Updated on August 17, 2023
As you already know, mold removal is a critical service for homes and businesses, which is why it is important that your company is easily and quickly found online by potential customers.
If you are looking to drive more leads to your mold removal company without breaking the bank, then search engine optimization is the way to go. Plus, with 83% of the small businesses that use SEO reporting it as an effective marketing tactic, you shouldn’t be missing out on it.
However, if you haven’t had the time or resources to attempt search marketing, you’re not alone—1 in 5 businesses fall into this boat. It’s our hope that the tips in this article will encourage you to give SEO the chance it deserves!
In this blog post, we will discuss how you can use SEO to rank organically for crucial search terms in your area and bring in more leads. We'll also cover some tips on how to convince potential customers that your mold removal company is the best one for the job.
Of course, you are not the first nor the last mold removal company to look into improving your organic ranking on Google. Everyone is fighting for the same search engine results page (SERP) ranking, which means you need to go the extra mile to push to the top.
This article will get you started on improving your ranking and bringing in more organic traffic. But, if you want to become a true SEO wizard, we recommend checking out some of these in-depth SEO books after mastering the techniques in this blog!
We truly believe that if you take the time to implement these tips, you will almost certainly see a constant source of high-quality mold remediation leads coming to you on a daily basis.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results pages.
The higher a website appears in SERPs, the more likely it is to be clicked on by users. In other words, SEO is all about getting your website to show up in front of potential customers who are in need of your services.
Modern SEO focuses on creating quality content that is easily accessible to users and relevant to what they are searching for. Good SEO also takes into account the user experience, making sure that visitors to a site can easily find what they are looking for and that the site is easy to use.
But why is this so important?
Well, consider this: according to a study by Chitika Insights, the first result in Google's search results gets 33% of all traffic from that particular search. The second result gets 18%, while the third gets 11%. The numbers go down from there.
This data shows that appearing at the top of SERPs is essential if you want people to visit your website. And that's where SEO comes in.
By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your chances of ranking high in SERPS and getting noticed by potential visitors.
To fully understand how to help small businesses succeed with SEO, we first needed to learn what those businesses find the most challenging about it.
In our 2022 survey on the state of search marketing, we found that small businesses find 3 parts of SEO equally challenging. Each of these elements received 24% of the votes:
With that in mind, here are a few quick tips on how your mold removal company can overcome these common SEO hurdles.
One of the biggest challenges that small businesses have with SEO is also one of the most crucial elements of a successful SEO strategy.
In order to write content that is working toward your end goal of getting noticed by the right people, you need to understand how to research keywords and implement them into your website content.
Fortunately, there are tons of SEO tools out there that can help you discover new keywords, many without needing to carve out a chunk of your marketing budget. Free tools like Google Keyword Planner will help you get started and tools like SEMRush and Wordstream will take your strategy to the next level.
As you likely already know, one of the biggest hindrances for small businesses trying to reach new customers is limited resources.
Whether that means you have a small budget, limited manpower, or are spending the majority of your time out in the field, you need a way to implement SEO strategies without the excess of resources many large companies have.
This is another great place to implement external SEO tools that can help you capitalize on the resources you have available. Additionally, you might consider connecting with a third-party marketing agency to help take your SEO strategy to the next level.
The final challenge that businesses face with SEO is staying on top of Google’s ever-changing algorithms.
This can be a frustrating and daunting task, as it can often feel like the second you get your feet underneath you with SEO, search engines make a major change that requires you to adjust your strategy.
There are a couple of key ways to stay on top of Google’s algorithm changes:
Now that you understand the biggest challenges small businesses face with SEO and how to overcome them, we can begin to dive into how you can implement a successful SEO strategy.
Getting started with SEO for your mold removal company can seem daunting, but it's actually not as complicated as it might first appear. The key is to have a clear idea of where your company can organically appear on Google.
There are 2 main places: Google Maps and search engine results pages (SERPs). If you're not sure where to begin, a good starting point is to make sure your website is optimized for both of these areas.
For the Maps results, this means having accurate and up-to-date information about your business, including your name, address, and phone number (NAP).
For the organic results, it's important to ensure that your website includes relevant keywords people are searching for when they're looking for a mold removal company.
We will dive into more detail on how to accomplish these tasks but grasping the concept of where you want to put your SEO efforts and why is an essential first step.
When someone is looking for a mold removal company, the primary place they're going to look is online. If you're not showing up on Google Maps, you're missing out on a lot of potential business.
Here's why: when someone does a search for "mold removal near me," the Google Maps results are the first thing that comes up. If you're not listed on Google Maps, you’re already missing out on a large proportion of potential customers.
Even if you are listed, if you don't have numerous positive reviews, photos, and updated services, people are less likely to choose your company. The top way to manage all of this is in your Google Business Profile.
A Google Business Profile is a free listing on Google that businesses can use to manage their online presence across Google products, including Maps and search.
Customers can use a company’s GBP to find business hours, make appointments, read reviews, see photos, and get directions. Most importantly: GBP is what Google uses to display your mold removal company's information on Google Maps.
Creating and maintaining a GBP is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. By claiming and optimizing your listing, you can improve your visibility in search results, attract new customers, and grow your business.
There are a number of key elements that your mold removal business can be sure to include in your Google Business Profile in order to encourage conversion and stand out among other mold remediation companies nearby.
Put simply, your business's NAP is the most important information that potential customers need to ensure you are the right mold removal company for the job: your accurate, up-to-date contact information, service hours, and location.
When it comes to SEO and your Google Business Profile, you also want to ensure you complete the "From the Business" section, select primary and secondary categories, and mark off all attributes that apply to you.
One of the first things that appears in the Google Maps listing for your mold removal company is the average star reviews of your business.
Studies have shown that 77% of consumers always or regularly read online reviews when browsing for local businesses, and 49% trust them as much as a recommendation from a friend or family member.
Given the importance of referrals and reviews, it's essential for local businesses to get as many reviews as possible.
Fortunately, 71% of consumers are likely to leave a review if the company makes it easy for them to do so. This means that by simply providing a link to your Google review page in thank you emails, you’re that much closer to generating those key testimonials.
It’s also crucial that you reply to every review you receive—even the bad ones.
When potential customers see that a business is actively engaged with its customers, it builds trust and credibility.
When they see that a business is willing to listen to feedback and make improvements, it shows that the business is committed to providing a great experience.
So whether you're getting 5-star reviews or 1-star reviews, make sure to respond—it's one of the best ways to build a strong online presence and attract more customers.
In addition to providing basic contact information, businesses can also use their Google Business Profile to post updates, photos, coupons, and deals.
These frequent updates are important because they show customers that you are active and engaged. Best of all, these listings appear prominently in search results, giving businesses a valuable opportunity to reach potential customers.
By regularly adding new content and engaging with customers, you can show potential customers that you're invested in your business and encourage Google to show your GBP listing on Google Maps for relevant searches.
The next place your mold removal business can show up for potential customers is on the search engine results pages.
The listings on the SERPs are typically what people refer to when discussing improving organic search rankings. It’s also the most valuable real estate on the web.
Ultimately there are 2 goals that you want to achieve when improving your mold removal company's organic search ranking:
Appear as high up as possible on the first page of SERPs
Have a listing with a high likelihood that someone will click through and ultimately contact you for your services
Next, we'll talk about how to get started in that direction!
Anyone who has ever tried to improve their organic search ranking knows that it is no easy feat. There are a number of things to consider, from load speed to mobile compatibility, and it can be hard to know where to start.
However, if you focus on the most important technical aspects of your website and pair that with ensuring the content on your site is updated for keywords and readability, you will almost certainly see an improvement.
It takes time and effort, but it is worth it when you see your mold removal website moving up in the search results and start bringing in more and more new customers.
In the digital age, people are more and more likely to patronize businesses with high-quality, fast-loading websites that are secure and optimized for mobile.
It stands to reason then that if your website is lacking one or more of these crucial elements, you are losing key traffic. Plus, Google takes factors like load speed into account when determining your organic ranking.
So even if you have the strongest mold removal SEO strategy out there, without a high-performing website you are losing out.
Website security should be an integral part of any SEO strategy for multiple reasons.
Google takes website security into account when determining search rankings, so if your site is not secure, it is likely that it will rank lower in search results.
Additionally, website security helps to build trust with your users and encourages them to visit your site and recommend your business to others.
In today's world, more and more people are using their smartphones and other mobile devices to access the internet.
In fact, we found that 66% of consumers are mostly using their phones to research small businesses. We anticipate this number to continue to grow, which is why it's so important for you to make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
Additionally, mobile compatibility is a key ranking factor in SEO for your mold remediation business. Google and other search engines favor sites that are mobile-friendly, so if yours isn't, you're likely losing out on a lot of potential traffic.
Not to mention, mobile users are more likely to click away from a site that isn't optimized for their device, which can hurt your bounce rate and damage your reputation.
So if you want to boost your organic ranking, make sure your site is designed with mobile users in mind.
In today's fast-paced world, people have little patience for slow-loading websites.
Studies have shown that if a website takes more than a few seconds to load, users are likely to give up and move on to another site. Of course, if you’ve managed to get a potential customer all the way to your site, the last thing you want is for them to leave due to a technical factor.
Given the importance of speed, it's no surprise that website load time is now a key ranking factor for search engines. In fact, Google has stated that "site speed is a ranking signal."
This means that if your website is slow, it's not just frustrating for users, it could also be hurting your SEO. There are a number of ways to improve and monitor your website's speed, including optimizing images, minifying code, and regularly checking load speed.
By making a few simple changes, you can help ensure that your website loads quickly and ranks high in search results.
Metadata may seem like a small bit of code, but it plays a crucial role in any SEO strategy.
In its simplest form, metadata is code that is used to provide information about a webpage to search engines. This includes the page title, description, and keywords. While this code is not visible to users, it helps to tell search engines what the page is about and how it should be indexed.
Metadata is especially important for pages that are trying to rank for specific keywords. By including relevant keywords in the metadata, you can help search engines understand what the page is about and how it should be ranked.
For example, if you have a page about residential mold testing, you would want to include keywords such as "mold," "testing," and "residential." By doing this, you can improve your chances of ranking for these terms and driving organic traffic to your site.
While metadata is just one piece of the puzzle, it's an important one.
If you're serious about mold removal SEO, make sure you're paying attention to your website's metadata. It could make all the difference in your organic ranking and traffic levels.
In today's competitive online landscape, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your website's content is well-written and optimized for search engines.
By carefully selecting the right keywords and using them throughout your website's content, you can make sure that your site appears higher up in SERPs when people are looking for mold removal in your area.
Another important element of effective website content is conciseness. Long, rambling paragraphs will quickly lose readers' interest, so it is important to focus on quality over quantity.
With only 14% of businesses prioritizing both on- and off-page tactics, you have a clear opportunity to get ahead of the competition by finding a way to use both avenues in your SEO strategy.
Keep these elements in mind when writing new content for your website or auditing what you already have:
Now that you have put in the due diligence to get your mold removal website ranking organically, the new customers should start rolling in, right? Not necessarily.
Even if your website appears at or near the top of search results, you still need to make sure searchers are clicking on your site listing over any of the handful of others on the SERPs.
When searchers see your mold removal listing in the search results, you want to give them as much information as possible about what they will find on your website.
Schema markup is one way to do this. Schema markup is code that you can add to your website to help search engines better understand the information on your website. This can include things like your business hours, price ranges, and customer reviews.
Adding schema markup to your mold remediation website can help your listing stand out in the search results and encourage searchers to click through to your website, thus helping improve your click-through rate and organic traffic.
What does that mean? Take a look at the following example:
Implementing an SEO strategy for your mold removal business can seem daunting, but it is well worth the effort.
By following the tips in this article, you will be able to show up accurately on Google Maps and increase your organic ranking on Google through optimized content and a high-quality website.
If you’re looking for even more info on SEO and marketing overall, we have plenty of additional resources to help you succeed.
Download our free marketing guide today for even more helpful advice about how to drive traffic and leads to your business through SEO. Thanks for reading!