6 Steps to Optimizing a Local Contractor Website for Better SEO

Optimizing a local contractor website for better SEO is the key to enhanced local search visibility and accelerated business growth in today’s digital landscape.

Are you a local contractor looking to boost your online visibility and attract more clients through your website? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the key to achieving better rankings on search engines and driving organic traffic.

As a digital marketing specialist, I’ll walk you through six easy-to-implement steps to optimize your contractor website for improved SEO. Plus, I’ll offer suggestions for more advanced tactics that professional SEO freelancers can help you with.

6 Steps to Optimizing a Local Contractor Website for Better SEO

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you optimize your local contractor website for better SEO:

Step 1: Keyword Research and Optimization

Start by identifying relevant keywords that potential clients might use to find your services. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or even Google’s autosuggest feature to discover keywords with decent search volume and low competition. Look at the keywords your competition ranks for and find the areas where you can outcompete them to identify your most valuable keywords.

Organize the long list of keywords you’ve found into groups or categories based on their relevance. These groups should reflect the navigation, main themes, and topics within your content, with a primary keyword or two as the main target.

I know it sounds (and often can be) boring, but this step is crucial — taking the time for keyword research and optimization will ensure your website speaks the same language as your potential customers when they’re searching online, giving you a better shot at showing up in their search results and bringing in the right kind of visitors.

Step 2: Optimize Your Google My Business Listing In Sync With Your Website

Local contractors heavily rely on local customers. Ensure your Google My Business listing is up to date with accurate business information, including your company name, address, phone number, and business hours. However, it is critical that this information is identical to what’s on your website!

Once, you have your business listed in sync with your website, take the time to fully optimize your local listing considering your target keywords:

• encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your listing, as this can improve your local rankings
• add high-quality images of completed projects, your team, and your office to showcase your professionalism and work quality
• highlight specific attributes like “Licensed and Insured,” “Locally Owned,” and “Free Estimates” to stand out and provide essential information to potential customers
• regularly update your GMB listing with posts about your latest projects, special offers, and company news to keep your audience engaged.

Step 3: Strategically Create High-Quality Content

Regularly publish informative content on your website’s blog that addresses common questions and concerns of potential clients. Then share it with your target audience — the best content in the world is worth little if no one sees it.

Your content strategy should be structured around your keyword groups with each section or subheading in your content aligned with a relevant keyword. This helps ensure that your content covers a wide range of related topics, making it more comprehensive.

Write your content naturally, keeping the primary and secondary keywords in mind, and avoid over-optimization, which can lead to keyword stuffing and negatively affect your SEO. However, do optimize page elements such as the title, meta description, headers, and images. Make sure to include links to relevant content on your website. Use headings, bullet points, and images to break up text and make it more engaging for readers.

As for what to write about, there’s so much choice: home improvement tips, maintenance guides, and articles answering frequently asked questions are most common. You can share detailed case studies of recent projects. Or describe the challenges you faced, the solutions you provided, and the results achieved. You can feature testimonials from satisfied customers along with their stories or create videos that showcase your team at work or provide DIY tips.

Doing this demonstrates your expertise and provides valuable content that can attract organic traffic and become a link magnet, further boosting your website’s authority.

Step 4: Build Local Citations

Local business citations are a fundamental element of local SEO and can significantly impact your website’s search engine rankings and online visibility, and provide valuable signals to search engines that your business is relevant to local searches.

Local citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites and directories. Ensure your information is consistent across these platforms, including Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook, Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor, BBB, industry-specific directories, and local news and community Websites. This can improve your website’s local authority and visibility.

Again, the quality and accuracy of your information across these platforms are crucial — consistency signals credibility and trustworthiness (one of the most important ranking factors for local search results).

This work can be time-consuming (and it’s often outsourced to SEO consultants/freelancers for that reason) but very much worth it.

Step 5: Optimize for Mobile Users

Having a responsive website is an important ranking factor these days. A significant portion of users access websites through mobile devices. Make sure your website is mobile-responsive, meaning it adjusts to various screen sizes and loads quickly on smartphones and tablets.

Whether by theme choice or custom design, create a mobile-friendly website that will be ready for Google’s mobile-first indexing system.

Step 6: Monitor and Measure Performance

Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website’s performance. Monitor important metrics such as website traffic, click-through rates, and keyword rankings. This data can help you identify what’s working and where you can make improvements.

SEO is an ongoing effort, and consistent optimization can lead to long-term improvements in your online visibility and client reach. Click To Tweet

Remember, these suggestions are like the foundation of a good SEO plan. To create a tailored SEO strategy for your website, it’s important to conduct a thorough analysis of the website’s current performance, competitive landscape, and local market conditions. This way, you can come up with strategies that fit your website’s goals perfectly and speak to the potential customers you want to reach. It’s all about tailoring your marketing plan for the best results!

Advanced Tactics Offered by SEO Professionals:

Going beyond the basics, an SEO professional can implement advanced strategies to boost your local presence:

1. Link Building: Freelancers can help you build high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites in your industry, which can significantly boost your website’s authority and search rankings:
   • seek opportunities for local partnerships, such as collaborating with other home improvement businesses or getting featured in local business directories
   • join industry associations and directories that can provide quality backlinks and improve your website’s authority
2. Technical SEO Audit: Professionals can conduct a comprehensive technical audit to identify and fix issues that might be hindering your website’s performance, such as broken links, crawl errors, and site speed problems, then:
   • ensure that the website is mobile-responsive, providing a seamless experience for users on various devices
   • optimize images, use browser caching, and minimize code to improve page loading times
   • ensure the website has an SSL certificate to establish a secure connection, which can positively affect search rankings
3. Local SEO Strategy: Freelancers can create a customized local SEO strategy that includes optimizing location-based keywords, managing online reviews, and improving your website’s visibility in local search results on an ongoing basis:
   • claim and optimize your Google My Business listing with accurate business information, images, and customer reviews
   • ensure consistent business information (NAP: Name, Address, Phone Number) across online directories and local listings
   • create content that emphasizes your connection to the local community, such as featuring projects you’ve completed in the area
4. Content Strategy: SEO experts can help you develop a content strategy that focuses on creating valuable, engaging, and shareable content that attracts more organic traffic and encourages backlinks:
   • create content that emphasizes your connection to the local community, such as featuring projects you’ve completed in the area
   • showcase successful roofing projects with before-and-after photos, and include customer testimonials to build trust and credibility
   • include prominent calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout the website to guide users toward contacting you for a quote or consultation
   • organize your website’s navigation in a logical and user-friendly manner, making it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for

Optimizing a local contractor website for better SEO is much harder than it used to be just a few years ago, but with the right investment of time and effort, you absolutely can become an SEO whiz. As a business owner, deciding whether to handle SEO on your own or hire a freelancer involves trade-offs.

DIY saves money and offers hands-on learning but demands time, while freelancers bring expertise, save time, and deliver measurable results, but come with a cost. Assess your budget, time availability, and expertise to make the right choice for your business. And if you need help, please feel free to reach out!