5 Quick Local SEO Wins You Can Do This Week

You do not need a big budget to improve your local visibility. Here are five simple actions you can finish this week, with steps for each.

Blog graphic reading "5 Quick Local SEO Wins This Week"

Local SEO can sound like a giant project, but some of the most useful improvements take an hour or two. If you run a roofing, HVAC, contracting or franchise business, these five actions are a great place to start. None of them need a big budget, and you can finish all five in a week.

We cannot promise rankings, since no one can, but these steps fix the basics that Google and customers look at first.

1. Fix your Google Business Profile categories and services

Your categories tell Google what you do. If they are wrong or incomplete, you may miss searches you should be showing up for.

Steps

  1. Sign in to your Google Business Profile.
  2. Choose a primary category that best matches your main service, such as “Roofing contractor” or “HVAC contractor.”
  3. Add secondary categories for other services you really offer.
  4. Open the services section and add each service you provide, with a short, plain description.
  5. Remove anything you do not actually offer.

2. Add real photos

Customers want to see who they are hiring. Real photos build trust far better than stock images.

Steps

  1. Take photos of your team, trucks, equipment and finished jobs. A phone camera works fine.
  2. Include before and after shots when you can, with the customer’s permission.
  3. Upload at least a handful to your Google Business Profile this week.
  4. Make a habit of adding new photos after each job.
  5. Use the same real photos on your website where it makes sense.

3. Correct your listings and keep your business info consistent

Your business name, address and phone number, often called NAP, should be identical everywhere. Differences confuse Google and customers.

Steps

  1. Decide on one exact version of your name, address and phone number.
  2. Check your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, Bing and any industry directories you appear in.
  3. Fix anything that is different, including small things like “Suite” versus “Ste” or an old phone number.
  4. Remove or merge duplicate listings.
  5. Write down where you are listed so you can update it quickly if anything changes.

4. Add service areas and a clickable phone number

Customers should be able to tell where you work and call you in one tap.

Steps

  1. In your Google Business Profile, list the cities and areas you really serve.
  2. On your website, mention those areas on your home page and service pages in natural language.
  3. Make your phone number a clickable link so mobile visitors can call with one tap. Most website builders let you link the number as tel: followed by the digits.
  4. Put the number in your header so it is visible on every page.
  5. Test it on your own phone to be sure it works.

5. Ask for five reviews and reply to every review

Reviews help customers choose you, and your replies show you care. This is a quick win because you can start today.

Steps

  1. Grab your direct Google review link from your Business Profile.
  2. Text it to five recent happy customers with a short, friendly request.
  3. Reply to every existing review you have not answered, thanking people by name and mentioning the work.
  4. Respond to any negative review calmly and offer to make it right offline.
  5. Make asking part of your routine after every finished job.

Remember to ask honestly and never buy, fake or gate reviews, since that breaks Google’s rules.

Your quick checklist

  • Categories and services updated
  • New real photos uploaded
  • Name, address and phone number consistent everywhere
  • Service areas listed and phone number clickable
  • Five review requests sent and every review answered

What comes next

Once the basics are in place, the next step is building content and pages that bring in more of the right customers. Take a look at how we help with contractor SEO and franchise SEO. Our founder, Tony Jordan, ran SEO for 270+ Glass Doctor franchise websites, and these same basics were always where we started.

Not sure which fix matters most for your business? Request a free visibility audit and we will point out your biggest opportunities.

Keep Reading

Related Services

Learn more about our gutters and siding SEO and foundation repair SEO services.

Follow Apex Vicinity on Facebook for local marketing tips and client updates.

2 Comments

Comments are closed.