Entering New Markets: Holly Construction Realigns Its Digital Strategy With WSI

Holly Construction entered 2025 with a new growth priority: pursue more education and government projects. Its digital marketing still emphasized winery and tasting-room work, creating a gap between the opportunities Holly Construction wanted and what prospective buyers found online.

WSI Consultant Ryan Kelly and his team realigned Holly Construction’s website, SEO, content, Google Business Profile, social media, and tracking around that new direction. During the repositioning period, first-time callers increased 106%, tracked calls rose 77%, and organic sessions grew 76%.

Education and government buyers often research contractors before making contact. A facilities director, school representative, or government buyer needed to find relevant experience, suitable past projects, local knowledge, and a clear picture of Holly Construction’s capabilities.

Holly Construction also needed to make its new focus more visible without losing the residential, commercial, and multi-family services that remained part of the business.

The Challenge: Reaching New Buyers While Sustaining Established Markets

Holly Construction has served Sonoma and Marin Counties for more than 35 years as a licensed general contractor and design-build firm. The company has completed luxury custom homes, whole-house remodels, commercial projects, tenant improvements, and institutional buildings.

As Holly Construction planned for 2025, the company expected financing pressure and fewer custom-residential inquiries. That made a broader project mix increasingly important, with education and government work becoming a greater business priority.

The shift affected several parts of the digital program. Search visibility, service content, blog topics, and social media still reflected Holly Construction’s previous priorities. Its established residential and commercial services also needed continued support.

Holly Construction needed to become easier for education and government buyers to find and evaluate while preserving the visibility it had already built in its established markets.

How WSI Realigned Holly Construction’s Digital Strategy 

WSI already understood Holly Construction’s services, website, search performance, local market, and existing content when the company’s priorities changed.

That context allowed the team to focus on where the digital program needed to shift and where the new education and government focus needed greater visibility.

A Dedicated Destination for Education and Government Buyers

WSI created a dedicated education and government services page and linked to it from relevant areas across Holly Construction’s website.

The new page gave prospective buyers one place to understand the company’s capabilities in that market. It also gave search engines a clearer page to associate with education, government, and related institutional queries.

Search and Content Shifted With the Business

WSI adjusted Holly Construction’s content and search priorities to reflect the new direction. The team published 36 blog posts across the company’s main service categories, added FAQs throughout the site, strengthened internal linking, and updated the Google Business Profile at least twice each month.

The service page, supporting content, internal links, and local profile reinforced the same market priority while keeping established services visible.

Social Content Showed More of the Business in Action

Holly Construction’s social content had focused heavily on completed projects. WSI expanded that mix to include active construction stages, employees, day-to-day work, and collaborations with North Bay partners.

That gave prospective clients a fuller picture of the people and processes behind the finished work. The posts also linked to relevant project pages, articles, and Holly Construction’s contact page.

Business Results: More First-Time Callers and Stronger Organic Demand

As Holly Construction's digital strategy shifted toward its new market priorities, performance improved across several of the channels WSI was tracking.

Year over year:

• Tracked phone calls increased 77%, from 583 to 1,033.
• First-time callers increased 106%, from 391 to 806.
• Organic sessions increased 76%, from 19,333 to 34,027.
• Organic form submissions increased 45%, from 40 to 58.

First-Time Callers Gave Holly Construction a Clearer Signal of New Demand

Total call volume can include existing clients, suppliers, and repeat callers. First-time callers gave Holly Construction a better view of how many new people were reaching out.

That number more than doubled during the period, rising from 391 to 806. For a company trying to reach new categories of buyers while continuing to support its established services, that was one of the clearest indicators that new prospects were entering the pipeline.

Organic Search and Google Business Profile Both Drove Calls

Of the 1,033 tracked calls, 594 came through Holly Construction’s website from organic search, while 439 came through its Google Business Profile.

Content contributed to that visibility as well. One blog post generated 1,246 organic sessions after recording no traffic in the previous comparison period.

Holly Construction also reported its strongest revenue year in 35 years during the same period.

Why Holly Construction’s Long-Term WSI Partnership Mattered

Nine years into the relationship, WSI already had the historical performance context and market knowledge to respond when Holly Construction’s priorities changed.

That continuity made the transition more focused. The team could concentrate on where the digital strategy needed to change while continuing to support the parts of the program that were still serving the business.

The existing tracking also gave Holly Construction a clearer view of what happened after the changes were made. WSI monitored total calls, first-time callers, organic traffic, form submissions, and the channels driving people to the business.

For Justin Hunter, President of Holly Construction, that ability to measure performance has been a valuable part of the relationship:

“WSI has been the best to work with. Their entire team has helped grow our exposure. Marketing is difficult to measure but with WSI we have been able to measure and track results, which is huge for me. Their local team is a talented group of experienced people and I highly recommend!”

Justin Hunter, President, Holly Construction

 

What Construction Companies Can Learn From Holly Construction’s Market Shift

Start With the Business Decision

Holly Construction decided where it wanted to grow before changing its marketing. That gave WSI a specific business priority to build around.

When the target market changes, the digital footprint needs to follow. Service pages, search priorities, content, local visibility, and social media should give prospective buyers a consistent picture of where the business is headed.

Make the New Direction Visible Across the Buyer Journey

Prospective clients may encounter a business through a Google search, a service page, a blog post, a Google Business Profile, or social content before they ever make contact.

Holly Construction updated those touchpoints around the same market priority. Education and government buyers could find more relevant information while the company continued to support its established residential, commercial, and multi-family services.

Measure the Signals That Match the Business Goal

Holly Construction wanted to reach new categories of buyers, so first-time caller growth became one of the clearest signals of new demand.

The metric worked because it matched the business question the team was trying to answer: were more new prospects contacting the company?

Recognition Through WSI’s 2026 People’s Choice Awards

WSI’s work with Holly Construction was recognized in the 2026 People’s Choice Awards for the coordinated digital strategy supporting the company’s move into education and government projects. The work brought together website updates, SEO, content, local visibility, social media, and measurement around a clear business priority.

Holly Construction was one of several businesses recognized for using digital strategy to address a specific growth challenge. See how other WSI clients approached AI adoption, market expansion, lead generation, and customer acquisition.

When Business Priorities Change, Your Marketing Partner Should Be Ready

Holly Construction’s experience shows the value of working with a marketing partner that understands the business behind the campaigns. After nine years together, WSI could respond to a change in market priorities with context, continuity, and a clear view of what was already working.

The result was a digital strategy built around where Holly Construction wanted to grow next, supported by stronger search visibility, more first-time callers, and clearer performance tracking.

One of the clearest tests of a marketing partner is what happens when the business changes. Holly Construction’s nine-year relationship with WSI shows how accumulated business context can shorten the distance between a strategic decision and the marketing response.

If your business is entering a new market, shifting its service mix, or questioning whether your marketing still reflects where you want to grow, a WSI Consultant can help you assess what needs to change and where to focus first.