Local SEO for Carpet Cleaning:
Free Local SEO Guide
As a carpet cleaner, you are probably familiar with the challenges of drawing in new customers. One of the biggest hurdles is that when prospects need their carpets cleaned, they usually perform a Google search, and then call the first few companies on the list. To maximize your customer base, then, you need to find a way into that top spot.
We will walk you through our 5-step process to boost your company to the head of the rankings. But first, let’s try to understand why local SEO is a must-have for all carpet cleaning companies.
3 Reasons Carpet Cleaning Companies Should Invest in Local SEO
Google Replaced the Yellow Pages:
Not long ago, you could take out an ad in the Yellow Pages and wait for potential customers to call. Times have changed, and today, fully 97% of people search online for local businesses. Google dominates the search market.
Free Traffic:
Although it is very different than it used to be, advertising remains a tremendous expense for most businesses. Improving your Google rankings provides a steady stream of free traffic that you can convert into paying customers.
High-Speed Results:
On average, national and international businesses wait 6 months to a year to see a significant boost in their Google rankings. As a carpet cleaner, though, you have a major advantage. You are competing only against other carpet cleaners nearby, not those located halfway around the world. Many of your competitors are not yet using local SEO. This means that you could land on the first page of Google local results in as little as 30 days!
Step 1: Determine Your Keywords
The first step in your local SEO campaign is to compile a list of keywords that reflect your services. For example, you might choose “carpet cleaning”, “upholstery cleaning”, and “RV detailing”. When you have a fairly complete list, create a free Google AdWords account.
You do not need to develop or pay for an ad campaign. The AdWords account simply allows you to access Google’s Keyword Planner. This tool lets you research your chosen keywords to see how much traffic they drive. It also suggests additional keywords that might not have occurred to you.
With this information in hand, you are ready to choose your final keywords. All keywords fall into 1 of 2 basic types:
- Buying Intent: Buying intent keywords signal that a prospect is ready to buy. For example, a search for “professional carpet cleaning Philadelphia” likely indicates that the prospect knows he needs professional service, and is looking for someone local to do the job.Your local SEO campaign should focus primarily on buying intent keywords, as these drive the fastest conversions. Use them on your homepage, and create service pages around them.
- Research Intent: Prospects who search for research intent keywords are “just shopping.” They might use your services eventually, but are in the earliest stages of the sales funnel. For example, someone searching for “carpet stain removal” probably has stained carpets, but is just starting to look into what to do about them.Research intent keywords should be of lower priority, since they do not drive quick conversions. They can still be useful, though, for FAQs and blogs. These posts introduce your company to prospects who might remember you when they are ready to have their carpets cleaned.
Step 2: Optimize Your Keywords
When you have a final list of keywords, you are ready to optimize for them in 2 places—your Google My Business page and your website. Here’s what to focus on:
Google My Business
Think of your Google My Business page as a mini-website that gives new prospects a quick look at your company. It will appear in the “Map” section of Google results for local businesses, will increase your overall online presence, and will even give you a speedy Google rankings boost. This is because it is much easier to rank highly with a Google My Business page than with a website.
Your Google My Business page must be accurately and completely filled out:
- Verification: First, claim your page and submit it to Google’s verification process. When you see a checkmark and the word “Verified” next to your company name, you are ready to move on.
- NAP: Your business NAP, or name, address, and phone number must be accurate, and it must be exactly the same throughout the internet. Highlight the fact that yours is a local business by choosing a local phone number instead of an 800 number.
- Categories: Google’s requirements state that category listings must be based on the services you provide rather than the results they produce. Besides your primary service, list all secondary services you provide. For example, you might select Carpet Cleaning Service, Upholstery Cleaning Service, and Leather Cleaning Service. Try to list 3 to 5 categories.
- Description: The description is a 100 to 200-word overview of your company that ends with a call to action. This format works well: {Name of Company} offers quality {carpet and upholstery cleaning, or similar} in {Your City}. {Provide some information about your company and/or why customers love you.} Call {Phone Number} today for 10% off your first service!
- Hours: Make sure your hours of operation are accurate, and are listed identically across the internet. If your service hours are different from your office hours, list that information separately.
- Images: Images provide a huge boost to customer engagement, so add a few photos of your team in action or your results (with permission!). Make sure your images have a sharp focus, are sized between 10KB and 5MB, and have a minimum resolution of 720px x 720px. We also recommend replacing the generic Google My Business background image with a branded image.
Website Optimization
Start with your homepage and service pages, also known as your “core” pages, and optimize them for your buying intent keywords. Later, you will optimize your “content” pages, or blogs and FAQs, for your research intent keywords. Here are the essential elements:
- Homepage: The title tag is the most important element on your homepage. It serves the same purpose as a chapter title in a book. Make it 50 to 65 characters in length, and try formatting it similarly to: Carpet Cleaning Service in {Your City} | {Name of Your Business}.Next is your meta description, which should be 100 to 150 characters long, mention your core services, and end with a call to action. This format works well: {Name of Business} offers top-quality {carpet and upholstery cleaning, or similar} in {Your City}. Call {Phone Number} today for 10% off your first service!The H1, or visible headline, must feature your primary category. It should be both concise and descriptive, and approximate this format: {Carpet Cleaning Service} in {City, State}.
The last major element is your page copy, which should be a 500 to 1000-word overview of your business. Provide some background, briefly explain your main services, and end with a strong call to action. Make sure the copy is well written and edited.
- Service Pages: Each of your primary services needs its own page, which should be tightly focused on a buying intent keyword. Follow the rules for homepages to optimize each service page.
Step 3: Build Citations and Links
Now that the basic structure of your local SEO campaign is ready, you can move on to building citations and links. Both boost your Google rankings and increase your customer reach.
- Citations: A citation is simply an online directory listing of your business NAP (name, address, and phone number). You can choose such general national directories as Facebook and yellowpages.com, such general local directories as your Chamber of Commerce website, and even industry-specific directories for cleaning services.Although many directories are free, some provide only paid listings. Before you invest, check Google Analytics to determine whether that site drives traffic and conversions.
- Links: To rank highly in Google, you must have high-quality inbound links from authoritative sites. Build online and offline relationships with companies who offer services that complement yours, such as house cleaners. When a relationship is well-established, ask to trade web links. You can learn where your competitors are getting their links with a tool like the Moz Open Site Explorer.
Step 4: Request Reviews
Online reviews have 2 main purposes: to convince prospects to visit your dealership, and to assure Google that you have a legitimate business. All review sites can help, but Google My Business reviews will drive the quickest Google rankings boost. Send an email to your satisfied customers with a link to your Google My Business profile, and ask directly for them to write a review. If you make this a habit, you will soon have a constant stream of reviews.
Step 5: Track Your Results
The only way to know if your local SEO campaign is successful, and to see which areas still need tweaking, is to track your results. Although there is a great deal of data available, focus on these 3 core metrics:
- Rankings: Google search results are customized based on the user’s past browsing history, so to know how a particular page actually ranks, you must use a tool. Ask your webmaster to install the free Google Search Console (previously Google Webmaster Tools), and be sure to check your rankings once or twice per month.To get a more complete picture of your rankings, consider using a paid tool. We like the one offered by RankRanger.com. It lets you track your Google My Business page alongside your webpages, and view automatically updated information from all of your SEO campaigns.
- Traffic: The best way to track your traffic, or your website visitors, is with Google Analytics. You can see your overall traffic, learn which page draws the most traffic, and discover what percentage of your traffic comes through Google search. Check your reports at least every month, with an eye towards any long-term trends.
- Conversions: A conversion is a specific action that you want your website visitors to take. For example, you might want them to contact you for 10% off their first carpet cleaning service. In Google Analytics, you can track both website and telephone conversions, and see which pages have the highest and lowest conversion rates.
Here We Go!
By now, it is clear that a comprehensive local SEO campaign is crucial for driving more prospects to your carpet cleaning company. Work through these steps in order, and be sure to finish each one before moving on to the next. Here’s a quick recap of the 5 steps:
- Keyword research
- Keyword optimization
- Citations and Links
- Reviews
- Tracking
Want Help with SEO?
At Main Street ROI, we specialize in helping carpet cleaning companies attract more local customers through Google. If you’d like help with your SEO, contact us for a free quote.