You can’t see them out the window of your office, but you know they’re out there: the ruthless competitors stealing all the roofs, lawns, and electrical circuits in town. Whatever it is that your business does, you know in your heart that those potential customers belong to you.
So, let’s go get them.
Consider this your formal introduction to Google Business. I mentioned it in an earlier article, but we’ll take an extensive look into what exactly Google can do for you and how a few minor details can mean more revenue.
Since you’re a field service contractor, I’ll use CompanyCam’s big brother business, White Castle Roofing of Lincoln, Nebraska, as an example to show you exactly how Google works with companies like your own.
Getting Started
We’ll start with a quick search. SEO is all about predicting what the customer is looking for on the web. More importantly, you want to figure out what they are typing in Google’s search bar. When searching, “lincoln NE roofing,” these are the first results you will see.
Notice how all four of the search results have a little, green “ad” label next to their URL. These companies are actively working on a Google Adwords strategy. What this does is create entries immediately at the top of the page for whatever words those companies choose to target. Let me break that down a little bit. All four ad listings you see above are being paid for. Those paid ads are only sitting there under “lincoln NE roofing” because someone consciously put them there. This means your competitors know what they’re doing.
We can’t tell how much these competitors are spending, but believe me when I say you don’t have to pay a single dollar to be found on Google search results.
So how is it possible to get ranked so high? It might help to understand what criteria Google uses to rank search results. There are a lot of different factors in play when it comes to ranking, but I’ll sort them out for you and explain exactly what you can improve upon on your own site or Google Business listing.
Why Your Business Location Matters
Check out this picture below. If you have already taken the time to search “lincoln NE roofing” in a separate tab or even “(your own city and state) + (your own industry),” then you’ll notice a map right after the ads, and this is key — you may want to write this down.
Google’s #2 factor when ranking websites is an address of a business.
You should have your business address readily available on your site, Google Business page, and social media. Your potential customers can’t find you if they don’t know where you are.
So, regardless of where your roofing business falls on the map within “lincoln ne,” you’ll be included. The fact of the matter is, there’s nothing you can do to improve the ranking for this map portion. For some residential neighborhoods, your business will be listed first. For others, you’ll be off the grid.
The moral of the story is that you should have your business address readily available on your site, Google Business page, and social media. Your potential customers can’t find you if they don’t know where you are.
How Your Google Business Page Comes Into Play
I should pause and reiterate how important a Google My Business page is.
Three of the top ten factors Google considers when ranking your website are based on the quality of your Google Business page. They care that the product or service you provide is in the title, that your location is in the title, and that you’ve chosen the proper Primary Category to list your business under. If you work on a roof, but say that you make pizza, Google will be pissed.
A Good Looking Site Means The Most to Google
Another big tip, and you’ve heard it before, is about your site. You have to have a clean website, with all the good stuff — contact info, information about your business, proper structure, and great photos. Contract a developer if you need to in order to make this work. It’s a worthy investment.
Why does it matter that much, you ask? Six of the top 15 factors Google considers when ranking your website are based around the quality of your website. One of the factors is site speed. Check your site speed here. Out of all the roofers in “lincoln NE roofing,” White Castle Roofing has the best site, and therefore the best SEO game, out of every roofer in town. How do I know? They have the #1 organic search result. Take a look at the picture below if you don’t believe me.
84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and seven out of 10 customers will leave a review for a business if asked by the business.
If you’re not familiar with the term “organic search,” it just means out of all the sites Google scrolls through, the number one site listed (after the ads) is what Google has found to be the best description of what it means to be a “lincoln NE roofing” company. It’s a great badge to be honored with.
Feel free to stop over here to see White Castle Roofing’s website for some inspiration to take to your own site. Don’t forget, if you aren’t a roofer, this information is still applicable to all field service industries, not just roofing.
Customer Reviews can Change the Game
The last thing to keep in mind is to always be aware, and in pursuit, of customer reviews. 84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and seven out of 10 customers will leave a review for a business if asked by the business.
Google takes customer reviews into page-rank consideration for both organic SEO and Google Business listings. Make sure you’re asking for customer input.
In the map above of Lincoln, Nebraska you see there are a bunch of roofers in town, and as a contractor, you already know what all this competition could mean for one single company. For a roofer who doesn’t make a conscious SEO effort, all this competition could spell doom for their business. For the best of the best, those who are pushing into the digital age, this map doesn’t even make you flinch. Decide which company you’d rather be.
All you have to do is build a great website. Build a great Google Business page. Destroy the local competition and leave them in the dust. Now it’s time to go workout those SEO muscles; they’re starting to show.
