This article was written by Matt Lee of Lead Generation Experts. I’m grateful to have talented contributors like Matt to help me provide valuable, thought provoking content while I continue my recovery.
If you have taken a peek at your Google Analytics account recently, you’ve probably noticed some interesting (and perhaps unexpected) changes to your Google Search Traffic compared to last year.
Many manufacturers who have enjoyed consistent growth in search traffic over the last few years have suddenly experienced a drop. However, what you may not realize is that this decrease in traffic might have nothing to do with your overall SEO strategy, but with a change in search demand for building products this year.
Search Demand for Building Products in Q1 2022 vs. Q1 2021
There have been major changes in building material searches from Q1 in 2021 to Q1 in 2022. But what caused these changes?
According to Brian Baker, Director of Marketing at Brava Roof Tile, some of the following factors might be at play:
- Global Availability and Back Orders: The pandemic caused delays in supply chains across the world, driving up prices for products that couldn’t meet demand.
- Inflation: Products and services are getting very expensive.
- COVID: The impacts of COVID still lingers.
- Consumer Debt: Consumer debt levels have maxed out.
- Residential Construction Demand: Has demand for residential construction been satiated? Have we overbuilt for the short term? As mortgage forbearance and eviction ease up will there be a flood of available properties?
Search Demand for Building Materials 2021-2022
In the figures below, we provide search-demand statistics pulled directly from Google’s Keyword Planner, and mostly compare search activity on Google from Q1 2022 vs Q2 2021.
(Don’t see your industry below? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll add it in!)
Air Barrier: 0%
Aluminum Windows: -19%
Asphalt Shingles: -18%
Bath Remodel: -18%
Brick Veneer: -18%
Building Envelope: 0%
Building Retrofits: -19%
Coatings: 0%
Commercial Building Remodeling: +57%
Composite Decking: -18%
Countertops: -18%
EIFS Systems: +19%
Entry Doors: -18%
EPS Insulation: +19%
Exterior Sheathing: 0%
Fiber Cement Siding: -18%
Garage Doors: 0%
Granite Countertops: -33%
Hardwood Flooring: -18%
Home Remodeling: +49%
House Shutters: -18%
House Wrap: +22%
ICF Homes: -10%
Kitchen Remodel: 0%
Marble Countertops: -18%
Metal Roofing: -18%
Metal Studs: 0%
Moisture Barrier: 0%
Paint: 0%
Plumbing Materials: +22%
Precast Concrete Panels: +22%
Quartz Countertops: -18%
Radiant Floor Heating: +22%
Reclaimed Wood: -33%
Shake Roofing: +26%
Solid Surface Countertops: -18%
Steel Buildings -18%
Steel Siding: -18%
Tilt Up Wall Construction: +27%
Vapor Barrier: 0%
Vinyl Flooring: 0%
Vinyl Siding: -18%
Vinyl Windows: 0%
Wood Cladding: +30%
Wood Countertops: -18%
Wood Shakes: -16%
Wood Siding: +50%
Wood Studs: 0%
XPS Insulation: +19%
The Future of Building Material Sales in 2022
Overall, our industry saw both ups and downs in online queries for building materials from Q1 in 2021 to Q1 in 2022. Although this might strike fear in the hearts of building manufacturers whose numbers are down, it’s not necessarily a cause for panic.
Why?
Because building materials saw an 18.4% increase in pricing last year, and many customers have chosen to postpone domestic projects with the hope of prices settling after the pandemic. Building manufacturers can expect an increase in home improvement sales in 2022, with Kitchen Infinity calculating that:
- Major cities will have a 30% rise in remodeling spending.
- 55% of homeowners have a renovation project to complete.
- Spending on house improvement is growing at 2x the rate of other retail categories in the US.
Another cause of the fall in search demand is how the pandemic drove DIY to an all-time high, with the industry seeing a 13.8% volume growth in 2021. What comes up must eventually go back down. Building material manufacturers can conclude that although online searches for individual products decreased, it is purely due to the boom of traffic in the year previous.
The future is bright for the sales of building materials. 22% of homeowners will spend between $5k and $15k on each remodeling project, growing the home improvement industry to $220 billion.
For building manufacturers who are tracking the search queries of their audience, it will be interesting to see what 2022 brings to our industry.
