Why construction companies need a specialist copywriter, not a generalist

Construction is traditionally based on referrals and word of mouth. However, that approach leaves a lot of business on the table and risks becoming a major vulnerability for your company. If the work dries up from existing clients and contacts, you could suddenly be in trouble.

The answer is to consistently nurture an alternative pipeline of work, and the best way to do that is to have a strong, active web presence which does your marketing for you.

Key to getting that right is choosing a specialist construction copywriter who can help you get more, better leads to generate new work.

What sort of web pages should construction companies prioritise?

Construction is heavily based on trust, location and specific services. People want to appoint a company which…

Can demonstrate expertise and track record
Is in the right area to do the work
Provides exactly the right service they need

With that in mind, a construction website should focus first on the following pages:

‍Home page – Clear, simple overview of who you are, what you offer and what makes you a reliable company.
‍Services – A page for each individual service you offer detailing what it is, your approach and your precise expertise.
‍Location pages – A page for each location you work in, preferably including examples of work done in those areas.
‍Case studies – Comprehensive examples of past work which show your expertise, problem-solving ability, reliability and quality standards.
‍Company blog – To show off your depth of knowledge, show the company is active and announce your successes to the world.
‍Accreditations/Certifications – A place to clearly show your relevant accreditations to demonstrate quality processes and management.

Once you’ve sorted those, you can move onto other pages. However, the most important thing is getting those key pages right first.

What type of construction content writer should I use? Should I use one at all? Can I do it myself?

A simple truth: Many construction firms do not have good websites. If you are planning to do yours properly then you are already in a minority and can be happy with that.

However, there’s more to it than just good intentions. It’s tempting to do the writing yourself, or even use an LLM service like ChatGPT to do it for you. There’s no point pretending that’s not the case – many, many construction firms choose one of those options.

However, there are risks to this approach:

‍Never getting it done – I have lost count of the number of firms who have come to me because they’ve spent 18 months NOT getting their website sorted, even though they were planning to do it in a few days.
‍Misused jargon – Construction is complex and there are a lot of terms which must be used correctly. If you use a generalist writer or an LLM system, mistakes are likely to be made with complex jargon. The end result is you look like you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, the exact opposite of what you want.
‍Losing people’s trust – If your website is bad, and the writing is lazy, inaccurate or poor quality, you will lose people’s trust. If you take shortcuts getting your website right, what’s to say you won’t take shortcuts on site? Your website is your first impression, so it pays to make sure it is as good as possible.
‍Penalised by google – If you use an LLM, you risk ending up with a generic website which is penalised by google. If it sounds like everything else, search engines and ‘AI’ agents will mark it as low quality and your lead gen efforts will suffer. The risk of being blacklisted is simply not worth it.

The answer is to use a specialist construction copywriter who has the experience and niche knowledge to get it right so your firm stands out from the crowd. The target audience and best search terms will be different for a residential builder, a commercial developer, a specialist tradesman or a technical construction consultant.

A professional B2B construction copywriter knows the difference without being told.

The end result will be:

More leads
Higher lead quality
A stronger return on investment
A more resilient construction firm

And yes, margins are tight right now – everyone knows it – but you don’t have to hire a full-time construction content writer to get the best result. A freelance construction copywriter can review your current site, write you a new one or even offer ongoing construction marketing management in a more cost-effective, flexible way than a full-time employee.

Common mistakes construction companies make on their websites

The job of an expert UK construction copywriter is more than writing. It’s about helping you avoid common construction SEO mistakes on top of that, so that your website works in harmony and each page supports the whole.

This is where a lesser man would make a clunking analogy like how each brick in a wall needs to be laid right individually to support the whole house. But I won’t do that.

Here are some common construction SEO mistakes a professional construction website copywriter can help you avoid – and that a generalist writer or marketer might simply miss.

Construction companies need more than just a home page

This is a complex, technical and trust-based industry. You need to develop the whole site, not just the front page, and give potential customers more information to go on. You’re selling a high-value service, not a cheap product, and you need to show your quality in all areas to get appointed.

The importance of good photography

It’s easy to rely on stock photography, but it’s the wrong move. We’ve all requested the site team send pictures before and then wondered why we bothered as they come back wonky, out of focus and of the wrong thing. Instead, it is worth investing in proper photography on completed sites you are proud of.

Show off your work properly and you’ll be more likely to get the next job. As above, this is a high-value, complex industry and customers want to see that you can deliver before signing off on a contract worth millions of pounds.

Creating irrelevant content

Finally, don’t create writing or videos for the sake of it. It’s easy to get sucked into the trap of stretching to upload things every single day, or three times a week. Loads of construction companies do this and it muddies the message.

You don’t need to – and in fact, you shouldn’t. Concentrate on giving people what they need rather than flooding your site with information. Five very specific and useful blog posts (“How our digital system cuts construction programmes by 25%”) are better than 100 vague ones (“what is construction?”).