OK, so SEO is Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is how to show up better in search engine result pages (SERPs). Showing up well in SERPs requires all the different pieces we talked about in part 1 and part 2 of this series. However, you have an extra challenge with your SEO because you are a Service Area Businesses. These are businesses like plumbers, electricians, HVAC, contractors, painters, and landscapers. Any business that goes to a client’s location to do business is a Service Area Business.
Why is being a Service Area Business such a challenge for Search Engine Optimization?
It sounds for this to be a problem on the internet. It’s because you don’t have a physical location in all the cities where you provide service. That’s right, even if you tell Google that you provide service in specific cities. With no mailing address, Google will show closer or better optimized companies ahead of yours. It’s incredibly frustrating. Just because your main place of business is your client’s house or office, you have to work harder to get in front of them online. Take heart!
There are several solutions to getting your Service Area Business to show up well through Search Engine Optimization:
- Google My Business — Even if you’re not a Service Area Business, you need to set up a GMB page for your business. It tells Google who you are, and helps them show the best relevant information for your business in their results. Google My Business setup is particularly important for Service Area Businesses. You are able to specify that you go to your client’s address to conduct your business. You are even able to set the area where you provide service. It’s possible to set a radius, but it’s better to put in a list of zip codes or city names. This is a time consuming process, but it definitely helps.
- Landing pages for cities and services — Also a tedious process, creating a landing page for each city and service combination is important. Think of each of these landing pages as your storefront for that particular service in that particular city. These pages must contain unique content. With fifty or more cities you service, that can be a time consuming and overwhelming process. There are a few services like Nearby Now out there now that help with creating new content whenever you perform a job in a specific city. Otherwise, this just takes a lot of time and effort.
- Create video or blog posts with long-tail keywords — This is another spot where there is a lot of work, but the payoff can really be worth it. You can focus on writing blog posts about jobs you do in specific cities. Create videos of some of the work you have done. Again, this is good advice for any website. For Service Area Businesses, if you get really specific about your long-tail keywords and include the name of a city where you provide services, it can really help you show up in search engine results.
There’s plenty more that can be done, but this is definitely a great start. I’m sure I’ll have more to say down the road about SEO. Next time, I think we’ll talk about some of the different parts of a website, and why they are good, bad, or ugly. Until then…
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