Guide to Local Contractor Seo
Nowadays contractors face a lot of difficulties in trying to attract new clients. A decade ago, it would have been enough to post an advertisement in the local newspaper or simply rely on the word of mouth to expand their network of customers.
However, the digital era has changed everything and now as a contractor you have to find a more efficient way of promoting your business. If you want to keep up with your competitors and have your name heard, then the key to everything is a good SEO, more specifically local SEO.
What does it mean?
It means that the most probable way in which people will find your business is online, by appearing in the top results when they search for contractors to hire. Your business will come up among the highest ranked results only if you use a search engine optimization strategy. You can hire an SEO company to do it for you, but you can also do it by yourself.
One of the first things you should do is making your contractor site seo friendly, but that’s not all.
If you wish to make your business appealing to clients in your local area, the following tips might come handy.
Make a good choice of keywords
Keywords are the pillars of local SEO as people use them to find the services they need. Make sure you choose them wisely in order to target the locals. For instance, if your business is based in Dallas, your keyword should be roof repair Dallas, instead of just roof repair.
Keywords come in two types, buying intent and research intend. The former is more beneficial for you, as their focus is on people who look for an immediate service unlike the latter which are aimed for users who are just doing research. However, don’t underestimate the power of the second type as these keywords are useful for promoting your company.
Make keyword optimization
The next step is getting your website verified by Google so that it appears in the list of local businesses in the right corner of the search engine. Get your NAP data straight, by accurately providing the name, address and phone number of your company. Choose the category of your business by stating your primary and secondary services.
You’ll also need to provide a short description of your company. Keep it concise but trustworthy, so that people can get the feeling to immediately contact you. List your working hours and add couple of photos of you at work. Choose pictures with good resolution and graphics.
Optimize your website
The first thing you should do is to create a title tag, not longer than 65 characters which would state your profession, name of the company and your city.
The next step is formulating a Meta description from 100-150, which is actually an outline of your business, similar to the description you were writing for the Google verification process. Click here to learn how to create an awesome Meta description.
Finally, you need a visible headline containing just the name of your job and city.
Start a blog
Writing blog entries is an excellent way to optimize your website. Your entries should contain couple of keywords, both in the introduction and the conclusion as well as a few optimized images.
When it comes to content, always choose topics which people would relate to, such as offering them helpful tips. If you are not talented to write these articles or you simply lack time, you can always find an SEO content writer who can write them for you.
If you decide to go for this step, don’t hire the cheapest writer as the price speaks for itself. After all, don’t forget that these articles are supposed to attract more traffic to your webpage.
Wrap up
If you are a contractor and you still haven’t adopted an SEO strategy, now it’s the right time.
If you have enough time on your hands, use it to optimize your webpage and attract more clients.
You may believe that all the competitors are way ahead of you, but do not be discouraged.
It’s better to start late than never!