Marketing

Most Successful Landscaping Websites Have These 5 Things in Common

Landscaping websites help generate leads and communicate who you are and what you do to new audiences. Many landscapers rely on referrals—which is good—but remember that the first thing a referral will do is check your website. If it is outdated, slow, or difficult to navigate you probably won’t win the lead.

From basic lawn care services to landscape architecture and design, if you are a professional working in this industry, please do not overlook the power of a strong website to work on your behalf while you’re in the field.

When you evaluate the best landscaping websites, you’ll find that they have several things in common. Take a look at this list of must-haves and consider how you can take your own business website from good to great.

1. Mobile-Friendly Design

If you talk with a website developer or designer, one of the first things they will ask you is if your website is mobile-friendly. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, mobile-friendly web design refers to how your website looks and functions on a mobile device.

Have you ever tried to pull up a website on your iPhone or Android and had to grab your readers just to see the contact information? If so you’ve experienced firsthand the negative impacts of a website that isn’t designed for mobile. And that’s just a minor one!

Many websites—especially those built many years ago—may not display properly on a phone. Nowadays, websites built using templatized themes (e.g. WordPress) often have this technology built-in, but even still this is not always the case.

(Read More: 3.8 Billion Reasons Why Your Website Needs a Mobile-First Redesign)

Maybe you’re not even sure if your website is mobile-friendly. If that’s the case, let us walk you through a quick website audit.

Grab your phone and pull up your website on your mobile device. How does it look? Did it load quickly? Is it easy to find your phone number, email address, and other pertinent contact information? Did the images display correctly? Is it easy to read?

These are a few of the things you should check for but there is more that goes into making a website mobile-friendly. If you’ve considered it and want more help, please contact us. We would be happy to audit your website and give you our professional recommendations.

A word of caution, be sure not to compromise your website’s security in your effort to make it mobile-friendly. For more on the subject of website security, check out our post:  3 Ways to Make Your Website Secure and Protect Your Brand, Business, & Customers

2. Consistent Visual Branding

Landscapers understand the importance of branding. You’ve probably invested a good bit of time and money into designing a logo, choosing fonts, and selecting a color palette for your business collateral. From uniforms to vehicles and paperwork, the look and feel of your business must look consistent.

Problems begin when the website, online directory listings, social media pages, and other digital spaces don’t match the physical look and feel your company portrays in the field. When a prospect passes by your crew working on a neighbor’s yard, notices the wrap on your trucks, and looks up your website, it is a huge turn-off if the website doesn’t match what they saw in real life.

It takes time to stay on top of your visual brand, but as important as it is to have a strong brand in the community, it is even more important to carry those visuals into all online expressions of your business.

Read More: Brand Identity 101: The Ultimate Guide to a Fresh New Look for Your Business

3. Photography and Videos

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially in an industry like landscaping. Prospects want to see your skills at work with their own two eyes. You take pride in your work and have a lot to show potential customers. So make sure that your landscaping website has plenty of beautiful photos and videos that showcase your work.

They also like to know who from your company would be doing work in their own yards. Adding pictures and videos to your “about us” page will bolster trust between you and the person researching your company. We always recommend hiring professional photographers to get high-quality photos of your team so customers have a picture of the person who they will be working with.

Here are a few other ideas to add photos and videos to your landscaping website:

• Plan ahead to have a photographer follow your team periodically throughout the year to show how your landscaping business supports customers through the changing seasons.
• Add educational or instructional videos to your website to garner respect and credibility in the eyes of your website visitors.
• If you serve specific industries, such as commercial and residential properties, be sure to provide images and videos of everything your company offers.

Read More: Six Reasons Why Your Website Needs Professional Photography

4. Clear Calls to Action

A clear call to action (CTA) may be the most important element of your landscaping website. What some business owners often overlook is the strategic placement of CTAs throughout their websites.

Typical service industry CTAs include phrases such as “schedule a quote” or “get an estimate” with a link to a contact page. But don’t forget that your prospects are on a journey and they may not be ready to contact you just yet. Offering transitional CTAs such as, “read this blog post” or “watch this video to learn more,” give people time to get to know you as they weigh their options.

At a minimum, make sure your contact info is at the top and bottom of every page on your website. We cannot stress this enough—make it as easy as possible for a prospective customer to get in touch with you. Don’t make them search for your number.

Read More: 8 Website Redesign Tips to Help Crush Your Revenue Goals in 2022

5. Blog

This may be a surprising recommendation for a landscaping company website, but hear us out. Some people think that blogs are a sort of glorified online journal while others may believe that blogging is only for certain kinds of companies.

But the truth is that blogging is for everyone. A well-planned and properly structured blog can accomplish several marketing goals. Here’s why we think blogs make websites better:

• Search engine optimization (SEO) is a major reason to start blogging. When people need help with landscaping, lawn care, or any sort of yard maintenance, they will very likely turn to a Google search to gather information about their options. If you have a blog, you can create relevant content with strategically-placed keywords in order to get more traffic to your website.
• Branding is all about building trust and credibility. Use your blog to share your expertise and offer content that your ideal customer will find useful and actionable. Continue doing this and you will become their go-to source for landscaping which will likely lead to bookings.
• Regularly updating your website with new content helps to ensure that your website stays relevant and up-to-date. If you’re not posting regularly, your website may become “out of site, out of mind.” Also, search engine algorithms and web crawlers give preference to websites that post fresh new content, which will improve your chances of getting on page one of Google.
• Blogging is a great way to stay connected with current customers and keep lines of communication open. You can use your blog for company news and information, to run specials, or as a base for other sales strategies and campaigns.

We Can Help you Design and Develop a Landscaping Website!

Our web team has extensive experience designing websites for a wide range of service-based industries including landscaping companies. We would love to talk with you about our ideas for helping your website become a lead-generating machine. Contact us today to schedule a meeting and see examples of our work.  We hope to hear from you soon!