Local SEO Services for Pool Cleaners:
Free Local SEO Guide

As a swimming pool cleaning company, you are probably highly familiar with the challenges involved in attracting new customers. Although you may get some referrals from satisfied customers, the majority of prospects simply sit down and run a Google search. They then contact the first company or two on the list. To attract as many new customers as possible, then, you need to find your way to the top of the search results.

We will guide you through our proven step by step process to move your company to that critical first spot. Before we get started, though, let’s take a look at why local SEO is so important for swimming pool cleaning companies.

Local SEO Guide for Swimming Pool Cleaning Companies

3 Reasons Swimming Pool Cleaning Companies Should Invest in Local SEO

Google Is the New Yellow Pages:

Until not too long ago, you could simply take out a Yellow Pages ad and wait for prospects to call. Today, though, a whopping 97% of people search for local businesses online, and Google is at the top of the search market.

Free Traffic:

It is changing rapidly, but advertising remains one of the biggest expenditures for many small businesses. By boosting your Google rankings, you will have a steady stream of free traffic that you can convert into paying customers.

Quick Results:

When national and international companies change their SEO, they generally need to wait 6 to 12 months to see the results. Swimming pool cleaning companies have a huge advantage, though, because your competitors are nearby, not halfway around the world. And many of them are not taking advantage of local SEO. This means that with a targeted campaign, you could jump onto the first page of Google local rankings in as little as 30 days!

Step 1: Choose Your Keywords

Step 1 is simple but important. Just create a list of keywords that describe your services. For example, you might try “pool cleaning”, “swimming pool maintenance”, “pool service”, and “swimming pool cleaning”. When you have a reasonably complete list, sign up for a free Google AdWords account.

There is no need to start or fund an ad campaign, but the AdWords account will allow you to access Google’s free Keyword Planner tool. Here, you can input your chosen keywords to see how much traffic they get. The tool also suggests additional related keywords that might not yet be on your list.

With this information, you can choose exactly the keywords you want to use. All keywords can be loosely categorized into 2 types:

  • Buying Intent: Buying intent keywords signal that a prospect needs your services now. For example, someone searching for “green pool help Miami” probably has an imminent pool problem and is ready for someone to fix it.Focus your local SEO campaign on buying intent keywords, which produce the fastest results. Feature them on your homepage, and create your service pages around them.
  • Research Intent: Research intent keywords signal that a prospect is “just looking.” He might want his pool cleaned in the future, but not now. For example, someone searching for “robotic pool cleaner” is probably considering whether do it yourself options are viable.Make these keywords a lower priority, since they do not drive rapid conversions. Don’t throw them out, though, as they are highly useful in blog posts and FAQs. These posts introduce you to prospects who might remember you when they are ready to have their pools cleaned.

Step 2: Optimize Your Keywords

When you have a finished keyword list, it is time to optimize for them in 2 spots—your Google My Business page and your website. Here’s what to focus on:

Google My Business

Your Google My Business page is a short website that appears in Google’s “Map” section. It provides a quick snapshot of your company, and boosts your overall presence online. It can also give you a fast rankings boost, as it is much easier to achieve high rankings with a Google My Business page than with a website.

For the best results, make sure these elements are accurate and complete:

  • Verification: First, claim your page and ask Google to verify it. You will know this step is complete when you see a checkmark and the word “Verified” next to your business name.
  • NAP: Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) must be entirely accurate and consistent across all internet appearances. Signal to Google that yours is a local business by listing a local phone number instead of an 800 number.
  • Categories: Google categories must focus on services instead of results. Besides Pool Cleaning Service, you might try Swimming Pool Repair Service and Swimming Pool Supply Store, if you provide those services. Try to think of 3 to 5 categories.
  • Description: The description is a short explanation of your company that ends with a call to action. Make sure it is between 100 and 200 words in length, and use a format similar to: {Name of Company} offers professional {swimming pool cleaning and repair, 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: Ensure that your office hours are up to date, and are the same across all of your internet listings.
  • Images: Images can dramatically increase customer engagement, and show prospects that you do a great job. Add a few photos of your office, your staff, or even before and after shots of customers’ pools (with their permission, of course!). Your images must have a sharp focus, be 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

Begin with your “core” pages (your homepage and service pages), and optimize them for your buying intent keywords. Later, you can focus on your “content” pages (FAQs and blog posts), which will be optimized for research intent keywords. Here is what to focus on:

  • Homepage: The title tag, which is roughly equivalent to a book’s chapter title, is the single most important element on your homepage. It should be between 50 and 65 characters long, and formatted similarly to: Swimming Pool Cleaning in {Your City} | {Name of Your Company}.Next is the meta description, which should list your primary services and end with a call to action. It should be 100 to 150 characters long, and approximate this format: {Name of Company} offers quality {swimming pool cleaning and repair services, or similar} in {Your City}. Call {Phone Number} today for 10% off your first service!The H1, or visible headline, must be descriptive yet concise, and include your primary category. This format works well: {Pool Cleaning Service} in {City, State}.Last is your page copy, which should be clear, descriptive, and well edited, and 500 to 1000 words long. Provide some background information about your company, briefly describe your core services, and close with a strong call to action. Include your primary keyword in a natural way.
  • Service Pages: Create a keyword-optimized page for each core service. Optimize these service pages just as you did the homepage.

Step 3: Build Citations and Links

Now that the overall structure of your SEO campaign is in place, you are ready to develop your citations and links. These boost your online reach and help to improve your Google rankings.

  • Citations: A citation is a listing in an online directory of your business NAP (name, address, and phone number). You have your choice of general national directories (yellowpages.com and Facebook), general local directories (Chamber of Commerce website), and targeted industry-specific directories. Be sure that your NAP is identical in every listing.Note that some directories charge a fee for all listings. Before you invest, take a peek at Google Analytics. Do not pay for a site that does not drive traffic and conversions.
  • Links: Inbound links from authoritative websites are crucial to reaching the highest Google rankings. Focus on building relationships both online and in person with those who offer complementary services, such as house cleaners and pool installers, and then ask if you can trade links. Use a tool such as the Moz Open Site Explorer to see where other local swimming pool cleaning companies are finding their links.

Step 4: Ask for Reviews

Customer reviews are important for two reasons: they convince prospects to try your services, and they tell Google that your business is legitimate. All review sites are important, but for the fastest rankings boost, focus on Google My Business reviews. Send an email to your satisfied customers with a link to your Google My Business profile, and ask them directly to write a review. Doing this regularly will provide a constant flow of new reviews.

Step 5: Track Your Results

You can only learn whether your local SEO campaign is getting results, and identify those areas that still need work, by tracking your results. There are many different ways to analyze your data, but these 3 core metrics are the most important:

  • Rankings: Google customizes its search result displays based on the user’s previous browsing activities. This means that you must use a tool to discover your actual Google rankings. Start with the free Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools). Ask your webmaster to install it, and track your results once or twice per month.To dig a bit deeper, consider switching to a paid rank tracking tool such as the one offered by RankRanger.com. It tracks Google My Business pages as well as webpages, and provides automatically updated ranking data from all of your SEO campaigns.
  • Traffic: To track your traffic, or visitors to your website, Google Analytics is the best solution. You can view your total traffic, the traffic for each individual webpage, and the percentage of visitors who find you in Google search. Check your report each month, keeping an eye out for long-term trends.
  • Conversions: A conversion is a specific behavior that you want your prospects to complete. For a swimming pool cleaning company, this might be signing up for 10% off one service. Google Analytics lets you track both web and phone conversions, find out which of your services drives the most conversions, and see which of your web pages have the lowest and highest conversion rates.

Ready to Go?

Now you understand why a comprehensive local SEO campaign is so important in driving more potential customers to your swimming pool cleaning company. Make your way through the steps in order, and be sure to complete each one before starting the next. Here is a recap of the 5 steps:

  1.    Keyword research
  2.    Keyword optimization
  3.    Citations and Links
  4.    Reviews
  5.    Tracking

Want Help with SEO?

At Main Street ROI, we specialize in helping swimming pool cleaning companies attract more local customers through Google. If you’d like help with your SEO, contact us for a free quote.

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