The digital marketing world knows Google well for its secrecy, but not so much for subtlety. When the search engine giant drops a massive new update that potentially affects millions of businesses around the country, you can bet there will be a scramble to get up to speed on critical changes. Thankfully, our team at Roofing Webmasters has done all the Local SEO prep work already.
So let’s talk about the Local Search Update, and how your business can adjust its content strategy!
SEO Tips for Roofers
- The latest local search update places even greater emphasis on diverse keyword strategy.
- Make sure your website has enough service pages to rank for your desired terms!
- Google My Business should be optimized and filled out as much as possible.
- Schema coding dramatically helps your business stand out from others.
Immediate Impact of the Local Search Update
Let’s get started with the most important impact the local search update might have on your roofing business. If you’ve relied on a company name that incorporates an industry keyword (ex: Bill’s Roof Repair) to earn you leads, you may have already noticed a steep drop in local listings. That’s because Google’s neural mapping system has expanded the search engine’s ability to recognize synonyms of hot industry keywords.
Now Google can recognize all kinds of synonyms and phrases related to roofing and use them to assign ranks in local search results.
If your business has already developed a diverse collection of industry keywords on your roofing company website, you may notice an increase in rank. However, if you’ve relied on generic go-to phrases that everyone else does, you may drop in local search ranks. That could be especially damaging if you’ve held a long-term position at the top of a local map pack!
Your Strategy
How to Take Advantage of the Local Search Update
As always, Google connects search users with the highest quality content. Since they don’t have to rely on exact matching and the same old keywords, they will vigorously expand their ranking process to hunt for even better search results. There are a few ways you can take advantage of the local search update for your business:
How to Earn Stronger Ranking After the Local Search Update
- Make sure your website has dedicated pages for each of your specific services.
- Avoid spammy (repetitive) usage of keywords as you try to rank.
- Write naturally, using synonyms and language a ninth grader could understand.
- Infuse your pages with schema code, especially in headers and lists.
- Continue releasing material (through content marketing) with new, relevant keywords.
Key Tools
What Tools Can You Use to Optimize?
If you haven’t taken the time to develop a broader keyword strategy, don’t worry. There’s always time to start optimizing your website. Look to helpful tools like SEMrush, Moz Keyword Explorer, Answer the Public, and Ubersuggest to search out new and exciting phrases!
Ideally, you’ll want to target mid to low-volume phrases with high user intent. That means the terms themselves clearly reveal what the consumer is looking for (such as installation service). Mixing these quality keywords in with more generic phrases makes your content pop in Google Search!
If you haven’t taken the time to update your Google My Business (GMB) account recently, it’s time to take another look! No other tools affect your local listings as much as your GMB, so regular checkups are essential. Continue adding photos of all your greatest jobs! You can also promote limited-time offers through GMB posts.
Is Your Website Ready?
There are a few ways to tell whether or not your website is ready for the Local Search Update. First, compare the number of pages on your website to the number of individual services your company provides. If the site currently tries to advertise all your services on a handful of pages – it’s even worse if your site doesn’t mention them at all – you’re not ranking as well as you could be. Dedicated service pages are the way to go, at least for now.
Next, make sure that your pages have plenty of schema code. This coding allows Google to better interpret various page elements on your website, improving your chance of earning outstanding local ranks. If you haven’t already, you need to listen to our talk on Righteous Reviews and schema-enriched client reviews! The results we’ve seen in local search are truly incredible.
If you’d like to learn more about local search, the Local Search Update, or anything related to website optimization, our team at Roofing Webmasters would love to talk with you! Consult with our experts for free at (800) 353-5758, and see why so many contractors come to us for higher search rankings.
