This is the tale of how a fresh-faced contractor with a brand new website managed to dethrone an industry champion…in two months. Learn how changes in local SEO (and some fancy software) made it all possible. If you’ve struggled to get ahead in search this year, be sure to listen in!
Local SEO Tips for Roofers
- Local SEO for roofers begins with claiming and verifying your Google My Business listing.
- Reviews provide strong evidence of your company activity and dependability.
- Local search results can change much faster than regular organic listings.
Bob: the Local SEO Superstar
“Bob” recently broke into the plumbing industry for a town of over a quarter million people. As you may know, our team at the Webmasters supports businesses from all kinds of industries (though we specialize in roofing, plumbing, and HVAC). Here was Bob with a brand new business, a freshly minted website, and what seemed like a long road towards success ahead of him.
In just two months, Bob earned the top spot in a local map pack for one of the most competitive keywords in the industry!
As a matter of fact, Bob secured top listings for several critical phrases in his local search area. You can bet he’s enjoying an outpouring of business in both his hometown and nearby cities. Wondering how Bob pulled off such an amazing transformation as a brand new business?
Two factors made Bob’s outrageous success possible: the recent Local Search Update from Google, and geotagging. We have great news for you! Your roofing company can take advantage of these opportunities too.
Here’s how…
The Shift in Local SEO
While organic rankings depend predominantly on your company website, local SEO focuses on your Google My Business (GMB) account. The search engine analyzes your listing to determine your industry, related services, contact information, and operational details (such as business hours). Afterward, it examines your company website to find supporting evidence.
In other words, you need both an optimized GMB and an optimized website to win in local SEO.
With the latest major update to Google’s search algorithm – release was surprisingly quiet, by the way – local mapping results have shifted yet again. We’ve seen local contracting champions with hundreds of reviews dethroned by underdogs with less than ten! Bob, our new plumbing contractor, dethroned an established business that had likely held that spot for years. Your roofing company can do the same!
The Big Difference
Once again, well-written and schema-coded content seems to be coming out on top with this Local Search Update. The map pack champions falling out of top local placements typically share one trait in common: they haven’t taken the time to optimize their websites. On the other hand, the businesses skyrocketing up in local search have carefully made keyword-rich service pages. All their pages are further enhanced with schema code.
If you’re a long-time brand in the roofing industry, this should scare you.
No more resting on being the oldest roofing company in town! Google continues to seek out the best user experience for consumers, and so should you. If your ranks are falling fast in local search, it’s time to reassess your website content and design.
Bob’s Secret Weapon
As we mentioned before, Bob’s success rested on two factors. We’ve covered how the Local Search Update paved the way for him to overthrow long-running industry champs in his community. Bob relied on another key tool for his wild success. His secret weapon: geotagging.
Geotagging is the process of adding GPS (or location) data to your digital assets. In Bob’s case, he used our Righteous Reviews software to geotag both his on-site check-ins and his client reviews. Most businesses can only claim they provide services in a particular area. In Bob’s case, Google started seeing little pins all across the community map in places Bob completed projects and homeowners had left glowing reviews. The search engine absolutely craves this data, because it provides concrete proof of a business’ service area!
All of Bob’s check-ins and geotagged reviews sync with the related service and city pages. This means the latest tag gets automatically uploaded to his pages, where Google notes the new activity and rewards the business with higher rankings. This is how a brand new business (with a two-month-old website) managed to take the top spot in local search for one of the most competitive keywords in his industry!
