5 Simple Tips to Increase Google Ranking for Free

Ryan Redding • October 19, 2020
plumbing hvac phone sales
Want to know a simple secret for growing your home services business? Get more customers. 
Want to know how to get more customers? Get found on Google. 
Want to know how to do that? Land on page 1 of the search engine results page (SERP).

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

OK, OK: You know as well as I do, the “how” behind those “simple” secrets is actually crazy complicated (and can be expensive, too). But there are some foundational free strategies you can use to improve your Google rank… so you’ll get found… so you’ll get more customers… so you’ll make more money.

Let’s do this.

#1 Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile (GBP) Listing

This may sound basic, but it's I'm always surprised by the number of plumbing & HVAC shops who don't have this step down. There’s a good chance a GBP listing has already been auto-generated for your company. For that listing to do your business any good, you need to claim it. 

To find out if you’ve already claimed your listing, simply Google your business name. On the right side of the SERP, you’ll likely see a box pop up with information about your business. If you see the words “Own this business?” and “Add missing information,” you’ve not yet claimed your listing. That means your business is not verified with Google, and your SERP rank is suffering.


Claiming your listing is ridiculously simple:

 

  1. Go to google.com/business and sign up.
  2. Select your business category.
  3. Tell Google your service area by manually inputting each specific city you serve.
  4. Enter your website exactly as it appears in your browser window. (Literally copy and paste the URL just to be safe.)
  5. Complete your business description. Your customers will see this, so help them understand what problems you can solve for them and why they should choose you. Use keywords , too.

 

Verifying your listing is also simple. Once you’ve claimed your GBP listing, Google will mail a postcard with a verification code to the address you used. Simply follow the instructions on the postcard to enter the code. Poof ! You’re now verified!

#2 Make Sure You’re On the Map

With a verified GBP listing, your business should be showing up on Google Maps. This is a big deal, because lots of your customers are searching for your services by typing into Google things like, “plumber near me” or “HVAC [your city name].” 


If you’re not showing up on the map, make sure your basic business information is listed exactly the same, everywhere : GBP, your website footer, your Facebook page, Angie’s List, and so on. Your basic information includes:

 

  • Your business name. Make sure you type it exactly the same, right down to the comma before “LLC” if you use one.
  • Your address. If you abbreviate “St.” in some places, abbreviate it in all places. 
  • Your phone number.
  • Your website URL.
  • Your hours of operation.

 


Google doesn’t like inconsistency and it will penalize you for it by pushing you down on the SERP. Also, as a sidebar: we tend to find that companies with a physical address outrank companies that have a hidden maps location. So, if you're in a competitive market, consider getting an actual, physical address that customers can visit (if they desire).

#3 Leverage your GBP Listing

Claiming your GBP listing is only the first step, friends. If you don’t actually use the tool, you’re 100% losing potential customers to your competitors who are.

 

  • Add photos. Businesses with photos get up to 35% more clicks than businesses without them. Learn how to optimize your photos for GBP.
  • Request reviews. GBP makes it easy to request reviews from your customers . If you want to beat your competition, you need to have more reviews than they do. Also, your reviews need to be current. 150 gazillion reviews from six months ago won’t do you any good.
  • Manage your reviews. Respond to every single review you receive—even if it’s just a star-rating and especially if it’s negative. Interacting with people who leave reviews demonstrates good customer service.
  • Publish to your GBP profile. Keep your listing fresh by creating local posts to share helpful information or promotions with your audience. 
  • Enable messaging. Make it easy for customers to get in touch with you by using the built-in messaging feature. Half of your potential customers prefer to reach out via messaging than via phone. 

 


Using GBP to its fullest potential will take some time, but it’s worth it. By taking advantage of GBP for home services businesses, you’ll not only be on the map, but you could get yourself a spot in the coveted Google Maps Pack . Otherwise known as the “local pack,” these are the first three listings appearing in the maps section on the SERP—and they get nearly half the clicks. 

#4 Get Comfy with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a completely free tool that gives you invaluable data about the people visiting your website: how many there are, how they’re finding your site, how long they stick around, what pages they view, what links they click, and more.

Google Analytics helps you improve your Google rank by showing you what’s already working (so you can do more of it) and what’s not at all working (so you can fix it). 

For example, Google Analytics can show you what pages on your site are currently ranking toward the top of page 2 of the SERP. Although we digital marketing nerds like to say page 2 is the best place to hide a dead body, because no one goes looking for anything there, there’s something else that’s true about your stuff on page 2: It has the highest potential for moving up to page 1. 

So, once you know what high-potential content you have that’s currently gasping for breath on page 2, you can strategically update it to improve its rank:
  • When relevant, link your high-potential content with already high-performing content.
  • Freshen up the content and share it on social media to get more traffic to it.
  • Add or update photos on the page and make sure everything’s mobile-friendly.

If you’ve never set up Google Analytics or have no idea how to use it, check out this free guide. Or? Let us handle it for you.

#5 Create and Share Helpful Content

Google’s mission is to “organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.” That means when your website is useful to people, Google’s more likely to be impressed by it. 

One way to be useful to your customers is to offer them helpful content on a regular basis. For home services companies, that often looks like blogging.

Creating blog content doesn’t have to be a huge time-suck, either. Keep in mind you are an expert in your field, so all you have to do is write about what you know! Get some helpful blogging tips for plumbing and HVAC.

SEO for Plumbing and HVAC

Improving your Google rank is all about search engine optimization (SEO)—making sure Google sees your site and judges it worthy of showing to your ideal customers. These five tips will certainly help, but there’s loads more we can do to make sure you’re showing up ahead of the competition. 

Of course, the first step is knowing how well your site is performing to begin with, and you can use our free website SEO scan to find out for yourself. Not thrilled with your results? Let’s talk.

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We've got give-a-damn for days.

When my team talks with new clients, we hear a ton of frustration, overwhelm, and general fed-up-ness. 


I'm guessing you can relate.


Maybe you've been trying to figure out all this marketing stuff on your own OR you've handed a crap-ton of money to an "expert" for no apparent reason.


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You can't figure out why... and/or your current marketing "partner" isn't 'fessing up. 


We think you deserve better.


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Ryan Redding

CEO Levergy

Author of The Book on Digital Marketing for Plumbing and HVAC Contractors

Host Blue Collar CEO Podcast

Here's how we'll get you more plumbing, HVAC, electrical, garage door, roofing, or other home service leads:

Tell us what's keeping you up at night.

Let's get on a call so you can tell us where your business is and where you want to go. We'll follow-up with a free, comprehensive assessment and actionable tips.

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