY!
NO Contact Info Required, NO Sales Pitch, NO BS.
#2 – Google Local Service Ads (LSAs)
What is it?
Also known as Google Guarantee, Local Service Ads is a Pay-per-Lead platform. It’s similar to the model used by Home Advisor and Angie’s List, but Google executes it far better. You get refunded for “bad leads,” meaning you only pay for qualified calls. How awesome is that compared to the standard Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising model?
Your Local Service Ads typically show in the first position of the Google Search Results page. The only time it wouldn’t is if there are not enough companies running ads at the time (minimum of 3+). It displays your Google Guarantee Badge after you complete the verification, and it syncs with your GBP to show Reviews! There are three businesses shown unless the user clicks “See More.”
Local Service Ads Can Be DOMINANT!
LSAs can be the highest-performing platform depending on a few variables:
- Market: We find that volume can sometimes be limited in smaller markets.
- Competition: If you are outnumbered by huge companies, your ad will likely not show.
- Authority: If you’re not building Google authority with reviews, you might not show often.
The majority of accounts that we manage have a significant impact on the business and generate high-quality leads. If it weren’t for the above variables combined with the necessity for ad spend, we would rank LSAs as the #1 way to get leads for your lawn and landscape business.
Not every business is in a position to allocate funds towards an ad spend budget, and that’s ok. However, you should know that it’s a big part of having successful advertising campaigns, and oftentimes, the ad spend budget outweighs the fee you’re paying someone to manage the service.
Getting Verified
To begin your journey with LSAs, you must get verified and become “Google Guaranteed.” This requires some documentation, identity verification, and other miscellaneous items.
We consider verification a good thing because it filters out illegitimate businesses!
Here are the common requirements
- Licensing: If your state requires a license(s) for the services you have selected, Google will require them.
- Background Check: Submit identity info and wait roughly three weeks. It could be less but don’t count on it. Also, if you have a “background,” give it a shot anyway. We have never had a background check rejection.
- Proof of Insurance: Simply get a PDF from your GL insurance company and submit it.
- Other: Connect your GBP, Add a payment method, select a bidding strategy, etc. This stuff is pretty easy.
Feel free to call Local Service Ads Support if something isn’t getting verified or it’s taking longer than expected.
Optimizing Your Local Service Ads
Local Service Ads are pretty easy to manage. This is why we don’t believe in offering it as an independent service. We can’t justify charging you a monthly fee for something that typically doesn’t take much time to manage.
We’ll give you a rundown on how to DIY!
INITIAL OPTIMIZATION
While you’re awaiting verification, you can begin optimizing your profile. This way, you’re off to a good start once Google gives you confirmation.
-
Service Categories: Search the categories for which you want to run ads and select them. Common categories in our niche are:
- Lawn Care
- Landscaper
- Tree Services
- Snow Removal
- Fencing Pro
- General Contractor
- Service List: Under each category, select the services for which you want leads. You can dispute calls for the services you leave off.
- Target Cities: Choose the cities that you want your Ads to target. If you can’t highlight the desired area, try zip codes and counties.
- Messaging: If you have the confidence that you can monitor the Inbox, turn “Messages” ON. Leave them off if you’re unable to respond fast However we have seen message leads be half the price compared to a call.
- Update General Info: Complete the miscellaneous sections, such as Bio, COVID Info, Business Hours, and Ad Schedule.
- Ad Spend: Set your weekly ad spend budget. We recommend over $100/week, as your budget will quickly hit $100.
The Cost Per Lead varies depending on the Market and the lead type (landscaping vs. lawn care). After a few weeks, you will get an idea of yours.
P.S.: Licenses are triggered based on the selected service category, not the service list.
RECURRING MAINTENANCE
There’s not much to manage on a recurring basis, but the few things you CAN do are impactful.
- ANSWER FAST!: If you don’t answer the phone or messages in a timely manner, Google considers your business unresponsive. They even track all the way down to how many times you let it ring!
- Disputes: Go through your leads under the Reports tab, select the date range, and start disputing bad leads. You will be credited for them, but beware that abusing the system will hurt your account. Also, not every dispute will be successful.
- Booked: Similar to disputes, but telling Google this is a good lead.
- Reviews: Getting Google Reviews on your GBP will sync with your Local Service Ads and give your rank a big boost.
- Ad Spend: Update your budget to fit your workload. You can also play with bidding if you want to get nerdy!
Successfully managing these will show Google that you’re active, professional, and providing a great service. Therefore, Google will want to show you more in searches and give you the #1 ad placement.
#3 – Custom Website & SEO
What is it?
We’re aware of what a website is (I hope), but the confusion comes into play when we think about what makes a website “good.” The answer is the quality of SEO, which is basically just the level of authority you have with Google.
Doing SEO isn’t magic. Marketers want you to think that so they can point the finger elsewhere when it’s time to show results. SEO is essentially just understanding what Google wants to see and then doing those things. It’s important to ask yourself what you want out of a website.
If you’re looking for a place to add photos, have something professional-looking to represent your brand, etc., you can get by with a really “cheap” site. You can even DIY using tools like WIX, Squarespace, or WordPress. Building a website isn’t rocket science nowadays.
Now, if you’re like most people and want a website that brings in customers, you better be ready to invest. You also must be prepared to do your due diligence because a high price tag doesn’t equal high quality. To rank in the top 3 on Google, it’s going to take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, especially in larger markets where you have businesses spending thousands in an attempt to outrank you.
Your website usually shows in the fourth section of the Google Search Results page under the Local Map Pack (GBP). Your website ranking is organic, meaning you don’t need to pay Google for it to perform, instead it’s based on your Google Authority.
What’s Important?
- Content: The saying that “Content Is King” remains true. Unique expert-based content to show Google and customers you know what you’re talking about and can benefit from the information on your site. Here are some of the different elements of creating content for your website.
- Meta Titles: This what shows in the “Tab” at the top of your Browser, and also shows on the Google Search Results page.
- Heading 1’s (H1’s): These are the first things Google reads on your site to understand what the page is about. Each page should only have one at the very top, along with other content structures like several H2 and H3 headings, bullet lists, etc. Take this blog for example!
- Pillar Pages: You want a page for each of your services and pages for each target city with a minimum of 500 words. These pages are very narrow and hyper-focused on the service or city, attempting to rank for that keyword.
- Cannibalization: Don’t make pages compete with each other. Each page should be focused on ranking for one particular thing. If two pages are trying to rank for the same thing, they will “eat” each other, and neither will rank well.
- Blogging: Create frequent blogs (around 1k words) that are hyper-focused on one service and add internal links back to relevant pages on your site. This will essentially tie the SEO value together for those pages (as long as they’re relevant).
- Indexing: Create a Google Search Console account and make sure your pages are being indexed, which basically means Google “recognizes” your pages.
- Other: Some other things to be aware of are website speed, images & alt text, backlinks (real, quality ones), Google Reviews, mobile responsiveness, etc.
Where Do I Find A Partner I Can Trust?
“Oh boy, getting my website ranked in the top 3 will be tough”. That’s the realization that SEO isn’t easy, which is why you need a really good marketing partner. The biggest risk with investing in this isn’t the money; it’s the time!
You should give your provider at least six months to show something tangible, sometimes longer. So you need to make this work from the beginning. We see countless businesses jumping around from agency to agency because they’re not doing the following:
- Niche Agency: If you’re not working with an agency dedicated to your niche, you’ve already lost. As experts in your industry, we will win every time because of all the nuances involved in a niche.
- Proof: Ask for real evidence of clients and their success stories. We’re talking reviews, references, ranking results, portfolios, etc. Agencies should be able to show that they do this every day for people just like you!
- Price: At least over $1,000/mo management fee, and honestly, over $1,500 – $2,500/mo is a safer bet. Nobody can provide the level of service you need under that amount. If they could, we would hire them and take them off the market.
- Expectations: Get clear expectations on the journey and ensure they understand that a 2x isn’t a good ROI if your net profit is 25%. Also, make sure that they have a way to track the leads/revenue they generate for you separately from your referral, word of mouth, existing customers, etc.
The marketing industry is packed with ignorance and snake oil.
If you don’t take your partnership seriously, YOU WILL LOSE MISERABLY.
#4 – OTHER
Didn’t Make The Cut
There’s plenty of other marketing strategies to use, so we will compile a few of them here.
- Branding: Your branding should be on point, look, and sound like a professional. Have paper materials on deck with the same colors and fonts. Consider a mascot to really stand out.
- Customer List: Activate your customer list frequently to upsell existing customers the services they might need. Email and text campaigns work great, but good old-fashioned phone calls do, too. You can also request Google Reviews, show customer appreciation, etc.
- Advertising: Google Search Ads and Facebook Ads (PPC) will drain your bank with no ROI if you don’t know what you’re doing. Be extremely careful here and be ok with losing unless you hire a pro.
- Facebook Groups: Utilize your local community groups in target cities. It’s a great way to showcase your work and bring value to your community. Have good intent and care about them – no sales tactics. Get in with the admins at all costs. This is such an underrated opportunity and costs you NOTHING.
- Word of Mouth: It’s important for every business to have but cannot be accelerated as real marketing efforts can. Always strive for a greater reputation, referrals, etc., but don’t rely on it to scale your company past seven figures (not that it can’t). There’s always room for more, and marketing is how you make that happen. Ask your customers to amplify your WoM by posting in Facebook Groups.
- Home Advisor & Angies List: Very rarely do we see these platforms be an efficient marketing strategy. We feel that it’s the bottom of the barrel in comparison to these other options.
We hope this guide gives you clarity on how to grow your Lawn & Landscape Business. If you feel stuck, or need some auditing, please feel free to reach out to info@greenmarketingfl.com.
Let us know your thoughts on this article and if you would like to see something added!
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Conclusion
To generate leads for lawn and landscape businesses, focus on Google-based strategies. Google Business Profile (GBP) optimization is crucial for local SEO, while Google Local Service Ads (LSAs) offer a pay-per-lead model with refunds for bad leads. A custom website with high-quality SEO can also improve visibility and attract organic traffic.