keywords

Why You Aren't Ranking in Search Results for That One Service

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

You feel like you have a kick-ass website with tons of great content. You’ve been promoting your business on local directories, too. You’re getting plenty of calls and leads for some of your services, yet there’s a noticeable lack of leads for one service in particular. For example, you own a landscaping company and you’re getting lots of calls for lawn mowing but no calls for tree removal–even though you’d much prefer to book tree removal jobs.
Needless to say, this is most likely caused by the fact that you’re not ranking in search results for tree removal. But why aren’t you ranking for that service? And, more importantly, how can you fix it?
There are two possible explanations for why you aren’t ranking for a given service:

You don’t have a dedicated page on your website for this particular service; or
You aren’t using the right keywords

Keep reading to hear more about these ranking issues and how to fix them!

Do You Have a Webpage Specifically for This Service?

The most common reason you aren’t appearing in search results for “X” service is simple: You don’t have a page for it on your website.
Google will only rank you for services you explicitly advertise or offer—meaning, it will only rank you for services you have dedicated content for. This is simply because Google isn’t a fortuneteller. It won’t know you offer a specific service unless you emphasize it on your site. Therefore, the ideal solution is to go through your website and make sure there’s a page for every service you offer.

Google Can’t Predict Which Services You Offer

Sometimes we think Google is smarter than it really is. Sure, when it comes to keywords, Google is good at detecting natural language and synonyms–but only when there are slight variations between words and phrases. That’s why each page can–and should–have a variety of closely related keywords.
For example, let’s say your landscaping company offers tree removal services. Google won’t automatically place you in results for tree removal searches unless you have a specific page titled, “Tree Removal.” Why? Because, linguistically, “tree removal” is different enough from “landscaping” or “lawn care” that Google won’t automatically put them together. So, if you want to get leads and book jobs for tree removal services, then you need to make sure there is content on your website dedicated to talking about this service. This is the only way your business will rank on Google for tree removal.
Appliance repair services are another great example of Google’s limitations. You can’t assume Google will rank you in searches for “refrigerator repair,” “dryer repair,” or “dishwasher repair” just because your website mentions “appliance repair” a bunch. Rather, you must write content aimed at each service specifically, including keywords closely related to these specific units.
How to fix it:
So, what’s the takeaway here? Go through your website and make sure you have a separate page for every single service you want calls for. (Or, at the very least, make sure you have a substantial amount of content dedicated to each service so Google can detect those keywords.)

Are You Using the Most Appropriate Keywords?

The other issue we see often is that you’re not using the most fitting or popular keywords for your services. This happens most commonly when there’s a certain regional slang or phrase at play.
Here’s a prime, real-life example we saw with one of our clients recently:
We were working with a towing company and testing out different keywords for their services. We were having difficulty getting this company to rank for “tow truck” in their geographic area, so our client asked us to include “wrecker” as a keyword for that service. They were right!
As it turns out, “wrecker” is a popular term for a tow truck in this client’s locale. Although Google’s natural language index didn’t consider it a synonym for “tow truck,” enough people were searching for the word “wrecker” in the context of tow trucks that this keyword wound up driving a lot of traffic for our client’s service.
How to fix it:
The takeaway here is to think about the words and phrases your local customers use most often. At the end of the day, you know your customers best! Then, make sure these overlooked keywords are included in your copy so you can capture as many keyword variations as possible.
Of course, Prospect Genius is always here to help, too! We can give you a free consultation over the phone and look into what services you rank for as compared to what services you want to rank for. Give us a call or fill out the form below!

How to Find Blog Ideas Your Customers Will Actually Care About

Last Updated: February 8, 2018

You’re trying to get your website off the ground, and you’ve heard your traffic will improve if you fill your pages with lots of valuable content. But there’s the problem—you want to create interesting blog posts and page content for your audience, but you’re totally stumped on what to write about!
This is an all-too-familiar problem for many small business owners. Thankfully, in our years of practice, we’ve discovered some shortcuts that can make it easier to come up with webpage and blog ideas. Keep reading for our suggestions on how to come up with topic ideas for your website content!

Take Inspiration From Online Forums

Track down online communities related to your trade or niche. Social media groups and blog forums are a hotbed for passionate discussion about new trends, DIY tips, personal anecdotes, and more.
If you’re stuck for blog ideas, take a few minutes to read the online discussions on these forums. Mine the conversations for hot topics that attract a lot of engagement and discussion. You might also discover the same handful of questions popping up again and again. You can use these insights to provide people with the advice and answers they’re clearly searching for. These are the topics that are most likely to interest your target customers.

Discover New Keywords

In studying these online discussion boards, you may also start to notice some new phrases or keywords gaining popularity. This is invaluable information, because it will show you the kind of language regular folks use when they talk about things related to your industry.
With this knowledge, you’ll be able to mold your content so it captures search traffic for layman’s terms that you might not have been aware of, given your technical expertise in the field.

Use Tangential Topics, Too

When coming up with ideas for content, don’t be afraid to blur the lines between your niche and a niche adjacent to yours. Chances are, your target customers are interested in both, and you can easily relate these tangential topics back to your own business.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re a hardwood flooring specialist. It’s safe to assume a large subset of your target customers are planning a home remodel. Therefore, you may want to include blog posts about topics related to remodeling, such as DIY decorating tips, popular paint colors, and how to remodel on a budget.
In other words, go beyond your specific industry and think about related topics your target customers might also be interested in.

Consult an Automatic Generator

If you’ve exhausted all of the above strategies—or you’re simply short on time—try checking out an automatic topic generator like Answer the Public.
This tool works if you have a keyword in mind but you can’t quite figure out how to write about it. You simply type the word or phrase into the search box, and you’ll be presented with a large assortment of questions that people are asking related to that keyword. These questions are taken directly from search engine data.
For example, if you type “hardwood floor” into the Answer the Public’s search field, you’ll get a list of 111 frequently asked questions, including:

“Why wax a hardwood floor?”
“How to clean hardwood floor?”
“Which hardwood floor is best?”
“Can hardwood floor cleaner be used on laminate?”

As you can see, the questions come from all different angles, so there’s no shortage of topics you can cover for any given keyword. Just pick a question you find most intriguing, or one you know the most about, and write your answer. This should be a great starting point for your blog post or webpage.

When All Else Fails, PG Can Help!

Whether you feel like writing isn’t one of your strengths or you just don’t have enough time to create your own website content, we can help. Our talented writers and production specialists can produce compelling content for your website, blog, and social media accounts on your behalf. Then, we can even promote it online to increase your traffic and visibility.
If you’re interested in our writing services, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Do You Know What Siri and Voice Searches Mean for Your Website?

Last Updated: January 11, 2017

When we shared our online marketing predictions for 2017, we detailed how Google is doubling-down on catering to its users’ expectations and experiences. And as virtual personal assistants like Cortana and Siri become more prominent in users’ lives, Google is seeing a significant increase in voice searches.

What Do Voice Searches Have to Do With You?

You’ve probably seen someone use voice search on their smartphone. Maybe you’ve even used it yourself.
With voice searches, users speak in complete questions. For example, they’ll say out loud, “Hey Siri, what’s the best kind of floss to use?” instead of manually typing “best floss brands” into the search box. The assistant sends these questions to Google. Then, it’s up to Google to process the question and deliver relevant, informative answers at lightning speed. This is why Google continues to hone its algorithm so it can process natural language and find precisely what users are looking for.
To aid in discovering webpages that are relevant to users’ questions, Google has adapted a new system called Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI). By using LSI, Google actually analyzes the content of individual webpages, assessing synonyms and context instead of just scanning them for identical keyword matches. This produces search results that satisfy a search query in a more specific, helpful way.
So, now that you have a basic understanding of how voice search has impacted Google’s nuts and bolts, we can get to what you really came here for: How will the voice search trend impact you?

Target Your Content

Because of the dominance of voice searches, your website needs to be chock full of valuable information that pertains to people’s pressing interests. This was always the case to a certain extent, but now it’s even more urgent.
If you want Google’s LSI system to capture your content and present it in the search results, your content needs to demonstrate crystal-clear relevance to the user’s query. A few well placed keywords aren’t enough anymore. This means there’s a strong chance you’ll need to rewrite—or, at the very least, expand—the content on your webpages. There’s really no way around it.
We suggest starting with a free tool like Answerthepublic.com. When you input a keyword relevant to your business, the tool will show you all the questions users are asking about it. For example, some of the popular questions related to the keyword “floss” are:

“How to floss back teeth with braces?”
“When to floss toddler’s teeth?”
“What does floss do?”
“Which is better, floss or mouthwash?”
“Who invented dental floss?”

The tool gives you hundreds of questions to choose from. To keep this example going, if you’re a dentist or orthodontist, you may want to consider writing a blog post about how to floss with braces or why floss is better than mouthwash. Or you may even want to have a whole page dedicated to flossing and answer some of the most popular questions there.
The point is, your efforts in promoting your business will go much further if these types of natural language questions influence the content on your site. This is the kind of content voice searches are targeting.

Use Keywords in Moderation

This is another rule that’s been around for a few years now. However, many business owners and some marketers still haven’t embraced it. Keyword stuffing is out.
A surefire way to make your content look like spam is to jam as many keywords as possible into it. Not only does this read terribly to humans, but it also lowers your Quality Score with Google. Search bots will recognize that your keyword-laden content isn’t bringing any informational value to the table.
Obviously, keywords are still important. However, keep your focus keyword density between 0.5% and 2.5%. Any more than that will read poorly and degrade your content’s value. Additionally, sprinkle in a variety of other relevant keywords, too, because Google’s LSI will now recognize them as synonyms in the context of your page. This means you can write naturally and still score big SEO points.

Above All, Make the Content Good

The goal of your online marketing efforts is to attract new customers. While it’s certainly important to rank well with search engines and their mystical algorithms, you ultimately want to gain the trust and interest of real people. So whatever you do, make sure you write your content in a clear, compelling way.
If you cringe at the idea of writing all your content yourself (What? You’re not a nerd like me?), you do have some loopholes available. Mainly, you can have someone else write your content for you! Many marketers and freelance writers offer ghost writing services.
A large number of business owners find ghost writing worth the small investment because it means:

They get high-quality content that appeals to both search engines and humans.
They save their energy for other projects.
They spend evenings with their families instead of on the computer.
They avoid bone-chilling flashbacks to high school essay assignments.

So whether you choose the DIY route or the ghost writing route, our advice is still the same: Create content your audience wants to read, write it naturally, and don’t overdo it with the keywords.
Good luck!
And just for fun, here’s a quote from Search Engine Land’s report on an April 2016 keynote address by Google’s director of conversational search:

Google’s goal is to emulate the Star Trek computer, which allowed users to have conversations with the computer while accessing all of the world’s information at the same time.

The future is here.

Targeted Online Marketing Reaps Rewards for Glass Services

Last Updated: December 19, 2016

People used to look for area businesses in the phone book. Not anymore. Today they use search engines to find everything from pizza delivery to local service providers, including glass companies.
Keyword data shows that thousands of local monthly searches are taking place for a number of general glass-related keywords:

Glass replacement = 368,000 searches
Window replacement = 450,000 searches
Glass company = 110,000 searches

This solid search traffic is the reason that organic lead generation usually works quite well for glass companies.
But did you know that having the right content on your site can make a huge difference in the success of your glass company’s online marketing campaign?

Reach More Consumers

Even if you have great traffic to your website for general glass keywords, you could still be missing out on even more potential customers. That’s because glass cutting and replacement is a varied enough industry that there are thousands of specific, targeted searches taking place each month.
Consumers are searching online for much more than just “glass replacement” or “glass company.” They’re looking for “custom mirrors,” “glass for table top,” “glass cutting,” and many other targeted items and services. If your website is focused only on general glass replacement, it’s unlikely to rank well on search results pages when people are looking for things like mirrors or tabletops.

Specific Content for Specific Searches

On the other hand, if you target more specific glass services on your website, you can reel in customers who want particular types of glass. By going into a little more detail about your individual glass services, your website is more likely to rank for those targeted keywords. Adding a page focused on custom mirror cutting or including a page about table glass replacement, for instance, can help ensure your site shows up in searches for general glass services keywords AND those types of targeted searches as well.
After all, you wouldn’t want to miss out on this kind of local monthly search traffic:

Glass cutting = 74,000 searches
Custom mirrors = 14,800 searches
Glass for table top = 74,000 searches

Make sure you’re adequately advertising all of your glass services online. Not certain you’re targeting the right keywords? Interested in adding content about custom mirrors or glass cutting to your website? Prospect Genius can help.
Give us a call today! We can answer your questions and provide a free assessment to help ensure you’re reaching the full range of consumers looking for glass services in your area.

Looking Ahead: Our Online Marketing Predictions for 2017

Last Updated: December 8, 2016

At the end of the year, we find it useful to take stock of all the industry developments we’ve observed over the past 12 months and try to predict what trends the new year will bring. Understanding the industry’s online marketing predictions for 2017 is the best way to make sure you start the new year on the right foot.
So let’s get right into it. Here are the most significant online marketing predictions for 2017 you need to know about.

1. Putting a Premium on User Experience

Industry experts widely agree that search engines like Google are putting an increasing premium on user experience. Google is shaping its algorithms to accommodate what search users want and expect from their web browsing experience.
And here’s how Sam Oh of Entrepreneur.com describes the expectations of today’s users:

People are no longer satisfied with good speeds and reasonably navigable sites. They now expect websites with nigh on instantaneous load times and sites that are easier to navigate than the back of your own hand.

Oh adds that Google is showing “clear favoritism” toward websites that fulfill these expectations. Google prefers sites that have a low bounce rate and more time spent on each page, which indicate that a site loads quickly, is optimized for mobile devices, and provides whatever information the user is looking for. We’ll discuss these points in depth in the next two online marketing predictions for 2017.

2. Favoring Mobile Usability Even More

Google has already shown a preference for mobile-optimized sites this year, as the volume of mobile searches overtakes desktop searches. What you’ll need to look out for in 2017 is how the definition of “optimized” has shifted.
“Mobile optimized” used to mean your webpages were formatted to shrink and fit a mobile device screen with relatively easy navigation and readability. Now, it means your mobile pages must load super fast and bear very little resemblance to your desktop pages. They must be streamlined with menus and buttons that can be easily found and tapped on a small touch screen. Frankly, design elements left over from a desktop page have no place on a mobile page. Desktop elements will only encumber the usability and speed of a mobile page, thus lowering its SEO value.
These new, ultra-fast mobile pages are referred to as “accelerated mobile pages,” or AMPs for short. And they’re all the rage.
Writing for Forbes.com, R.L. Adams says that, as a result, you’ll want to start designing webpages in 2017 with a “mobile-first” approach, rather than adapting a desktop site for mobile after the fact:

By building a mobile-first design, you’re looking into the future and ensuring that you’re conforming to Google’s wishes. Those wishes are steeped in reality because mobile devices have become so important in our lives, that you simply can’t overlook mobile usability when thinking about SEO, especially when talking about SEO for the future.

Therefore, giving users a faster, more satisfying mobile search experience is at the top of Google’s priorities. Make sure you factor this into your online marketing in 2017.

3. Relying on Natural Language in Searches

Furthering its drive to deliver a better user experience, Google introduced an algorithm (called Hummingbird) that uses natural-language processing to match the meanings of similar words and phrases in search queries. Known as Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), this system places more value on content and natural language over exact keyword matches.
Why are keywords taking a backseat to natural language? Because more people now use their smartphone’s voice commands to search rather than manually type searches into their browser. People tend to ask complete questions instead of speaking in disjointed keywords.
For example, a couple of years ago, if someone was looking for a local restaurant, they would manually type their search term into the browser using keywords. It would look like this: “restaurants Albany NY.” But now, people are more likely to vocally ask Siri or their Android devices to do their searching for them. The same search for a restaurant now sounds like this: “What are the best restaurants in Albany, NY?” This is what we mean by “natural language.”
What impact will this have on your website? Essentially, your content must be detailed, dense, informative, and generally well written. This has always been the case to some extent, but it’s truer than ever now. In order to be favored on search results pages, your site needs more than a bunch of matching keywords. It needs lots of relevant and valuable content so it can be picked up by Google’s natural language processor.
While Google was already moving toward natural language this past year, you can expect an increasing emphasis on it in 2017.

Give Users What They Want

Again, our online marketing predictions for 2017 boil down to one thing: user experience. To enjoy online marketing success in the coming year, you’ll have to help search engines like Google improve user experience. Accelerated mobile pages and natural language processing are two very significant ways Google seeks to do this. Adapt your online marketing to fit these trends.
Good luck!

Prospect Genius