An award-winning architectural firm needed a cutting edge website that was easy to update in-house and that captured the essence of their firm and it’s work. HALSTEAD delivered.

Retargeting, also known as remarketing, refers to a type of online advertising which targets the people who have visited your website but haven’t made a purchase, signed up for a free trial or completed any other ‘conversions’. This group is known as ‘bounced traffic’ and consists of approximately 98% of a website’s total traffic. Retargeting campaigns anonymously follow these users to other sites and advertise your brand to them again, ensuring that you maintain their awareness and encouraging them to revisit your website and become a customer.

Facebook users will visit your business’ page driven by a certain need or desire that you promise to fulfill, but this doesn’t guarantee that they will follow through and engage in business with you. The call-to action feature on your Facebook page serves to keep these people ‘hooked’ and is a mechanism through which they can interact with your business without leaving Facebook’s convenient platform or doing any searching of their own.

Quality data about your customers and potential customers is key to running a successful business. In days past, collecting this sort of information was a time consuming process involving weeks of gathering data and transcribing that research into readable charts and reports. Now this sort of information is readily available: fully compiled and ready to work with, provided you know how to read and use it. Introducing Facebook Audience Insights.

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.

Dating as far back as the early 1980s, marketing co-op programs and marketing development funds (MDFs) have played a large role in the marketing industry. It made logical sense in previous decades for businesses to set aside a portion of their budget for co-op marketing. But is just as wise as it recently waste invest in this kind of marketing technique? Are co-op marketing and MDFs still an investment, or are they become solely an expense? 

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.

No matter the size or market of your landscaping, design, or construction business, you should be updating your company blog to help with your website traffic and leads. But with numerous variables in play, it can be difficult to determine the frequency with which you should be blogging. We're here to help provide some clarity!

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? 

Fairfield House and Garden builds beautiful, high-end interior and exterior spaces. From additions to pergolas and patios - their expert construction crew creates spaces that deliver memories. Fairfield House and Garden services homes in the Westchester County, NY as well as in the Fairfield, CT area. 

Now at the top of pay-per-click advertising, Google AdWords has been undergoing a lot of changes throughout the past couple of years. Specifically, the media marketing giant made some alterations not just to their site layout, but to advertising capabilities. These are the ones that could help your business the most. We’re going to lay out the three big ones for you, and show you how these changes benefit your landscape design/build, architecture, or other type of home improvement company.

Since service review websites like Yelp and Amazon have developed a large consumer base by offering their basic services for free, Angie’s List has had to up the ante by promising in March that it would join its competitors in the realm of free basic reviews. On July 1, 2016 Angie’s List came through on that promise. While this development gives clear advantages to homeowners, will business owners reap the same benefits? Here is what you need to know. 

While websites such as Thumbtack.com and homeadvisor.com have been known to work for connecting consumers and services, the high volume of inquiries versus low close rate has many of our clients wondering if there is a better option. With its beta release in the summer of 2015, Google Home Services hopes to provide a streamlined platform for business/consumer interfacing. We're here to give you the scoop on this platform, still in the early stages of its development.

In the past, referrals were considered the best way to get leads for a home improvement business. Whether your company relies on referrals as a primary or secondary source of leads, referrals are a critical part of maintaining a sustainable landscaping, remodeling, or general contractor business. But what happens when the referrals stop coming in? What went wrong? Are your customers unhappy? Perhaps disappointed in  the quality or service? Or maybe, just maybe, they're incredibly happy but just forgot to recommend your company to their neighbor during a conversation about a service you do.

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. 

So you've got yourself a Facebook account - post every now and again and don't really see the likes moving up. Perhaps you're not even sure whether or not you should invest your time in creating a Facebook account. Or, last possible common scenario, you might have an account and don't even remember the last time you posted (if ever!). All possible, and regardless of your scenario, you're not alone.

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. 

Let's be honest. The world has changed a lot from the days when relying solely on word of mouth referrals was a safe strategy for home remodelers, landscaping companies, and other home improvement contractors. That’s not to say that referrals aren't still the most qualified leads to get. But today, when a customer gets a referral from a coworker, they don't simply pick up the phone and schedule a time for you to come out and provide an estimate. No, no. They thank Susie for the recommendation and then they go online to learn more—a lot more.