SEO for electricians - anyone recommend companies?

[timlodge]

Hello guys,

55 year old electrician here, been doing this for 30+ years but struggling with all this internet stuff. Used to get all my work from word of mouth but not as good as it used to be. (or I'm past it lol). Been looking at these SEO companies and one called (spam link removed) keeps coming up. Anyone used them or similar they could recommend to me please. Or just general advice with this whole thing of ranking locally? Or if we are all doomed cause of AI lol.

Anyone been in same boat? Did you sort it yourself or pay someone? I can rewire a house no problem but this Google stuff has me beat.
Based in Gateshead if that makes any difference.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[Murdochcat]

My tuppence

You don’t want to be too high up the ranking as I found that you get lots of people wanting a price over the phone which rarely turned into work .

My website had my home address on every page which meant people could tell how local I was

And ATM it seems LOTS of trades are struggling to get work - as customers have tightened their belts

 

[timlodge]

Thanks for that - really helpful to hear from someone who's actually been through it. That's a good point about being too high up, hadn't thought about that side of it. Getting lots of tyre kickers on the phone would drive me mad lol


The home address thing makes sense too - I'll get that sorted on my website

 

[Murdochcat]

Adding your home address prominently will help. I always avoid other trades where their business card and or website doesn’t declare their address

 

[securespark]

Yes!

I have noticed loads of sparks (well trades in general) don't mention their address at all, not even a land line number and their "website" is Bookface.

I had a proper, if very basic, website, with a photo, address, landline number, mobile, fax (yes, it was back in the day).

I hadn't got anything to hide.

I'm going to want a spark in the next 12 months to do an EICR and fit me a new board...it'll be fun picking someone to do that!

 

[mrrusty]

The home address thing makes sense too - I'll get that sorted on my website

Personally, I wouldn't. Phone number, yes. Email yes, contact form yes, clear indication of the area you are in and operate in yes, but exact address "here's a house full of tools", - maybe not.

You can spend £££££ chasing SEO, but for tradespeople I would suggest making sure there is plenty of "copy" on your website, with lots of "long tail search terms" ( i.e. the words and phrases that people might use to refine a search - for example, they might search for "reliable electrician in [village] to install new fuse box" (use the terms punters might use as well as the correct terms). bury these phrases in general copy. Think about the services you offer and detail them somewhere in the text.

If you are operating in a very specific area, consider using google adwords for search terms in that very precise area - be very careful with adwords though, they can get very expensive, but well screwed down you could plan e.g. to spend £100 a month, and the fact you are using adwords will help google to promote your site. You might, for example use "electrician in [your village]" as an exact phrase keyword, but you definitely want to avoid your ad being shown just for the search term "electrician".

I would NOT pay someone to do SEO. the return on the investment will be poor.

BTW, I run our Company website (£7M TO business), and employ an agency for pay-per-click ads, but have found most of the seo I have done myself. If you really need help, I would try and find a student who is studying website creation and pay them beer money to help set-up or perhaps ask on a local facebook or next door forum if there are any people helping tradespeople with websites.

 

[jj4091]

My tuppence



And ATM it seems LOTS of trades are struggling to get work - as customers have tightened their belts

That's differnt to our area, self employed tradesmen are like hens teeth due to them all packing in and going to work in the local shipyard who are paying megabucks to get enough staff to build there subs. Not that far from Gateshead but not a place I would recommend. There are lots of Geordies over here though.

 

[matlob]

Have a you set up a google business profile that links to your website. That is a good way to get local people to find you as you'll then come up on the map and local results when people type in electrician gateshead.

 

[flameport]

SEO companies

are a total crock.

Generally it's stuff the website full of junk so that theoretically you are at the top of results for a very specific phrase which no real person ever searched for.
Until tomorrow when someone else does the same for some other site using similar words.

Search results from Google and others are highly specific to the person doing the search, so someone claiming you are at the top of results is totally meaningless - which results and to who are those results being shown?

You can of course just pay Google to have your advert displayed for certain criteria. You will then get lots of calls from companies selling you more worthless advertising and related services, and those who are foolish enough to sign up to any of that automatically go on a suckers list and will receive 100% junk calls and other contacts for the rest of their lifetime.

 

[flameport]

trusted (spam link removed) or local expert

That Toronto shyster and other SEO companies are a sack of crap, charge way too much, provide nothing and should be removed from existence, particularly as they resort to spam posts on a forum based in an entirely different continent to peddle their unwanted services.

 

[Notch7]

55 year old electrician here, been doing this for 30+ years but struggling with all this internet stuff

Nah, It’s more likely you are a 23 year old Indian guy being paid for spamming

 

[Elsa TLC]

Nah, It’s more likely you are a 23 year old Indian guy being paid for spamming

Have you got the X ray spectacles that can see over Land and sea?

(*^^*)(^.^)(^-^)(^-^)/(^^)d(^_^)(^_^)v(^o^)＼(^^)／:->＼(^-^)／＼(^_^)／(^ー^)(^○^)d=(^o^)=b(⌒‐⌒)(￣ー￣)o(^o^)op(^^)qp(^-^)q( ﾟーﾟ)(　＾ω＾)( ＾ω＾ )(　＾▽＾)(　＾∀＾)(　＾Д＾)( ￣ー￣)( ￣▽￣)( ´,_ゝ`)

 

[stuartb3502]

I don't know about SEO electricians per se, but I have created a handful of websites and done SEO for those including my wife's small business (I've also 30 years plus in IT).

She ranks highly in her local area despite the most recent business being newer and smaller than others.

If you want to have a go, I'd suggest perhaps a website which includes not only the usual basics, but a handful of content pieces (e.g. How to or examples of jobs carried out).

Ideally you want a way to build the website with something that allows you to add keywords and SEO terms (each page has something called a meta tag, for example, saying what it's about). Wordpress is one way to do that as there are plug-ins which make it much easier (e.g. Yoast).

The keywords and descriptions should match the content and all content should make reference to the local areas you work in if that's what you are targeting. Build it into every page and the SEO tags on the page.

In addition, create Google Maps/ Business entries and link those to your website. Consider creating a Facebook page which does the same, plus any options you can find for linking to your website (free or otherwise).

Lastly and most importantly, gather reviews on your Google Maps page from customers (preferably satisfied ones ). This will drag your site ranking up.

 

[ericmark]

I am only a user of tradesmen now, and if I see they use one of the sites other than the scheme membership sites needed to register work, I assume they are either just starting up, or rubbish, so avoid them.

I know from my daughter using them, that the so-called guarantee about workmanship is not really there, there is really no check on if the so-called tradesman can do what he says he can do.

As to Google, yes I also have problems, in the main it really helps, hand full of coffee, hey Google turn on landing light, is a really handy tool, but when it goes wrong, and replies turning on 16 items, one wonders oh dear, what has it turned on, and once you can put the coffee down, one needs to go into google home and turn the items off again.

I would not really want to set up Google in someone else's house. It turns on fans and lights, no power hungry items, so having a few lights switch on which I don't require is not really a problem. I have thought about using a socket adaptor on the kettle, so boiled ready when adverts start on TV. But it is an auto switch off kettle, so no real problem if it turns on at the wrong time.

But as an electrician, not been asked to set up Google for someone else. Is that now part of a domestic electricians job?

 

[Elsa TLC]

I don't know about SEO electricians per se, but I have created a handful of websites and done SEO for those including my wife's small business (I've also 30 years plus in IT).

She ranks highly in her local area despite the most recent business being newer and smaller than others.

If you want to have a go, I'd suggest perhaps a website which includes not only the usual basics, but a handful of content pieces (e.g. How to or examples of jobs carried out).

Ideally you want a way to build the website with something that allows you to add keywords and SEO terms (each page has something called a meta tag, for example, saying what it's about). Wordpress is one way to do that as there are plug-ins which make it much easier (e.g. Yoast).

The keywords and descriptions should match the content and all content should make reference to the local areas you work in if that's what you are targeting. Build it into every page and the SEO tags on the page.

In addition, create Google Maps/ Business entries and link those to your website. Consider creating a Facebook page which does the same, plus a

y options you can find for linking to your website (free or otherwise).

Lastly and most importantly, gather reviews on your Google Maps page from customers (preferably satisfied ones ). This will drag your site ranking up.

I agree, Very important, but Ill add that you want genuine believable feedback..

If a customer leaves me a review Ive asked them to give a description of the area they live and of the work I've done.
Even asked my non English customers to leave me a review in their language.

Ive had so many offers of fake reviews from so called companies put together to give fake reviews for a fee.
I would never entertain this.

Ive had friends offering to do me a review. I always decline unless I really have done work for them.