Digital Marketing for Sign Shops: Drive Traffic, Increase Sales

With the right digital marketing strategies, you can increase your sign shop’s online visibility, which can significantly impact its success. This guide is designed specifically for sign shop owners who are looking to enhance their online presence and navigate the complex landscape of digital marketing.

Learn about strategies tailored to the unique needs of sign businesses. From optimizing your Google Business Profile and Bing Places for Business to leveraging the power of SEO, Google Ads, and content marketing, discover how you can turn your digital marketing efforts into a major advantage for your sign business.

Optimize for Local Search Results

First, we recommend creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile and Bing Places for Business. These free services can help your business rank high in local searches, especially if the searcher is geographically close to your sign shop.

Here’s how one of our clients ranks for “sign repair” in local search results. Source: BrightLocal.

Google Business Profile

A well-optimized Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is crucial for local search visibility. Here’s how you can maximize its potential:

1. Create Your Profile: If you haven’t already, set up your Sign Company’s Google Business Profile by visiting the Google Business website and following the registration process.
2. Complete Every Detail: Complete every section of your profile, including your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation. Accuracy and consistency in your business details across the web can improve your search rankings. Use your actual business name, and don’t try to stuff keywords into your name if it’s not your legal business name because this can get your account suspended.
3. Select the categories: The primary category should be “sign shop” if that’s your main focus. Some sign companies list additional categories such as “vehicle wrapping service”, “banner store”, “neon sign shop”, “metal fabricator”, “vinyl sign shop”, and “graphic designer.” Make sure you only select categories that are relevant to your business.
4. Add Photos and Videos: Include high-quality photos of your shop and examples of your signs. Visuals play a key role in attracting customers, as they showcase the quality and variety of your work.
5. Regular Updates: Post regular updates about new sign jobs, promotions, or events. This keeps your profile active and engaging for potential customers.
6. Collect and Respond to Reviews: Encourage your satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and respond to all reviews. If you have a negative review, take the time to respond in a professional manner. We helped one of our clients respond to a negative review, and the reviewer ended up changing it to a positive review and then later posted photos, which helped this client tremendously in local search results.

Bing Places for Business

While not as popular as Google, Bing still holds a significant portion of the search engine market. Optimizing your Bing Places for Business can capture an audience that might be overlooked by competitors who focus solely on Google.

Set Up Your Listing: Create your listing on Bing Places by importing your Google Business Profile or starting fresh if necessary.

Detail-Oriented Profiles: As with Google, fill in every possible detail on your Bing profile. The more information you provide, the easier it is for potential customers to find and choose your business.

Verification: Ensure your business information is verified by Bing. This step is crucial for showing up in search results.

By optimizing both your Google Business Profile and Bing Places for Business, you will be more likely to show up higher in search results in the local (maps) section of Google and Bing, which is typically under the pay-per-click ads and above the organic search results.

Your Sign Shop’s Website

A well-designed and optimized website serves as the digital storefront for your sign shop. Here are key elements to focus on to ensure your website is up-to-date, mobile-friendly, and showcases your work effectively.

Mobile-Friendly Design

Nearly half of the website traffic on the sign shop sites we manage is on mobile phones, even though signs are typically a business-to-business industry. It’s so important to ensure that your website looks as good on a cell phone as on a laptop or computer with a large monitor.

Responsive Design: Your site’s layout and content automatically adjust to fit the screen size of the device it’s being viewed on, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

Test Your Site: Use tools like Responsive Design Checker by Media Genesis to see if your site is well-optimized for mobile devices. Test your shop’s website on mobile phones and tables when possible.

Speed Optimization

It’s important to balance image quality with performance when designing a website. Unlike print media, where high-resolution images are essential to achieve sharp, clear results, websites function differently and have different requirements for image resolution.

Here are some key reasons why websites do not need images with as high a resolution as those used for print and signs:

1. File Size and Loading Speed: High-resolution images typically have large file sizes, which can significantly slow down webpage loading times. This is crucial because website speed affects user experience and search engine rankings. Users are likely to leave a site that doesn’t load quickly, and search engines tend to rank websites faster and higher.
2. Screen Resolution Limits: The resolution of most screens is much lower than that of print. For example, even a high-definition screen displays only 1920×1080 pixels, far less than what is used in high-quality prints. This means that the extra data in a high-resolution image needs to be discernible to the average website user.
3. Bandwidth Considerations: Higher bandwidth usage affects site speed and can impact hosting and data usage. Optimizing images by reducing their resolution to a web-appropriate level ensures that your website is more accessible and performs well under various internet speed conditions.
4. Optimal Web Resolution: The ideal resolution for web images is around 72 pixels per inch (PPI), which is much lower than what is typically used for print (usually 300 PPI or higher). Web images are typically scaled to dimensions that fit well within a website’s design, like 1920 pixels wide for a full-screen image or smaller for content images.

How to Optimize Images for Websites

Resize Images: Adjust the dimensions of your images to fit exactly where they are supposed to display, and make sure they are 72 dpi. Tools like CorelDraw, Photoshop, GIMP, or image plugins can do this.

Use Appropriate File Formats: Select the best file format based on the type of image and its use on the site. For example, SVGs are great for logos and icons because they stay crisp and clear at any screen resolution and scale efficiently. Formats like JPEG are ideal for photographs, while PNG is better for images that require transparency.

By considering these aspects, you can ensure your website is optimized for speed and performance, providing a better user experience while maintaining visually appealing designs.

Showcasing Your Signs

Your website should highlight the quality and diversity of your signs. This will attract potential customers and showcase your expertise.

Portfolio Page: Create a dedicated portfolio page where visitors can view high-quality images of your previous projects. Include a variety of sign types and styles to demonstrate your versatility.

Detailed Descriptions: For each project in your portfolio, include a brief description that covers materials used, the client’s objectives, and any particular challenges overcome during the project. I recommend also organizing your portfolio based on location to help with local search results.

Case Studies: Consider adding case studies that go into more depth about how your signs have helped other businesses succeed. This adds a narrative element that can engage potential customers.

User Experience (UX) and Navigation

A good user experience keeps visitors on your site longer and makes them more likely to contact you.

Easy Navigation: Ensure that your website’s navigation is intuitive. Group similar pages under clear, concise menu headings so users can easily find what they’re looking for.

Clear Call to Action (CTA): Each page should have a clear CTA, such as “Contact Us” or “Request a Quote.” Make these buttons prominent and easy to find.

Contact Information: Display your contact information prominently on every page, preferably at the top, so that it’s easily accessible without scrolling.

Implementing these website optimization strategies will make your sign shop’s online presence more professional and accessible. It ensures that whether a potential customer is on a phone or a desktop, they can effortlessly explore your services and reach out to you for their sign needs.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Sign Shops

Here’s how you can effectively use SEO to get more leads for your sign shop.

Keyword Strategy for Sign Shops

Identify Relevant Keywords: Start by identifying keywords that potential customers might use to find services like yours. The keywords you listed, such as “sign shop,” “custom neon signs,” “business signs,” “vehicle wraps” and “sign company,” are excellent examples. When compiling your list, consider the full range of products you offer.

Incorporate Keywords Into Your Website: Once you have your list, incorporate these keywords into high-impact areas of your website, such as titles, meta descriptions, headings (H1, H2, H3), and throughout the content. Make sure you use them naturally, and they add value to the content. Avoid keyword stuffing, which can negatively impact your SEO.

Long-Tail Keywords: In addition to general keywords, include long-tail keywords, which are specific phrases that visitors are likely to use. For example, “monument signs,” “custom outdoor signs,” or “LED business signs” are less competitive and often have higher conversion rates.

Local Keywords: Use location-specific keywords throughout your site. Mention your city, neighborhood, and nearby landmarks in your content, such as “sign installers in [City Name]. If your shop is in Nashville, you might use keywords like “Nashville custom neon signs” or “sign shop in Downtown Nashville.”

Implementing these keyword and local SEO strategies can improve your sign shop’s search engine rankings, attract more targeted traffic, and increase leads. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process that requires regular updates and monitoring to remain effective.

Content Marketing for Sign Companies

Effective content marketing can greatly enhance your sign shop’s online presence, establish your expertise, and attract more potential customers. Blogging is a particularly powerful tool for achieving these goals. We recommend first sharing your content on a platform that you own and control, such as a WordPress website, and then sharing that content on social media.

Topics That Attract Sign Shop Customers:

How-to Guides: Write detailed guides on topics like how to design effective business signs, the process of installing different types of signs, or tips for maintaining signs. These guides help demonstrate your expertise and can drive search engine traffic.

Success Stories: Share case studies or success stories of how your signs have helped other businesses achieve their goals. This illustrates the value of your products and builds trust with potential customers.

Industry Trends: Keep your readers informed about the latest trends in the sign industry, such as advances in LED technology, new styles in neon signage, or eco-friendly sign materials. This shows that your business stays up-to-date and cares about innovation.

Local Events: If your business participates in local events or upcoming events involving signage (like trade shows or festivals), blog about these topics. This will connect your business with the local community and can attract local clients.

Design Tips: Offer advice on sign design, color selection, font choices, and visual aesthetics. This kind of content is especially useful for clients who are in the process of choosing signs but need some guidance.

Use Visuals:

Since signs are highly visual products, incorporate plenty of images and videos in your posts. Before-and-after transformations, behind-the-scenes look at the sign-making process, and engaging video testimonials can make your content more shareable.

Social Media for Sign Shops

Social media can be a tool for promoting your sign shop and expanding your reach. First, focus your content on platforms that you own and control, such as your website. Then, share that content on social media. We have had clients come to us who had all of their project photos stored on their Facebook page instead of their website and then lost access to their Facebook account. If you have newsletter signups on your website and blog, you can build your email list and remarket to those customers.

That being said, social media can still be used to promote your business. Here’s how you can effectively utilize social media platforms to benefit your business.

Choosing the Right Social Platforms

Identify Your Audience: Determine where your potential customers are most active. For sign shops, visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are ideal because of their focus on imagery. Facebook and LinkedIn are also valuable for reaching broader demographics and business clients.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Instead of spreading your efforts too thinly over many platforms, choose two or three where you can consistently post high-quality content and engage effectively with the audience.

Tips for Engaging Posts

Showcase Your Work: Use your social media profiles to display recent projects. Post high-quality images and videos of your signs, both in production and in place. Before-and-after shots can be particularly effective in showcasing the impact of your work.

Behind-the-Scenes Content: Share videos or photos that give followers a look into your creation process. This could include everything from drafting initial designs to the actual manufacturing and installation of the signs. This type of content helps humanize your brand and build a connection with your audience.

Educational Content: Share tips on how businesses can improve their signage, the importance of good signage, and what trends are emerging in the sign industry. Educational posts position you as an expert and can help build trust with potential customers.

Engage with Followers: Respond promptly to comments, questions, and messages. Engagement increases your visibility and encourages more interaction. Run polls, ask questions, or start discussions to foster a sense of community.

Promotions and Offers: Use social media to announce promotions, special offers, or new services. Exclusive deals can drive traffic and sales and encourage followers to share your content with their networks.

Utilize Hashtags: Effective use of hashtags can help reach a wider audience and make it easier for potential customers to find your content. Use relevant hashtags related to signage, your local area, and any special events or promotions you have built signs for.

Schedule Regular Posts: Maintain a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Social media scheduling tools can help you plan and schedule posts across multiple platforms to maintain a consistent presence.

By strategically using social media, your sign shop can increase its online visibility, engage with a broader audience, and build lasting relationships with customers. Remember, social media is about building communities and connections, not just broadcasting sales messages.

Online Reviews and Testimonials

Online reviews and testimonials are crucial for building credibility and trust with potential customers. They act as social proof that can significantly influence buying decisions, particularly for local businesses like sign shops. Here’s how you can effectively gather and use reviews and testimonials.

Get Online Reviews

Ask for Reviews: The simplest way to get reviews is to ask your satisfied customers. Make it a practice to request a review shortly after completing a project. You can do this through follow-up emails or texts or even in person as you complete the sign installation or repair.

Make it Easy: Include direct links to your review pages on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp in your emails or on your website. The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more likely they are to do so.

Respond to Reviews: Respond to all reviews, including negative ones, to show that you value customer feedback. A thoughtful response can often turn a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one, and it shows potential customers that you care about client satisfaction.

Social Proof on Social Media: Share positive reviews and testimonials on your social media channels. This not only spreads positive word-of-mouth but also encourages others to leave their feedback.

Effectively managing online reviews and testimonials is a powerful way to enhance your sign shop’s reputation and attract new business. You establish your business as trustworthy and customer-focused by actively engaging with customers and showcasing their positive experiences.

Online Advertising

I prefer using organic or free methods to expand our reach online, but sometimes paid advertising is necessary, especially in competitive industries such as the signs.

Online advertising can be a highly effective way for sign shops to reach new customers, increase their visibility, and drive more website traffic. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads allow you to specifically target potential customers based on location, demographics, and search behavior.

Targeted Audiences for Sign Shops

Targeting the right demographics for a sign shop involves understanding who is most likely to need and purchase your signage products. Here are some demographic groups that could be effectively targeted based on the nature of your offerings:

Business Owners and Entrepreneurs: These are individuals starting new businesses or who currently own businesses and may need various types of signage for branding, marketing, or regulatory purposes.

Real Estate Agents: Agents often require yard signs, open house signs, and other types of signage to market properties effectively.

Retail Store Managers: Retail managers look for signs that enhance in-store marketing, promote sales, and provide directional guidance to customers.

Service Providers with Commercial Vehicles: Businesses such as HVAC services, electricians, plumbers, and landscapers often utilize commercial vehicles extensively in their operations. Vehicle wraps are an excellent marketing tool for these service providers, transforming their fleets into mobile advertisements that promote their services wherever they go. This demographic includes small business owners and contractors who recognize the value of local visibility and brand awareness.

Fleet Managers and Transportation Companies: Businesses that operate vehicle fleets, including delivery services, public transportation, and corporate fleets, often require vehicle wraps for branding and advertising. Vehicle wraps can turn any vehicle into a mobile billboard, offering high visibility throughout the areas the vehicles travel.

Event Organizers: This group includes planners of weddings, conferences, trade shows, and other events that need banners, directional signs, and promotional signage.

School Administrators and PTA Members: Schools and universities often need signs for events, announcements, and campus directions.

Corporate Marketing Professionals: Marketing teams in larger corporations may require signage for branding purposes, corporate events, and promotional campaigns.

Construction Companies: These companies need signage for site safety, directions, and company branding on construction sites.

Local Government and Community Organizations: These groups need signage for public notices, community events, and informational purposes.

Hospitality Industry (Hotels, Restaurants, Bars): This sector requires a wide range of signs, from promotional and informational to décor and safety signage.

Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers need signs for directions, department identification, and informational notices within their facilities.

When setting up advertising campaigns, you can refine these demographic details further by considering factors like geographic location, company size, professional role, and industry sector. This targeted approach ensures that your marketing efforts reach the most relevant audience, increasing the effectiveness of your ad spend.

Here’s how to set up and optimize PPC campaigns across various platforms.

Google Ads

Setting Up Google Ads:

Campaign Creation: Start by creating a campaign in Google Ads. Choose a goal that aligns with your business needs, such as driving website visits or increasing phone calls.

Targeting: Select geographic areas where your customers are located. Focusing on a specific city or region can be more effective for local businesses like sign shops. You can target specific cities or a radius of your shop.

Ad Groups and Keywords: Create ad groups that focus on different aspects of your services (e.g., “custom neon signs,” “outdoor business signs”) and include relevant keywords for each group.

Budget Management:

Daily Budget: Set a daily budget based on how much you’re willing to spend each day on ads. This helps control overall spending and allows for adjustments based on ad performance.

Cost Per Click (CPC): Decide on your maximum cost-per-click bid, which is the highest amount you are willing to pay for a click on your ad. Google will use this to determine how often your ads are shown.

Importance of Negative Keywords:

Utilize negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing in searches that are not relevant to your services. This improves campaign efficiency and ensures better use of your budget. I like to check these daily on new accounts and weekly after the account is established.

YouTube Advertising

YouTube offers a powerful platform for advertising, especially for visually-oriented businesses like sign shops. You can set up YouTube ads through your Google Ads account, which allows you to integrate these video ads seamlessly with other Google advertising efforts.

Creating Video Ads:

Develop engaging video content that can play before or during YouTube videos. This content could showcase your sign designs, offer behind-the-scenes looks at the sign-making process, or feature customer testimonials. Videos that highlight the quality and impact of your signs can be particularly compelling.

Setting Up Ads Through Google Ads:

To start advertising on YouTube, you’ll need to link your YouTube channel to your Google Ads account. From there, you can create a new video campaign. Depending on your objectives, you can choose the type of video ad you want to run, such as skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable in-stream ads, or video discovery ads.

Targeting Your Ads:

YouTube allows for detailed targeting based on user demographics, interests, and viewing behaviors. Use this capability to tailor your advertisements to potential customers who are most likely to be interested in your services. For example, you can target local business owners, real estate professionals, event organizers, or anyone interested in commercial branding and aesthetics.

Optimizing Your Campaigns:

Monitor the performance of your ads to understand which videos are most effective at engaging your target audience. Use this data to refine your approach, whether that means adjusting your messaging, targeting different audiences, or experimenting with different types of video content.

By leveraging YouTube’s extensive reach and detailed targeting options, your sign shop can effectively attract a wider audience, enhance brand recognition, and drive more conversions through visually compelling advertisements.

Advertising on Other Advertising Platforms

Bing Ads:

Similar to Google Ads but with generally lower competition and cost. Set up Bing Ads to target users on Microsoft and Yahoo networks. The setup and management are similar to Google Ads, focusing on targeted keywords, geographic targeting, and budget control.

Facebook and Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram are powerful platforms for advertising, offering robust tools that can help sign shops precisely target their ideal customers. Here’s how to maximize your advertising efforts on these networks:

Detailed Targeting:

Facebook and Instagram provide extensive targeting options that allow you to reach specific audiences based on demographics, location, interests, and behaviors. This enables you to tailor your ads to those most likely to be interested in your sign services, ensuring more effective use of your advertising budget.

Showcasing Your Work:

Both platforms are highly visual, making them ideal for showcasing the quality and creativity of your signs. Use high-quality images in your ads to grab attention and make a strong impression.

Carousel ads are particularly useful on both Facebook and Instagram. They allow you to display multiple images or videos in a single ad, each with its own link. You can use this format to show different types of signs you offer or different projects you’ve completed, providing a comprehensive look at your capabilities.

Instagram, being a visually driven platform, is exceptionally well-suited for businesses like sign shops. Emphasize vibrant, eye-catching images of your signs to stand out in a highly competitive feed. Creativity here can significantly boost your engagement rates.

Consider using Instagram Stories and Reels for more dynamic and engaging content. These formats are great for behind-the-scenes videos, time-lapse videos of the sign-making process, and before-and-after transformations of signage projects.

By strategically using Facebook and Instagram ads, your sign shop can effectively reach a wider audience, showcase your products beautifully, and engage potential customers in a compelling way.

LinkedIn:

This platform is ideal for targeting business professionals and companies who may need commercial sign services. LinkedIn allows for precise targeting based on job titles, industries, and company sizes.

By strategically using online advertising and PPC ads across these platforms, your sign shop can significantly enhance its online presence and attract a wider audience. Regularly review and adjust your campaigns based on performance metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates to maximize your return on investment.

Conclusion

Implementing these tactics can transform your digital marketing efforts, increasing online visibility, leads, and sales. However, the digital landscape is complex and constantly evolving, requiring continuous attention and adaptation.

We are here to help if you’re ready to take your sign shop’s digital marketing to the next level but need help navigating these strategies. We specialize in helping sign shops like yours with tailored digital marketing services, including web design, SEO, and PPC advertising. We understand your industry’s unique challenges and opportunities and are equipped to deliver personalized solutions that drive results.

Contact us for a consultation, and let’s discuss how we can help your sign business thrive in the digital age.

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