As a general contractor, you’re accustomed to handling many of the same problems as many other businesses. You face stiff competition from other businesses, who are competing with you for the same local seo attention of customers.
You know that you need every inch of inside track you can get when it comes to making yourself visible to the people who need your services. Unlike many other businesses, however, contractors cannot rest on the laurels of repeat customers.
Your customers either need building, repairs or maintenance work carried out… Or they don’t.
Of course, if you make a great impression, customers may well contact you when they next have need of your services, but that may be months or even years down the line.
Thus, a contractor who hopes to gain a leading edge in a highly competitive field must ensure that their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) game is strong.
Here, we’ll look at some SEO tips that will make you more visible to local customers when they need you most, positioning yourself above your less proactive competitors and ensuring ongoing success for your business.
As a contractor, you’re largely (or even wholly) dependent on your ability to attract local business. Yet, what many small businesses don’t realize is that you need to adopt a subtly different strategy if you plan on dominating your local market.
Local SEO is slightly different to national SEO. That’s why we’re going to spend this post discussing the subtle art of local SEO and how you can master it to provide a steady stream of customers for your business.
One of the simplest, yet most effective local SEO tools is your NAP data.
Your NAP data is:
Keeping this up to date on all local directories in which you are listed is crucial in ensuring that you remain visible to prospective local customers.
When first starting out it’s likely that you submitted this data to a host of relevant local directories. Nonetheless, if any of these changes, it’s vital that you update this information in all directories in which you are submitted.
Local directory listings are like a vote of confidence in your business to search engine crawlers, and inconsistencies in this data will be off-putting to search engines and frustrating for customers.
Going through Google’s verification process is a relatively straightforward procedure but can go a long way towards legitimizing your business not just in the eyes of local customers but in the metaphorical eyes of the search engine giant itself.
Your Google My Business page is also a fundamental building block of your local SEO. However, some contractors sell themselves short by only submitting their primary specialism, thereby limiting the number of search terms in which your web page pops up. It’s a good idea to list yourself in 3-5 categories e.g. general contractor, home builder, bathroom remodeler, kitchen remodeler.
Your homepage should give prospective customers all the information they need to place their trust in your services. However, it should also be a calling card to search engine crawlers, helping to ensure that your services are a good fit for the needs of local customers.
There are certain tricks to getting your homepage noticed by the search engines. One of the most important aspects of your homepage is the title tag you use. This is like the chapter title of a reference book; it tells you what the content therein will be about.
Optimal title tags are usually around 50-65 characters long. If you’re struggling for ideas, “General Contractor in {Name of City} - {Name of Company}” is an effective format.
Next, you will need to turn your attention the the homepage meta description. This should be 100- 150 characters long and is essentially a blurb for your business. Try to end it with a Call To Action (CTA). For example;
{Name of Company} offers the very best {Name of Services} in {Name of City}. Call {Phone Number} today for a free quote!
Your homepage will also need a visible headline, (known as the H1), which is a brief description of the business and the services you offer. The page copy below is your opportunity to tell prospective customers all about your business.
This is your opportunity to earn their trust. Provide a little background information, describe your services, and sign off with a compelling CTA. Try and squeeze this into around 500-1,000 words. Anything longer may be off putting to prospects.
Your service pages offer you a better chance to describe your services to local prospects. These should be optimized in much the same way as your homepage. Use intent rich keywords to ensure that your page gets noticed by prospects who have a specific service in mind.
For example, “Kitchen renovation in Austin TX”, is the kind of keyword that will ensure that your page reaches the eyes of prospects who are looking to pull the trigger on the work they need doing.
A citation is any listing on a local online directory for your business. Anything from your Facebook page to the Yellow pages or your local Chamber of Commerce websites. The higher authority these sources are, the more credible your business will appear to search engine crawlers.
What’s more, if you can get local newspapers, other trusted businesses and other high-authority sources to link to your business, this can also be extremely helpful in upping your local SEO game.
Social proof is a hugely important aspect of conquering your local market. It proves the legitimacy in the eyes of local prospects when your previous customers have nothing but glowingly positive things to say about your business.
Customer reviews are one of the most effective forms of social proof you can get so it behoves you to take steps to incentivize reviews from happy customers.
Take these simple steps, and conquering the local landscape with your SEO prowess becomes a cinch!
If you haven't already done so, get your free Local SEO report. In less than three minutes you'll see exactly how you stack up against your competition for your top keywords.
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