The internet is an undeniable reality, and you and your business are on it whether you want to be or not. Since you cannot change that, you must manage your presence there or you will do yourself harm from a marketing standpoint. If the information about your business is erroneous or inaccurate in any way, it will damage your credibility and lower your position on the search results. Google’s Mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, and they are focused on providing the best user experience possible. When users are searching for restoration services, Google wants to present them with the most reliable and credible information available to meet their needs.
The Basics of SEO
So without oversimplifying, the objectives of your online marketing strategy should be: 1) to clearly establish on the internet who you are, where you are and what services you provide; 2) the geographic area in which you provide those services; and 3) that you are the most reliable, experienced and responsible professional in your service area.
Objective No. 1: Clearly Establish your Identity The information displayed on the internet about your business name, contact information, the services you offer and where you offer them must be correct and consistent (exactly the same) everywhere, and it all must point back to your primary website. There are literally hundreds of business listing sites. You need search deeply, go to every one you can find, take possession of it, make sure the information displayed is correct and accurate (identical to your website) and verify it.
Objective No. 2: Geo-Location – Delineate Your Service Area Your website is primarily where you need to establish your primary service area and the services that you offer. It also needs to demonstrate your expertise in those services. Listing the communities that you serve in order of priority, as well as a list of the services you offer is the minimum requirement. Articles and blogs that include textual descriptions, photographs and videos of the jobs you have completed, and where, are powerful elements. Your blog posts that include keywords on restoration topics in a specifically targeted geo-locations (i.e. Water Damage in Nashville) are most effective.
Objective No. 3 Establish Your Credibility Blog posts also in establish your credibility. They tell Google what you know. Articles should be a minimum of 300 – 500 words in length, and must be relevant and timely with new articles posted at least monthly. They must also be original. Information duplicated from elsewhere on the web will be identified by Google as plagiarism, even if taken from one of your own websites. Google also grades grammar, punctuation and technicality of your content. Backlinks are also key to establishing your credibility online. Backlinks are links to your website from other websites. Backlinks on websites that have a high page rank (among the first mentioned in the organic listings of a Google search) are of the greatest value.
