I see that a lot of people in this thread are wondering how to rank their sites in Google.
This is why I'd like to share things I've learned in the most beginner-friendly way so that even a middle school kid can understand it.
Ranking on the first page of Google is a modern-day gold rush. There are over half a million websites launched every day, most of which are chasing that holy grail of being on page one. And why not? Ranking on page one in Google in your city or county can be very lucrative. It can bring you more traffic, leads, and ultimately – money.
Let's get into how to do that.
To get started, you need to understand what people are searching for in your local area. Use Google's autosuggest for some ideas. If Google suggests a certain keyword, people are searching for it.
You can also set up a Google Ads account and use Keyword Planner to test some keywords.
Most times, keywords will be obvious. Think of "water damage repair (your city)" but it may happen that you find some terms you'd never have thought of.
You will be able to see what you're showing up for in Google Search Console - Google's free rank tracking tool. And no, you don't have to pay for any rank tracking tools because GSC is just fine for most local sites.
Once you have some KWs ready, create pages that target them. Keyword is pages, not a single homepage with all of your keywords stuffed on it. I am still surprised when I see people do this.
What type of content to post on these pages?
Of course, you should sell people on your service but what you can also do to add onto the word count (word count plays a role in ranking) is answer common questions in form of an FAQ. Something like this.
Answer these questions in detail. Help people. Don't stuff words though, it will seem spammy.
To find these questions, you can obviously use ones people are already asking you. What you can also do is use AnswerThePublic (I am not sure if I can link to it). It's a free tool that allows you to find questions around certain topics. For example, to find questions you see above, I have just entered "mold" as a keyword.
Or use Google's autosuggest, like previously mentioned.
Once you come up with content and have a site worth linking to, open a damn Google My Business. Yes, I know. You've heard it a hundred times. But have you also heard that GMB can help you rank your website?
Maybe. But let's elaborate.
You see, if you have a GMB profile that is at least decent, with a couple of 5 star reviews, and you manage to rank it in the "map pack" (first 3 maps results on the first page, you'll always see these above standard top 10s), the site associated with that profile will also rank higher.
Congrats! You've just taken 2 spots on the first page. However, the hardest part is getting legit 5 star reviews. For that, you'll need actual customers.
Ask every customer you get ever to leave you a Google review. Frame it in a way that's painless like "Hey, would you mind leaving us a review? It takes less than two minutes, I promise!". And if you've done a good repair, they'll probably say yes.
You can also try a little bit of "grey hat" techniques that Google doesn't really like although it's unlikely that something will happen to you - offering incentives for reviews. Think of a free inspection, discount, and even a small product.
For example, a company registration agency I'd used offered a free GDPR compliance package (templates, guides) for free in exchange for customers leaving a review of their customer service on their GMB profile.
That's what I mean by "incentives".
Another ninja hack with GMB profiles is images. Upload photos of your office, employees, etc. Prove that you're a real business. You can also record videos for your GMB profile.
Other than that, fill in every field you get asked to fill when signing up. Add a Q&A to your profile. Use questions people ask you all the time. Posting once or twice per week also helps immensely!
Okay so you have your site and GMB up and running. Congrats! You're in front of 99% other local businesses.
Do you like this guide?
If you want more "technical" part of it (which sucks but is also required, at least a little bit), lemme know and I'll post it.
Cheers!
This is why I'd like to share things I've learned in the most beginner-friendly way so that even a middle school kid can understand it.
Ranking on the first page of Google is a modern-day gold rush. There are over half a million websites launched every day, most of which are chasing that holy grail of being on page one. And why not? Ranking on page one in Google in your city or county can be very lucrative. It can bring you more traffic, leads, and ultimately – money.
Let's get into how to do that.
To get started, you need to understand what people are searching for in your local area. Use Google's autosuggest for some ideas. If Google suggests a certain keyword, people are searching for it.
You can also set up a Google Ads account and use Keyword Planner to test some keywords.
Most times, keywords will be obvious. Think of "water damage repair (your city)" but it may happen that you find some terms you'd never have thought of.
You will be able to see what you're showing up for in Google Search Console - Google's free rank tracking tool. And no, you don't have to pay for any rank tracking tools because GSC is just fine for most local sites.
Once you have some KWs ready, create pages that target them. Keyword is pages, not a single homepage with all of your keywords stuffed on it. I am still surprised when I see people do this.
What type of content to post on these pages?
Of course, you should sell people on your service but what you can also do to add onto the word count (word count plays a role in ranking) is answer common questions in form of an FAQ. Something like this.
Answer these questions in detail. Help people. Don't stuff words though, it will seem spammy.
To find these questions, you can obviously use ones people are already asking you. What you can also do is use AnswerThePublic (I am not sure if I can link to it). It's a free tool that allows you to find questions around certain topics. For example, to find questions you see above, I have just entered "mold" as a keyword.
Or use Google's autosuggest, like previously mentioned.
Once you come up with content and have a site worth linking to, open a damn Google My Business. Yes, I know. You've heard it a hundred times. But have you also heard that GMB can help you rank your website?
Maybe. But let's elaborate.
You see, if you have a GMB profile that is at least decent, with a couple of 5 star reviews, and you manage to rank it in the "map pack" (first 3 maps results on the first page, you'll always see these above standard top 10s), the site associated with that profile will also rank higher.
Congrats! You've just taken 2 spots on the first page. However, the hardest part is getting legit 5 star reviews. For that, you'll need actual customers.
Ask every customer you get ever to leave you a Google review. Frame it in a way that's painless like "Hey, would you mind leaving us a review? It takes less than two minutes, I promise!". And if you've done a good repair, they'll probably say yes.
You can also try a little bit of "grey hat" techniques that Google doesn't really like although it's unlikely that something will happen to you - offering incentives for reviews. Think of a free inspection, discount, and even a small product.
For example, a company registration agency I'd used offered a free GDPR compliance package (templates, guides) for free in exchange for customers leaving a review of their customer service on their GMB profile.
That's what I mean by "incentives".
Another ninja hack with GMB profiles is images. Upload photos of your office, employees, etc. Prove that you're a real business. You can also record videos for your GMB profile.
Other than that, fill in every field you get asked to fill when signing up. Add a Q&A to your profile. Use questions people ask you all the time. Posting once or twice per week also helps immensely!
Okay so you have your site and GMB up and running. Congrats! You're in front of 99% other local businesses.
Do you like this guide?
If you want more "technical" part of it (which sucks but is also required, at least a little bit), lemme know and I'll post it.
Cheers!
