Anthony from Ohana Clean in Minneapolis, MN, recently reached out to the BookCleaningJobs team to have his website reviewed for ideas to improve his SEO and increase his website’s ranking. When it comes to search engine optimization for local companies like carpet cleaners, there is more to the picture than just your website.

In this blog post, we’ll cover the best SEO practices that can help carpet cleaning businesses attract more leads and customers. We’ll also talk about how to improve your website’s usability so that you can capture more leads. And finally, we’ll touch on how this fits into your carpet cleaning company’s overall marketing strategy.

The Basics of Optimizing a Website for SEO And Conversions

First, let's discuss the fundamentals of on-page and off-page SEO. Competing with big franchises in a city like Minneapolis requires a robust online presence. Upon reviewing Anthony's website, several key elements stood out that can significantly impact his SEO efforts.

• Headline and Keywords: A website’s headline should immediately inform visitors and search engines about the business. Anthony's headline, "The Best Carpet Cleaners in Minneapolis," effectively includes the main keyword "carpet cleaners in Minneapolis." This helps search engines understand the page's relevance to users' search queries.

• Unique Images: your website needs to be filled with your own personal photos (that you’ve taken yourself!). Stock photos won’t cut it from an SEO perspective - not in a competitive market. And even if you can convince Google to rank your site full of stock photography, your customers won’t get the sense that you’re a real local company. Take your own pics. Then give them useful file names, captions, and alt text including important keywords like “carpet cleaning Minneapolis.” And get them on your website. BONUS: upload videos to a YouTube channel for your cleaning company, them embed a video on each page of your website

• Service Pages: Dedicated service pages for each service, such as carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, and tile and grout cleaning, should be created. Each page should have a unique headline, detailed service description, relevant keywords, and high-quality images. This approach not only improves the website’s SEO but also provides more value to potential customers.

• Structured Data and Page Titles: Page titles and meta descriptions should be optimized with relevant keywords and calls to action. For instance, instead of just "Ohana Clean - Best Carpet Cleaning Service in Minneapolis," a more effective title could be "Ohana Clean - Best Carpet Cleaners in Minneapolis | Call Now for a Free Quote!" This encourages clicks and improves the click-through rate (CTR).

• Backlinks and Citations: Building backlinks from reputable sites and ensuring consistent citations across directories like Yelp, BBB, and Angie’s List can boost SEO. These links and citations validate the business's credibility to search engines.

Enhancing User Interaction

If you’re going to work on improving your search engine optimization to drive more traffic to your cleaning company’s website, then it only makes sense to invest in capturing as many leads as possible once visitors arrive on your page. A website that’s difficult to use or navigate can kill your conversion rates - which means you won’t get any customers from your website. Here are some ways to improve your website usability to improve interaction and conversion rates:

• Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Clear CTAs like "Get a Quote" are crucial. Anthony’s website effectively uses large red buttons, making it obvious what action visitors should take next. It's essential to prominently display the phone number, preferably in the upper right corner, and ensure it's clickable on mobile devices to increase the conversion rate.

• Mobile Optimization: Given that more than half of cleaner website traffic generally comes from mobile devices, ensuring the phone number is clickable and all essential information is easily accessible is critical. Anthony's website displays the phone number at the top on mobile, which is perfect, but making it larger and clickable would enhance the user experience.

• Chat Widgets: Interactive elements like chat widgets can help capture leads. While live chat is beneficial, a scripted chatbot can be more efficient by asking for the customer’s name, phone number, and cleaning needs before providing a quote. This approach engages visitors effectively without the need for continuous live monitoring.

The Importance of Google Business Profiles

Many business owners heavily focus on their website for SEO, often overlooking their Google Business Profile (GBP). For local businesses like carpet cleaning, the GBP is a critical piece of the SEO puzzle. Optimizing your Google profile can help you appear in local search results and on Google Maps.

• Optimizing Your Google Business Profile: 

  • Include main keywords in the business name (e.g., "Ohana Carpet Cleaning LLC").

  • Keep business information, such as address, phone number, and hours, up to date.

  • Regularly post updates and photos. Active profiles are more likely to rank higher.

  • Encourage customers to leave reviews. Anthony’s profile has 78 reviews with a 5.0-star rating, which is excellent. Consistent positive reviews signal to Google that the business is reputable.

Rounding Out Your SEO Strategy By Running Ads And Being Active On Social Media

While SEO is crucial, running Google Ads and social media ads simultaneously is also beneficial. That’s because ads can bring in immediate traffic while SEO efforts build up over time. Even after your SEO improves and you start to receive organic traffic, this isn’t going to generate enough new customers to sustain a healthy cleaning business.

When we look at cleaners across the country who work with BookCleaningJobs, about half of their new customers come from paid advertising. Only about one third come from organic traffic. And the rest come from a mix of social media, referrals, and direct traffic (maybe they saw your van on the road then went to your website).

A dual strategy ensures a steady stream of leads from both organic and paid sources.

SEO is a powerful tool to help carpet cleaning businesses grow, but it requires a strategic approach. By optimizing the website, enhancing user interaction, leveraging the Google Business Profile, and building a robust online presence, businesses can increase visibility and attract more customers. 

Ready to scale your cleaning business this year? Book a call with the cleaning industry experts at BookCleaningJobs!