After talking with many different home improvement dealers about internet marketing, I hear a
common frustration: my competitors are “stealing” my leads.
But that’s not the half of it.
It’s not just their competitors who are “stealing” leads, it’s also online lead generation companies
themselves who jockey for position on the Search Engine Results Pages. Then they take those
leads and sell them to the highest bidder – namely other replacement window companies or
familiar names like QuinStreet and ServiceMagic.
What does this mean for you, Mr. Home Improvement Dealer? In short, a lead is promised to no
one on the Internet, and you need to do everything you can to attract and maintain consumer
interest in your product…before a competitor does.
Let’s look at a live example of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Below is a search I did for
“Renewal by Andersen” from Waltham, Massachusetts on June 3, 2009.
Google Search Engine Page Results for 6/3/09 Renewal by Andersen
In this scenario, a consumer has typed in “Renewal by Andersen”. And common thinking is that the consumer is looking for Renewal by Andersen, based on the fact that the Andersen brand name is the search keyword.
But that’s not what’s always happening here. Many – but not all – of the people who type in brand terms like this are going to click through to the first organic search listing on the page, the Renewal by Andersen Web site. In fact, a reasonable percentage of searchers will click on the other links on that page to see competitors.
So while the consumer knows they are looking for Renewal by Andersen, they may also be looking for replacement windows. It’s the perfect place for competitors to capitalize on the searcher’s interest. They have the same type of product, targeting the same type of audience in the same geographic area.
In this case, let’s look at who the competitors are.
Google Search Engine Page Results for 6/3/09 Renewal by Andersen
1) Newpro, an aggressive and well known replacement windows company in New England, and major Renewal competitor
2) DLM Remodeling, a lesser known general home improvement contractor that carries a number of major brands
3) Penguin Windows, another aggressive replacement window company in the Boston area
4) Replacement-window-center.com, a third party provider of leads to replacement window contractors, or other larger third parties (like QuinStreet).
4 of the top 6 listings on this SERP are competitors to Andersen, meaning that a percentage of traffic who thought they were looking into the Andersen brand could easily be lured to a competitive site.
Through a combination of Google’s advertising policies, the laws of probability and smart competitors, some of the traffic for “Renewal by Andersen” is being diverted to other Internet destinations. How many are choosing competitors? 10%? 20%? 30%? Only Google and the other search engines really know.
What could Renewal by Andersen do in this case to help improve its’ chances of taking back some of the clicks on its own brand terms? First, it would bid for and run an ad for itself at the top of the Google SERP. That would ensure 3 of the top 7 listings on the page – improving its odds just through the laws of probability.
Next, it could also buy leads from the third party advertiser on the right side of the page…giving it a 4 out of 7 chance to capture that consumer. And while I flunked pre-calculus, 4 out of 7 is better than 2 out of 6 any day.
As we’ve seen, competitors are everywhere on the web. Just because someone types your name into a search engine doesn’t mean they are yours. A lead on the internet is promised to no one…you’ve got to do everything you can online to put the odds in your favor.
