The bad reputation of doorstep sellers
Travelling crews offer moss removal at the door and vanish. Homeowners have become wary. An established roofer has to prove online that they have an address, insurance and jobs in the area.
Home / Industries / Roofing and leadwork
SEO for roofers: get the roofing enquiries from your towns.
People rarely look at their roof. They deal with it when a stain appears on the ceiling, after a gale or when buying a house. That day, the owner searches for a roofer on their phone and chooses from the businesses they see. I work to make yours visible in your towns, with redone roofs to show.
- Rattle your competitors.
- Overtake them.
- Protect you from their attacks.
15 years in SEO
4 books on SEO and GEO
200+ sites tracked every day
1M / month visits to my e-commerce site
They trusted me with their visibility
Darty
Eurofins
Cegid
EBP
CNP Assurances
Ingram MicroThe detail of this page
The map, the day after a gale
Some tiles slipped overnight. A homeowner in La Rochefoucauld is looking for a roofer. Google shows them three profiles: two are from Angoulême, the third has no address. Yours is in the next commune, in fourth place. Get it onto the map.
- A roofer 143 reviewsRoofer · Angoulême
- A roofing company 87 reviewsRoofer · Angoulême area
- A moss removal company 52 reviewsRoof cleaning · address not given
- More businesses
- YouYour business 19 reviewsRoofer · service area not provided
Your profile: no. 4, off the map
Fig. 1. A search in La Rochefoucauld, three profiles, none from the commune itself. (You were in the next commune over. The profile didn't say where you work.)
What this means for you. I complete your profile with your towns, your services and your recent jobs, so Google understands you're a local roofer.
What is SEO for a roofer?
SEO for a roofer means making a roofing business appear on Google when someone in its area searches for a roof repair, a full re-roof, leadwork or maintenance. It works through the Google Business Profile, separate pages for each type of job, and projects published with their town and date. What counts in the end are roof inspections requested by homeowners in your area.
The problem
What causes problems in roofing.
Everything arrives at once after a storm
Thirty calls in two days, then calm. Without a clear website, you spend those days on the phone repeating the same answers, and the good re-roofing jobs get lost in the pile.
Full re-roofs that are too rare
Replacing three tiles takes up half a day and a scaffold. Whole roofs, though, are decided after searches your website doesn't capture, for lack of a page about them.
An audit, for real
What I spot in thirty seconds on a roofer's website.
The site below doesn't exist, but its flaws do: they're the five I spot most often. Hover over a number.
https://votre-couverture.exemple
YOUR ROOFSThe company · Our services · Gallery · Contact
Your roof in safe hands
Quality, reliability and deadlines met for all your roofing work.
Free quoteFig. 2. Fictional site, reconstructed. Any resemblance to yours would be a good reason to call me.
- 1A title that leaves out the town“Roofing | Home” could be anywhere in France. “Roofer in Jarnac: roof repairs and re-roofing” places the business.
- 2A “Gallery” instead of projectsPhotos in a heap can't be read. Each job deserves its own page: town, material, area, month.
- 3A reassuring phrase with no information“In safe hands” doesn't say whether you lay slate or Roman tiles. Name your materials and your jobs.
- 4A bought aerial view, unrelated to your roofsThe homeowner wants to see a roof from their area, redone by you. A photo taken from the ground is fine.
- 5Photos with no captionsWithout text, Google doesn't know what the image shows. One line is enough: “Re-roof in Roman tiles, Châteauneuf, April”.
What your customers type
What homeowners type into Google.
Six searches given as examples, to show what lies behind each one. The real volumes for your area are established during the audit.
- 1“emergency roof leak” followed by their town
- It's raining inside the house. They want a tarpaulin or a quick repair. The Google Business Profile and a roof repair page, with your towns and your usual response time, decide who gets the call.
- 2“tiled re-roof price per m²”
- They know their roof is at the end of its life and are preparing a budget. A re-roofing page explains what makes up a quote: stripping, battens, membrane, tiles, leadwork, scaffolding.
- 3“roof moss removal worth it or not”
- They've been cold-called, or they're hesitating. An honest answer, saying when cleaning helps and when it causes damage, sets you apart from doorstep sellers. It ends with an offer to come and inspect.
- 4“leaking zinc gutter repair”
- A limited need, but often the start of a relationship. A leadwork page, with gutters, box gutters, valleys and cladding, also attracts larger jobs.
- 5“slate roofer” or “Roman tile roofer”, with the name of their town
- They're looking for someone who knows their material. If you lay it, write it on a separate page, with photos of roofs redone in that material.
- 6“external roof insulation reviews”
- A major project, long deliberation. They read comparisons. A page explaining the technique, its constraints and the qualifications required for grants makes them want to consult you.
What works
The five levers for a roofer.
Photos of finished roofs
This is the proof homeowners are waiting for. A before shot, an after shot, taken from the ground or the scaffold, with the town and the month. Published on the Google Business Profile and the website, they show you genuinely work in the area.
The Google Business Profile
Roofer category, detailed services, service area, direct number: I check every field. I add a post after every major job. A living profile inspires more trust than one frozen for two years.
One page per type of job
Repairs, full re-roofs, leadwork, moss removal, roof windows, insulation: that's six needs and six searches. Each page describes the work, the materials, the process and how you put the quote together.
Proof that you're a local business
Depot address, company registration number, ten-year insurance certificate, years in business: given the distrust created by doorstep selling, these details must be easy to find on the website.
Reviews from neighbours
In a small town, people recognise names. A review signed by someone from the next commune carries a lot of weight. I give you a simple method for asking for it on the day the scaffolding comes down.
What costs dearly
The mistakes I find on roofers' websites.
Photos taken from too far away
You see a house, not the work. A close-up of a verge, a ridge or a valley shows your care. Two close shots per job are enough.
“Roofing” without naming the materials
Interlocking tiles, Roman tiles, slate, zinc, steel sheeting: homeowners search using the name of theirs. List the ones you lay.
Nothing about insurance
The customer will ask for it anyway before signing. Showing it on the website, with the insurer's name and the period covered, clears up a doubt before the first call.
A form with no way to send a photo
A photo of the damage sometimes saves you a trip and lets you sort the emergencies. The field to attach one is missing on most of the websites I examine.
The method
What I set up for a roofer.
Four workstreams, carried out one after the other. The first two take a few weeks.
- The profile. Fields completed, services listed, first photos of roofs published.
- The evidence. Insurance, address, years in business and qualifications gathered on a visible page.
- The pages. Repairs, re-roofing, leadwork, maintenance: one page for each type of job.
- The log. Every month, the enquiries received, their town and the type of roof.
One-minute test
Is SEO right for you?
Five frank questions to find out whether support makes sense in your situation. Sometimes the answer is no, and I'll tell you.
What it brings in
SEO you can count in euros.
A ranking doesn't pay a salary. What counts is what it brings: enquiries, customers, revenue. Move your page up and see what it could bring in.
Example assumptions, open to challenge: 400 searches a month for a roofer near you, 5% of visitors make an enquiry, one enquiry in three is signed (this varies a lot from one trade to another), €7,500 per customer. Click-through rates by position are orders of magnitude, and they've been shifting since Google started showing AI answers above the results. Redo the calculation with your own figures
What your page could bring in
Ticket no. 10th · worked example- Searchesper month, for a roofer near you
- 400
- Estimated visitsclick-through rate: 1.5%
- 0
- Possible enquiries5% of visitors
- 0
- Possible customersone enquiry in three
- 0
Possible revenue€0
Close to home
Roofing in Charente.
The département mixes medium-sized towns, Angoulême and Cognac, with countryside made up of small towns and hamlets. Roofs there are tiled, mostly on detached houses. In town, people search for a roofer using the town's name. In a small town, they type their commune and want to know whether the business will travel. Your profile and your pages must answer both. I live between Cognac and Paris and I know the département.
Roman tiles and low-pitched roofs
The Roman (canal) tile is the traditional roofing of Charente houses. Maintaining and re-laying it is a skill of its own. A page that talks about it precisely answers the homeowner looking for a roofer used to this kind of roof.
Wine cellars and large buildings
Around Cognac, cellars, distilleries and farm buildings represent large roofing areas. If you take on these jobs, show some: the client is looking for a business that has done them before.
Gales from the west
After a spell of strong wind, a homeowner quickly looks for someone to deal with a slipped tile or a leak, using the name of their commune. A “storm damage” page, ready in advance, explains what to do and the documents the insurer usually asks for.
Beyond Google
What AI changes for a roofer.
Homeowners now describe their problem to an AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Mistral as they would on the phone: “I've got a damp patch on the bedroom ceiling under a Roman tile roof, near Angoulême, where could it be coming from and who should I call?”. The answer lists possible causes, advises an inspection and sometimes names local roofers.
To name a business, the AI needs verifiable information: a website listing the materials laid and the communes, an up-to-date Google Business Profile, reviews describing jobs, a mention in a trade directory or the local press. Vague text is no use to it. I build these elements with you, page by page, and regularly check what AI tools answer about your trade in your area.
Question put to an AII've got a leak on a Roman tile roof near Angoulême. Which roofer should I call?
Answer
Three leads for this repair:
- Our client— roofer and leadworker: repair and re-laying of Roman tiles, ten-year insurance certificate online, recent jobs located in nearby communes.
- — building works platform, tradesperson assigned after the request.
- — travelling moss removal company, no address given.
Roofer's websiteGoogle Business ProfileLocal press
Fig. 3. Reconstruction, names hidden. This is the spot we aim for: on the list, with the most precise description.
Three typical cases
Three roofer scenarios.
Three examples made up to make the approach concrete. They don't correspond to any real business.
A roofer and leadworker with an apprentice
Well known in their own town and unknown fifteen kilometres away.
- Complete the Google Business Profile and extend the service area to the communes actually covered.
- Publish ten past jobs, with the town and the material.
- Ask last year's customers for a review.
A ten-person roofing company
It wants more full re-roofs and fewer small repairs.
- Write a detailed re-roofing page, with what goes into a quote.
- Create one page per material laid: tile, slate, zinc.
- Add approximate roof area and photo upload to the form.
A roofer expanding into insulation
They hold the qualification required for grants, but their customers don't know it.
- Create a roof insulation page explaining the two main techniques.
- Display the qualification on that page and on the Google Business Profile.
- Publish a complete insulation job, step by step.
In practice
What you get.
- An up-to-date Google Business Profile, with a post for every notable job
- A page for each type of job: repairs, re-roofing, leadwork, maintenance
- A “guarantees” page bringing together insurance, address and qualifications
- A contact form that accepts photos of the roof
- A monthly log of enquiries, by town and by type of roof
Pricing
How much does an SEO consultant cost?
The fee depends on four things. I give you a precise amount after a free first thirty-minute conversation.
- The size of the site: ten pages or ten thousand
- The competition on your queries
- What you can do in-house, and what needs producing for you
- The pace you want
Fancy a game?
Insert a coin.
A brochure website that hasn't changed in ten years is a set of undead pages. Grab the piece, slide it into the slot, and watch them fall.
Slide it into the machine
ZOMBIE SERP
INSERT COINSLIDE THE COIN INTO THE SLOT
Credit: 0
Fig. 4. Sixteen seconds. Five of the undead, including an article from 2014.
Together, let's devour your competitors.
One by one, and in order. Every spot gained makes the next one easier to take: that's why it keeps growing. See the method
Who you're talking to
Your SEO consultant: a business owner, not just an SEO.
My name is Kévin Papot. More than fifteen years in the job, four co-written books, and the Newp agency, co-founded in Charente. I also run my own online shops, in France and internationally: one of them went from zero to a million visits a month.
Before we talk tags, we talk margin, average basket and profitability. When you book a call, I'm the one who picks up.
FAQ
SEO for roofers: your questions.
My customers come through word of mouth. Why change?
Don't change anything that works. Just be aware that the person who was given your name then looks you up on Google. If they find neither a profile nor a photo, they sometimes call someone else.
How do I stand out from doorstep sellers who undercut prices?
Through what they can't show: a fixed address, verifiable insurance, dated jobs in nearby communes and reviews from identifiable customers. The website is there to bring this evidence together.
Should I talk about moss removal if I don't like doing it?
If you don't want that work, we don't make it a sales page. We can write an article explaining your position. It attracts homeowners who care about their roof, and they often have other work to plan.
What should I do with the website after a storm?
Put a simple message at the top of the home page: your current lead times, how to send you photos, the emergencies you handle first. We prepare this message in advance so it can be published in ten minutes.
Can I take photos from the roof for the website?
Yes, if you take them under your usual safety conditions and without showing the inside of neighbouring properties. Ask the customer's permission before publishing their house, and don't give the exact address.
Insulation grants change often. Should I mention them?
Yes, but without giving amounts that will be wrong in six months. We explain the principle, point out that a business qualification is generally required, and refer to the official website for the rates.
Should I create a page for every village?
No. I create a page per area where you have several roofs to show. A page with no real job behind it adds nothing and can harm the whole website.
Does the season matter for a roofer's SEO?
Yes. Searches about leaks follow the rain and wind; searches about re-roofing tend to rise as the fine weather approaches. We publish pages a few months before the period they're needed, to give them time to settle in.
I also do carpentry. Should I keep it separate?
If you want carpentry jobs in their own right, yes: a separate page, with its own photos. If it's just an add-on to roofing, a section in the re-roofing page is enough.
How much time should I spend on it each week?
About ten minutes: two or three photos per job and a message telling me what was done. I take care of the rest with the Newp team.
See also
Other industries
ConstructionJewelleryDigitalManufacturingSmall businesses & SMEsPlumbersElectriciansBuildersSolar panelsHeat pumpsAir conditioningJoinersPrivate clinicsHair removal centresAesthetic medicine and surgeryLocksmithsPool buildersKitchen fittersEnergy renovationOpticiansHearing aid specialistsAccountantsLawyersRemoval companiesLandscapersRestaurantsBarsCaterersEvent agenciesCoachesHypnotherapistsSophrologistsBeauty and hair salonsGarages and body shopsEstate agentsProperty surveyorsDriving schoolsNotariesArchitectsFuneral directorsHotels and B&BsBathroomsPainters and decoratorsTilersConservatories and pergolasCarpentersFacade specialistsStoves and fireplacesAlarms and CCTVGyms and studiosBrokersPhotographersWines and spiritsCar dealershipsTraining providersRecruitment agenciesCleaning companiesSoftware publishersFloristsBakeries and patisseriesWine shopsTravel agenciesCampsites and outdoor accommodationPrintersCommunication agenciesHauliers and logistics firmsWellbeing practitionersNaturopathsWellbeing massage practitionersYoga teachersWellbeing training providersSophrology schoolsHypnosis schoolsCoaching schools
Support services
SEO consultant in Charente
30 minutes · video call · with me
Be the one they remember.
Together we look at where you stand on Google and in AI, and what should change first.
Book a callFig. 5. A K. (The landscape was missing one.)