As a contractor, you know that one of the key benefits you can offer your customers is your understanding of local needs and expectations. The same holds true for building your profile in your community. Search engine optimization (SEO) gives your business the chance to shine.
There are several ways to improve how your customers find you on the web or social media.
- Always respond to your comments/questions/complaints on Google to let the search engine know that you are active, engaged and knowledgeable.
- It’s important to remember that Google puts a lot of weight behind reviews - don’t be afraid to ask for them, or even incentivize your customers to give their reviews.
- Analyze what your competitors are doing, and evaluate if it’s working for them (metrics like where they appear in search results, engagement with social posts, etc.). Don’t hesitate to steal ideas if it looks like they would help your own efforts.
- Create city pages. Put a page on your website that goes into the weeds of the community you serve. Mention the name of the city and the services you offer once in the heading, once in the subheadings, and at least 2-3 times in the body of the copy.
- Take it one step further with hyperlocalization. Repeat the steps in number 4, but get really down in the weeds to talk about a suburb or other demographic or geographic area. Just make sure you know the area well enough to speak about it authoritatively.
- Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. While formal keyword research may be a little advanced (and is something you can have your agency do), you already know what your customers are likely trying to find. Use that knowledge to inform the content you prepare for your website. You can also create posts in Google My Business - few small businesses take advantage of this, so it’s a good place to start.