Search engine optimization has become one of the most turbo-charged marketing tools in the service industry. It drives a higher return on investment than any other marketing strategy. Google has become a dominant part of everyday life, delivering a 34% click-through rate to those lucky enough to rise to the first-place position. If SEO isn’t right at the top of your marketing priority list, you can cut a significant chunk out of your profits. Let’s look at a few easy ways you can gain Google power.

1) Avoid Black Hat Habits

Google’s algorithms are too intelligent to trick these days, so dishonest tactics will hinder more than they can help. Keyword spamming and duplicate content might seem like cheaper ways to gain rank, but the search engine penalties can last a lifetime. Your search engine optimization strategy should focus on providing real value to your audience. Google rewards content depth, relevance, and originality, so quality should be your highest goal. Play by the rules, and the benefits will follow. Google rewards:

• Engaging content
• Relevant keywords
• Keyword-driven metadata and page titles
• High authority links
• Simple site navigation with organized sitemaps
• Quick page loading times

2) Keep it Fresh

Google crawls the internet in search of content constantly, so it’s quick to reward updated websites. Fresh content is worth its weight in pixels, and the modern interwebz offer hundreds of opportunities to create it. Review sites are enjoying their heyday, so you can even count on your customers to create a steady stream of new SEO-worthy content.

Blogs, podcasts, and video blogs can encourage your users to engage, so they offer more than just the SEO value of the content itself. Comment sections are a goldmine to the organic marketer. Search engines also favor trendy topics, so use your blogs to publish newsworthy keywords. The freshness algorithm update counts on four dates to assess every URL:

• The date the content was uploaded
• The date crawlers found the page
• The most recent crawl
• The date of the most recent modification.

In other words, even a rewrite can boost your freshness score.

3) Generate FAQs

Product-based businesses can market via their product features, but service-based businesses work a little differently. Google expects them to demonstrate authority and expertise, and there’s no better way to achieve that than through FAQs. They open up the possibility of ranking in the “People also ask” box, which dominates service-based search results. They also improve your EAT components, which measure your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. You can geotarget your rich results to achieve an extra dose of relevance.

 4) Use Geotargeting

You can sell a product to a customer on the other side of the world, but your service offering must cover a smaller patch of land. That makes geotargeting one of the strongest SEO tools at your disposal. You’ll need separate subpages for every location and service you offer. That’s a lot of content, but there are easier ways to cover your location.

You can strengthen your geotargeting with the mere inclusion of local citations. These are SEO tools that mention your company’s address and phone number. You can include citations on social networks, business directories, and service pages. NAP (name, place, and phone number) inclusions will allow you to rank under a narrower Google search, so they make it easier than ever to achieve that coveted number one search result.

Don’t forget the geotargeting potential of reviews. They can help you to earn more SERP real estate for branded search terms, so it’s worthwhile to offer discounts and credits for every ounce of customer feedback.

5) Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is one of the most powerful ways to boost your service-related brand. This is a free tool that puts you on the map. Pin your location to Google maps, and the search engine will enhance your local rank for location-specific search queries. If your customers request your service “near me”, you’ll rise right to the top of the pile.

You can only draw GMB’s best results by including high-quality photographs, FAQS, and reviews. Your social media presence will pack an extra punch because Google awards a higher rank to those with a robust PR strategy. You can also boost your GMB rank by:

• Keeping your GMB profile up to date via the dashboard. This should include your website, hours of operation, and business category
• Verifying your business listing during account creation
• Adding a Q&A section to your GMB listing
• Regularly adding promotions and announcements to your business profile.

Conclusion

There’s a reason SEO has grown in importance among service-related businesses. Google is getting better at localization by the day. That means your potential customers can find you more easily than ever before. This is the time to perform an SEO audit that harnesses this new power. The investment will do more than just push you to the top of your search results. It will also boost your credibility and give you an extra edge against the competition. Almost 80%  of local mobile searches end in conversions. Now that’s a statistic worth investing for.

Author: This article was written by Michael Dinneen of NYC Nanny Agency NannyCity. NannyCity is a leading Nanny Placement Agency with locations in both NYC & CT. To learn more please visit https://nannycity.com.