When marketing agencies explain how likely your website is to show up on Google’s search results, it sounds very complicated. “Search Engine Optimization,” they’ll say, “is based on an algorithm with over 200 factors, and they’re constantly changing.” None of this is incorrect, but it’s also not helpful. It’s not that difficult to figure out how to search well – but it can be very difficult to do it.
Google makes its billions of dollars by selling ad space to companies. In order to sell those ads, they have to have billions of people using their search engine. The way Google gets billions of people to use its search engine is to provide answers to the questions those people have – quickly. All of the complex technology Google uses to rank websites is simply there to help answer Google users’ questions quickly.
Google has a standard to determine how likely a website or web page is to answer people’s questions quickly – relevant, informative, up-to-date information from a source that can be trusted. If Google thinks that your website fits the bill, you’re going to search well. Here are four ways to provide exactly this type of information, and show Google that you deserve a great search ranking.
Provide relevant content by making sure that all of the search terms you care about – whether that’s brakes, transmissions, oil changes, or just car repair – are addressed on your site.
This is the most basic requirement in order for your site to search well – called “keyword placement” – and it’s been important for longer than any other factor. Twenty years ago, there were so few websites that most relevant sites automatically searched well. Today, there are thousands of relevant sites for nearly any search term, so you need to do far more than just mention a few keywords to search well. You also want to be sure you are not just stuffing keywords into your copy. Google will penalize you for doing that and you will not search well.
Provide informative content by answering the questions customers ask Google.
For instance, “why is my car pulling to one side?” should be answered on your website’s alignment page. “Why is my car squealing?” should be answered on the brakes page. When you address these issues, you should do it with as much depth as you can. Google gives you extra points for page length and quality content. In the case of Google, their machine learning algorithm determines quality.
It’s also important to make sure that your shop name, address, and phone number are easily visible on your shop’s front page – if people are asking “where is a repair shop near me?”, you definitely want to show up!
Provide up-to-date content by updating your page frequently.
This can be accomplished by adding new pictures or mentioning a new team member. Google doesn’t trust pages that aren’t updated on a regular basis. It’s a fact of life that information gets less reliable as it gets older. If Google sees changes to your page, it assumes that the information on that page is being kept up-to-date.
Provide trusted content by linking your page to other trusted companies in the industry.
If you’re affiliated with a professional service center program, make sure that they are linking to your shop somewhere on their site. If your shop performs any community service or sponsors community events, try to get those sites to link to your site as well. Your site will also become more trusted as it is kept up-to-date over time – Google rewards dedication to providing information, just like customers may trust shops that have been in business longer.
Want to learn more about how we can help your shop search well? Call us at 866.665.1605 or email us at Team_RSW@RepairShopWebsites.com.