When you think about search engine optimization, it can be an intimidating idea. Spending hundreds of hours going through spreadsheets of keywords to improve your website may not sound appealing, especially when that time takes you away from your business’ core competence. Can you afford to ignore a strategy around local SEO for home service companies?
The good news is that you can get found online with a few hours of work each week and understanding where your time is best spent online. When working towards a home service SEO strategy, start with these fundamental tips.
Local SEO Fundamentals for Home Services
Although it may seem complicated, local SEO for home services companies is based on universal search best practices. As a ServiceTitan Certified Marketing Provider, we understand exactly how those practices apply to local home service businesses and have helped many different companies improve their online visibility. From our experience, these are the fundamentals your business should always start with to drive more traffic to your website — and close more business.
Google Business Profile Optimization
Formerly known as “Google My Business,” Google Business Profiles are one of the easiest ways a home services company can improve its visibility online. Your profile serves as your one-stop shop for managing how your business appears online within Google’s ecosystem, including Google Search and Google Maps.
If you’ve never done it before, do a Google search for “home services” and your city. How many results came up? More importantly, how many of those businesses have a more polished appearance than yours?
If you haven’t done it yet, now is the time to start optimizing your Google Business Profile. By filling everything out in your profile, you can stand out ahead of your competition and close more clients.
Earning Reviews
Earning reviews in your Google Business Profile is a strong way to add credibility to your business. When a customer is choosing between a business with zero reviews and one with many varied reviews, which one do you believe will get more business? It’s always going to be a business with reviews — even if they aren’t always five stars.
If you don’t have a local review strategy, your business will lag behind the competition, both in terms of home service SEO and conversions. The easiest way to collect reviews is to ask your customers directly after a service call, either in person, in a follow-up e-mail, or utilizing QR codes on your invoice receipts or at your business. This strategy isn’t exclusive to your Google Business Profile — asking for reviews also works for other popular local home service websites, including Angi and Yelp.
Keyword Research for Your Website
Think about your business for a moment. How would you describe your full suite of services? From that list, you’ve probably named some keywords that your audience is searching for, all of which are important for home service SEO.
Using Google Keyword Planner for local keyword research can help you identify which terms your audience is searching to find your home service business. Optimizing your content around those keywords and reducing duplicate content in SEO will only help your company get found faster online and convert more business over time.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have time or the technical knowledge to dive into Google Keyword Planner, it’s okay to start by trusting your gut! Start your path toward optimization by creating pages using the formula: “service + location.” For example: If you are located in Phoenix and want to be found for AC repair, ensure your landing page is optimized for “AC Repair Phoenix.”
Optimize Your Site for Target Keywords
Finally, you need to make sure your pages are optimized not only to be found but also to convert. This is where understanding how to rank and convert with local landing pages is crucial. Using URL structures with descriptive keywords, title tags that explain what each page is about, and images that illustrate your work with descriptive alt text can help you build authority with the search engine and help you drive traffic to your site faster, leading to more conversions.
Tips for Driving Qualified Leads to Your Home Service Business
Why does home service SEO matter at the end of the day? As opposed to leads from advertising or community events like trade shows, inbound SEO provides very high-quality leads. If your business ranks online for “plumber near me,” that person is usually more likely to call you to schedule an appointment because they need your services now.
What can you do today to increase the odds of getting more conversions through SEO? Your best bet is to optimize your pages for conversions, collect leads from your Google Business Profile, and do some local SEO testing to see what converts best.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Just like you would talk to someone over the phone or in person explaining the value of your services, your landing pages need to showcase what you bring to every service appointment and encourage your potential customers to call for a service appointment today. Start your location page conversion optimization by building an effectively structured page with a clear headline, easy-to-navigate content, and a clear call-to-action that asks for their business. Working in cohesion, all of these elements can create a user experience that inspires confidence in your business, leading to closing more conversions.
Leads from Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile can also encourage direct conversions from inbound search queries. It’s all about linking to the right page in your profile. Your profile should always link to your homepage unless you have multiple locations — then you should link each location profile to the respective location’s page.
- Link to the right page: homepage, or if you have multiple locations, link to the location page.
- Use the Bookings appointment link feature to link to your booking URL if you have one(see screenshot)
You can also use the “Bookings” button in your Google Business Profile to create a feature link to your online booking page. If you don’t have one, consider adding a form to your site where customers can contact you immediately. Being accessible to your future clients can help you convert more business.
Local SEO Testing Can Improve Conversions
Home service SEO is not a “once and done” exercise. Instead, it’s a process of continual improvement over time, ensuring that your page regularly ranks ahead of your competitors in the local market.
Instead of making wholesale changes to your website, running a local SEO test starts by determining which elements of your page can be improved, formulating a hypothesis of how it could be improved, and then measuring and analyzing results. Through testing and continual improvement, you can see improvements such as increased online conversions or more phone calls coming from homeowners browsing your website.
Local SEO is Worth Investing In
Local SEO for home service companies is a major part of your overall marketing strategy. If your customers can’t find you online, it’s going to be much harder to grow your business and earn more customers. The good news is that you don’t have to be a computer expert to get your footing in local SEO. By following these best practices and optimizing your website for conversion, you can close more business and drive additional traffic to your business — leading in more service appointments for your team.
