You've heard you need SEO. But hiring an expert sounds expensive. And all those fancy marketing terms make your head spin.
Here's the good news: there are foundational things you can do yourself. Right now. For free. And they'll actually move the needle.
You don't need to be a tech wizard or know how to code. You just need to spend a few hours executing these five straightforward steps.
1. Claim and Complete Your Google Business Profile
This is the single most important thing you can do for local SEO. If you only do one thing on this list, do this.
When someone searches for a business like yours, Google usually shows a map with three results at the top. That's the "local pack." Your Google Business Profile is your ticket into that map.
1. Claim it: Go to google.com/business. Enter your business name. If it exists, claim it. If not, create it.
2. Fill it out completely: Leave nothing blank. Name, address, phone, website, hours, categories, services.
3. Add photos: Upload pictures of your truck, your team, and your work. Businesses with photos get significantly more calls.
4. Verify: Follow Google's verification process (usually a postcard or a quick video call).
That's it. You're now in the game. You'd be surprised how many of your competitors haven't even done this much.
2. Get More Reviews (And Reply to Them)
Reviews are digital currency. Google pays close attention to how many you have, how recent they are, and whether you engage with them.
More reviews = higher rankings and more trust.
1. Ask every time: After every happy customer, ask for a review. Make it part of your final sign-off.
2. Make it easy: Get your direct review link from your GBP dashboard. Text or email it to the customer: "If you had a good experience, please leave a quick review here: [link]"
3. Reply to everything: Reply to every single review. A simple "Thanks for trusting us with your home!" shows Google (and future customers) that you care.
3. Put Your NAP Everywhere (Consistently)
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Search engines verify your business exists by checking to see if this information matches across the internet.
If your website says "123 Main St." but Yelp says "123 Main Street, Suite B," Google gets confused.
1. Decide on your format: Choose exactly how your business name and address should look.
2. Audit your profiles: Check your website, Google, Facebook, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau.
3. Fix the errors: Make sure the formatting is perfectly identical across all platforms.
4. Use Simple Local Keywords on Your Website
Keywords are just the words people type into Google. If you want to be found for "plumber in Fresno," those exact words need to actually appear on your website.
1. Homepage: Ensure your main headline clearly states what you do and where. Example: "Reliable HVAC Repair in Sacramento."
2. Service Pages: Mention your city naturally in the text. "If you need roof repair in San Diego, we're here to help."
3. Don't stuff: Write for humans first. If it sounds robotic and forced, rewrite it.
5. Make Sure Your Website Works on Phones
The vast majority of local service searches happen on smartphones. If your website is tiny, hard to read, or the phone number isn't clickable, visitors will bounce immediately. Google tracks this "bounce rate" and will drop your rankings.
1. Test it yourself: Pull up your site on your phone right now. Is it easy to read?
2. Tap to call: Make sure your phone number is a clickable link so customers don't have to copy and paste it.
3. Check speed: A slow mobile site kills leads. Search for "Google PageSpeed Insights" to test your site's performance.
Quick Recap: The 5 Things
The Bottom Line
Will these five steps make you #1 on Google overnight? No. SEO takes time. But executing these fundamentals will put you ahead of 70% of your local competitors who haven't bothered to do them.
Start here. Build the foundation. Once you're ready to scale, then you can bring in the pros.
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