You’ve done a lot of work to build your home improvement business. You’ve jumped through all the hoops, followed all the rules, and produced quality work. So, why is it so hard to get your website at the top of Google’s search results? When you type in “home improvement contractor near me,” are your competitors preceding you on the list? Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to take advantage of Google’s ranking system without breaking the bank with HFS Financials’ home improvement business’s guide to google rankings.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics
Google is constantly cataloging websites using digital “crawlers.” They “crawl” through all the websites on the internet and use at least 200 factors to determine where a website should be placed in their rankings.
Some of those factors, like domain registration, backlinks, and subdomains, only make sense to tech-savvy individuals. However, many of the factors are easy to control by any business owner, such as keyword placement, keyword frequency, user interaction, and useful content.
Google Ranking Keywords
You can search for which keywords are trending on Google Trends. Start by searching for a keyword phrase like “kitchen remodel,” for example. You can see how the topic has trended up and down as far back as 2004, and Google adds a dotted line projecting where it should trend into the future.
Scroll down to “related queries” and you’ll see popular search phrases related to “kitchen remodel.” For example, apparently people commonly search “Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel?” Knowing this, you can add a blog to your site using that exact question as your title.
Home Improvement Blogs
Speaking of blogs, this is an easy way to plug new trending phrases into your website and, ergo, move up in Google’s rankings. Instead of having to redo your whole website to include trending keyword phrases, you can write two to four blogs a month — focusing on a different keyword each time. Make sure you include the keyword in the title of the blog and several times throughout the piece.
Content People Want
Google wants to be the leader in giving people what they want. Their crawlers know if people often visit your site and quickly hit the “back” button. This is called bounce rate. If someone clicks on your blog about kitchen remodel permits, but quality information is lacking or difficult to find, their patience is going to run out fast (and your Google ranking will slip down further).
To increase the length of time people will stay on your site, add high-quality visuals to your content. If a particular blog or article is very lengthy, add a table of contents at the beginning, so they can jump to the part that is most relevant to them.
Attract New Customers by Offering Contractor Financing
There’s no doubt that it takes time and thoughtfulness to become an SEO expert. Conversely, providing contractor financing to your clients can be extremely fast and easy. All you have to do is partner with HFS Financial and direct your customers to our 60-second application from the HFS link on your website. Our experts will help them find the perfect home improvement loan, and their project will be 100% fully funded up front. This is a fantastic way for them to get excellent rates and terms, all while avoiding staged funding you’ll find with other financing options. With HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It!”