The Power of Data: What We Learned Analyzing Almost 300 Pool Builder Websites in Florida

When it comes to making informed decisions in marketing and design, data is everything. Recently, we independently analyzed almost 300 pool builder websites across Florida to understand the trends, pain points, and opportunities for businesses in the industry. The findings are enlightening for pool builders in that area. I can't help wonder why this is not something most agencies have standardised for their clients though. We learnt a lot from this process and I think its worth doing for all clients. Going deeper than the surface-level analysis that is done in tools like Ahrefs or SemRush.

Why Industry-Wide Data Matters

We didn't just look at a handful of websites—we looked at hundreds. Analyzing data on a large scale like this reveals the patterns that many marketers or businesses miss.

Although we were originally looking for what top performers are doing differently, and where opportunities lie for those willing to step up this analysis helped to redefine in our minds what a "top performer" even is in this market. Previously, we would have said something like - someone who gets the most traffic or, has a great and informative blog. Those things are still true. But, we'd now include things like - unique design, having a Facebook pixel and non-standard messaging on their site.

this analysis helped to redefine in our minds what a "top performer" even is

Key Insights

Here are some of the key insights we discovered:

• 85% of pool builder websites use blue and/or white as their main website color. It's a "sea of sameness". Most pool sites look the same, which makes it hard for potential customers (and us during our study) to differentiate between brands. Just changing the color scheme could be a powerful move to make a brand more memorable.
• 75% of pool builders in Florida get less than 50 website visits per month. The average monthly traffic is just 214 visits, which is skewed by the top 25% of performers. And even more so by the top 10% of that segment.

• 50% of pool builders rank for 22 keywords or less. This is a major untapped opportunity. Most pool builders aren’t utilizing SEO well enough to improve visibility. A regular blog producing even 2 posts per month would quickly outrank most competitors in the state.
• 96% of pool builder websites are considered slowwwwww. We tested mostly on mobile because its the slower, less powerful device for most people. While a slow website can cause potential clients to bounce immediately if you're buying a pool in FL maybe there is no other choice. I think this could be a hidden driver as to why people now do a lot of research on social media rather than websites when buying anything. Optimizing for mobile speed may be a good way to retain half the traffic that does try to visit.
• Homepages are small. The average word count is just 633 words. That's not much content for what is a large investment for many people. Not just in the pool but in the partner (pool company) that you choose to deliver it for you.
• Much of the content found is technical or about the business and not the customer or the benefits. I think builders are too close to their work here. Listening to customers and even thinking about their own lives pre and post-pool install might help them connect better with their audience and build trust. Adding this emotional layer to content can make a big difference in engagement on their socials too in my opinion (but that's another study for another day).
• 83% of pool builder websites don’t have a Facebook pixel installed. This blew my mind. Facebook is one of the most accessible advertising channels and in my experience one used often by local businesses. That most pool contractors didn't even had the pixel installed on their site so they could at very least set up cheap facebook retargeting campaigns shocked me.

Data as a Driver for Change

These findings show us just how much room there is for growth. By using data to understand the broader trends, we can make smarter decisions—whether it's choosing a new design direction to stand out from the "sea of sameness" or improving technical aspects like SEO and mobile performance. For any industry, not just pool building, understanding what the data says is the first step toward making meaningful improvements.

Want to dive deeper into what we found and how it could apply to your pool business? Check out our full analysis here: https://singularity.digital/insights/data-pool-marketing-insights/