Here at Energy Circle we always try to keep everyone in the loop when it comes to unique or interesting data trends within the home performance industry. And while the title of this post might be patently obvious for those of us in colder climates, the degree and timing of the increase in search volume around these terms is so striking that it is worth calling out and thinking about in a serious way. If you haven't considered a special marketing program for your home performance business around ice dam season then read on for some real evidence that you should.
Why Ice Dams?
Ice dams are a compelling problem to go after in your marketing for a few reasons. First, they are obvious - you can see them from the street most of the time. Second, they represent what we call an "emergency search." When someone is searching for ice dams or roof ice removal, they likely aren't just mulling it over or waffling about it. They need that ice removed because their roof is broken and leaking. The opportunities for these "emergency" moments in home performance are limited and so you should be positioned to take advantage of every single one. And thirdly, home performance companies are uniquely positioning to help with the underlying causes of ice dams.
The Data Trend
As you can see from the charts below, the searches around "ice dam" and "roof ice" have clear and obvious spikes:
Now compare those charts to the trend for a less time sensitive term over the same period, such as "attic insulation":
See what we mean? There are still spikes in the attic insulation searches, but they are not nearly as pronounced as those relating to roof ice.
The Takeaway
The bottom line is that people know all that ice & snow on their roof is a potential problem, but they don't look for remedies until the problem is already there. The good news is that when they do go out looking, home performance companies are in a great position to help homeowners fix the real problems in their home. It's not too late to take advantage of this ice dam season. The spike in search volume will be up for this month and next. You could feature ice dams in your next newsletter, write an ice dam FAQ for your website, or just put together the best possible ice dam service page the internet has ever seen and put it in with your other services. You should consider adding ice dams to your mobile site if you have one, and maybe share some of the most gruesome ice dam photos that you've seen this year or in the past on sites like Facebook or Twitter. If you want to take it a step further you can add an ice dam specific short term PPC campaign to your AdWords efforts. And make sure that next year you're ready for ice dam season before it starts.