Search Engine Optimization remains an unclear topic for the majority of small business owners, but when implemented well, can yield big returns in the ultra-competitive HVAC, electrical, and plumbing industries.
Users have tried search engines, especially Google to search for goods and services in their communities, Restaurants, Shopping centers and auto repair. We use the web to discover the things around us. For many homeowners, this also includes home service businesses.
Why Is SEO essential?
When a web user types “leak repair” or “air conditioning installation” on Google search bar, Google’s algorithm search results that are most topically and geographically relevant. Meaning you want your business to be on the first page of Googles organic search results. It’s important to get your business name in front of your prospects.
Designing an SEO Strategy
Whether you are considering using SEO for your business website for the first time or are looking to improve your content structure, there are various things you can do to monitor and improve the SEO health of your website. Highlighted below are five critical tips for boosting your Search Engine Optimization for Google organic search results:
Zero in on Your Keywords
Ensure you use relevant keywords to help rank your business well on Google.
For instance, let’s say your company is a plumbing business in Houston, TX. You should use keywords like:
Such keywords should appear consistently in your website content
These keywords should appear prominently in your website content (once or twice on each page) and be frequently used in your H1 and H2 headers. You’ll also want to experiment with niche keywords, such as “Houston Leak Repair,” “Clogged Toilets in Houston,” “Houston sink installation,” and so on to capitalize on searches where the person has a specific service in mind.
Prepare to Be Crawled
Google routinely “crawls” sites to find keywords, establishes overall relevance, and cross-checks the content against all other crawled sites. That means that you need fresh, well-written, original content on your website, not language that has been taken from other, well-ranking sites.
Brush Up Your Meta Tags
Meta tags and Meta descriptions contain text that appears on the actual Google search results page. This metadata is crawled by Google just like website content is, as part of determining a website’s relevance to a user’s search.
Submit Your Business to Directories
Your website shouldn’t be the only place on the web where your business is visible. There are various business directories around the web that Google incorporates into determining a business’ authority in the marketplace. That’s why you should take the time to ensure that your business is correctly listed on Yelp, Google+, Yellowpages.com, Local.com, Whitepages.com and so forth.
Publish Regular, Authoritative Content
If you have the resources to keep and update a blog on your website, it is highly recommended. Adding new content pages to a website can dramatically enhance its SEO health and Google tends to favor sites that are frequently updated and active. Keep your blog professional and feature brief, easy-to-understand topics that can educate or entice your customers.