Local SEO for Contractors: What It Is and How to Master It

Local SEO for contractors might be the missing ingredient. 

It can turn a blank calendar into a packed schedule. It can transform a zero inbox into a stream of inquiries. It can make your business more successful than ever. 

How can we be so sure? Because when we need something, most of us turn to Google. And we trust what Google shows us. Incredibly, 60% of people contact businesses straight from local search results. 

If you’re not showing up, you’re missing out on potential jobs. Let’s fix this right now. With this ultimate guide, you can get in front of the right people at the right time. 

First, we’ll look at the importance of local SEO for contractors. Then, we’ll break it down further, so you understand it inside and out. 

We’ll list the key aspects of local SEO before exploring powerful strategies. 

We’ll tie it all up with our top takeaway tips. Use these insights to attract more organic traffic, inspire more phone calls, and win over more customers. Let’s jump right into it. 

The Importance of Local SEO for Contractors 

It’s a frustrating thing, isn’t it? You’re so good at what you do. But you’re not getting the business you need to survive, let alone thrive. 

You feel like your business is hidden away in the shadows. No one knows about you. No one’s visiting your website, and this lack of visibility is taking its toll. 

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is the solution. It’s a series of tweaks, changes, and actions that help your business show up to people nearby who need your services. 

What Is Local SEO vs. General SEO? 

Maybe you’re familiar with general SEO. It’s a practice that helps your website rank highly in search engine results. Local SEO is similar, but there’s an important difference. 

General SEO is about ranking for relevant keywords. It doesn’t matter where the searcher is. They could be next door or halfway around the world. 

Local SEO is about ranking for location-specific keywords. It does matter where the searcher is. You want them to be in your local community. 

For example, a general SEO strategy might target a keyword like, “how to unclog a drain.” A local SEO strategy might focus on a phrase like “plumbers in Austin.” 

It comes down to the searcher’s intent. We can assume someone looking up “plumbers in Austin” needs plumbing services in the city. If you’re a plumber, these types of searchers are the ones you want to target. 

Benefits of Local SEO 

If you can master local SEO, you can enjoy the following benefits: 

• You attract more leads, thanks to greater online visibility. 

• Your conversion rate goes up because the people who find your business are ready and able to hire you. 

• Your marketing becomes more cost-effective, which lifts your return on investment (ROI). 

• You gain an instant competitive edge against local contractors. 

• You win trust faster—searchers might take a high search engine ranking as a signal that your business is legitimate. 

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: A Guide to Local SEO for Small Business Owners (No Technical Skill Needed!) 

Understanding Local SEO 

We’ve built the foundation. Now, let’s add the details. 

Local SEO for contractors works by increasing your visibility in search results. 

Let’s say someone searches “roof repair near me.” Your local SEO efforts position your business at the top of the results page. 

The searcher sees you first, clicks through, and the rest is history. 

Local SEO also helps you appear in Google Maps results. Searchers can learn about your services, read reviews, visit your website, and get your contact information directly through Maps. 

The Local SEO Customer Journey 

It can be helpful to look at local SEO through the lens of the customer’s journey. Here’s how it unfolds: 

• Search. A potential customer searches online for a service, like “general contractor in Milwaukee.” 

• Find. Your business appears in the search results or on Google Maps. 

• Click. The customer clicks on your website or business listing. 

• Contact. They contact you through your website, by phone, or by visiting your location. 

• Hire. The customer hires you based on the information they found. 

Important Elements of Local SEO—Defined 

You know how it works from the customer’s perspective. But what’s going on behind the scenes? 

In truth, local SEO is not a one-time action or a quick win. It’s a series of elements that work together to boost your visibility. 

Let’s define some of the most important elements. 

• Google Business: This is your online business card. Make sure your profile is complete and accurate. Include your business name, address, phone number, hours, and services. 

• Local citations: These are business listings on other websites or local directories like Yelp. 

• Online reviews: These are messages left by your customers on your website or, ideally, your Google Business listing. Positive reviews boost your credibility and improve your rankings. 

• On-page SEO: This is all about optimizing your website using local keywords. For example, you might include your city or town in headings. You might add it to meta descriptions. This helps search engines understand where your business is located. 

• Mobile optimization: This is about making sure your website works well on mobile devices like phones and tablets. More than half of all web traffic is mobile, so this is super important to get right. 

• Local backlinks: Backlinks are links to your website on other sites. For example, a community organization might link to your site because you’re sponsoring a local event. 

• Schema markup: This is a type of code you can add to your website to help search engines understand what you do. It can improve how your business shows up in search results. You can use plugins to make scheme markup easier. 

• Social media presence: Social media is another way to lift your local visibility. Add links back to your website to increase your traffic even more. 

Key Aspects of Local SEO 

Local SEO has many moving parts. Like a cog in a machine, each has an important role. 

Here are some key aspects to focus on as you build a winning strategy. 

Researching and Incorporating Local Keywords 

Guesswork has no place in local SEO. Instead, you should research local keywords. 

Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to get an idea of what your target audience is looking for. Then, add these to your website. 

Pop them in the titles of your pages. You could even create location pages for each suburb you service. 

Add them to your meta titles and descriptions, too. 

Submitting Business Information to Local Directories 

Local directory listings are a fast way to lift your results. Add your business to sites like Yelp and Angi. 

These directories help people find your business. They also act as backlinks. Google sees them as a vote of confidence, which can help you rank higher. 

Ensuring NAP Consistency 

This is a bit of a funny local SEO best practice—but an important one, nonetheless. Make sure that your business name, address, and phone number—AKA NAP—is consistent. 

If you add a space to your phone number on Yelp, do it on Angi, too. If your business is called “The Plumbing Master,” don’t drop the “The” on Google Business but keep it on Facebook. 

Search engines might be smart, but inconsistencies confuse them. 

Publishing Local Content and Landing Pages 

Create and publish content that speaks directly to your local audience. Or, create specific landing pages that target individual neighborhoods or cities you serve. 

This is a great way to add in those all-important local keywords. It also showcases your expertise and positions you as a go-to expert. 

Building a Strong Backlink Profile 

Backlinks from reputable local websites can supercharge your SEO. 

Reach out to local businesses, news sites, or bloggers for backlinks. Participating in community events or running a special promotion can also encourage other sites to link to yours. 

A word of warning: Don’t buy backlinks. Google won’t be tricked by them. In fact, your local SEO could even suffer. 

Optimizing for Voice Search 

Voice search has skyrocketed a huge 146%—jump on the trend. 

How? By adding content that includes natural language and question-based keywords. 

For example, someone might type “electrician Reno” into Google. But they might say aloud “Where can I find a reliable electrician in Reno?” 

Improving Page Speed 

SEO is as much about keywords and backlinks as it is about the user experience (UX). 

Google determines UX by measuring what they term Core Web Vitals. Speed is an important part of this. 

No one likes a page that loads slowly. Use PageSpeed Insights to check if your website loads quickly on all devices. 

Monitoring and Managing Your Local SEO Performance 

You might do your best to cover all the elements above. But, if you’re not tracking your performance, you’re flying blind. 

Use tools to monitor and optimize your performance. Free options include Google Analytics and Google Search Console. 

As you get more advanced, you might invest in something like Ahrefs or Semrush. 

Mastering Local SEO Strategies 

Let’s put all this theory into action. 

Here are some practical local SEO strategies you can use to outrank your competition. 

Create a Local SEO Strategy 

There’s a lot to local SEO. It can be overwhelming, so start with a solid plan. 

Include things like: 

• Your goals 

• Your target audience 

• The activities or elements you’ll focus on 

• How you’ll measure your results 

• What success looks like 

This plan is the foundation of your next steps. 

This drives growth by: 

• Targeting the right customers 

• Focusing your resources where they’ll have the most impact 

Conduct a Local SEO Audit 

An SEO audit flags areas that need the most improvement. It’s a data-backed way to prioritize local SEO elements and squeeze as much value as possible out of each one. 

You might check the following: 

• How is your site currently ranking? 

• Have you claimed your Google Business listing? Is it complete and up to date? 

• Does your website include the locations you serve? 

• Have you listed your business in local directories? Is your NAP consistent? 

• Does your site deliver a great UX? 

• Have you got any broken links? (Use this checker.) 

The answers to the above give you a crystal-clear picture of what’s working now and what needs attention. 

This drives growth by: 

• Identifying SEO weaknesses 

• Lifting your SEO ROI 

Set Up Your Google Business Page 

A Google Business page is a must-have. 

It makes sure your business shows up in Maps. It gives happy customers a place to rave about your service. 

Make sure you’ve claimed your listing. Then, take time to optimize it. Add in all the details like your business name, hours, services, and phone number. 

Upload some high-quality, original photos. Showcase your work and even your team members. 

This drives growth by: 

• Increasing visibility on Google 

• Attracting local customers through Google Maps 

• Building trust with potential clients 

Implement On-Page SEO Techniques 

Now, it’s time to dive into the back end of your website. 

Add local keywords to your content. Do this naturally without compromising the quality of your text. 

For example, you might update a heading from “Residential Electrical Services” to “Residential Electrical Services Portland.” 

Save your changes as you go. 

This drives growth by: 

• Helping your website rank highly for local keywords 

• Boosting your online visibility 

• Increasing click-through rates 

Leverage Technical SEO for Local Search 

Your website should function and be structured in a way search engines can understand. To achieve this: 

• Make sure your website loads quickly. If it doesn’t, check out this guide. 

• Add an XML sitemap. You might use a generator to do this. 

• Check if your website is secure. Look for “https” at the front of your URL in the address bar. 

This drives growth by: 

• Speeding up your site’s load time to deliver a better UX 

• Improving search engine crawlability 

• Boosting security and trust 

Engage in Content Marketing for Local SEO 

Create valuable content that speaks to your local audience. 

For example, think about questions you get asked all the time. Use these to create blog posts or even explainer videos. 

Use relevant keywords in your articles. Share them on social media. You could even add a link to feature articles in your monthly newsletter. 

This drives growth by: 

• Building local authority 

• Capturing relevant keywords 

• Increasing the time visitors spend on your site 

Use SEO Tools for Optimization 

SEO can be technical. Tools can help. 

Services from Google and SEO companies give you access to important metrics. 

You can see at a glance the keywords your site ranks for. You can get an idea of how your SEO performance compares to the competition. 

Some services even offer expert tips or advice on what to do to make improvements. 

This drives growth by: 

• Tracking SEO progress, allowing for optimization 

• Finding keyword opportunities you hadn’t thought of 

• Analyzing competitors 

Drive Continuous Optimization 

Local SEO is not a one-and-done. It’s a process of trying, testing, and trying again. 

Keep an eye on the performance metrics that matter. For example, watch your organic traffic and search results rankings. 

Make a few changes to your website. Then, wait a week or two and revisit your metrics. Have they improved? 

Adjust your approach. That way, you can maintain and improve your rankings over time. 

This drives growth by: 

• Keeping your SEO strategy current with search engine algorithms 

• Adapting to market changes 

• Sustaining long-term visibility 

Manage Your Online Reputation 

Your Google reviews affect how you appear in local search results. The more positive reviews, the better. 

So, make encouraging reviews from happy customers a priority. Consider prompting them in follow-up emails or even requesting a review in person. 

When you do receive reviews—positive or negative—it’s best practice to respond to them. Always be friendly and courteous. 

This drives growth by: 

• Building customer trust with social proof 

• Improving rankings in Maps and Google search results 

• Enabling you to improve your services using customer feedback