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Tag: search engine optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for House Painting Companies in 2023: Help Your Brand Stand Out In The Search Results (SERPs) Part 1

Does your painting business’ website show up where you want it in the Google search results for ALL potential clients?

If not, this article is for you.

We will review what SEO is, why it’s important and the steps that you can take to improve your ranking.

Unveiling the Significance of SEO: Boosting Your Painting Business Through Effective Strategies

The success of your business largely depends on how well you rank online. To achieve this goal, it’s essential to prioritize the right SEO techniques that will boost your marketing efforts and drive growth. With these strategies in place, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish!

Google processes over 5 billion searches everyday!  One out of five queries originate from mobile devices. In fact, more than half of mobile queries are “near me” searches.  For the desktop inquiries, which make up the other 80% of searches, roughly twenty percent have local intent. 

This trend highlights the importance for businesses to optimize their online presence and ensure they appear prominently when potential customers search nearby.

Its evident that local search behavior has immense potential for generating new house painting leads! By crafting a targeted campaign focused on consumers in specific areas and implementing effective marketing techniques you can enhance your visibility online. This will ultimately lead to increased chances of attracting fresh customers who may not have known about you otherwise.

Strategy 1 – Business Listings: Enhancing and Tracking Key Elements

By optimizing your Google Business Profile Listing correctly, you could potentially reach the top of organic SERPs within the local results section for your niche. 

However, don’t limit yourself to just focusing on your Google Business Profile alone when it comes to improving your local SEO campaign. Optimizing your business listings on social media sites, Yelp and other major listings is crucial for attracting customers.  

To achieve this, you will need to claim, optimize, verify, manage and sync all relevant information about your company across these platforms.  

(Need help with this? Our services will ensure that potential clients find accurate details about what you offer when they search online. Don’t miss out – let us handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on running a successful painting company! Email si@iftsdesign.com to find out more)

So, what do you need to sync across all of your listings?

Business NAP (Name / Address / Phone Number)

Make sure that your company’s name, address and phone number is written exactly the same across all listings and your website.

As an example, if your address is “123 North Smith Street,” don’t have your website say “123 N. Smith Street” and the Google Business Profile say “123 North Smith St.” Choose one version of the name/address/phone number and stick to it.

Your Painting Business’ Website

Having a link to your official website is crucial.  This gives Google and other search engines a link to follow, which gives them relevant information about your company.  It also allows customers looking at your citation to go directly to your site.

Business Hours / Description / Categories

All your listings should have the same hours, description and industry categories. If they don’t, the search engines will be confused about which is the correct and most relevant data about you. This could result in a lower result for your website in the results.

Images / Videos Of Your Painting Jobs and Team

Including high-quality images and videos can set your citation apart from others in your industry. It will maximize your visibility and sometimes, will make your citation larger than others, which catches the eye of the person browsing.

Online Reviews

While you can’t optimize your reviews, technically speaking, it is still essential to keep a close eye on them. Regularly checking up on new listings for fresh feedback is important. So is flagging any spam or inappropriate comments.

Bad review? No problem! Responding professionally when dealing with dissatisfied customers who may have had negative experiences shows that you care about the client experience and gives you a chance to fix the issue. 

This approach helps ensure that everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts while also maintaining the integrity of online review platforms overall. By staying vigilant about these matters, painting businesses like yours are better equipped than ever before to address concerns head-on and ultimately improve customer satisfaction levels over time!

Strategy 2 – Local SEO: Attract More Clients Near You

Want to improve your local presence online? Start with your website!

Using multiple SEO strategies to optimize your website is crucial to getting more local house painting clients.

Here’s a great way to start this process:

Website URLs, Page Titles, and Meta Descriptions

When Google and other search engines crawl your site, it’s important to have these elements filled in and optimized. 

[Side Note – If your website is created in WordPress, you can use the Yoast plugin to take care of all of these]

The website URL is the website address of the page www.yoursite.com/page-name. You’ll want to be sure that the page-name element contains keywords and your local town name.

The page title is the name of the webpage that appears in the tab on your browser.  A good format for naming your webpages is “Keyword 1 – Keyword 2 | Company Name.”

The meta description is the short paragraph that appears below the website name in the search engine results.  Google does not look at this when determining page rank, but your client is going to read it. Put the most relevant information in there for them.

Contact Information and Business Hours

Just like with the citations, you want to be sure that your website clearly lists the hours and how to contact you. Make sure that this information is consistent with the citations as well.

Landing Pages

Want to attract clients from multiple areas?

Have a landing page that is optimized for each location.  However, one important thing to note – these pages cannot have the exact same text on each page. Be sure to customize it to that town or be penalized by Google.

Blog

Having a blog is a great way to improve your SEO!  

You can showcase your latest projects, highlight an employee, inform your clients and prospects about a frequently asked question, or talk about events that are happening in your town. Each one of these allows that specific blog entry to be optimized to a set of keywords that are relevant to your local area.  More about this in the next post…

To Be Continued…

Ready to get started? Implement the two SEO tactics above.  

In our next post, Strategy 4, Strategy 5 and Strategy 6 Will Be Revealed.

Important Stats About Google Business Profile For 2022

We wanted to end 2022 (and start 2023) with a ton of stats about Google Business Profile that you should keep in mind while planning your marketing for 2023.

We divided the stats into 3 Categories:

–       Fun with Numbers

–       Did You Know

–       Little Known Facts

So, without further ado… 

Fun with Numbers

  1. The number of searches containing the keywords “near me” have increased more than 200% over the last two years.
  2. 28% of searches that include the keywords “near me” result in a purchase.
  1. More than half of the interactions between customers and businesses in Google Business Profile result in a store visit.
  2. 76% of people who search for local businesses on Google Business Profile visit the business within one day to make a purchase.
  3. 88% of people who search for local businesses on Google Business Profile visit a business within one week to make a purchase.
  4. 60% of consumers contact businesses directly through Google Business Profile, using the “click to call” feature.
  1. In 2020, there was a 61% increase in calls from Google Business Profiles.
  2. 72% of local users visit a business within five miles after finding them on Google Business Profiles.
  3. There are almost 4,000 Google Business Profile categories to choose from.
  4. 84% of searches in Google Business Profile are ‘discovery searches,’ which means consumers were not looking for a specific business.
  5. Google, along with the many other platforms the tech giant owns, account for about 92% of the search engine market share in the United States.

Did You Know…

  1. 97% of consumers learn about local businesses online.
  2. 64% of consumers have used Google Business Profile to find contact information for a small business.
  3. On average, businesses listed in Google Business Profile receive 33 clicks per month.
  4. 16% of Google Business Profile listings receive more than 100 calls per month.
  5. Local businesses receive 94% of their Google Business Profile visits on weekdays.
  6. Over 5% of Google Business Profile views result in a conversion, and that number is increasing every day.

18.  Google Business Profile is completely free!

Little Known Facts

19.  Listings in Google Business Profile that include photos are twice as likely to appear as reputable to users.

  1. Using images in Google Business Profile has increased revenue for businesses by 17%.
  2. Local businesses have, on average, 11 pictures per Google Business Profile listing.
  3. Google Business Profile syncs with Google Maps to display the location of a business.
  4. Businesses can create a Google Business Profile listing even if they do not have a physical address.
  5. Complete Google Business Profile listings are seven times more likely to get clicks than those that are incomplete.
  1. With the increased usage of cell phones and smartphones, it is not surprising that Google Business Profile has more searches on mobile than desktop.
  2. 90% of searchers read reviews before making a purchase.
  3. 20% of consumers expect a response in a timely manner after leaving a review.
  4. The average Google Business Profile listing has 39 reviews.
  5. When higher-end products have reviews, the conversion rate increases by 380%. 
  6. When lower-end products have reviews, the conversion rate increases by 190%.

Data Sources

https://www.themediacaptain.com/25-google-business-profile-stats/ 

https://www.e2msolutions.com/blog/google-business-profile-usage-growth-statistics/

Need Help?

IFTS specializes in helping companies get found on Google.  For a free consultation on how we can optimize your profile, call us at 412.715.6266.

How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile Listing

Is your Google Business Profile optimized to the fullest extent?

If not, you could be missing out on amazing clients!

You can build a Google Business Profile listing, but it might not be as potent and dynamic as it could be. That’s because it takes more than just putting up a sign with your company’s name, address, and phone number for people to know who you are.

To be shown in the “Google Map Pack”, which is the set of 3 results that Google shows with the local map, you have to be what Google considers one of the best results for the searcher.

There probably are more than three other companies in your field operating in the immediate area. So, you’ll need to know what to include and how to fully optimize your listing if you want it to appear in the top three slots. The result will be the highest possible placement in relevant searches.

Use the advice below as a guide.

Don’t Forget the Details

Listing information, such as the company’s name, address, and phone number, should be consistent and include all necessary information. Use the full street name, not the abbreviation “Main St.” if your website states that your company is located on Main Street. If you want the same high search engine rankings across the board, it’s important that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent throughout all directories, including Google.

Don’t lose sight of the big picture when you’re making progress on the little things. The category “Italian Food” will boost the visibility of a restaurant more than the generic “Restaurant” would.  Be specific to attract the right people.

After you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you may shift your attention to the finer points of your profile. Upload your company’s logo, a profile background and a short slogan or tagline. You may increase your internet visibility, your audience, and the likelihood that they’ll become paying customers by maintaining this kind of consistency.

Don’t forget to include a description of your company; doing so will reassure potential clients that you are who they think you are. Don’t forget to use relevant keywords when creating that description; Google will appreciate it and you might even move up in the rankings as a result.  Make sure to use location words, such as the name of your city, as well.

Make Sure Your Website is Worth Visiting

There is more to your Google Business Profile than just the listing itself. Your website is also a part of this.

Listings get a boost when you have a website that is engaging and informative for visitors. Having an interesting website that provides value to readers and has helpful and useful information helps your listing, too. Google prioritizes readability and usefulness above all other ranking elements.

However, Google’s internal algorithm and rankings are also important considerations. To help Google find your site, it is crucial that you make extensive use of keywords and metadata.  Be sure to follow their SEO rules.

You should also work to increase the number of inbound links to your site; Google sees each link as a vote in favor of your site, and a higher number of links improves your position in the search engine results.

Make Sure You’re Mobile and Know How to Use it

Mobile internet search is quickly becoming the norm, and this development cannot be reversed. Today, mobile device usage far outstrips that of desktops, laptops, and tablets combined. Google’s algorithm takes this into account, giving preference in search results to sites that are optimized for mobile use. This highlights the significance of not only making your website mobile-friendly, but also understanding the differences between the search habits of desktop and mobile consumers.

In-the-moment mobile users are more likely to look up practical information like a store’s opening hours and physical location. Desktop and laptop users, on the other hand, are more likely to be looking for detailed product or service information.

Include Images and Videos

Nowadays, people who spend time on the internet prefer to look at video and photos rather than read walls of text. Not only does this visual component apply to your Google Business Profile, but it also has to do with the listing itself.

Your listing will stand out more and attract more attention if you include videos and photos.

At least three videos and six photos should be uploaded to your listing; they don’t need to be professional quality, but they should be of high enough resolution and not too grainy to be easily discerned. This second variety will not only put off potential customers, but will also make your company appear incompetent.

Make sure to add new images on a regular basis.

Use Google Business Profile Posts

Google began including posts in Google Business Profile listings last year, and every business owner should take use of them. Posts to a Google My Business profile are distinct from blog entries. These are miniature advertising that appear directly in your Google Business Profile listing, taking the place of lengthy descriptions. Moreover, they are an excellent method of maximizing the promotional value of these postings.

You can provide information about a corporate event, a sale, a new blog post, freshly arrived products, or seasonal greetings.

This type of article can be used for more than just “talking at” your target audience. There is room for graphics, calls to action, and even external links.

Use the Booking Button Feature

Adding a “book now” button is yet another innovation from Google. This is especially helpful for any business that relies on scheduled client visits, like house painting businesses. Customers can make appointments online with the booking button function, increasing business.

Messaging Feature

Customers can now send you messages right from your Google Business Profile, another new addition. Customers can send you messages whenever they like by clicking the “Chat” icon on your Google Profile.

If someone leaves you a message, you’ll be notified immediately so you may reply. If you choose, you can even set up a pre-recorded message that will be sent to anyone who messages your company.

Questions and Answers

Another Google addition lets clients ask you questions directly from the listing.  Using this function benefits both you and your clientele because of the increased communication it enables.

Remember that if one consumer has a query, there is a strong probability that another customer has the same query.

Be sure to answer these questions quickly and with detail.

Want Some Help?

IFTS specializes in helping companies get found on Google.  For a free consultation on how we can optimize your profile, call us at 412.715.6266.