In this article, we’ll uncover the secret that home service companies can use to win the online game: local search engine optimization (or local SEO).
Doing local SEO in digital marketing for home services has become crucial in today’s digital age because home service companies rely heavily on local customers. For practical reasons, people prefer doing business with a business that’s located in their area, and since nearly everyone in the United States is connected to the Web, improving online visibility is a must. This was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travel was limited and lockdowns were implemented in many regions across the United States.
With or without the virus, a lot of people search for businesses close to them using keywords like “HVAC services near me,” “dry cleaning home delivery near me,” and so on. This is why, if you’re doing home services marketing, you need to know a powerful tool that can help you rank higher on search engine results pages, drive more traffic to your website, and ultimately, increase your customer base as well as your revenues. You need to know search engine optimization (SEO).
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The Challenges in Home Services Marketing
One of the challenges faced by companies that do home services marketing is the seasonality of their business. For example, your air conditioning repair services may be in high demand during the summer months, while furnace repair services may be in high demand during the winter months. Thus, you need to adjust your SEO strategy accordingly to ensure that you’re targeting the right keywords at the right time (more on that later).
Another major challenge that we know you’re facing is tough competition. There are so many businesses trying to get the same customers, which means that, as a home service provider, you need to completely differentiate yourself from your competitors. You can do this by implementing a strong SEO strategy that includes a focus on local keywords, high-quality content, and a user-friendly website design.
A strong SEO strategy involves a combination of outstanding content, local keywords, and a user-friendly website.
Benefits of SEO in Home Services Marketing
SEO (particularly local SEO) plays a key role in digital marketing for home services. While there are other brand awareness strategies that a home service company can use—such as email marketing, video marketing, and so on—local SEO has unique benefits that other strategies in digital marketing for home services don’t provide.
As mentioned earlier, local SEO can help your home service business rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that when potential customers search for a particular service in their local area, your business will be more likely to appear at the top of the search results page. For example, if their centralized air conditioning broke down in the middle of summer and they search for “best HVAC repair near me”, they will see your website in the top Google results – both the Google organic results and the Google Maps results. This can lead to more website visits, more leads, more customers, and most importantly, higher revenues for your business.
In addition to improving search engine rankings, SEO also can help in your home services marketing by establishing your company’s credibility and authority. You can do this by creating high-quality content that is both informative and engaging.
Finally, SEO can help your home service business stay ahead of your competition. By constantly monitoring and adjusting your SEO strategy, you can ensure that you’re always targeting the right keywords, creating high-quality content, and providing a user-friendly website. All of these can help your business stand out from other home service providers in your area and, as a result, attract more customers.
Let’s take a closer look at essential elements of SEO for your home service company:
Keyword Research for Home Service Providers
Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of SEO in home services marketing. This involves identifying the keywords and phrases that your potential customers are searching for in their local area. By targeting those keywords, your home service business can improve your local rankings and, thus, attract more customers.
There are several keyword research tools available that can help home service providers identify the best keywords for their business. As mentioned earlier, Google Keyword Planner is one such tool that provides valuable insights into search volume, competition, and related keywords. Other tools—like SEMrush and Ahrefs—can provide even more detailed insights into keyword trends and competition.
When conducting keyword research, focus on local keywords. This includes keywords that include the name of the city or region where your business is located or (more importantly) where you’re operating. For example, if you offer plumbing services in New York City, you may want to target keywords like “best plumber in NYC” or “emergency plumbing services in New York City.”
Broad keyword targeting without a local city or regional identifier is a common mistake in doing a local SEO campaign for home service providers. An experienced home services marketing agency (like Zero Company) would include your target cities in your keywords for a successful local SEO campaign.
On-Page Optimization for Home Service Providers
On-page optimization is also crucial in local SEO for home services marketing. This involves optimizing your website’s content, meta tags, and images for your targeted keywords. By doing so, your home service business can improve your chances of being at the top of Google, Bing, etc., and, consequently, of getting more customers.
One of the most important aspects of on-page optimization is the website’s content. As a home service provider, you can produce high-quality, informative content related to your services, which incorporates targeted keywords. Your content can be in the form of blog posts, service pages, FAQs, and so on. It’s also important that you use header tags (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content and make it easier for search engines to understand it.
Meta tags are another important aspect of on-page optimization. These tags provide information about your website’s content to search engines. The title tag should include the targeted keyword and should have no more than 60 characters. Ideally, your target keyword should be at the beginning of your title tag.
Meanwhile, the meta description should provide a brief summary of the page’s content and include the targeted keyword. Google does not directly consider the meta description as a ranking factor. However, the click-through rate is a ranking factor. So a well-written meta description can attract more users and generate a higher click-through rate, which in turn can improve your local rankings.
Finally, even your images should be optimized for your target keywords. Use descriptive file names and alt tags that include your targeted keywords. Doing this can help improve your website’s overall relevancy and improve its chances of being seen among the top search engine results.
Off-Page Optimization for Home Service Providers
Off-page optimization is also important in home services marketing. This involves building high-quality backlinks to your website. One of the most effective ways to build backlinks is through content marketing. You’ll need to create high-quality, informative content that other websites will want to link to. By creating content that is both informative and engaging, your home service business can attract backlinks from other websites, which can help improve your search engine ranking. If you need help getting backlinks, a seasoned home services marketing agency like Zero Company can help.
Social media marketing is another effective way to improve your website’s off-page optimization. By sharing your content on social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), your home service business can get more traffic to your website and improve your online visibility.
Remember to engage with your page followers and respond to their comments and inquiries if you want to build a strong social media presence.
The Fundamentals of Local SEO for Home Services Marketing
Performing local SEO is essential for your home service company if the vast majority of your customers are located in a specific area. You’ll need to optimize your website and other online profiles for local keywords so that you can improve your chances of appearing in local search results and, thus, attract more customers who are more likely to avail of your home services.
One of the most important yet often-neglected aspects of local SEO is claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business). This involves creating a Google Business Profile and providing accurate information about your company, including its name, address, and phone number. We also recommend including relevant photos of your business, and actively responding to customer reviews.
Last but not the least, building citations is another useful element of local SEO. Citations are mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number on other websites. This can include local directories—like Yelp and Yellow Pages—as well as industry-specific directories. When building citations, the most important factor is that the name, address, and phone number (NAP) be absolutely identical across all citations (and exactly match your Google Business Profile). By building citations, your home service company can improve your local rankings and, as a result, be seen by more prospective customers in the places that you serve.
A crucial but often-neglected part of local SEO is managing your Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business).
Final Tip in Using Local SEO For Home Services Marketing
Keep in mind that you need to monitor your SEO results and continuously refine your SEO strategy for your home service business to attract more customers and increase your revenues.
If your home service company needs professional local SEO services, Zero Company can be your perfect partner. We have more than 20 years of experience in providing top-notch SEO services to dozens of home service providers throughout the United States.
Book a free consultation with our local SEO experts in home services marketing!
