If you have ever conducted a Google search, you know that the search engine typically offers you hundreds of pages in response. If you are like most other people, it is unlikely that you peruse more than two pages of the results. Most people, in fact, do not go beyond the first page of the results. For garage door installation companies trying to boost their online profile to drive sales, this can make all the difference.
When potential customers search for industry-related keywords, it is critical for your company to feature as high up on the results list as possible. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO is the science of optimizing your website to ensure that Google ranks it as high as possible on the results list when certain keywords are used. It is estimated that over 90% of all online experiences start on a search engine site so chances that your potential customers will go online to look for garage door installation companies is very high.
So how can you optimize your site to ensure that Google ranks you as high as possible on the search list? Here are some seven SEO tips that will help potential clients find your garage door installation company easily on the web.
Understand and Perform Keyword Research
Keywords are phrases and words that your potential clients are likely to use when searching for garage door installation companies. Understanding these keywords and aligning your website to feature when these phrases are used is at the core of SEO. As others put it, getting the right keywords ensures that your website speaks the same language as your potential clients. For garage door installation companies, such key words include phrases such as garage door installation or garage door companies and many more.
Getting the right keywords however involves much more than that. You must be able to distinguish between short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords. Short-tail keywords might be phrases such as ‘garage door’ and so on. The problem with relying on short-tailed keywords is that they are too generic and people searching for those terms might not necessarily be looking for garage door installation companies.
Having long-tailed keywords works better because your website will attract clients looking for the exact services that you are offering. Long-tailed keywords should also incorporate geographical locations so you get clients that are within your area of service. Remember to always incorporate these keywords naturally in your web pages rather than awkwardly cram them into the content.
Links to Your Pages
One of the ways that Google ranks websites is through backlinks. If your website is referenced by other sites, Google assumes that you must be an authority in the area of garage door installations and ranks your site higher. The more sites that backlink to your website, the higher Google will rank your website. So how do you get other sites to give backlinks to your site?
The easiest way to do this is by creating high-quality content on your site. This way people might read the content and reference it on their websites. If there are local bloggers and content creators in your area, you could request them to reference your site on their platforms, especially if they have utilized your services in the past.
Optimize Your Website
Having an easy-to-navigate website ensures that you increase the chances of converting potential clients into actual customers. Even if Google ranks your website high up on the results, if your clients can’t navigate your site, understand what you have to offer, and be able to contact your company, you are wasting your resources.
When designing your website, ensure that it is fast, easy to use and that your clients can easily make any queries that they want to make. Making your webpage faster and easier to use is not just about converting leads as Google also considers page speed when determining how to rank websites.
Study Your Competitors
Given that you are likely to be competing with other garage door installation companies for Google rankings, it pays to study how they are doing their own SEO. This is for two reasons. One is to learn any new approaches that they are using (such as new keywords and so on) that you can incorporate into your own content.
The other reason is to help you figure out how to get your website to stand out from your competitors. Given that most of you are likely to be using the same keywords, are there words or phrases that can be unique to your garage door installation company? Another thing that you could learn from looking at your competitors is how they engage their customers on their website and use this information to improve your own customer engagement.
Utilize Social Media
Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are an invaluable tool if you are looking to rank higher on Google search results. Social media sites are used by millions of people across the globe and chances are that most people within your locality are on either one or several of these social media sites. Being present and active on these sites not only increases your brand awareness but also increases the chances that someone will refer to your website through backlinks.
Social media sites also allow you to post photos and videos. This means that you don’t have to post numerous photos on your website (as this may slow down your site) but can instead use sites such as Instagram and YouTube with links on your site. Social media sites also allow you to engage directly with potential clients thus helping to improve the overall customer experience.
Have Regular and Updated Content
To rank higher on Google search listings, ensure that you have regular and updated content on your site. Apart from the fact that this increases the chances of linkbacks, having useful content means that clients get actual value from browsing your website. Typical clients looking for garage door installation services are often not experts in the area. If your site contains information that helps then understand what options exist, what to look out for and the latest trends, they are more likely to regard your company as an authority in the field.
The other advantage of having great content on your site is that it gives you greater opportunity to use a variety of keywords thus improving your listing on Google search results. Lastly, content draws in visitors which in turn raises your Click-through Rate or CTR. Google bots use CTR as one of the factors when ranking websites. By having a higher CTR, you increase your chances of listing higher on search engine results.
Tag Your Images
When uploading images on your website (such as different garage door options), always ensure that you properly tag the images in the ‘alt text’ field. This is because Google search engine bots cannot ‘see’ your images but can read the alt text. This in turn influences how Google ranks your website. Sites with images that are not tagged or are not tagged properly miss out on optimizing their ranking on search results. When writing alt-text for images, try to keep the text short and impactful as these are more likely to be indexed efficiently by search engines. Make sure that you mention the topic withing the alt-text and avoid cramming keywords.
Overall, the key thing to remember is that SEO is a continuous process. Keywords for example are always changing as products evolve and you should ensure that your keyword lists are constantly updated. To really stay on top of your SEO game, consider working with SEO professionals who can help you maximize your online presence for your garage door installation business. For example, such professionals are able to perform an SEO analysis of your site which helps you understand how optimized your site is and where the gaps are.