General Contractor Marketing: Your Jobsite Is a Billboard
Jobsite signage, Google Guaranteed badge, and permit data mining. Hyperlocal marketing for general contractors.
Lisa ran a general contracting company in the Atlanta suburbs. Her projects were impressive: whole-home renovations, kitchen overhauls, additions. But her marketing was invisible. No signage, no outreach, just word of mouth and a website that ranked on page three.
She was sitting on a gold mine of marketing opportunity and did not know it. Every active construction project is a 3-6 month advertisement in a neighborhood full of homeowners who own similar homes and face similar renovation decisions.
The moment Lisa started treating jobsites as marketing assets instead of just work zones, her lead pipeline transformed. Here is what she did and what you can steal.
Jobsite Signage at Every Active Project
A professional yard sign at a construction site costs $30 and gets seen by every car, pedestrian, and neighbor for months. Most GCs skip this or use a flimsy paper sign that blows away in the first rain.
Invest in durable corrugated signs with your company name, phone number, and website. Place them facing the highest-traffic direction. If the project is on a corner lot, use two signs.
Lisa added one detail that made her signs significantly more effective: "Whole-Home Renovation in Progress - Completion March 2026." The timeline creates urgency and curiosity. Neighbors who have been thinking about their own renovation now have a mental deadline. They see the progress weekly and start imagining their own project.
Leave the sign up for two weeks after project completion. The finished result is your best advertisement. Pair it with a door hanger campaign on the surrounding 50-100 homes: "We just completed a renovation at 312 Oak Lane. Want to see what we can do for your home? Free consultation."
Google Guaranteed: The Badge That Doubles Conversion
Google Local Services Ads with the Google Guaranteed badge convert at 15-25% versus 5-10% for standard Google Ads. The badge means Google has verified your license, insurance, and background check. For general contracting, where homeowners are trusting you with $50K-$150K projects, that verification carries enormous weight.
The setup takes time (background checks, license verification, insurance documentation) but the ROI is immediate. You pay per lead, not per click, and the leads are higher-intent than standard search ads because the homeowner sees the green checkmark and knows you are vetted.
Lisa started with Google LSA and found her cost per lead was roughly half of what she was paying for regular Google Ads, with twice the close rate. The leads come with the homeowner's name, phone number, and project description. No click-through-to-website-to-form-fill funnel. Just a direct connection.
Permit Data Mining: Find Projects Before They Start
Here is a tactic that almost no GCs use: mining public permit records for direct mail targets.
When a homeowner pulls a permit for a renovation but has not started work, they are either planning to DIY, waiting for a contractor, or stuck in decision paralysis. In all three scenarios, a well-timed mailer from a licensed GC is relevant.
Most municipalities publish permit data online or through public records requests. Lisa checks her county's permit database monthly, filters for residential renovation permits, and sends a one-page mailer to homeowners who pulled permits in the last 90 days.
The message: "We noticed you are planning a renovation at [address]. If you need a licensed general contractor to help bring your project to life, we would love to offer a complimentary consultation. Here is what our recent clients say about working with us."
Response rate: 3-5%, which is exceptional for direct mail. These homeowners have already decided to renovate. You are not creating demand. You are capturing demand that already exists.
The Post-Project Neighborhood Mailer
When you complete a renovation, mail a postcard to 100 surrounding homes. Include a before-and-after photo and a one-line testimonial from the homeowner. This is not expensive. One hundred postcards with postage run about $120.
Lisa's postcard template is simple: large before-and-after photo on the front. On the back: "We just completed a [project type] at [street name]. Here is what the homeowner said: [one-sentence quote]. Interested in what we can do for your home? Free consultation: [phone] [website]."
This works because neighbors have been watching your project for months. They have seen the trucks, heard the construction, and wondered what was happening inside. The postcard satisfies their curiosity and positions you as the obvious choice when they start thinking about their own home.
Lisa sends these after every project. She estimates the postcards generate 3-4 consultations per mailing, with roughly one converting into a signed contract. At an average project value of $65K, each $120 postcard campaign returns roughly $65K in revenue. That is not a typo.
Your Crew Is Your Brand
Every person on your jobsite is a walking advertisement, for better or worse. Crews in clean, branded shirts who keep a tidy site and are polite to neighbors build your reputation. Crews who blast music, leave debris on the sidewalk, and park blocking driveways destroy it.
Lisa implemented three simple rules: branded shirts for everyone on site, daily cleanup before leaving (no exceptions), and a personal introduction to immediate neighbors on day one of every project. "Hi, we are renovating the Smith home next door. Here is my card if you have any concerns about noise or parking."
That introduction costs nothing and prevents complaints. More importantly, it turns potential adversaries into potential clients. Neighbors who feel respected are neighbors who recommend you.