Home Services SEO: The Ultimate Ranking Recipe for 2025

Are you part of a home services company doing SEO?

How many times have you thrown stuff at a wall and hoped it sticks?

• Corporate-style SEO plans could waste your precious money and energy.
• If you do 3 items without the other 2, you won’t have a full dish! 
• We’ll talk through how much each of these is important and in what quantity.

This clean and clear recipe will give you exactly what you need to do, and in what order to make sure your SEO efforts aren’t wasted. 

1. Prioritize your money making keywords

2 Teaspoons (consider it like baking soda: it doesn’t take a ton, but it has to be there for it to taste right.) 

What single term (or topic of terms) would make you the most money if you could rank #1? Usually service + location. Failing to prioritize and focus your efforts is one of the main mistakes DIYers make.

2. Lay Your Foundation In Technical SEO

Half a cup (Shouldn’t be more than 20% of your effort, but needs to be correct.)

From proper indexation to core web vitals; take every potential advantage from a technical SEO standpoint. Tasks include (but are not limited to): noindexing thin & duplicate content, site speed, schema, optimizing meta titles & descriptions, removing orphaned pages, fixing redirects, etc. While there is a learning curve, taking your time to get this right will magnify your ability to win in the following steps.

3. Build Location Service Pages & Topical Authority

2 Cups (Content is the biggest component of SEO – if the rest of the items are on place, this lever can be mashed to 11)

Start by creating Service pages targeting all cities in your service area: ie. Minneapolis Roofing. Use keyword research to find as many topics related to your prioritized service as possible. Then, write blog posts for each of them and publish them once per week. Do not skip this step – you can’t rank on Google without creating targeted posts and pages.

4. Build Both Internal & External Links

1 Cup (Has to be in place, but once you get 10 good links, this becomes a little lower priority. Most home service businesses do not have 10 good links though)

As you write blog posts, link your blog posts and service pages to each other whenever relevant. As your blog content starts to drive more traffic, you should look to earn external links to your winning content. These links serve as votes of confidence and act as a force multiplier on your existing SEO efforts.

5. Optimize Old / Underperforming Content

The Frosting (This is one of the best places you can place your effort for flavor and delight. Hugely useful to make an excellent tasting SEO plan.) 

As you continue to create new content, go back and improve existing posts that didn’t perform as well as you would have liked. Leveling up ones on the second page of Google can be quick winners.

5 Key Elements of Home Services SEO

Website Optimization: For successful home services SEO, your website should be mobile-friendly, load quickly, and offer user-friendly navigation. These factors not only improve user experience but also positively impact your search engine ranking.

Keyword Research: Identify keywords relevant to your home services business. These should be words or phrases your potential customers are using to find services like yours.

On-Page SEO: Implement your chosen keywords in meta tags, HTML tags, and throughout your website content. This tells search engines what your website is about.

Off-Page SEO: This involves actions taken outside your website, like building quality backlinks and guest posting, which can improve your website’s authority and ranking.

Local SEO: Optimize your Google My Business profile, ensure Name, Address, Phone number (NAP) consistency across the web, and garner positive customer reviews. These actions help improve local search rankings.

7 Common Mistakes People Make With Home Services SEO

1. Neglecting Local SEO

Mistake: Home services are location-dependent, but many businesses neglect local SEO, focusing only on general SEO practices.

Solution: Make sure you’re optimizing for local search. This includes setting up and maintaining a Google My Business account, ensuring NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistency across online platforms, and encouraging customer reviews.

2. Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Mistake: Many home service businesses overlook the importance of mobile optimization, leading to a poor mobile user experience.

Solution: Your website should be responsive, meaning it adjusts to fit any screen size. Speed is also important; your pages should load quickly to maintain user interest.

3. Overlooking Keyword Research

Mistake: Some businesses fail to conduct proper keyword research, resulting in irrelevant or highly competitive keywords that don’t convert well.

Solution: Find out what terms your potential customers are using to find services like yours. Utilize keyword research tools to identify high-value, relevant keywords.

4. Keyword Stuffing

Mistake: Keyword stuffing, or the overuse of keywords, can lead to penalties from search engines.

Solution: Keywords should be incorporated naturally into your content. Focus on creating valuable content for your audience first, then find organic ways to include your keywords.

5. Neglecting Quality Content

Mistake: Some home service businesses underestimate the power of quality content. They either produce thin content or don’t update their content regularly.

Solution: Regularly produce high-quality, informative, and engaging content. How-to guides, blog posts, case studies, and service updates can position your business as a trusted authority.

6. Failing to Leverage Online Reviews

Mistake: Not utilizing online reviews to improve their local ranking and credibility.

Solution: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. Respond to reviews professionally, showing potential customers your dedication to quality service.

7. Ignoring Analytics

Mistake: Some businesses fail to analyze their performance, missing opportunities to refine their SEO strategy.

Solution: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor your traffic, rankings, and other key metrics. Adjust your strategy based on the data.