As home inspectors, we operate on a local platform. While you may do business in a number of cities across the state, region, or even the nation, you want your company name to be associated in the area in which you work. To get your company name to appear in a “home inspectors near me” search, you’re going to need to ensure you’re utilizing a local SEO strategy.

While a local SEO strategy is much like a standard SEO strategy in many ways, there are still a few key differences that can take your company name from the bottom of search results straight to the top. Do be sure you’re doing all you can when it comes to a local SEO strategy, check out this ultimate SEO checklist for home inspectors:

1. You Have Accurate Contact Information

One of the easiest ways for a search engine to identify your company as a local business is to include your contact information. This information should include a physical address, phone number, and the complete company name. If you operate more than one location, you’ll want to include the address and phone number for each location individually.

2. Your Contact Information is Located in the Footer of Your Website

Unless you operate over 10 physical locations, you should include your location addresses and phone numbers in the footer details on every one of your website pages. This will reiterate to the search engine that your company is associated with those particular cities and areas.

3. Your Information is Consistent

While a human may be able to tell that “Suite 103” and “#103” usually means the same thing, a search engine will just see this as a discrepancy in your information. Searches want to provide accurate information, so if it believes there is incorrect information on your webpage, it might push it further down in the results. You can avoid this by ensuring your addresses, phone numbers, and business names are consistent throughout your website and social media accounts.

4. You Have an Active Google Plus and Google MyBusiness Page

When it comes to which results Google will push first on their list, they’re going to prioritize their own pages in the hopes that they can meet your needs. Because of this, when a person does a local search, Google will first display the best Google MyBusiness pages that meet the recommendations.

This means that you not only need to claim your MyBusiness page, but you also need to ensure it is full of accurate and useful information.

5. You Have Happy Customers Leaving Great Reviews

Search engines want to give reviews that push searchers in the direction of great service, so the more favorable reviews you have, the better your opportunity for appearing at the top of the results list is. While some websites have restrictions on the ways you can go about getting reviews, the best way to do so is to ask your customers to leave a review once your service has been complete.

6. You Don’t Have Many Bad Reviews

Going off the same idea as before, Google doesn’t want to give searchers a bad experience. If you are consistently delivering a poor service to your clients, you probably won’t appear in the top of your search results. Give your clients exactly what they are looking for so you can have happy customers that leave great reviews and help you get more business.

7. You Have Testimonials On Your Website

Although review boards are important and should be monitored consistently, you’ll also want to display some of your best reviews on your website. Most potential customers will visit your page before deciding if they should do business with you, while not everyone will check out your reviews.

More than that, shining reviews may get lost in the middle of average reviews and might be over looked. Put those great testimonials right on your website and make sure it is in a easy to see location.

8. You’re Using Social Media

Your social media pages can also play into how well you’re doing with your local SEO strategy. Because both have a place to put in a physical address, this can create another digital connection between your company name, your industry, and the city you are delivering a service to.

If you haven’t already, create at least a Twitter and a Facebook page for your company and ensure you include an accurate address and phone number that is consistent with the contact information on your website. If you have multiple locations, you can even create unique pages for each location.

9. Your Website is Mobile Responsive

When someone does a search on a mobile device, the search engine is more likely to give results that are mobile friendly. Because so many “near me” searches are done on the go and on a mobile device, your website needs to be able to adapt to the various mobile screens. Take the time to ensure your website is mobile friendly so you can appear in those mobile searches.

10. You Have an Active Blog

Blogging is a huge component to having a strong SEO strategy, even when you’re operating on a local level. Using your blog for a local business can consistently put new information on your website and further associate your business name, the service you are providing, and the city you work in together.

Keep up an active blog with posts relevant to your area and your industry and your page should move towards the top of the search results.

Strong SEO strategies are important for all businesses, but particularly for those competing for customers and clients on a local level. If you’re not doing everything you can to get your home inspection business at the top of your local search results, you may be missing out on a lot of potential business. This checklist can help you see where you might need improvement.

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