Roofing
The storm passed and now everybody on the street is looking up.
Roofing demand arrives in waves, and the companies that already rank take the wave. The work that decides that happens months before the weather does.
What you are up against
Storm chasers show up with a budget and leave with your market.
Out-of-state crews follow the weather, buy ads the week after a hailstorm, and disappear. They cannot outrank an established local roofer in the map pack, but they can outbid you in the paid results while you are on a roof. The defense is a position they cannot buy on arrival.
The arithmetic
What one more is worth.
$10,000
a typical job
The highest ticket of any trade here. One additional job a year covers a $850 monthly retainer with change left over, which is why roofing supports more aggressive work than most.
How search works here
Three things specific to roofers.
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Demand is seasonal, rankings are not
You cannot build authority the week after a storm. The businesses that catch the surge earned their position in the quiet months, which is the argument for spending when the phone is not ringing.
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Insurance language is its own search
Homeowners search claims, adjusters and deductibles as much as they search repair. Answering those questions plainly is how you get found before somebody has decided who to call.
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Photographs are the proof
Before and after work, on your own pages and your profile, does more for a roofing decision than any amount of copy about quality and integrity.
Work it out
How many jobs would it have to bring in?
Set what one is worth to you, pick what you would actually buy, and it tells you the number the spend has to beat.
Where I would start
In this order, and for this reason.
- Profile and reviews, so you hold the map pack when the weather turns
- Pages for the towns you cover, since storm damage is geographic
- Content answering the insurance questions, which is where the early searches are
- Ads in season, where the storm chasers are already bidding
Which rung that starts on depends on your market rather than your trade. Profile work runs $250/mo, and Local SEO starts at $500/mo. The full ladder is published.
Questions
The ones roofers ask.
Should I only advertise after a storm?
That is when everybody bids, so it is when clicks cost most. The organic and map pack position that carries you through a surge has to be built in the quiet months, and it is a lot cheaper then.
How do I compete with out-of-state crews after a hailstorm?
You do not outbid them, because they treat the ad spend as a cost of the trip. You beat them in the map pack, where a real local address, a review history and years of local mentions are things they cannot assemble in a fortnight.
Free audit
Start with where you stand.
Your site's performance, your Google Business Profile, and whether AI can find you. It runs automatically and lands in your inbox in about three minutes.
You get the findings whether or not you hire me, and it is what decides which of the steps above is worth doing first.