Home Services SEO: How to Boost Your Online Visibility

About 55% of homeowners search for home services online before choosing a provider. If your business isn’t showing up in search results on Google or Bing, you’re missing out on leads. 

But online visibility takes more than just a social media page or website. To show up when potential customers search for services in your area, you’ll need to concentrate your efforts on home services SEO (search engine optimization). 

You don’t have to be a marketing expert to get started, either. Keep reading to learn the SEO strategies yourself—like making a website, claiming online business profiles, and asking for reviews.

The more places leads can find your business, the better. Especially when they’re ready to choose a service provider. 

3. Generate local business

When done correctly, home services SEO targets potential clients in your service area. That means more relevant eyes on your business and a way to solidify yourself as an expert in the community. 

Paired with your services, it also positions you as a recognizable service provider in your city or town, encouraging word-of-mouth marketing like referrals. 

4. Save money

Like any marketing strategy, SEO may take some upfront investment, especially if you hire an SEO agency or professional SEO services instead of doing it yourself. 

But over time, SEO pays for itself. 

Unlike paid ads that stop delivering results as soon as you stop paying, SEO continues to bring in leads over time. 

For example, writing helpful articles about your services or creating landing pages tailored to specific service areas can bring in ongoing website visitors. Or you can claim and build a Google Business Profile and generate positive reviews from real customers to build trust. 

These tactics come with little to no cost per lead and often generate enough profit to cover whatever you spent to set them up.

Review these easy local, on-page, and technical SEO strategies you can tackle on your own with a little elbow grease. 

To boost visibility in local search results, start by: 

1. Claiming your Google Business Profile

If you haven’t already, claim your Google Business Profile. It’s free and can help you to: 

• Appear at the top of the search results
• Show up in Google Maps
• Showcase before and after images
• Collect Google reviews
• Display your business hours and booking info
• Let customers book directly from your profile 

Whether you have an existing profile or not, it’s important to fill it out completely by: 

• Adding your business name and logo
• Including up-to-date contact information such as a website, phone number, location, and email address
• Listing your hours
• Specifying your service area
• Defining the services you offer
• Uploading photos of the work you do
• Filling out the Q&A section
• Posting updates and promotions
• Responding to reviews

READ MORE: How to respond to a negative review

2. Asking for Google reviews

Reviews build trust, prove you run a legitimate business, and show leads you have real customers. 

Asking happy customers to leave positive Google reviews will enhance your Google Business Profile and help it to stand out. 

You can collect reviews by reaching out to happy clients after jobs and simply asking them, or by including a link in your payment receipts and invoices. 

Or, you can automate the process with review software like Jobber. As soon as a customer pays their invoice, it reaches out to ask them for a Google review on your behalf. That means you get more reviews for less work, and a robust, trustworthy profile that attracts more leads.

3. Joining local directories

Local directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Angi are free online directories that customers use to search for services where they live. 

Filling them out using the same information as your Google Business Profile signals to search engines that: 

• Your business details are consistent across the web
• You serve a specific geographic area
• Your business is trustworthy and legitimate

All of these elements add to your online reputation, both to customers and search engines like Google. The more your business is listed with the same information, the more likely it is to appear in search results when customers search for your services. 

4. Using Google Local Service Ads (LSAs)

Google LSAs are tied to your Google Business Profile. They’re a type of ad you can use to highlight your business in local search engine results, above regular listings and other ads. 

They give you a boost over competitors and make your search listing more noticeable to potential customers by: 

• Showing your business name, services, hours, and contact info
• Including your Google review rating
• Adding a “Google Guaranteed” badge for vetted profiles

This makes your services and location easy to see, and immediately gives leads the reassurance they need to book a job. 

While they do cost money, they’re an effective way to promote your local SEO efforts. You can also set a budget to ensure you don’t overspend. 

Pro Tip: Google LSAs are not available for every industry or location. Review Google’s LSA guide to find out if your business is eligible. 

On-page SEO can seem intimidating, but it’s not as complicated as you might think. Prioritize the basics by: 

1. Making a website

If you don’t have one already, it’s time to make a website. 

“If you can do anything, just make sure you can try to get a website up that can post pictures of the jobs you completed, basic contact information, hours of service, and the services that you provide.” —David Brooks, Contractor Rhino

To get started, that means: 

• Choosing a domain (website address) that matches your business name
• Using a tool or hiring a web designer to map out your pages
• Writing content for your services
• Gathering high-quality images of your work
• Collecting customer testimonials

You can make one yourself in minutes with website software like Jobber that features your business and service info, a quote request form, and customer reviews.

2. Learning keyword basics

Keywords are the words or phrases potential customers would use to find you. They’re most likely to be related to your industry, specific services, problems you solve, and location. 

Using them within your content, like on your web pages, helps search engines understand what you do and where you operate. That information allows them to choose when, how, and where to show your home service business to customers based on what they searched for. 

For example, keywords for a lawn care home service company could include: 

• Lawn mowing
• Weed trimming
• Fertilizer
• Weekly mowing
• Grass cutting
• Yard work
• Raking

But they may also be: 

• Lawn care services
• Lawn maintenance
• Yard care company
• Summer lawn care

It’s also important to include the name of your city or town alongside service-specific keywords. 

For example, on your home page, you might want your main keyword to be Cleveland lawn care services, then use separate service pages for each of the different services you offer, like weekly lawn mowing, custom fertilizer, and weeding. 

3. Optimizing page content

Your website’s content impacts how well your home services SEO performs. 

To get the best results, ensure each page has: 

• Specific titles (headings). For example, a page that lists your mowing services, prices, and booking information should be called something like “Lawn Mowing Services in [City]” instead of something generic like “Services”.

• Contact information. This can go at the bottom of your website (the footer) for each page, so customers can easily reach out for a quote or to make a booking.
• Keywords. If possible, focus on a single keyword for each page and use it naturally within the content. It should fit the topic of the page without feeling forced or repetitive. For example, a page about weeding services in Pasadena probably doesn’t need to include keywords for mowing or fertilizing because that can confuse search engines. 
• Content. Blog posts, service descriptions, articles, and FAQs all count as content. The more content you have, the more keywords you can cover. And the more keywords you cover, the better your chances of serving a larger number of potential customers.

4. Using links

Links from one page on your website to another help search engines see how your pages are connected and which content is important. (Also known as link building.)

For example, your home page should link to specific service pages. And your service pages might link to how-to articles, booking pages, or customer testimonials. 

This not only helps search engines to understand your site better, but it also makes it easier for visitors to find relevant information and take action.

1. Site health

Monitoring and maintaining your website’s health includes checking for and fixing any broken links so users aren’t sent to pages that no longer exist.

For example, if you remove an old blog post that’s no longer relevant, or you stop offering a service and delete the page. Once it’s gone, you’ll need to update or delete any links pointing to it. This prevents users and search engines from encountering confusing and frustrating error pages. 

2. Meta data

Metadata is the information Google pulls from your web pages to display in Google search results. The most important parts of your metadata include your title links (also called title tags) and meta descriptions. 

A title tag is the link that appears in search results, while a meta description is the text that appears below it to describe the web page.

In this example, “Professional Home Cleaners in Boston, MA” is the title tag, and “Our locally-owned Merry Maids Boston, MA team is available for all your home and business cleaning needs. Learn more about our 5-star Promise!” is the meta description. 

Each of your web pages should have a unique and descriptive title tag and meta description that includes relevant keywords. For example, your services and location, and any specialities.

If you prioritize their needs and focus on providing a helpful and trustworthy online experience, search engines will reward your efforts over time. 

6. Track progress

Lastly, track progress. Home services SEO is a long game.

After setting up your home services SEO strategies, keep an eye on:

• When you implement new strategies
• How many people visit your website
• Which tactics are (and are not) working

It’s also important to consider where your leads are coming from. Your website, Google Business Profile, or somewhere else? 

You can track progress manually with reporting tools like Google Analytics, Google Business Profile reports, and social media admin insights. 

Or, you can use Jobber’s marketing tools to implement new strategies, track their success, and make data-driven decisions that grow your home service business.