Getting attention is the goal of every marketing endeavor, but if it was that easy, it wouldn’t really take any effort at all. Thankfully, there are ways you can expand your reach into new footprints without overextending your team on projects that may or may not make any difference anyway. The key is finding the right tools that are built to bolster your brand while encouraging your local online marketing efforts to take on new heights.
The Challenge For Local Businesses = Getting Noticed
It’s important to befriend Google if you want customers to notice you. The problem is, Google tends to have a bias toward physical locations when it’s ranking you in the search engine results pages (SERPs) that people see when they plug questions into the search engine. That makes it hard for service-oriented businesses such as roofers, HVAC pros, window experts, and home remodelers, who don’t actually do their work inside their physical office locations. Sure, it’s important to be able to show that you’re local by displaying your office’s address on your website, but how can you prove to customers that you’re within their footprint if the work you do is outside of the office?
You need to employ tools that will help you increase your local search visibility when the algorithms are crawling the web. That means you need something that will show the search engines vital information about your completed jobs, such as:
- Proximity. How far away from your physical office do you complete jobs for your customers?
- Recency. It’s vital to have fresh information that’s updated on a regular basis. If your postings are too old, they will be deemed irrelevant by the search engines.
- Relevance. If you’re a roofer, you need to be able to showcase the roofs you’ve built or repaired. The same is true for windows, heating and air conditioning units, and any other service industry. Irrelevant keywords, videos, and images create a negative experience that can actually cause you to endure harsh penalties from the search engines; on the other hand, relevant data that includes proper keywords, testimonials, and hyperlocal information can help improve your overall search rankings.
- Prominence. Prominence refers to how well-known your business is. You can build prominence by accumulating online reviews and positive ratings.
Achieving Attention
As a service provider, you need to establish your proximity signals about your broader service area by creating geotagged content on your website and social media. In today’s world, there are dozens of outlets that can help you facilitate this. Let’s look at a few options.
Online Reviews
Did you know that as many as 68% of consumers say reviews influence the trust they have in companies with which they could potentially do business? This is important because Google also weighs reviews when it’s considering the value your business brings to the people who are searching for the products and services you provide. The more valuable your existing customers see you, the more valuable potential customers will view you, too, and value drives part of the algorithms of search engines.
There are a lot of places you can compile reviews, including:
- Your own website
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Nextdoor
Photos and Videos
Photos offer a great way to geo-tag your content. After all, you’re showcasing something right where you did the work, which can help show the search engines just how far your footprint’s boundaries can go. You can (and should!) easily post photos and videos on your website, in local business listings, and on all of your social media profiles.
GeoJuice is the App That Makes This Easy
Now that you know what you need to do to rank better and grow your business into new areas, you can take a sigh of relief, because it’s really not as hard as it seems. In fact, as they say, there’s an app for that, and GeoJuice was specifically designed with businesses like yours in mind.
GeoJuice is an app that allows you to take pictures of a completed job, post them on your various platforms, and request testimonials and feedback from your customers in a matter of minutes. And, because you’re taking photos of the jobs right where you completed them, they’ll automatically be geo-tagged with the information the search engines need to tell future customers where you work.
GeoJuice is a great tool for local businesses because it’s a full-service marketing tool in the palm of people’s hands. Simply add a few keywords, tailor your content with a comment or two, and send it off into cyberspace. With this tool, it’s easy to distribute your brand across the web with the click of a button. Potential customers can not only see your work, but they can also see that they’re within your service area. The process is so quick that you can ask for feedback while you’re talking with your customers, and you’re more likely to get referrals thanks to the social proof this app provides.
Need an example? Check out how we helped Hinkle Roofing change the way they market their business. In just 30 days, they were able to achieve a 40% response rate on feedback requests and had seven people actively using GeoJuice with over 230 total check-ins to local sites. The overall visibility of the company improved and organic traffic rose over time.
The Dos and Don’ts for Maximizing Your Efforts on GeoJuice
Of course, there are a few best practices you should consider if you want to maximize your efforts with GeoJuice.
- Do check in two to three times per employee per week.
- Don’t post just for the sake of posting. It’s all about quality check-ins.
- Do use pictures with every post.
- Don’t provide the customer’s full name or address.
- Do be mindful of what else is in the photo that you’re posting.
- Don’t include negative keywords or sentiments in the posting.
- Do stay positive and professional.
- Don’t overthink it. Allow this to be an organic process that’s helping your business.
- Do make sure proper safety equipment and best practices are being showcased.
- Don’t duplicate content. Never copy and paste check-ins.
Discover How Local Marketing Software Can Help Your Business Increase Your Online Visibility
If you’re ready to see how your local online marketing can stretch beyond the barriers of your current footprint, Surefire Local is ready to help you achieve your goals. Request a demo with our team today to learn how to execute hyperlocal marketing that attracts quality leads and brings you repeat customers!
