Three Steps to make Your Website Stand out on Google Search
With over 12 billion monthly searches on Google, it’s no surprise they are the number one search engine in the world. Your customers are looking for the services you provide online.
For this reason, in order to grow your business, your website needs to stand out and dominate the “Google machine”. Without dialing in the three steps I describe below, you will have trouble gaining traction within Google search.
STEP 1
Homepage Builds Trust Instantly and Is Effortless to Navigate
This is your chance to make an amazing first impression – don’t waste it! Your entire site, especially your homepage, needs to work flawlessly on ALL devices.
- Optimize that homepage for Google search AND humans. Shoot for at least 1,000 words (ideally hitting that 1,500+ mark for highly competitive markets).
Provide a clear headline, supporting text, and CTA (Call-To-Action) button in the first section of your homepage.
- Show online reviews, testimonials and/or awards next. This builds credibility and trust very quickly.
Use personalized photos and videos of your team and your work/completed projects (the less stock photography, the better)
What if your home services company doesn’t have stunning completed projects (think pest control) like a Design/Build firm would?
That’s OK! You can show your team in-action as they perform their work, meet with customers, talk with office staff/other employees, etc. on your site instead!
STEP 2
Multiple Service Pages That Pack A Punch
- Dedicate one web page for each service you offer
- Optimize that page for Google search AND humans
- You do that by using precise title tags, meta descriptions, well-written content including keywords, and images/videos. Make sure those keywords are relevant to the service you’re talking about.
- Break up the reader’s eye & make each page easy to scan through with headlines and subheads. No one likes to read the “Big Wall of China” on a website! 😉
- Shoot for at least 750 words per Service page–ideally, hit that 1,000+ mark
Being able to hit a word count of 750-1,000 doesn’t have to only come from long-form text sections.
For example, you can try adding a FAQ section. Think about your customer’s four to five most frequently asked questions about that particular service.
STEP 3
Multiple City Pages To Dominate Your Service Area
- Dedicate one web page for each city you want to target
- Optimize that page for Google search AND humans
- Showcase Before/Afters–or work completed from clients located in that city
- Showcase testimonials from clients located in that city
Talk about the city’s landmarks, popular events, and/or historical moments. You can even add driving directions to your location from that city (if applicable).
PRO TIP
You may be thinking, “Well hey, we service a bunch of surrounding cities…let’s create 20+ city pages!”
You can certainly do that if your marketing budget allows and makes sense for your business growth plan, but I often recommend starting with 3-5 initially. This way you can grow it over time. Google likes this method.
Having analyzed thousands of home service websites, as well as having worked in the industry for more than ten years, I can say without a doubt that these three areas are vital for your success online.
Also, note that to dominate Google search, it’s not just about achieving top ranking status, the real work is to continually maintain those spot(s). It’s not an easy thing to do but definitely doable.
If you don’t have the time or desire to master the ever-changing web/online landscape, I would love to help. My company can take care of the heavy-lifting while you do what you do best – providing a killer service & creating raving fans.
