Is it getting tougher to show up in organic search?
If you thought the launch of Google’s mobile-friendly crawler back in April was scary, here are some really unnerving facts about the current state of organic search and how it will affect your rankings across the Web.
The expression “no news is good news” seems to ring true it today’s modern era, whether you are turning on CNN or delving into a post about a potentially extravagant drop is rankings for your Plumbing or HVAC business. But could there be a light at the end of the tunnel? Let’s find out.
Generic terms like plumber are the most sought after keywords in the industry, as they truly create a substantially higher level of search when compared to other phrases. However, appearing locally for this type of search without a geo-modifier is almost unattainable. Instead what will typically come up are large websites like Wikipedia, well-known news forums, YouTube, and Yelp, allotting for only 1 or 2 actual locally owned small businesses on page one. This makes pack results (a cluster of local businesses towards the top of page one) far more lucrative search engine real estate.
The best pack results are on Google
Imagine if you showed up to a party with less than a six-pack, you probably wouldn’t make for the most popular guest, well when it comes to local pack results Google is more generous than both Yahoo and Bing. Bing comes in dead last with usually only a 1-3 pack for small businesses on page one, and Yahoo is barely ahead with a 3-4.
But each of these search engines do give small businesses more page one respect when someone types a city in front of their request, like Atlanta plumber or Buffalo heating and cooling contractor. And thank God you are not a restaurant or bar, because without a geo-modifier your business will still be floating somewhere out there deep in cyberspace.
Rank for those long tail keywords
When someone searches for products and services like drain cleaning or AC installation major engines have no way to decipher whether they are looking for do-it-yourself content or a local business to come out and perform the task for them. Once again organic listings continue to suffer.
Long tail keywords like pull-down kitchen faucet installation or forced air furnace repair are typically less searched phrases, but when they are local businesses take up half of page one placement. Plus, they are much further up on the conversion ladder, as prospective customers know exactly what they are looking for and are pretty much ready to buy. In order to capitalize on these specific keywords make sure your content is very specific and caters to all the different products and services that your Plumbing or HVAC company has to offer.
Detailed content and local optimization
This is a good rule of thumb for any content marketing that your company does, from service pages to how-to videos, blogs and social media posts, you want to avoid general topics and instead provide in-depth and useful insights that touch on various categories in your particular niche.
While ranking well on organic search results is getting tougher these days, the two predominant things you need to focus on is your content marketing strategy and local optimization. Although SEO is not an exact science, these components will help to build up a better campaign, improve rankings, and hopefully bring you to an increased rate of conversion for the kind of revenue that you are looking to receive.
At Plumbing & HVAC SEO we can get you top page placement for your most important keywords in your local area, just click here to schedule a time to talk with us or call 866-610-4647.
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