Local SEO For Service Area Businesses: Targeting Your Coverage

For small, mobile, local businesses operating without a fixed storefront, navigating the world of local SEO can feel like charting uncharted territory.

Service area businesses (SABs) – think plumbers, electricians, mobile pet groomers, and the like – face unique challenges in establishing a strong online presence.

However, by understanding the nuances of local SEO for service area businesses and implementing the right strategies, you can effectively target your service areas and reach more customers than ever before.

This comprehensive guide will delve into the intricacies of local SEO for SABs, providing valuable insights, strategies, and best practices to help you effectively target your coverage area and maximize your online visibility to drive more local traffic and business.

Understanding Service Area Businesses

Service area businesses are those which travel to their customers’ locations to provide services.

Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, SABs don’t rely on foot traffic or a fixed storefront. Instead, their service area boundaries define their primary markets.

Common examples of SABs include:

• Plumbers.
• Electricians.
• HVAC technicians.
• Roofer.
• Mobile pet groomers.
• House cleaning services.
• Mobile paramedical services.
• Landscapers.

Challenges And Opportunities For SABs In Local SEO

SABs face unique challenges in local SEO due to the absence of a physical address to promote and establish authority for.

All local businesses have the challenge of establishing their localness and E-E-A-T, as found in Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines, and without a clearly defined base of operations, this can become a little more difficult.

However, this also presents opportunities to expand the business’ reach beyond a single location.

Challenges

• No storefront to attract local foot traffic: SABs can’t rely on traditional local SEO tactics like optimizing a Google Business Profile listing with a physical address pinned to a Google Map, thereby more naturally appearing in searches “near me,” which has become a very common local consumer query. However, read on, as GBP optimizations are still possible and highly recommended.
• Competition from businesses with storefronts: SABs often compete with both established businesses with a physical presence and other SABs in a local market.
• Clearly defining, targeting, and establishing authority within the desired service area: Accurately defining and targeting the service area is crucial for SABs to reach the right customers. However, this means having to prove to Google your business is effectively able to reach customers across a potentially wide service area, which may cross into the “territory” of multiple other service area businesses.

Opportunities:

• Wider reach: SABs can naturally target a broader geographic area compared to businesses with a fixed location.
• Flexibility: SABs can adjust their service areas based on customer demand and expanding business goals.
• Cost-effectiveness: SABs can typically operate with lower overhead costs compared to businesses with physical storefronts.

Read More: Local SEO For Non-Physical Businesses: Overcoming The Challenges

Key Strategies For Local SEO For SABs

To overcome the stated challenges and capitalize on the opportunities, SABs need to implement effective local SEO strategies.

This means ensuring they are incorporating and optimizing content in the areas where customers are searching.

According to a 2023 Brightlocal study, the top five most trusted platforms consumers use to find information about local businesses are Google (66%), Google Maps (45%), business websites (36%), Facebook (32%), and Yelp (32%). We’ll review if and how to address each as a key organic channel.

Here are some key strategies to consider:

1. You Can And Must Still Optimize Your Google Business Profile

For many businesses, a GBP is as, if not more, important than their corporate website.

A Think with Google study from 2019 points out “60% of smartphone users have contacted a business directly using the search results (e.g., “click to call” option)” and this has no doubt only continued to increase.

While SABs don’t have a physical storefront, they can still leverage GBP to enhance online visibility. Here’s how:

Create A GBP Profile

Even without a storefront, you must create a GBP profile and select the “service-area business” option.

Under this option, you will add but hide your address and then select up to 20 service areas you cover based on city or postal code.

Important note from Google Help:

“The boundaries of your overall area should not extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.”

If your service area does extend beyond two hours of driving time, you would be well advised to consider setting up another GBP with a primary address closer than two hours away.

Choose Only Relevant Categories

Select primary and secondary categories from those provided in GBP that most accurately reflect the services you offer.

Do not select a subcategory if you do not offer the service, but would like to be found by people searching for the service.

This is a common mistake many businesses make, which can backfire by diluting their authority.

Complete Your Entire Profile

Fill out all of the relevant sections of your GBP profile, including your business name, phone number, website, service areas, hours of operation, social links, payment options, accessibility, amenities, languages supported, and photos (i.e., logo, interior, exterior, product, etc).

Keep in mind that you are trying to provide your audience with every possible detail regarding your business and don’t want to exclude anyone by leaving out key information.

You may also find you are able to gain business by indicating you belong to or service a particular demographic.

Encourage And Promptly Respond To Customer Reviews

Google Business Profile reviews are a powerful ranking signal.

Positive reviews or even prompt and effective responses to negative reviews can significantly boost your local ranking and build trust with potential customers.

For service-area businesses needing to “prove” their coverage, it is important to gain reviews from customers across the defined service area.

So, if you’ve included 10 specific areas you service within a two-hour driving distance, you should be looking to obtain reviews from satisfied customers in each of those areas.

This will help to establish the “localness” described above.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to ask customers to provide Google reviews that reference the specific service they received and the location where they received it. For example, “We were so pleased ABC Roofing Company was able to repair our roof in [location] on time and on budget!”

Post Content Regularly

GBP provides all businesses the opportunity to easily post content regarding their services, promotions, and links to external content like blog posts, events, etc., which is quite often underutilized.

This feature enables businesses to demonstrate engagement with their customers and authority on the topics they want to be found for.

If you are a local business creating content on a regular basis to share to social channels or via an email newsletter, sharing this content via GBP as well is a must.

2. Build A Solid, Mobile-Friendly Web Presence With Local SEO In Mind

While GBP is a primary landing place for many local searchers, a local business website still serves an important role as an online storefront and information resource.

When it comes to SABs and local SEO, here are a few specific considerations:

Create Location-Specific Pages

If you serve multiple areas, create dedicated pages for each location with unique, relevant content, contact information, and locally oriented keywords.

For example, if you offer specific services in different areas or have specific mobile technicians dedicated to specific service areas, be sure to call this out.

Another good tactic is to embed a Google map of the specific service area into its dedicated location page.

Be careful not to simply duplicate content across your location pages by incorporating something unique into each.

Locally Optimize Your Website Pages And Content

Use relevant local keywords throughout your localized website pages, including in your page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and image alt tags.

Ensure Mobile-Friendliness

This should go without saying, but it’s essential today for all businesses to have a responsive website.

According to Statista, in 2023, 58.67% of all website traffic worldwide came from mobile phones.

Build Local Citations

In keeping with the need to prove “localness,” it is also important to list your business on relevant online directories and platforms, ensuring consistency in your NAP (name, address, phone number) information.

Much like reviews, for SABs, this means identifying and obtaining listings in relevant directories in each of the applicable service areas.

Again, the goal is to show Google the business operates in the area, so there should be an online presence in the area.

Pro Tip: When deciding which local directories you should appear in for free, or especially for a fee, conduct a few Google searches on the keywords you want to be found for and see if these directories appear. If they don’t, then they likely won’t add much value to you.

Alternatively, you can simply ask the directory to provide statistics on how much traffic/business you can expect to receive through them based on similar businesses they have worked with in the past.

3. Local Link Building

Building high-quality, relevant local backlinks can significantly improve your website’s authority and local search ranking. Here’s how:

• Reach out to local businesses: Partner with complementary businesses in each of your service areas for link exchange opportunities.
• Engage in community involvement: Sponsor local events, participate in community forums, and build relationships with local organizations to earn backlinks. Note: Links from your website (perhaps in a Local Events section) can also provide a signal to Google of your localness.

4. Leverage Service-Area Focused Content Marketing And Social Media

Modern SEO, beyond website structure and relevant backlinking, is very much about creating valuable and informative content to answer all of the questions your target audience has about your services, thereby establishing your business as a trusted resource in the eyes of your customers and search engines.

Here are a few local content marketing recommendations to further help build authority:

• Create local, topically relevant content: Publish blog posts, articles, and guides addressing local issues, events, or topics related to the services you offer and of interest to your target audience. Again, as a service area business, try to identify topics specific to the various areas serviced and link from this content to the specific location pages on the website. Some examples of this type of content may include:
  • Blog posts about local events or community initiatives.
  • Case studies featuring customers from your different service areas.
• Promote your content locally: Creating content is just half the battle. As noted above, content can be shared via your GBP, as well as via social media (provided you’ve established an online following), local online communities (e.g., Nextdoor, Facebook Groups), and email newsletters to reach the widest potential audience. Relevant, local, social SAB content may include:
  • Before-and-after photos of completed projects in different service areas.
  • Customer testimonials.
  • Behind-the-scenes glimpses of the business in action at different locations.

Read More: 9 Types Of Content That Will Help Your Local SEO

5. Monitor And Track Your Local SEO Performance

Regularly monitoring and tracking your local SEO performance is essential to understand which content and channels are working or not, to identify areas for improvement, and to measure the overall effectiveness of your strategies.

There are five primary areas a local SAB should focus on when considering performance.

• Analyze your GBP insights: Regularly review your GBP’s performance, including views, searches, clicks, messages, and calls, to understand how users find and engage with your profile.

Screenshot from Google Business Profile, November 2024

• Use Google Analytics: Track the sources of your website traffic, performance of your landing pages, user behavior, and conversions to understand how users find and interact with your content. Use this information to focus your SEO and content marketing efforts.
• Monitor your local rankings: Use rank tracking tools to monitor and optimize your website’s position in the local Map Pack and organic search results for relevant keywords.
• Track your social media reach and engagement: All social media networks offer tools to measure the reach and engagement of your presence and individual posts. Pay attention to who your most engaged followers are and be sure to engage with them.

Read More: 5 Common Lcoal SEO KPIs And How To Measure Them

Targeting Your Local Presence

Local SEO is critical for service area businesses looking to reach prospective customers within their target area.

By implementing the strategies outlined above, SABs can effectively target their coverage areas, attract local customers, and grow their businesses.

Remember to focus on:

• Optimizing and leveraging your GBP to share content and engage with your customers.
• Obtaining reviews from customers in the various areas you service, particularly if your reach is broad.
• Similarly obtaining backlinks from directories, partners, or other relevant websites across your service area.
• Maintaining a solid, consistent, mobile-friendly website.
• Creating and sharing relevant content to answer all of your customer’s questions.
• Monitoring your performance to see what’s working and what isn’t.

With all of this in mind, do not try to over-extend your reach, as it will be difficult to convince Google you are truly “local” if your service areas are beyond the two-hour driving time range.

More Resources:

Featured Image: BestForBest/Shutterstock