Marketing your Home Service Business

As if you didn't have enough going on with running your business you have to deal with marketing companies selling you on their services. You are not alone. Plumbers, HVAC, pest control, and other home service businesses get slammed daily.

Well, this is not that so put your guard down.

What this is a quick list that you can use to make sure you are covered or at least know where you need to focus your energy whether you are doing it yourself or want to outsource marketing.

Google My Business

Many of our clients complain about the number of calls they get from people claiming their Google listing isn't claimed, verified, or optimized. These are telemarketers generating leads they sell to people that do search optimization.

So how do you know it is verified? Google search your business name. You should see a panel on the right if it says Is this your business it isn't claimed.

Business Information Consistency

Search Engines like Google and Bing rely do not stand on their own. They rely on their trusted sources to feed them information. Your business listings on other websites like Angie's List, Yelp, Facebook, Yellow Pages, etc. all have a trust relationship with Google and Bing.

Ensuring that your business information (name, address, phone number, hours, website, etc.) is consistent across the internet will help you come up better when people look for your services in search engines.

Social Proof Reviews

Do any search for home services and you will see review stars. When consumers are searching for services these reviews play a huge part in their buying decision. Actively collecting reviews will help you stand out from your competition.

In a recent study, reviews play a huge role in local search rankings. The number of reviews and the rating matter. But to your consumer, the ranking and how the reviews were handled, matter more.

Reviews should be collected in multiple places, not just Google. You should work to spread the love to Facebook, your website, Yelp, Angie's List, Porch, and other networks.

Professionalism A great website

With all the options small business has, is a website still important? Yes! Your website is the foundation of everything you do online and is the one thing you can control.

Your online presence is your first impression to your customers, it is your online storefront. Keep things consistent with your logo, colors, graphics, and message on your website, social media, and offline marketing. When people make the decision on which company they want to use for their problem, they are looking for a few key things.

Can they solve my problem?
Can I rely on them? (Reviews)
Are they trustworthy? (Reviews)

Your website should have certifications, pictures of your staff members, as well as a collection of reviews.

Visibility SEO

We have already spoken about Google and Bing as far as reviews are concerned. How you come up in your local service area isn't an easy or quick task, it takes time to prove you are the best choice for Google or Bing to show.

For a local service business to rank above their competitors takes a collective effort of a great website with good content, strong local listings, consistent reviews, as well as other local websites linking to yours (local backlinks).

The way people find services when they need them has changed. Often, they do not know the name of the company, they search for who can fix their problem. If they can't find you, or you don't have the key things in place, the call will go to your competitor.

If you decide to outsource your online marketing

Find a company that understands what it takes for your business to be successful. Service calls are the lifeblood of all home service businesses. Every action that is taken to market your business should be geared toward that ONE THING! Ask the hard questions of anyone you are considering working with.

Lighthouse is a marketing agency for home service businesses including plumbers, HVAC, and pest control. We work with each of our partners to get them found by their customers and build the essential things needed to generate a service call. If you are ready to increase the number of calls your business receives, let's talk.