Lead generation tips for Manchester trades: How to improve your reach

Improving lead generation in Manchester

Whatever your skill or trade, you know how important leads are. They’re what keep any business growing. As a result, its important for tradespeople to sort their lead generation in Manchester and its surrounding areas.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

Especially if your business operates in and around a city like Manchester. While new customers might crop up on a daily basis, competition is going to be exceedingly strong.

The vast size of the city, strength of local communities, as well as surrounding towns, all adds to a diverse mix of work opportunities.

Finding the right leads is much easier as a tradesperson than you might think. Read on to learn our top tips for how to improve lead generation in Manchester, no matter what skill you specialise in.

Common lead generation strategies

At the end of the day, in order to improve your lead generation, you need to be visible to customers. Specifically, the sorts of customers your services are suited for. Sadly, that means that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution you can turn to.

There are, however, plenty of useful strategies and tactics you can employ to boost work. All of which can be tailored specifically to generate more leads in and around Manchester or your local area:

1. Optimise for local SEO

As we’ve just mentioned, in order for customers to use your services, they need to be able to find you. And that’s why it’s absolutely essential that you optimise your business’s online presence at the local level.

As a tradesperson in Manchester, this means including relevant local information on your website. Where in the city are you based? Rusholme? Salford? Or further afield in Prestwich? Talk about that! It’ll help you increase the likelihood of appearing in customer searches.

This can be done in a number of simple ways, for example:

• Changing your website’s metadata to reflect your location and business services, i.e., ‘Experienced Plumbers in Manchester | [Business Name]’
• Carrying out local keyword research to target customer searches, i.e., ‘Manchester electricians’, ‘carpenters in Salford’, ‘painter-decorators near Trafford’, etc…
• Optimising your website for mobile users so that anyone out and about can easily find you at a moment’s notice
• Optimising your website so that customers have a smooth user journey and that the information on it is accurate
• Creating local content that’s relevant to the Manchester area, such as topics of interest in your local community, local trade or interesting events you’ve attended or sponsored

We highly recommend that you try out all of these SEO optimisation tips as soon as possible. They’re quick to implement and can bring in new leads at next to no extra costs.

2. Claim your GMB listing

Much like direct local SEO optimisation, claiming your business’s GMB listing will substantially boost your local visibility on Google. Even if your website doesn’t rank that well in the overall search results.

This is because Google My Business helps determine whether your business appears on their map results. And appearing in a ‘map pack’ is one of the best ways to get in front of customers.

Therefore, you want to make sure that you’ve not only claimed your GMB listing. But you also do the following to attract new Manchester leads:

• Add and keep all requested business details for your GMB listing accurate and up-to-date
• Check that your business details properly reflect the services you offer
• Encourage customers to leave Google reviews to enhance the reputation of your business

Again, much like more generalised local SEO optimisation, claiming your GMB listing is quick to do. And you could see a fast turnaround on the number of new leads coming in.

3. Link build and collaborate with local media outlets

If you’ve never heard of link building before, don’t worry, it’s a very simple concept. Essentially, link building is all about getting other websites to link through to yours to boost your online authority.

But not any website will do.

You want links from reputable sources or brands that customers already trust. And that’s why you need to be collaborating with local Manchester media outlets or online influencers.

Newspapers

Local papers, such as the Manchester Observer or Manchester Times, could be ideal for you. Especially if you want to promote a big business occasion.

Influencers

Manchester-based influencers, on the other hand, can work with you to promote your services and capabilities to a whole new audience.

Trade community

On top of this, you might even want to consider working with other Manchester trades local to you. Not direct competitors, of course, but other trades adjacent to yours that a customer might be interested in.

Not only will enable you to promote each other’s businesses with online links. But as an added bonus, it could generate even more leads for your business through word-of-mouth marketing!

4. Leverage local traditional marketing

While not a viable option for all tradespeople, we cannot overstate the importance of using local traditional marketing.

Some methods for you to consider include:

• Directories
• Local paper advertising
• Billboards in prominent locations
• Local papers such as the Gazette, the Mill or the Evening News
• Community bulletin boards

Alternatively, if you run a larger business, your budget may stretch to a local radio or TV ad. This can be pricey, but if you put the effort in, the returns you see could also be quite substantial.

5. Social media

We’re sure you’ve heard this before but we’re going to tell you again. In the modern day, every single business needs to promote on social media, especially if you’re a tradesperson.

Simply put, practically all trades operate on a visual level. This means that customers want to see what your work looks like before they consider using your skills. And this is really easy to do.

For example, if you do some joinery work in Bury, make sure you mention, or tag Bury in the post. And if the homeowners are happy, then you could show the road too.

There is not much effort involved yet can do so much for your business.

6. Service offering

Last, but not least, if you find you’re struggling to get leads, then you should consider expanding your service offering.

It’s a good idea to do some market research to see what sorts of work is in local demand.

That way, you can see if it’s something you can take on, giving you a wider customer pool to choose from.

Alternatively, if there is limited work in your direct area, think about expanding your work radius. For example, if you only work in Manchester directly, extend your reach to cover the Greater Manchester area.

Generate more Manchester leads with Checkatrade

With these points covered, you should have a better idea of how to get more leads in the Manchester area. Of course, one fantastic option we haven’t mentioned yet is just how many new leads you could get with Checkatrade!

At Checkatrade, we send our customers high-quality leads each and every day.

Of course, there are plenty of other benefits that come with being a Checkatrade member. Here’s just a few to get you thinking:

• Your own member profile for reviews and pictures
• Offers and discounts on a range of essentials
• We guarantee your work up to £1000 when booked through us (T&Cs apply)
• Our dedicated membership advice team
• Our fixed membership option lets you build the plan that’s perfect for you and your business needs

Get in touch with our onboarding team today to learn more about our vetting and checking process.

Content disclaimer: This content has been created for general information purposes and should not be taken as formal advice. Read our full disclaimer here.