• Hyper-local – Joyce Roque, LeapOut SEO Specialist focusing on on-page and local SEO, encourages the use of location-based keywords, such as the name of the city and your target term like “interior cement board paint in Manila,” “small bathroom remodeling Philippines,” or “bathroom renovations Manila”. Hyper-local keywords with location modifiers will make your company visible to your target customers in your service area. 
• Long-tail keywords – Find lower-competition phrases with high intent like “best materials for kitchen backsplash on a budget”.
• Problem-solving keywords – Focus on searches that address common home improvement pain points such as “how to fix a leaky faucet” and “small bathroom remodel ideas” to directly address the concerns of your customers.

Match search intent with the right content

Google aims to understand the intent behind a user’s search query and provide relevant results that match that intent. Pages that effectively address user intent through content and context are more likely to rank higher.

For example, if you search for “roof repair,” Google assumes you are finding tips on how to fix your damaged roof. Meanwhile, if you key in “roof repair Manila” the search engine will give you a list of companies that offer the service within Manila.  

So, if you wish to target “roof repair,” you need to publish interesting, engaging, and entertaining listicles to improve the visibility of your company for this keyword. As for “roof repair Manila,” you need to optimize your service pages or landing pages to make it rank for this keyword. 

It is then an SEO professional’s job to suggest writers or publishers what types of content to produce for this keyword.

“At LeapOut, we analyze user intent by identifying what they are particularly searching for through the use of keywords in the content,” according to our SEO specialist Joyce Roque.

Ensure the pages are formatted properly 

Google gives importance to the structure and layout of the content for better reading experience to the reader. Breaking down a blog post into sections and using well-written meta descriptions and headers makes it easy for Google and humans to figure out what the section and text is all about. 

“We start by improving your website’s search listing itself – the title, headers, description, and photos people see when browsing search results. We carefully choose words and phrases customers actually use when searching to catch their attention better. This gets more people to click through to your site from search,” LeapOut’s SEO specialist Jan Nietes. 

Make your content engaging and up-to-date

Your target audience are mostly end consumers who want to avail products or services. To encourage them to consume your content, you should make it attractive, interesting, and valuable to your customers. The last thing they want from you is to read a technical manual that will put them to sleep!

There are many different content types to create aside from blog posts and landing pages. To avoid content fatigue, you can post infographics, photo galleries, explainer videos, podcasts and other types for diversity. You can also embed your DIY project videos and before-and-after photos of your successful projects on your blog posts or landing pages to make them more engaging. 

Moreover, you may need to revise your existing content with updated information like latest design trends. For certain types of queries, Google favors websites who publish frequently with the latest information. If there are updates on the information in your website, you can revise the existing blog post or article content and include the updates. 

Go local 

When your potential customer needs a roofer or a bathroom remodeled, they don’t search for businesses across the country – they want someone just within the neighborhood! This fact makes local SEO crucial for home improvement contractors.

SEOs make your websites known within your locality by enlisting your website on Google Business Profile, which enables your site to be visible when adding “near me” at the end of the service they are seeking (“bathroom remodeling near me”).   

Provide Excellent Page Experience

For Google, the experience of readers is paramount. As a search authority, it only supplies users with web pages that it considers beneficial to users in content and form. In terms of web page form, performance, and structure, the search engine favors web pages with:

• HTTPS security
• Mobile-first design
• Accessible user interface
• Blazing site speed (Core Web Vitals)

Enhanced security

No visitor would like to drop by a site that would compromise the security of its PC. One way of beefing up the security of your site is by equipping it with Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). By adding this layer of protection, your data coming back and forth between the web browser and web server would be encrypted. 

Mobile-first design

Virtually all (98%) Filipinos who accessed the internet used mobile phones. Meanwhile, more than half (60%) of web usage all over the world is done on mobile devices. With these figures, it is only fitting for Google to put more emphasis on how websites are rendered on handheld screens than laptops or desktops.

This is especially true in the home improvement sector, where many check the latest home and interior designs on the go using mobile phones. 

At LeapOut, “we ensure that the website is user-friendly not only on larger screens, but also on smaller devices like mobile phones,” Joyce said.

One of the primary tests LeapOut SEO team immediately conducts after onboarding our clients is to check if their websites are mobile-friendly. Aside from tools, we use our own phones and ask friends/family to browse your site on different devices.

Based on our experience, many of our clients still ignore how their websites look on mobile. Their websites are not yet responsive, meaning their sites’ design do not adjust for small screens like smartphones or tablets. As a result, their sites look clumsy with hard-to-read text, making them frustrating to visit.

Accessible user interface

Websites without clear navigation are confusing and irritating to use. One of the crucial roles of an experienced SEO is to ensure the site is easy to navigate. This is done by creating intuitive menus for project types, services, and other sections of the website.

“We make the navigation and menus on your site super simple to use. We structure product pages based on how real customers think of them – like by project type or room. This makes it effortless for visitors to explore our clients’ offerings and uncover what they need,” Jan said.

SEOs also see to it that Google can easily understand how it can access and understand the content through technical SEO.  

Site Speed Optimization

Nobody likes a slow website! Google understands the concerns of web users, prompting it to consider page load speed as a ranking factor. Here are some ways to make your web pages load and run blazing fast:

Compress your images 

Most photos from digital cameras take up a lot of space, slowing down your page load time. You need to use online image compression tools like TinyPNG or ImageResizer, to reduce the file size.

Use speed testing tools 

Online tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights lets you identify problem areas that you can fix regarding the performance, accessibility, and SEO aspects of your website. 

Implement technical SEO 

Help Google to search and navigate the content of your web pages by fixing technical SEO issues. You can ask help from SEO specialists or developers to implement strategies like schema markup implementation, redirecting broken links, and others. 

Attract Quality Backlinks

Google gives weight on the number and quality of backlinks or links from other websites to your page. For the search engine, these links are “votes of confidence,” a signal of a site’s authority and trustworthiness. The more websites cite your content as reference, the more Google “sees”  your brand as an authority in the page.  Pages with a higher number of authoritative backlinks from the strategies below are likely to rank higher. 

Here are some strategies you can consider to acquire more backlinks:

Establish Strategic Partnerships

Collaborate with influencers, complementary businesses, organizations and get links in your area or industry through:

• Guest blogging on the website of an “influencer” interior designer or architect.
• Offering exchange deals like giving discounts to customers of a related business (like a paint store), in exchange for a backlink on their site.

Create “Link-Worthy” Content

Create high-quality, shareable content that naturally attracts backlinks like:

• In-depth DIY guides for common home improvement projects.
• Trend reports on the latest home design styles, featuring local examples.
• “Before and After” photo galleries showcasing your exceptional work.

Leverage the Power of HARO

Sign up for a Help A Reporter Out (HARO) account and respond to queries relevant to your home improvement expertise, potentially earning valuable backlinks in news articles. HARO is a platform connecting journalists with sources. 

Social Signals

While not a direct ranking factor, social signals such as likes, shares, and comments on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can indirectly influence your page’s visibility and authority. Being active on social media and posting valuable content can help bring links to your site.

Guest Blogging and Outreach

Establish your brand as a thought leader by writing guest posts for other blogs in your industry (or related industries). Target reputable sites with high authority scores, and always make sure to get a link back to your own website.

Contribute to the Community

Get involved in local initiatives and find link opportunities by:

• Sponsoring local events or charities and asking for a link mention.
• Commenting on relevant community forums or social media pages, subtly linking to useful content on your site.

Attract Traffic to Your Home Improvement SEO Strategies with LeapOut 

Think of SEO as an investment to enhance your future online presence. By starting to implement LeapOut SEO marketing team’s recommendations from this guide, you can boost your online visibility on Google and other search engines! To ensure your success on this marketing channel, you need experts like Joyce and Jan at LeapOut. Contact us now to help you reach your digital marketing goals.