Grandscapes, based out of Rhode Island, came to Halstead Media with an outdated website that was difficult to view on mobile and desktop. The text was small and the images were tough to see. In such a visual industry, they struggled showing the quality of their work with an unresponsive website.

Capturing elements that were important to Gary Duff Designs in their new website and making sure the new website represented the brand, the new website offers a perfect combination of classic sophistication and company info.

As long as landscapers have been landscaping and hardscapers have been hardscaping, we have also been, in our own ways, marketing. Over the last score of years, however, the introduction into the “age of technology” has vastly warped design-build marketing. Businesses, regardless of industry, can barely function on simple word-of-mouth anymore. To show our design-build pros just how far we’ve come in the last decade-and-a-half, and our predictions of the next few years, we’ve developed an “evolution of design-build marketing” timeline.

Why are you going to your hosting company for a website design? Why is your computer technician your website design guy? IT and design are not one in the same. And website design isn't a skill that comes from IT. Stop mixing the two up! In this episode #3 of HalsteadTV, Corey shares his thoughts on this frustrating mix-up that produces websites that look like they're from 1995.

In this episode 2, Anna talks about the four action items that design/build professionals need to take (online) in order to take advantage of the biggest opportunity this industry has ever had! Go!

Lehigh Lawns & Landscaping, based out of Wappingers Falls, NY, has spent the last 30 years providing landscape design, fertilization, maintenance, and commercial snow management services. As one of the largest landscaping companies in the area, Lehigh needed a way to better attract and communicate with the many different types of target customers. Their previous SEO and website limited their ability to attract these potential opportunities.

The new website came with the bells and whistles needed to promote this now Christmas destination Christmas Tree Farm. Starting with the overall look and feel, the fonts, colors, and overall style all represent the farm's brand: classic, cheerful, celebratory, and elegant. And since the company had limited images, we used all stock images that looked local and relevant to the area as well as the business type. Everything really spoke to and resonated with Cockburn Farm's target customer.

Halstead Media transitioned The Gorilla Hook to an ecommerce friendly platform using Squarespace. From shipping to inventory, the new platform gives endless flexibility to managing pricing and orders. 

D.L. Hickman & Son, based out of the Newport Beach, CA area, is a high-end, landscape construction company. Hickman relies on landscape architects to create the design for the very complex landscape installations that their staff completes.

Above All had an existing SEO strategy that involved content marketing. They had a Facebook account, Houzz profile, good looking website, and they had new monthly content pages built on their website, some were even blog pages (and for anyone that knows us here at Halstead Media, you'll know we stand behind content as SEO). They were doing many of the essential puzzle pieces that you would expect to see in a successful landscaping company. So what exactly was wrong? 

Home services lead referral websites such as Angie's List, Home Advisor, Yelp, and now, Amazon Home Services, have become the unfortunate norm in contractor "marketing" today.  Turn on the service and the inexpensive leads come flooding in right to your iPhone. Trust me, I understand. I remember receiving leads from HomeAdvisor— called ServiceMagic.com back then—while I was in a sales/project management role. And once the service was turned on, my calendar would almost instantly book up with late evening appointments with homeowners that were less than ready to buy. That is if the meeting even took place. 

The process of designing a website has changed tremendously over the last 5 years—not just for home improvement contractors, but for every type of small business. With Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and the countless other online website builders out there, landscapers, home remodelers, architects, and home services contractors really have no excuse for sporting a company website that's outdated and not mobile-friendly. But much like the technology behind modern website design has changed so drastically, so has the purpose for having a website for your business in the first place. 

Spoiler alert: Squarespace wins, hands down. There is a ton of misinformation out there about website design building sites - including platforms like Wordpress. So to help get our home improvement contractors up to speed on what is best for them in terms of design, responsiveness, style options, seo friendliness, and more, we are breaking down the difference between Wordpress and Squarespace.

The Platinum Group—comprised of Platinum Site Development, Platinum Pools, and Platinum Horticulture—designs and builds some of the finest, most exclusive pools and landscapes on Long Island. In February 2016, they decided to make their online presence match their incredible offline reputation. 

SEO isn't mysterious; it's not witchcraft. There is a formula that works and factors that don't. What makes SEO complex is that the formula includes hundreds of variables. In our previous blog post, we mentioned that Google's algorithm includes 200+ factors. Some are foundational (such as high-quality content) which will severely impact your rankings and some are complementing (like image descriptions). And since there are so many SEO factors, it's easy to lose track of what is still relevant and what's not. We believe (and hope) this is the reason for using outdate SEO tactics. To check your knowledge (or quiz your SEO person), check out this incredible infographic on what SEO used to be versus what it is now.

The number one way to getting leads for projects you want to design and build is through your website. Period. Yes, there are numerous other ways to bring in some leads - referrals, home shows, PPC, print advertising, you get the point. But in terms of return on your time and money, your website is your best bet.

Before we discuss why you're not getting enough traffic to your site, how do you know whether or not you're getting enough traffic? What is considered enough traffic? Easy: ask yourself these two questions:

Blackwood & Associates, based out of Canonsburg, PA, contacted Halstead Media with two goals in mind: to transform their website style and to increase the company's revenue.

Google accounts for about 90% of all searches (Source: Moz). And 97% of all consumers use online media to research when buying something local (source: BIA/Kelsey’s study). So what does this mean to local home improvement contracting companies? It means that Google is King. It also means that Google is focused on providing quality search results to shoppers, hence its popularity and ability to continuously interest people to use its search engine. 

Do you notice anything different about the cover of the new Unilock product catalog? We did. There's people in the photo.

For years the landscape construction industry—perhaps more aptly referred to these days as the outdoor living industry—has been shelling out product catalogs filled with beautiful close-ups of concrete blocks and backyard projects that apparently weren't build for people to use. At least that's the way it seemed because there wasn't a human anywhere in site.

If I told you that I could deliver 20 prequalified leads directly to your cell phone every month, would you believe me? Probably not. You would probably believe me even less if I told you that in order to that, I would be using just your website and a few social media sites. That's right...I wouldn't tell you to pack up 5 pallets of stone and head off for the weekend to a home show that cost you $5k. And I wouldn't say turn your HomeAdvisor account on so you can drive around to visit tire kickers until 10 o'clock at night after working a 10 hour day in the field. Nah, just your website and the place where over 80% or homeowners will be looking for their next contractor to hire.