When you’re on the hunt for a new service provider in your area, a barber shop perhaps, the first action you likely take is turning to Google and searching something along the lines of, “best barber shops”. When Google comes back with the results, all of the suggested barber shops are likely in your area, even if you didn’t specify, “best barber shops near me”. That is all thanks to the power of Local SEO.
Local SEO is a tool that every single local business should be investing in, including your roofing company. If you’re unfamiliar with Local SEO, don’t worry! You are certainly not alone in that.
The Summa Media team is going to walk you through what exactly Local SEO is and discuss why you need to begin investing in it today. Keep reading below to learn more!
The What…
Local SEO (search engine optimization) is SEO that is focused on improving a local business’ visibility in local search results. Local search results are focused on answering a searchers quest to find a specific business near them, regardless of whether or not the city name or words “near me” are included in the search or not.
The Why…
Employing Local SEO strategies in your digital marketing efforts can help improve your roofing company’s visibility in local search results for terms such as “roof repair near me” or “roof replacement in Boulder”.
Almost half of all Google searches are local searches and in an attempt to help meet the needs of its users, Google provides more results for geographically related searches based on proximity, relevance, and prominence. If your roofing company is based near where a user is searching for roofing services and you have invested in Local SEO, you will rank higher in search results, leading to more page views, and more leads.
Investing in Local SEO comes with numerous benefits for roofers including:
Budget Friendly Digital Marketing Tool
Local business listings on Google My Business and Facebook are free, making Local SEO an extremely budget friendly solution. It does take a bit of time on the backend to keep all of your business data up to date, but it is well worth it.
Reach New Clients
Gone are the days where roofers could rely solely on word-of-mouth and door-to-door advertising to reach new customers. In our digital world it is crucial to have an online footprint. If potential clients don’t see you when they are searching for roofers in their area, how are they supposed to know you’re there for them?
Higher Quality Leads
Local search helps to eliminate people who are not going to need your roofing services, simply because they are not searching for roofing services in the area that you serve. This isn’t Google hiding results from searchers, it is simply Google trying to provide the best and most accurate results possible to searchers.
Create and Maintain a Google My Business Profile
Google My Business is the king of online search directories. By creating a Google My Business profile page for your local roofing company, you are able to directly feed your local business information into both Search and Google Maps. In addition, you are also more easily able to keep track of reviews, update your contact information, and connect with potential clients.
Respond to Reviews
Responding to your reviews (positive and negative) not only signals to clients that you are a roofer who cares, it can also help increase your Local Search Rank. Ask happy clients to leave reviews after completing a job on their property and always respond — no matter what the review says.
List Your Business in Local Directories
Google My Business might be king of the local search engines and online directories, but it is not the only one you need to pay attention to. Setting up other local business listings on platforms like Yelp, Bing, and Facebook help search engines verify that your roofing company is a real business.
Use Accurate, Consistent Contact Information
Wherever you choose to list your roofing company online, the contact information needs to be accurate, consistent, and up to date across all platforms. If the information on Google My Business is different than the information on Facebook, your data becomes suspicious to search engines and less likely to rank well.
Add Local Content to Your Website
You should be including local keywords in your website’s copy both on static pages and on blog posts. Adding terms such as, “residential roofer in St. Louis” or “Denver commercial roofing”, will help Google and other search engines better identify both what you do and where you do it.
If you are a roofer or contractor looking to increase your digital footprint and reach more local clients, but unsure of where to start, the Summa Media team is here to help. Give our team of roofing and digital strategy experts a call today to learn more.
