How Restoration Companies Get to the Top of Google Search Results

If you’re reading this, you already know that getting your restoration company’s website on the first page of Google search results can make a big impact on your business. Digital marketing for restoration companies is one of the most efficient ways to increase leads and sales, so congrats! You’ve taken the first step towards growing your business.

Follow us below as our restoration marketing experts dive deep into four ways to get your website to the top of Google, including:

• Google Local Services ads – Occupy the top of mobile and desktop search results…the most valuable real estate on Google.
• Pay Per Click (PPC) – Supplement Local Services ads with affordable (and scalable) paid search campaigns.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Build equity on Google using SEO for long-term lead generation.
• Local SEO – Connect with more local customers using local SEO strategies.

Why Is Getting On the First Page of Google Important?

Global warming has led to stronger thunderstorms, more wildfires, and frequent flooding across the United States. However, homeowners don’t have a local restoration company on retainer “just in case.”

Instead, when disaster strikes, consumers turn to search engines like Google to find a restoration company near them. Google is the most heavily used search engine in the U.S., owning 86% of the desktop market share and 95% of the mobile market share.

Not only that:

• Nearly 93% of all web traffic comes through search engines
• 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else
• Almost one-third of online consumers in the U.S. use the internet to search for local businesses on a daily basis
• “Near me tonight/today” type searches grew by more than 900% over two years
• 92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results

Consumers rely on Google to find a restoration company to hire, and if your business isn’t found at the top of page one of Google, or worse, not found on the first page at all, you’re losing leads and sales to your competitors.

Local Services Ads Put Restoration Companies At the Top of Google Search Results

Wouldn’t it be great if you only had to pay for advertising that brought in real customers who were genuinely interested in what you have to offer?

Google’s Local Services ads are as close as you can get to connect with guaranteed, qualified leads.

For as little as $30 per verified lead in some markets (up to $139 in other markets), residential restoration industries like those providing mold remediation, and water, fire, and/or smoke damage restoration services can reach customers who are looking for exactly what their company offers at the exact moment they need it. Your business only hears from leads who are likely to book your services.

Put more succinctly: Local Services ads are the most desirable Google real estate you can buy.

Need a little more incentive to make the investment in Local Services ads? Here you go:

• Four out of five consumers use Google or another search engine to find a local business. If you want your home restoration company to be the first one they find—and you do—Local Services ads automatically put your restoration company on the first page of Google search results. That’s crucial, because not only do over 90 percent of searchers pick a business on the first page, a third of them click on the business in the #1 position.
• It costs nothing to sign up and you can pause your ad at any time.
• You receive the Google Guaranteed badge, which helps build trust and lets customers know Google will cover any claims up to a lifetime cap of $2,000 if a customer isn’t satisfied.

Finally, Local Services ads are also featured in response to relevant voice search queries like “fire damage restoration company near me.”

As part of an overall restoration marketing strategy, Local Services ads are a terrific way to connect with people in your area who need your services.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads Put Your Restoration Company on Page One

Google tells us that, on average, ads that appear on the first page of Google search results get substantially more clicks than ads that appear on other search engine results pages (SERPs).

As a restoration company in search of new business, you need to be where customers are looking when they’re ready to hire someone.

Not too long ago, we gave you 50+ reasons why PPC ads are a great investment for your brand. Three of those reasons are worth repeating:

1. Businesses make an average of $2 in income for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.
2. Paid ads have an excellent 11.38% click-through-rate (CTR) on Google.
3. For high intent searches, paid ads get 65% of all clicks.

This last reason is a crucial one because many people searching for restoration services are doing so because they have an emergency or want the work want done as soon as possible. The easier it is for people to find your business, the more likely you are to land these customers who are ready to spend.

Search ads, better known as “pay per click marketing,” is one of the most popular forms of PPC advertising for restoration companies. PPC ads appear when people look for something online using a search engine like Google. When they’re looking for something to buy, the search terms they use to locate a product or service either locally or remotely trigger PPC ads:

The basics of PPC ads are simple, but creating a successful PPC campaign can be anything but. Google and other search engines are continually developing new rules and algorithms which make it difficult for most businesses to keep up. You also need to understand how to interpret actionable data, including:

• Top-performing search terms/keywords
• Negative keywords to control waste and prevent ads from appearing in irrelevant searches
• Conversions
• Ad performance information
• Bid optimization suggestions

Done right, PPC complements your Local Services ads and search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Affordable, scalable, and efficient, they’re also one of the quickest ways to draw more potential and qualified leads to your website.

Search Engine Optimization: First Page Results for Home Restoration Companies

Now that your paid listings are in order, it’s time to move on to getting your home restoration business listed at the top of organic search results. Organic results appear below Local Services and PPC ads on SERPs.

Ranking higher on in Google’s organic results requires you to invest in SEO for restoration companies.

Here’s a few tips to get you started:

• Site Code & Structure – Your website must be coded so search engines can find and crawl it. Your website also needs to be fast, secure, and mobile-friendly.
• Onsite Content – You need web page after web page of unique, remarkable, and optimized content.
• Offsite Factors & Reviews – You must earn backlinks from other relevant and authoritative websites pointing to your website and generate five-star reviews on Google My Business and other places around the web.

Combine SEO Tactics with Local SEO Strategies for Maximum Visibility on Page One of Google

An optimized restoration website helps your business attract new customers and highlight the superior benefits of your services compared to your competitors.

If you aren’t using local SEO to drive more customers to your website, you’re missing out. Big time. Today, an incredible 97 percent of people search for local businesses online.

How Does Local SEo for restoration companies work?

When someone Googles something like “fire damage restoration” or “mold remediation services,” Google uses their location data to display nearby (local) businesses.

The top three results in the local service area are displayed in what’s known as Google’s “local pack:”

The mecca of local SEO, the Local 3-Pack presents three local businesses best related to a search query. Google considers relevance, a searcher’s location, and content quality when deciding which businesses win the coveted positions.

If you want to consistently land in that local pack, local SEO is your ticket to ride. Local SEO is similar to regular SEO but with the added element of geographic location. Algorithms are constantly being tweaked, but some of the most important local ranking signals Google is known to use include:

• Google My Business (GMB) listings. Relevance, proximity, and prominence are the top three factors Google uses for ranking. When the information in your listing is accurate and complete, your business is more likely to show up in local search results.
• Links and citations. Google also relies on information about your business that appears across the web. Backlinks are still one of the top ranking factors in local search and the more quality links you have to associated websites, the higher your listing tends to rank.
• Behavioral signals like click-through rate (CTR) and check-ins. Google wants to reflect people’s offline reality as accurately as possible. When it knows a searcher’s location or how popular a site is, it uses that data to “reward” businesses people like with higher search engine rankings.
• Social signals such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google engagement. When a business is interesting and/or resourceful enough to generate social shares and interaction, Google takes that into consideration as a ranking factor.
• Review signals including quantity and diversity. User-generated content from customer reviews, particularly positive ones, is key to higher search rankings. You want a range of reviews that are gained organically and that appear on multiple review sites.

There are many ways to implement local SEO for your restoration business. The top ones include:

• Conducting on-page optimization. This involves things like boosting site speed, making sure your site is mobile-friendly, and having accurate contact information, including a clickable phone number.
• Optimizing your Google My Business listing by claiming your listing, verifying your business, entering complete information, adding photos, and answering questions left on your profile.
• Getting more reviews. Reviews are essential to the success of your restoration marketing campaigns.

A whopping 85% of customers say they trust online reviews as much as they do word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends. Your goal is to get as many positive reviews as possible because nearly 75% of consumers trust local businesses with positive reviews. If your customers are constantly telling you how much you amaze and delight them, don’t be shy about asking them to review you online—if they love you, they want you to stay in business!

Respond to Your Online Reviews

Another way to make a great impression on potential customers is to interact with the reviews that already exist. Responding to both positive and negative reviews in a friendly, grateful way shows you care, know how to treat people with respect, and are committed to fixing issues.

Finally, creating local content builds trust and lets people see you can provide them with the expertise they’re looking for.

General content about tools, techniques, and technologies is good for gaining backlinks that build authority. Local content, on the other hand, is focused on your region, city, or neighborhood. Local news, community events, and coverage of sponsorships or charitable works your employees are involved in are all good topics. Keep mentions of your services minimal or non-existent. As harsh as it sounds, it’s also basic human nature: people don’t care about how your services work, they care about themselves and what you can do to make them feel better!

Blue Corona Gets Restoration Companies On Page One of Google

Getting on the first page of Google won’t happen overnight. But with the right partner and strategy in place, you can get your restoration company on the first page of Google using paid and organic strategies.

If you’re looking for a digital marketing company with the resources and expertise to take your digital marketing to the next level, give us a call or contact us online. We’d love to help!