As a home services contractor, such as a building contractor, repair service, or home improvement company, one of the most important strategies to growing your organization is to be easy to find online. You can do that with your Google Business Profile as a component of your overall SEO and digital marketing strategy.
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is a listing tool. Once you claim it, this free tool allows Google to learn about your company. When a person needs the services you offer within your geographical area, your listing will show up on the search engine results page. These are prominent listings right in front of the searcher who is looking for the services you have to offer. They can instantly click on your GBP or simply click your phone number to call you. There is no more important tool for a business that is dependent on local clients than to have your GBP set up and working for you.
However, just being listed is only one step. You also need to do a bit of work to optimize your GBP, which allows Google to position you better for your prospective clients. How do we do that?
To help you consider these Google Business Profile SEO strategies for home services contractors. Follow these steps to get found on Google now.
9 Google Business Profile SEO Strategies for Home Services Contractors
Claim and Verify Your Profile
To get verified, simply visit Google’s Help Center and follow the steps provided to you there. The process is rather direct and easy to follow and requires just a few steps. To get started, go to Business.google.com/add. Once there, you can enter the name and physical address of your business. Then, select your location from the listings that show up.
You’ll be directed to choose your location on Google Maps – that’s critical since it allows you to tell Google where you are located so the search engine can direct local searchers to your results. There are several additional simple steps to get verified.
Here’s why this is so important. When you claim your GBP, you are alerting Google to the presence of your business within a very specific geographical area. When searchers within that radius of your business look for your services, your listing may show up.
By getting verified, you are also creating credibility. That’s also important to building consumer confidence. Your prospective customers want to know that they are turning to a real business with an easy-to-verify online presence. Your GBP helps to make that possible.
Finally, the key benefit that comes from claiming your GBP is that it aids with local SEO. It helps your business’s contact information to be very visible, right at the top of the page, and often the first thing that searchers see. More so, when you optimize it to include good local SEO strategies, you’ll see more direct traffic to your website from your page as well.
Complete and accurate business information
Once you gain access to your GBP, it is time to complete it. Fill it out with the exact name, address, and phone number that you use on your website and any other location. Your NAP – Name, Address, Phone – needs to be the same in any instance it is found online. That helps to ensure that Google associates your business with your location.
Make sure that you update your NAP across all platforms, including any business directories you are listed in, professional associations, your website, your blog, and social media. This helps to improve your local search rankings, allowing Google and your most likely customers to find you far more easily. As a local contractor, you want to make the entire process as seamless as possible.
Engaging business description
You do not have a lot of room to provide all of the information about everything you can do to help your customer make the decision to contact you. That’s why it’s so important to create an engaging, highly specific, and keyword-rich description for your company. Here are some tips to ensure it works:
- Avoid any terms that do not provide an exact benefit to the reader. If you are a general contractor, state that, but don’t say you’re the “best general contractor.” Be as specific as possible.
- Incorporate relevant keywords here. These keywords should include the cities that you work in the most and your general area overall. Again, be specific by listing the specific services you offer or other keywords you know people type into the search engine to find your business services (some keyword research can really help hit this out of the ballpark)
- Keep it concise, accurate, and up-to-date. You’ll want to ensure the information you include here is always going to be accurate for anyone, no matter the time of the year, who can benefit from it directly.
Utilize high-quality visual content
As a home services business, you want to create a visual for your customers so they can imagine what their own home renovations might look like. One of the best ways to do that is to use visual elements. Include photos of your team, completed project photos, and an image of your office if customers are likely to visit it.
It’s a good idea to showcase your business, your team, your products, and services. Help your brand stand out here, allowing people to start to feel a connection with your company. Don’t overlook the benefit of also including high-quality videos that work as a type of demonstration of what you can do for your customers.
Keep in mind the Google Business Profile guidelines for any photos you add:
- JPG or PNG formats only
- Between 10 KB and 5 MB in size
- 720 px tall by 720 px wide is ideal
- Minimum resolution of 250 px tall and 250 px wide
Make sure that the photos are well-lit and easy to recognize. There should not be any type of excessive use of filters on them either.
Managing and responding to customer reviews
One of the ways your GBP will help your business is by creating a way for people to leave reviews about your company. Reviews are incredibly important to building credibility as a business owner. It also allows you to demonstrate not just what you could do for your customers but what you’ve already accomplished.
Many times, the challenge seems to be getting reviews, but it may be easier to do than you realize.
- Ask your current customers to leave you a review.
- Send current or previous clients a link to your GBP and ask them to leave a review.
- When you see a positive review listed, thank the person who sent it.
- When there’s a negative review, respond in a positive way and ask the person to contact you.
- Encourage those leaving a review to include their city in the description, as that can offer a nice local SEO boost
- Encourage other local lingo, too, such as location information or any content that makes it seem like the review is from a local person.
Implementing local SEO strategies
Search engine optimization (SEO) is applicable to your GBP. As mentioned, it’s best to incorporate local keywords into your business description. You also want to ensure you are including the relevant service areas for your business and any location-specific information you can. If you serve the metro area, include that. If you serve various counties, include the names of them. List out the cities that you provide services in.
The impact of local SEO is essential to understand. You want Google to place your business on Google Maps, and then, when anyone within your target area searches for you, your keywords help Google place your business in front of that customer. An optimized profile ensures you are one of the 3 listings presented, called the Map Pack.
Utilizing Google Posts for Updates
Another nice feature of GBP is that it allows you to provide updated information and details for your customers. Use this to place information about promotions or announcements. If your general service business is running a special for the spring or fall months, include it here.
Make sure your content:
- Is specifically relevant to the people searching for your services
- Is timely – make sure to update it each month
- Keep it updated on a routine basis to help boost your local SEO
- Include valuable information, not just filler content
- Let your company’s brand image and personality come through
Implementing attributes and services
You can also add attributes to your GBP. This is an excellent way for you to include specific features that are super specific or unique to your business. This could include specific information about the makes and models of heating systems you repair, the type of work you do specifically, or niched-down information about what services you specialize in. Include certifications if that applies to your business.
Encouraging customer interaction
Treat your GPB like you would on social media. Check it often. Update it as often as you can. And respond to and engage with people who leave messages. Encourage your customers to ask questions, perhaps about the services you offer or about a problem you can solve. This way, you are creating content and building your profile while also working to create confidence in those who need your services.
Building a sense of community through customer engagement helps with branding. It helps to show Google that you are a responsive business, too. That can deliver results for you time and time again.
Let Surefire Local Help You Along the Way
Surefire Local provides a platform that makes keeping your GBP up-to-date and easily managed. Do it all within our platform for fast, efficient results that help you to build leads. When you use our services to manage all aspects of your online marketing in one place, you save time and get better results.
Take a demo now to see how it works.