By Mashum Mollah
Plumbers usually provide their services in a specific location and in the surrounding areas. It is therefore much more important for their business website to rank high on a search engine ranking relative to their location than it is to rank well globally. What does this mean?
When someone is looking for plumbing services where they are located, their query or search criteria will include their location. For example, “plumber in New York”. It is therefore important for plumbing companies to use the following top local SEO for plumbers tips to increase their search engine ranking.
1. Content Addition and Alteration:
Regular addition of quality and unique content that is of value to the reader should still be a priority except that a location name should be added to the title and the keyword. Existing content can also be updated to include a location name. Updating content can result in the pages being re-indexed adding more relevance to the location than before. New content can come in many different forms:
- Short Blog Posts
- Social Media Posts (such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Articles
- Press Releases
- Testimonials
- Newsletters
- Product Descriptions
Landing page copy can also be optimized in order to make it more relevant to the location simply by adding the name of the location as well as surrounding areas to the copy. However, it is important not to overdo the use of a location in content. This can result in penalties from a search engine and lower a ranking.
2. Local Directory Listing:
It is highly recommended to list the company, it’s details and services on directories both locally and globally. The information is more likely to appear higher on a search engine ranking as part of the directory platform’s website. It will also provide your information to internet users who prefer to use directory services to find a plumber in their area.
Once again, it is important that the content listed in these directories (such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, White Pages, etc.) is also optimized relevant to the location. Listing information should be updated regularly in order to ensure that it stays relevant and that search engine bots keep the page indexed correctly and current.
3. Link Building:
Building strong links is absolutely critical to improving a search engine ranking. Affiliate links are a good way to get started and allow you to track the amount of traffic that is sent your way from the link. Links to other websites are just as important but should fulfill some criteria in order for them to provide the greatest benefit. The links should preferably be contained on authority sites which provide information that is of a high quality, trusted and informative.
Links to external sites should also be relevant to the plumbing business. For example, a link to a site that sells cosmetics is in no way relevant to plumbing and therefore will not be of great value. Sites for businesses that sell bathroom, kitchen, and plumbing accessories are ideal as are building and construction, home renovation or interior design websites. Look for links to websites for businesses that are located in the same area and compliment your plumbing company.
Internal links that direct users to other pages on your website can also be of benefit if they are used correctly. Links, in this case, should always redirect the visitor to more information relevant to the service or product that they are searching for. Simply linking back to landing pages can be a disadvantage.
4. User Experience:
In the past couple of years, Google and other search engines have begun placing even higher importance on user experience. In fact, the main reason that there is a need for search engine optimization is that search engines want to provide their users with the best service that they can. It is therefore important to take note of user reviews and ratings of your website in order to evaluate your current user experience and take action to ensure that you have a low bounce rate.
A high bounce rate is when visitors leave your site within a few seconds or minutes. This happens for a number of reasons but primarily due to slow loading time. Make sure that your web pages load quickly and that they are optimized for mobile devices. More people are using their mobile devices to search the internet than ever before and slow loading times or websites that do not function optimally will result in a high bounce rate.
Visitors may also leave your site quickly if the information that they are looking for is not contained on the page that they clicked on. It is therefore of utmost importance that each link, URL and description relates what information is contained on a page correctly. Of course, the content should also be informative and relevant to the search query.
Remember to include links to social media pages as well as request reviews from clients and visitors to your site.
5. Google Maps:
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for your company to be listed on Google Maps when you are optimizing your business according to location. Not only will a user be able to visually see where your business is located but they will easily be able to access your contact information as well as directions to your business. People generally look for a plumber that is located as near to them as possible so that they can access their services quickly, especially in the event of an emergency. Google maps also make it easier for those who want to navigate to your business location.
It is also recommended to add and optimize a “Google My Business” page according to location. You can also use the Google Tools to provide your current search engine ranking relevant to a location as well as to find areas where you can improve on the experience of your visitors.
Although it is not essential, it is highly recommended to employ the services of an SEO professional in your area to assist in local optimization of your website.
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