By Scott Andreasen | Excavation Marketing Pros

If you’re an excavation or septic business owner, you already know the truth:

You can have the best equipment, the best crew, and do excellent work… and still hit random slow weeks that make no sense.

One month you’re slammed. The next month you’re staring at gaps on the calendar, wondering where the calls went and why momentum suddenly disappeared.

That inconsistency isn’t because you’re doing something wrong in the field. It’s usually because your marketing system isn’t built to produce predictable results.

This blog is your 2026 Internet marketing blueprint, built specifically for excavation and septic contractors who want more of the right jobs, more control, and far less feast-or-famine stress.

This plan is for business owners who want to maximize lead flow online with the goal of:

• Hiring another crew
  

• Buying more equipment
  

• Getting better jobs (not price-shoppers)
  

• Building a sellable business with systems and stability
  

Who This Plan Is For

You’re in the right place if you sell higher-ticket services such as:

• Excavation, grading, land clearing, and site preparation
  

• Septic installs, septic pumping, and drain field replacement
  

• Demo, pond construction, and house pads
  

• French drains, sewer repair, and retaining walls
  

• Brush clearing and forestry mulching
  

• Grease traps, aeration systems, and advanced septic solutions
  

If you’re a roofer, veterinarian, or plumber (unless you also do septic), this plan isn’t for you.

This is written for contractors who want to grow intentionally—not just stay busy.

What We’re Going to Cover

This 2026 marketing plan is built around six core areas:

1. Setting clear revenue goals and reverse-engineering the leads and jobs required
   

2. The three fundamentals of marketing high-value excavation and septic services
   

3. The big-picture view of online channels you should be using together—not in isolation
   

4. The 2026 trends you must adapt to, including AI, chat, speed-to-lead, and mobile behavior
   

5. How to increase conversions without spending more money on ads
   

6. A simple, realistic 90-day action plan so this doesn’t feel overwhelming
   

A Real Case Study: From “Bad Reputation + Slow Seasons” to Bigger Jobs

One of the clearest examples of how this blueprint works comes from a septic and excavation company that was struggling despite decades of experience.

They had:

• A handful of damaging online reviews
  

• An outdated website that didn’t convert visitors into calls
  

• No call or lead tracking (they didn’t actually know what was working)
  

• Poor Google visibility for “near me” searches
  

• Big gaps between jobs after COVID
  

Their online reputation was not a fair reflection of their business. They had been operating for nearly 30 years. But perception online was costing them opportunities.

What We Changed

• Built a high-converting website designed to turn traffic into leads
  

• Installed a proactive 5-star review system
  

• Added lead tracking, so revenue could be tied back to marketing
  

• Optimized their site for local “near me” SEO keywords
  

• Added automation and AI for faster inbound lead follow-up
  

The Result

• Reviews jumped dramatically, which boosted buyer confidence
  

• Rankings improved for local intent keywords like:
  

  • “septic installer near [city]”
    

  • “septic services near [city]”
    

• They stayed booked even through slower seasons
  

• They landed one of their largest jobs ever:
  

  • Two 10,000-gallon septic tanks
    

  • A 14,000-square-foot mound system
    

• Extra revenue allowed them to hire full-time office admin
  

• Their business became more sellable because systems replaced chaos
  

Goals First (Because Goals Change Everything)

This is the part most contractors skip—and it costs them.

If you don’t know your revenue target, average job value, and closing ratios, you can’t build a predictable lead machine. You’re guessing instead of planning.

Here’s a simple example:

• Goal: $2,000,000 per year
  

• Monthly target: $166,666
  

• Average job value: $25,000
  

• Jobs needed: 7 per month
  

Now factor in realistic closing ratios:

• Lead → estimate: 30%
  

• Estimate → booked job: 33%
  

That math works out to roughly 71 leads per month to hit the target.

That’s the level of clarity you want going into 2026. When you know the numbers, marketing decisions become far easier—and far less emotional.

Your Marketing Budget (What You Should Be Investing)

A common question we hear is:

“Scott, what should I be spending on marketing?”

A reliable rule of thumb is that businesses under roughly $5 million in revenue often reinvest 7–12% of gross revenue into marketing, depending on industry, competition, and growth goals.

If you’re doing $1,000,000 per year, that can look like $70,000–$120,000 annually, or roughly $6,000–$10,000 per month.

No—you don’t need to spend all of that on digital marketing. But it gives you a real benchmark instead of guessing or reacting out of fear during slow weeks.

The #1 Problem Contractors Have Online: It’s Not Always Leads… It’s Conversions

Sometimes the issue isn’t that you need more traffic.

Sometimes you already have traffic—but your website isn’t turning visitors into calls.

Here’s what that looks like:

• 500 visitors per month
  

• 5% conversion rate = 25 leads
  

Now improve conversions:

• Same 500 visitors
  

• 15% conversion rate = 75 leads
  

Same traffic. Triple the leads.

That’s why conversion optimization is one of the highest-ROI improvements you can make.

What a Low-Converting Website Looks Like

Most contractor websites fail for simple, fixable reasons:

• No clear phone number
  

• No “text us” option
  

• No visible reviews
  

• No clear call-to-action
  

• No real photos of the team or work
  

• No service area clarity
  

• No fast quote form
  

• No trust signals (BBB, certifications, associations)
  

People don’t want to “figure it out.”
They want to feel confident fast.

What a High-Converting Website Needs in 2026

If you want your website to convert consistently, it should be built around these elements:

• A big click-to-call phone number at the top of every page
  

• “Call or Text” options (texting is now normal)
  

• A fast, simple quote form
  

• Reviews above the fold so visitors see proof immediately
  

• Real photos and faces (people hire people, not logos)
  

• Video, including a welcome video and service videos
  

• Trust symbols like BBB, NOWRA, licensing, and awards
  

• Clear service areas to filter out tire-kickers
  

• Pricing guidance or ballparks to pre-qualify leads
  

• AI chat or automation to capture leads while you’re busy
  
  Mobile Matters More Than Ever

For excavation and septic contractors, most traffic now comes from mobile devices. Your website must be mobile-first, fast, and easy to tap—or leads will leave.

The Speed-to-Lead Wake-Up Call

This is where many contractors lose money without realizing it.

If your response time is slow, you don’t just lose a lead—you usually lose the entire job.

Here’s what the data consistently shows:

• Respond in 1–5 minutes → contact and appointment rates stay high
  

• Respond in 30–60 minutes → odds drop sharply
  

• Respond after an hour → most leads ghost
  

If you want more booked jobs, speed is a competitive advantage.

How Top Contractors Fix Speed-to-Lead

The new standard in 2026 looks like this:

• Instant text and email confirmation
  

• AI chat on the website
  

• Automated follow-up sequences
  

• In many cases, AI voice call-backs that book appointments
  

Example: AI Booking a Septic Consult

A lead fills out a form and gets called back within one minute.
The AI pre-qualifies ownership, project size, and timeline, then books a consultation.

Is it perfect? No.
Is it effective? Absolutely.

And the real benefit is simple:
It makes your business fast—even when you’re in the field.

2026 Trends You Can’t Ignore

Here’s what’s already here and accelerating:

• AI chat and AI booking becoming standard
  

• More leads shifting from phone calls to text conversations
  

• Contractors needing an all-in system:
  

  • SEO
    

  • PPC
    

  • Google LSA
    

  • Social
    

  • Retargeting
    

  • Automation
    

• The end of “SEO-only” thinking (too risky)
  

• Online reputation becoming an even bigger decision factor
  

• More opportunity in short-form video ads (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok)
  

• Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) so you show up in AI-driven results
  

Your Simple 90-Day Action Plan

Don’t try to do everything at once.

Pick three improvements to implement over the next 30–90 days.

Strong choices include:

• Adding reviews above the fold on your website
  

• Adding call/text buttons on every page
  

• Adding AI chat or live chat
  

• Improving your quote form with pre-qualification questions
  

• Tightening service area messaging to filter tire-kickers
  

• Launching or improving Google LSA and PPC tracking
  

• Installing speed-to-lead automation (instant text and appointment booking)
  
  Final Thought

Your marketing doesn’t need to be complicated.

It just needs to be built like a system:

• The right traffic
  

• The right conversion setup
  

• The right follow-up speed
  

• The right reputation strategy
  

• And tracking that proves what’s working
  

That’s how you keep the phone ringing, equipment running, and the business booming—well into 2026 and beyond.