Roofer website: look local, honest and easy to call

Someone opening a roofer's website has a leak, a storm behind them or a roof at the end of its life, and a worry: is this a real local company or a storm chaser? "Roofing scams" and "free roof inspection scam" are Google suggestions. Your site can answer that before the first call.

In October 2026 we opened 20 independent roofing websites in ten states, on a phone and on a computer. Nearly all offered a free inspection and said they were local. About half showed a license number, three gave any price, and several said "we handle your insurance claim", which several states regulate. This guide goes through what matters in order, with steps.

Make calling one tap

Eight of the 20 sites had no tappable number on the first phone screen, and one had a cookie box over it.

1. Click Business info in the left menu and check your Phone.
2. Click Menu. Under Header button, turn on Call bar on phones. See Add a call bar on phones.
3. Put your town and a proof in the first line, like "Roofing contractor in Bend, OR · 4.9 from 286 Google reviews".

Show your license or registration number

Eleven of the 20 showed a number. Many states require it in advertising: Oklahoma on "all media" including advertisements, Oregon on websites, and Minnesota and Pennsylvania in advertising. Texas has no state roofing license, so there "licensed" needs care.

1. In Business info, under Location, type it into License number, like "CCB #123456". It shows in your footer on every page. Type it as text: a number inside a picture can't be read by search engines or screen readers.
2. Say "licensed and insured" in a Highlights section, and that you can send certificates.

Say "licensed", "registered" or "certified" only if you hold it. A trade-association number isn't a license. See Business info and hours.

Show that you are local

Roofers who follow storms are the scam people search for. A street address and a list of towns are your answer.

1. In Business info, fill in Street address and list your towns in Service area. If you work from home, leave the street empty and add other proof, like finished roofs by town.
2. Add a Service areas section, and make a page for each busy town with Town pages. See Make pages for the towns you serve.
3. Say how long you've been in business and who owns it, with a photo of you and your truck.

Say what the free inspection is

Nineteen of the 20 offered a free inspection or estimate, so the words alone don't stand out. One said "Free inspections by roofers, not salespeople. If your roof has life left, we'll tell you." Say who comes, how long it takes, whether you go on the roof or use a drone, what the visitor gets in writing, and that there's no obligation.

Add a Form section with Quote request under Start from, and put your phone number beside it. See Forms and your inbox. If you have no booking software, the Bookings & RSVPs add-on lets people pick a morning or afternoon window: Offer visits in arrival windows. An instant-estimate tool (Roofle, Roofr) goes in an Embed code section: Add embed code. Still say a price range in words.

Say what you do about the insurance claim, and what you don't

Hail and wind work is paid by insurance, and states restrict what a roofer may say. Say what you do: document the damage with photos, write an itemized estimate, meet the adjuster on the roof if the homeowner asks. Then say what you don't: you aren't their adjuster, you can't negotiate the claim, and you collect the deductible like any other part of the price.

• Don't write "we handle your claim", "we fight the insurance company", or "insurance pays for your new roof". Use "we document the damage and meet your adjuster".
• Never offer to waive, cover or rebate a deductible, or give a discount, gift or cash for letting you inspect. Put it in your FAQ: "Do you waive my deductible? No. Our state doesn't allow it, and we collect it like any other part of the price."
• An inspection doesn't guarantee coverage. Say so.

Two of the 20 said what their state's rule is, and one added a footer note that it is not a public adjuster. See "Rules worth knowing" below.

Say what you charge

Three of the 20 gave any figure, yet "roof replacement cost" and "how much does a roof cost" are top searches. You can't price a roof before you see it, but you can:

• Give ranges. "Small repairs usually $350 to $750. Most replacements in our area run $9,000 to $25,000."
• Name your fees. One site said its emergency dispatch is $350 and a quick leak stop usually $500 to $800. Say if the inspection is free even if they say no.
• Say what changes the price: size, pitch, layers, decking, material.
• Say you give a written, itemized price before work starts.

Put the ranges in a Price list / menu section. See Say how you price. Coupons need an end date and what they exclude; never tie one to an insurance claim.

State your warranty, in two parts

Twelve of the 20 gave a workmanship warranty length, from 3 to 30 years, and one said who backs the maker's part. "Lifetime" and "50-year" mean little until you say who pays when a roof fails. In Highlights, write both:

• Ours: "10 years on our workmanship, backed by us. It covers leaks from our work, not storm damage."
• The maker's: "The shingle maker's warranty covers the materials and is backed by the maker, not by us. Ask us what it covers and what it doesn't."

Say whether either passes to a new owner.

Show a maker's badge only for what you hold

Ten of the 20 showed a shingle maker's program (GAF Master Elite or Certified, Owens Corning Preferred, CertainTeed Certified), and five repeated "top 2%".

1. Add the badge in a Badges & logos section only for the level you hold today, with a sentence on what it means.
2. Skip the percentage and "only" claims unless you can source them, and don't write "factory authorized" unless the maker's program says so.

The badge is the maker's contractor program, not a license and not the maker's guarantee of your work.

Emergencies and tarping

Fourteen of the 20 mentioned emergency work; one said what it costs. Say whether you tarp or board up, which hours a person answers, and the call-out charge. For every page, use the Announcement bar and its Emergency service quick start: "Leak after the storm? Call (541) 555-0142 any time." When you can't take calls, click We’re closed today in the Today panel. See Announcement bar.

Show your reviews and finished roofs

Seven of the 20 gave a rating or count, and three put one on the first phone screen.

1. Add recent Google reviews to your Reviews list, with the date and the town. They should be from your customers.
2. Add a Reviews section to your home page, and your rating and count to Highlights.
3. Paste your Google link into Leave-a-review link in Business info. The Review requests add-on can email every customer the same link after a finished roof. See Ask customers for a review.
4. Add finished roofs to Projects with the town and material, and before and after photos. See Projects.

Don't give a discount or gift for a review, and don't ask only happy customers.

Financing

Fourteen of the 20 mentioned financing. Say "Financing available through" and name your lender, with a link, and let its own page carry any rate, term or minimum. A payment amount or a rate in your own ad, like "0% for 24 months", can bring extra disclosure rules. Don't write "100% financing" or "no credit check" unless the lender's page says exactly that. See Financing, plans and discounts.

Photos that build trust

With your phone, in daylight, take:

1. Your truck with your name, number and license number on it
2. You or a crew member at the door
3. A finished roof from the street, with house numbers and faces out of frame
4. Before and after from the same spot
5. Details: flashing, a chimney, a valley, a tidy ridge
6. A leak or storm damage as you found it
7. A tarp tied down properly, and your crew in harnesses
8. Your office or yard with the sign

Free photos has good ones for "roofer installing shingles on roof" and "flat roof membrane installation". Tarps and gutters mostly return wrecked houses and facades, so take your own. See Free photos.

Answer the questions customers ask

Add an FAQ section:

• Are you licensed and insured?
• What does a free inspection include?
• How much does a new roof or a repair cost?
• Will my insurance pay? Do you handle the claim? Do you waive my deductible?
• Can you come for an emergency leak?
• What warranty do I get? Shingle or metal?
• Do you offer financing? Which towns do you serve?
• Who will be on my roof, your crew or a subcontractor?

In Lists › FAQs, Suggest questions drafts more from your own site. See Use suggested questions.

Rules worth knowing

This isn't legal advice, and roofing rules vary by state, so check yours with your contractor board and your state insurance department. In October 2026 we read these:

• Deductibles. Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota bar a roofer from advertising or promising to pay, waive or rebate a deductible. In Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota the insurer need not consider the roofer's estimate if they do; in Iowa the contract is void.
• Adjusting. Texas, Florida, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota bar a roofer from acting as a public adjuster or interpreting the policy. Iowa also bars representing or negotiating the claim and requires a signed notice in the contract.
• Contract notices. Several states want notices in your contract, not on your site: Oklahoma with your first estimate, Texas for jobs of $1,000 or more paid by insurance, Florida (and a cancel right after declared emergencies), and North Carolina, with five business days to cancel after a claim denial.
• License numbers. See above. Check your state, and put yours in License number.
• Selling at the home. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives three days to cancel some sales made at the buyer's home, and doesn't exclude extra work sold during a visit the customer asked for. Ask your lawyer.
• Financing, reviews and addresses. See Plumber website for the Regulation Z, review and Google address rules, and Landscaping website.

We didn't check Pennsylvania, Montana, New York or North Carolina for deductible rules.

Tips

• Your first phone screen should hold the call button, your town, a free-inspection line and one proof.
• Once a season, check for anything out of date: coupons, fees, a crew member who left.
• Hiring? A Job openings section helps. See Job openings.
• Every site can have a Spanish version at no extra cost. See Show your site in Spanish.
• Look-alike lead-generation pages crowd roofers' search results. A real address, license number and photos set you apart.