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Use this quick guide to SEO for cleaning companies to help you organically grow your website, establish your authority, and expand your reach.
Since most people research online before converting, it's important that your website is on the first page of Google.
For example, when visitors search for "house cleaning in [Your City]," you want your website to show up first. Otherwise, they might never click on you.
However, the only way to get your website to rank high in Google is by utilizing SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Sound a bit too technical for you? Well, I have some good news... and some great news.
The good: You can do most of your own SEO in-house.
The great: After reading this quick guide to SEO for cleaning companies, you can be an SEO expert.
When leads find your cleaning business on Google, they're actively searching for a solution to their problem. In other words, they're ready to buy, so let's make sure they find you!
In this quick guide to SEO for cleaning companies, we’ll break down what you can do to boost yourself through the ranks of Google results in three, easy-to-implement steps.
Since SEO starts with the right keywords, this first step is arguably one of the most important things you'll do.
After all, when you optimize your cleaning website with the right keywords, you'll be able to rank higher in any search result.
Plus, the right keywords will help you get higher quality leads (instead of random leads who're just browsing).
Take a look at some of the main changes you can make to your website to instantly help you rank higher:
When you choose a specific and simple domain name, your cleaning business will be more easily discoverable and memorable.
For example, if your cleaning business was in Dallas and was named Sunrise Cleaning, you’d want some thing like: sunrisecleaningdallas.com. However, you wouldn't want to choose something as vague as: sunrise.com.
If possible, include your location in your domain name. In turn, this will help connect your cleaning business to the area you serve.
By the way, this same strategy also applies to your cleaning business name. Make sure your business' name is specific and simple too!
As you choose a domain name, think about what your ideal cleaning clients are searching for in order to find residential or commercial cleaning services in your area.
Plus, you can use Google Keyword Planner to see the average monthly volume of searches a certain word or phrase is getting.
For example, since Sunrise Maid Service Dallas is getting such a high volume of searches every month, it may be the best bet for a company in Dallas.
Keep in mind, when you add a keyword in the Keyword Planner, you can also ask Google to give you “More Like This." Pick this option to see if you’re missing something, or if word order is super important.
If you look above, I initially searched “Dallas maid service” and only got 320 queries per month. However, when I used Google’s “More Like This” option, it swapped around word order and found “maid service Dallas,” which has a much higher search volume.
Bottom Line: Choose a single keyword or phrase to focus on in your domain name. You’ll use it throughout your website so you want to target a specific, high yield phrase and get to the top of the results for it.
Your page title also shows up in the tabs of your browser.
A page title is what shows up on the tab when you look at a page. A lot of times, the default for a website’s homepage is: “Home | Sunrise Cleaning”. Don’t stick with this default.
Here’s the real reason it matters: The page name also shows up in Google results. Potential clients are searching for a cleaning company in your area, and they'll see a mix of results.
Your page titles are the first text that your potential clients will see from you. Use that text to start selling your cleaning business!
Take a look at what our blog looks like in Google results:
You can see that we’re giving our name (Service Autopilot), what we’re doing (blogging about business advice), and who it’s for (service entrepreneurs).
“Home | Sunrise Cleaning” gives the potential client your name... and nothing else:
Here’s a better page title:
“Sunrise Cleaning | The Premier Maid Service in Dallas”
This tells the potential client:
As a result, you'll stand out from the endless sea of your competitors and their sloppily constructed search results.
Always remember, kick default names to the curb, and use the first line (i.e. page title) potential clients see as a proper introduction.
Page descriptions also appear in Google results. You can find your page description below the page title and URL in the search results.
For the SA blog, it reads: “Best business practices, trade secrets, and interviews with some of the most successful Service Business Entrepreneurs. Read more on the SA Blog!”
The page description is your second line of information for people thinking about clicking into your site. It communicates in more detail what you've already said in your page title, which hopefully earns the click.
Plus, you don’t have to be code-savvy to fix or update your page descriptions.
For example, if you’re managing your site through WordPress, you can add the Yoast SEO plug-in to make editing your page titles and descriptions much simpler. Plus, Yoast is a free plug-in tool.
Here’s what Yoast’s Snippet Editor looks like:
You type your title and description, then Yoast shows you what it will look like in Google. What you see is what you get!
When you use a plug-in like this, the process for changing the copy on your page descriptions is super simple. Also, if you use Yoast, it'll even give you suggestions for utilizing SEO on each page of your site.
Every page of your cleaning website matters for SEO because every page affects every other page’s visibility.
First off, every page of your website should include your NAP (name, address, and phone number). When you include your NAP at the bottom of every page, you're telling your leads and clients how to contact you.
Next, you need to list your services and include keywords on every page. However, this doesn't mean you'll provide a literal list of cleaning services on every page. Instead, include your main keyword (e.g. "Maid Service Dallas) on every page.
Then, on at least one page, you should have a list of every service you offer. In turn, whenever leads search for one of your services, for example "carpet cleaning Dallas," they'll discover you if it's a service you offer.
Finally, you need to include local information. Take it a step beyond including your area of service and list the sections of town (e.g. neighborhoods or suburbs serviced), local sports teams, and maybe even a park or other unique landmarks near your office.
You can easily include your local information by including it in your "About Us" page or employee bio pages.
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Once you’ve implemented the SEO strategies we just talked about, you’re ready to begin cross-linking to other reputable websites.
By cross-linking to other websites, you'll be able to improve your credibility with potential customers, assuming you’re linking to something that’s:
However, you don’t want to engage in “link stuffing” (someone unnaturally stuffs links into every word of the page). Google picks up on link stuffing, which can actually hurt your website rankings.
Take a look at some good examples of link building you can use on your cleaning business’ website:
Far more important than who you know... is who knows you.
For example, if I’m outside the White House, and I tell them I know the President, they say, “Everyone knows the President, Cody. Go away.”
However, if the President walks outside and says, “Hey Cody, c’mon in, let’s talk.” Everyone is suddenly impressed with me.
In the same way, links on your website are you saying, “I know the President.” However, links to your website from a good website are the President saying, “I know you.”
These are the Kings of All Links, and you want them... A LOT.
Local news, print, and television are great ways to get outside links. When something big is happening and you're an expert, get in touch with the local station/paper, and get them interested in talking to you.
For instance, cleaners in Houston and areas affected by the 2017 hurricane who know how to treat mold (or save a family heirloom that got wet) could do a story with a local station about those tips.
You’ve seen people on the local news (especially on the morning news) give “life pro tips.” You can become the station’s go-to expert on that topic. Then, they’ll call when they need someone with your skillset.
Plus, any story you do with a news outlet will have an online companion, especially if it’s a newspaper. Ask for a link to your website in the story. Even if no one clicks that link to check out your site (though, unlikely), it still gets you a link from a big, important, local website.
Google’s “crawlers” will notice this shiny new link, and they’ll reward you with a bump to your website’s rank.
Additionally (and unrelated to SEO), appearing in local media makes you the de facto expert on cleaning in your area. In turn, people will recognize your cleaning company just from the appearances.
As a result, when you become more recognizable, it provides authority and credibility with potential clients, which sells your cleaning services automatically.
Much easier than appearing on television or in the paper, link to your website in your newsletter and in all emails to clients.
Plus, your newsletter can periodically remind people to check out your household cleaning tips page. You can even include a link to your homepage in your email signature.
While these links won't be as valuable as getting your site on a more reputable site (like the local news), it'll still increase traffic to your site, which will help your Google ranking.
Bottom Line: In order to determine the searches you're relevant to, Google looks at who you link to and who links to you. As a result, you need to stay in your wheelhouse: local businesses and cleaning topics. Focus on those two kinds of links, and you’ll increase your Google rankings in no time.
You can do everything we’ve discussed above but if you miss this, you’ll completely miss the boat.
Your website can only get you so far. There are other places where your cleaning business needs to be online in order to succeed.
Chief among them is Facebook. If you don’t have a business page on Facebook, you need to create one as soon as possible.
Not only are Facebook Ads for cleaning businesses super easy, but it’s also an incredibly fast way to gain new clients. Plus, it gives you another place to ask for 5-star reviews for your cleaning business - which is useful, since most leads look at several reviews before converting.
Remember, reviews help convince people to buy AND Google factors the number and quality of reviews into your cleaning business’ page rank.
Business directories are like digital phone books (if phone books were self-replicating and created dozens of smaller, more specific phone books).
In turn, you want to claim your cleaning business on Google and at least one of the other options listed below.
The only one on the list that people directly visit is Google. However, the others are used by Google and similar services to populate their listings on other sites like Yellow Pages, Foursquare, Yelp, and etc.
Keep your listings up-to-date with any phone number or business hours changes. This ensure that the information that potential clients (or existing ones!) access is correct - no matter where they find it.
Instant invoicing
Better scheduling
Manage your clients and employees all in one system
When you follow this three-part strategy to SEO for cleaning companies, you greatly increase your visibility in search results.
In other words, more “ready to buy” clients will see you FIRST.
The best part is that most of the advice in this post is free to follow! The main investment is your time, on which you’ll have a significant return.
Don’t spend another day on Page 5 of the Google search results for cleaning companies in your area.
Now, get out there and put your knowledge of the best practices of SEO for cleaning companies to good use!
Related: How to Build the Best Cleaning Website for Your Business
Originally published March 29, 2019 7:00 AM, updated Aug 3, 2021 12:07 PM
Tags: Business Operation
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