Electrician SEO Guide
Guide to Search Engine Optimization for Electrical Companies
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Introduction To Electrician SEO
For electrical contractors, shifting the focus from watts to website optimization can be a challenging task. But the more the industry grows, the more pressure electrician companies are under to increase their discoverability–both offline and online.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of electricians in the United States is projected to increase by up to 9 percent (a total of 795,700 U.S. electricians) by 2030. Once your business becomes one of several local electrical contractors in the area, high search engine visibility and a solid online reputation can either cost you business, or it can be your saving grace.
If you have an electrician company and you’re in search of ways your business can remain competitive online, continue reading our electrician SEO guide.
What is Electrician SEO?
Electrician SEO, or search engine optimization (SEO) for electricians is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website on organic search engine results pages (SERPs). It is an ongoing process consisting of several tasks that are performed on and off of your website with the goal of increasing an electrician company’s online visibility in search engines.
Four of the most common types of SEO that electricians should be familiar with are:
1. Local SEO
Local SEO is a process that enables your electrician business to become more visible in organic search results for relevant keywords searches performed in your area. According to Google, 76 percent of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a physical place within 24 hours 28 percent of those searches result in a purchase. As a result, local SEO is a helpful tool electricians can use to gain foot traffic from more local prospects.
While local SEO is an option for an electrical contractor looking to gain more customers for their small businesses, there’s a more effective way for large-scale electrical companies with multiple locations across the country. Unlike local SEO, which focuses on optimizing your website for a particular area, national SEO focuses on ways you can optimize your electrician website to rank for relevant keyword searches across the country.
2. On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing your site’s web pages to improve your search engine ranking. On-page SEO can be virtually any task performed on your website for SEO purposes, from uploading an image to updating metadata. According to OptinMonster, 43 percent of online users click on a result in search engines solely based on its meta description. In fact, most on-page SEO optimization tasks are performed to improve a company’s ranking for a particular keyword.
3. Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is a series of activities performed outside of your electrician website that positively contribute to your company’s online authority and search engine ranking. Off-page SEO typically refers to tasks, such as directory and listing submissions, link building, and more. According to Moz, building backlinks will be at the heart of your off-page SEO strategy.
4. Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to website tasks that can make your web pages easily indexable. The less complex it is for web crawlers to scan your site, the better Google can organize and rank your site in search engines. Some examples of technical SEO that you may come across would probably be XML sitemap optimization, adding breadcrumbs, or adding schema markup to your website.
Although each SEO type has its own power and purpose, the success of your electrician SEO will rely heavily on if you’ve selected the right keywords to target in your strategy.
Choosing the Best Electrician SEO Keywords
Keywords are ideas and topics that define what your content is about. They are the foundation of your SEO strategy, so your company must select relevant keywords that can help online prospects discover your business faster and easier.
The secret to selecting the best electrician SEO keywords is to conduct effective keyword research. Keyword research is the process of identifying which electrician SEO keywords are commonly typed in when online users are searching for an electrician company like yours.
It can help companies gain a better understanding of:
- What online users are conducting keyword research on
- The volume of searches for a particular keyword during a specific time span
- How users prefer to receive the information they are looking for (blog, case study, guide, video, etc.)
- Which keywords should be prioritized in your electrician SEO strategy
Unsure of where to start with your keyword strategy? Below are 12 of the most popular electrician keywords you should consider.
Popular Electrician SEO Keywords
Keyword | Volume | Keyword Difficulty Score (KD) | Cost per Click (CPC) |
---|---|---|---|
Electrician near me | 603,000 | 38 | $8.85 |
Electrical contractors near me | 30,600 | 45 | $7.00 |
Electrical contractors in my area | 700 | 49 | $8.49 |
Best electrical contractors | 220 | 33 | $2.80 |
Electrical contractor | 45,700 | 38 | $4.96 |
Local electrical company | 990 | 37 | $8.55 |
Local electrical contractor | 650 | 39 | $7.60 |
Wiring contractor | 200 | 34 | $1.37 |
Best electrical contractors | 220 | 33 | $2.80 |
Certified electrical contractor | 60 | 47 | $11.99 |
Electric repair company near me | 950 | 28 | $14.19 |
Residential electricians near me | 10,700 | 49 | $9.71 |
Keyword research goes beyond plugging in keywords. It requires using the information you’ve uncovered from your research and applying it by taking strategic actions. Typically, the higher the keyword volume, the more difficult a keyword can be to rank for. A general rule of thumb to determine if a keyword would be worth it is to take a look at its keyword difficulty score.
The keyword difficulty score is a measurement determined to predict how achievable it would be for your electrician company to rank for a particular keyword. Keyword difficulty scores ranging between 0-49 are possible to rank for. Meanwhile, scores over 49 are usually more challenging, which explains why all keywords listed in the table above have a keyword difficulty score of 49 or less.
Why It Matters
SEO makes the world wide web go round. According to BrightEdge, search engines are the starting point for 68 percent of online experiences. Without it, the top electrical companies will have to rely on purchasing ad space, or landing a feature in a niche publication or directory. Today, a simple internet keyword search is all it takes to separate the best electrical companies from their mediocre competitors, making the choice unanimous for online users.
When it comes to electrician SEO, visibility is the name of the game. In fact, studies show that 91 percent of online users do not pass the first page of Google search results. That means the best way for your business to catch a user’s interest would be to ramp up your SEO efforts and earn top placement in SERPs.
What SEO Isn’t
Search engine optimization for electricians is not related to social media.
While sharing content on social media can potentially be beneficial for your SEO strategy, there is no direct correlation between social media activity and your electrician SEO. Social media is a great platform to leverage so that you can get more eyes on your content.
Having a social media presence can help electricians build a well-rounded online profile, which can boost their authority. Unfortunately, this will have no impact on a website’s search engine rankings. This is one of the most common SEO myths.
Search engine optimization for electricians is not a one-time task.
Between Google’s constant algorithm updates and other local electrician businesses who are constantly raising the bar by increasing their online visibility, a fluctuation in your placement in search engines is natural. The most effective way to sustain high rankings is by putting continuous effort into your SEO strategy.
According to Search Engine Watch, the average time an electrical company can expect to allocate towards SEO tasks can range from 12-104 hours a week. This does not include sporadic troubleshooting tasks that may come about or the amount of time it may take to optimize your website to satisfy Google’s latest algorithm update.
Search engine optimization for electricians is easy to learn.
Certain tasks may come easy to electricians, such as connecting electrical wires or installing a circuit breaker, but SEO won’t be one of them. This explains why according to The SEO System, around 30 percent of small businesses have chosen to outsource their SEO. While going the DIY route is a possibility, it will require a great deal of time, knowledge, and dedication to be implemented successfully.
Search engine optimization for electricians isn’t rocket science. However, it will require a degree of time and technical expertise to pull it off.
SEO & Marketing for Different Types of Electricians
There is a difference between commercial, local, and residential electricians. Naturally, this means a one-size-fits-all solution would be far too basic to cater to the individuality that exists within each specialty.
Commercial Electricians
Commercial electricians generally perform their work in commercial property spaces, such as offices, stores, or other brick and mortar locations. Commercial electrician tasks use three-phase power supplies and are usually high power tasks requiring 120 volts of electricity, or more.
Industrial Electricians
Industrial electricians are similar to commercial electricians in a sense since they both perform their work in commercial properties. However, industrial electricians may generally be working in much larger spaces, such as factories, or plants. These electricians also typically work with three-phase power supplies consisting of 120 volts of electricity or more.
Residential Electricians
Residential electricians are typically your local small electrician business in your area. They generally perform their work at a customer’s residence. Residential electricians require less energy and generally use single-phase power supplies. Unlike industrial and commercial electricians, the job of a residential electrician generally requires more face-to-face with clients and more customer service skills.
Not only do these three types of electricians work in varying conditions, but they also cater to different target audiences. Knowing how each specialty is alike and how they differ can help elevate your SEO strategy to new heights.
Hierarchy of Ranking Factors
Did you know that there are over 200 ranking factors Google considers to determine where it can place your website in search engines?
Website Maintenance Tasks
Neglecting to perform basic maintenance tasks on your electrician website is like leaving a live wire exposed and unattended. Both pose a dangerous threat to your business’s reputation. We’ve included a checklist of the most important website tasks that will be critical to your electrician SEO strategy.
- Secure Your Site With An SSL Certificate
Has your website upgraded from HTTP to HTTPS? A secure web server is a very important ranking factor that Google considers when determining placement for your website in SERPs. According to Moz, 50 percent of websites that show up on the first page of Google have HTTPS encryption.
A secure website has an SSL certificate, also known as a Secure Sockets Layer certificate. This establishes your electrician website as a safe place to exchange information, so it increases user trust and it can boost your search engine ranking.
- Optimize Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals, or CWV, are a series of metrics that contribute to your web page’s performance. Google’s algorithm determines how user-friendly your website is based on how well your CWV scores are.
Core Web Vitals scores are broken down into three categories:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures a page’s loading time. For a superior user experience, Google recommends that each page of your site have an LCP occur within the first 2.5 seconds.
- First Input Delay (FID) measures the amount of time it takes for a user to engage with your webpage. Google recommends a website FID of less than 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures the visual stability of your website from the perception of the user. Google believes the best user experiences come from sites with a CLS score of less than 0.1.
If your Core Web Vitals scores do not meet Google’s standards, they can be optimized and retested until your website passes.
- Check Your Page Speed
The best electrician websites are capable of loading fast on both desktop and mobile. According to a study conducted by Backlinko, the average page loading speed for a website on a desktop is 10.3 seconds and on mobile, it is 27.3 seconds. Typically, it may take 87.84 percent longer for your electrician website to load on mobile devices than on desktop devices. To view your website’s page speed, you can use the following platforms:
If you are serious about improving your SEO rankings, checking your website’s page speed periodically is one of the best habits to get into.
- Optimize for Conversions on Your Website
A major ranking factor that is often overlooked is user behavior. While your conversion rate is not a direct ranking factor, it does contribute to user behavior, so it should be considered in your electrician SEO strategy. According to BrightEdge, a good conversion rate falls somewhere between the 2 percent to 5 percent range.
If your website’s conversion rate is lower than the standard, consider optimizing your page by:
- Adding compelling calls-to-action – The best electrician websites will have at least one call-to-action.
- Consider using a floating header – Studies show that using a fixed header, or a sticky header can improve the user experience and click through rate.
Try including CTAs for every stage of the funnel – The better your content is tailored to the customer journey, the more likely it can boost your conversion rate.
Creating Compelling Content
Any prospect truly in need of electrician services will start their buyer’s journey with a relevant Google keyword search. As we mentioned earlier in the article, keyword research will be essential to the success of your electrician SEO strategy. We’ve included a checklist of the most important factors to include in your content, so you can get the most out of your electrician SEO.
- Publish Content Consistently
The more relevant content you have on your website, the greater your chances are of converting an online user to a customer. Electrician companies that publish fresh content at least once a week have more opportunities to capture the attention of prospects in search engines. According to HubSpot, 47 percent of buyers view at least three to five pieces of content before they engage.
- Optimize Content
Top-ranking content should be written so well that it can be read easily by humans and robots alike. That means including your website’s main keywords in areas such as the meta description, headings, and title tags. The best electrician websites are also intuitively designed, desktop and mobile-friendly, and optimized for local search. Websites that are not optimized for mobile are not displayed on mobile devices. The same concept applies to local search.
- Go Long-Form
The secret to producing high-performing content that search engines love is the word count. Studies have shown that search engines favor long-form content, which can range between 1,000-7,500 words. Long-form content also provides more opportunities to include backlinks and increase a user’s page session duration, all of which are factors that can positively impact your ranking.
- Master When to Be Informational vs Promotional
While your electrician SEO may call for both information and promotional content, knowing when to use each tone could make your electrician SEO that much more effective. Informational content covers a generic topic in your industry that a user may be interested in. This type of content can be anything from a blog post, and one of the major ways it differs from promotional content is that it exists to help users make more informed decisions, while promotional content focuses on a different goal.
Promotional content is geared towards influencing a user to take the desired action on your website, such as downloading a guide or signing up for a free consultation. You may come across this type of content on search engines when you come in contact with paid media, such as paid PPC ads or Google Local Services Ads.
Offsite Factors Matter
According to Google, almost 80 percent of Google’s search engine algorithm relies on off-page SEO. This means offsite ranking factors are far too valuable for your electrician company to ignore. We’ve included a checklist of the most important offset factors that will be critical to your electrician SEO strategy.
- Submit Your Website to Electrician Directories and Listings
Submitting your electrician website to online directories adds value to your off-page SEO. These listings will display the name of your business, the website, and phone number, making it a great way to also expand your local visibility.
Below are six of the best electrician directories and listings where you should consider submitting your site information:
- Google My Business
- Best Electrician Awards
- Home Advisor
- InspectApedia
- The Blue Book
- Thumbtack
- Verify Your Google My Business Listing
Since Google is the authority in search engines, the more Google products you use, the more it can help boost your electrician SEO. There are many benefits associated with having a verified Google My Business (GMB) listing. For starters, you will have another opportunity to rank for local searches in the Maps section of the website. Another valuable benefit associated with a GMB profile is the reviews section. Studies show that 49 percent of online users trust consumer reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.
By verifying your Google My Business listing and generating 5-star reviews for your business, you are putting your best foot forward online, which makes users feel like your business is trustworthy. So when the time comes for a user to choose between your electrician business and a local competitor, they will perceive your business as the safer choice.
- Create a Powerful Link Building Strategy
Link building is one of the most important tasks you can do to improve your search engine ranking. This process requires other websites to link back to your website, which in turn can boost your site’s authority. The more authority your website can gain, the more Google trusts that you are a credible source in your respective industry.
According to a study conducted by Backlinko, a relationship was discovered between the number of domains linking to a web page and its ranking in SERPs. The number one result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2-10.
Electrician SEO Management: DIY vs. Agency
One of the most critical decisions you will have to make during your electrician SEO journey is whether you will be handling your SEO independently, or outsourcing it to an electrician SEO agency. There is no wrong or right answer, however, each method comes with a series of advantages and disadvantages you should consider beforehand.
Choosing an agency instead of doing it on your own can offer peace of mind since you can assure that your electrician SEO is being handled properly and will be taken care of by experts in the industry.
On the other hand, if you decide to hire an electrician SEO agency, it is essential to keep an eye out for these five major red flags that may indicate the agency you are considering may not be a great fit for your business.
Five Fatal SEO Agency Red Flags
1. Lack of transparency – If your SEO agency rarely communicates with you and it doesn’t provide you with at least one report per month, this could spell out disaster in the long run.
2. Guarantees top of page rankings – If your SEO agency is showboating by making promises that not even Google can guarantee, chances are slim that they have the power they claim they do.
3. Outsources Most of Its Work Internationally – If the SEO agency you’ve put all of your trust in is just passing down your SEO tasks to freelancers out of the country that they’ve never met, it may not produce the best results for your business.
4. Turnkey solutions – If your SEO agency refuses to customize your SEO services based on your company’s goals and objectives, the results may not be worth the hassle.
5. Prices that are too good to be true – If your SEO agency is showboating by making promises that not even Google can guarantee, the chances are slim that they have the power to accomplish what they claim they can do.
One of the biggest advantages that come along with choosing to manage your electrician SEO in-house would be that you wouldn’t have to be on the lookout for the red flags listed above. If you can grasp technical tasks easily and you would like to save money on electrician SEO services, taking the DIY route can be beneficial.
Even if you already got started on your electrician SEO and you are far too overwhelmed to continue, you still have options.
Dagmar Marketing Can Be An Electrician SEO Solution
Is your business in need of effective electrician SEO services that drive results? Dagmar Marketing can help. If you are ready to embark on a new SEO journey with professional SEO experts that consider your goals, are mindful of your electrician company’s needs, and provide complete transparency along the way, contact us today to get started.
Why choose Dagmar Marketing as your electrician SEO agency?
If you’re in search of quality electrician SEO services, Dagmar Marketing could be a great option for you. Dagmar is a small but pwerful marketing agency that prides itself on being personable, accountable, having great attention to detail, and offering electrifying results to its clients. While most marketing & SEO agencies offer turnkey packages that may contain pre-selected services you don’t need, Dagmar provides fully customizable packages with no long-term contracts and complete transparency.
Electrician SEO Guide FAQs
Electrician SEO provides businesses with the visibility they need to bring in business. Lack of SEO implementation can result in a company having to find other ways to remain competitive that may be less effective and more expensive. One of the reasons many businesses gravitate towards SEO is because unlike pay-per-click (PPC), Local Services Ads, and other common digital marketing strategies, organic SEO does not require a budget. This makes it one of the most cost-effective options to leverage.
Another reason electrician SEO can be a win for your business is because it can have a positive impact on your online reputation. Listings, directories, and even your Google my Business profile can reveal a lot of valuable information to consumers. Seeing reviews, ratings, business hours, and informative content helps prospects make more informed purchasing decisions. The more you leverage SEO to contribute to our content ecosystem, the more you can position your electrician company as a credible and trustworthy option.
One of the biggest myths about SEO is that it is a waste of money, but that is quite the contrary. As long as our environment remains digitally-driven, SEO will continue to be a profitable strategy for business owners. According to Credco, 40 percent of business revenue on average is generated by organic search.
An online user can discover your business two different ways; paid media and earned media. While earned media requires businesses to pay a fee each time their advertisement is clicked, earned media is a form of credibility that businesses acquire by tirelessly working to boost their visibility and establish their authority in search engines. Since electrician SEO is another form of earned media, electricians can work hard on their SEO strategy and enjoy the fruits of their labor by seeing an improved ROI.
Like many industries, electricians rely on leads to book more appointments, increase sales, and ultimately grow their business. According to HubSpot, 72 percent of consumers who perform a local search typically visit a store within five miles. Smart electricians know that they need SEO so their online marketing efforts can work in tandem with their customer retention strategy to produce optimal results.
On the other hand, electric contractors that feel like SEO is not needed may be able to sustain their business, but it will take more effort and more money. If you are an old-fashioned electrical contractor that would prefer to stick with traditional methods, such as print ads, direct mail, or radio advertising, consider how much you may be spending on advertising techniques that you cannot confirm you are receiving a healthy return from.
- Direct mail pieces can run from $0.30 to $10 or more per person.
- A small advertisement that is the size of a business card can run a company around $250 to $400 per ad.
- Radio ads can run a company anywhere from $200 to $5,000 per week and this amount can be higher depending on your location.
Since none of these methods are online, where the decision-making experience begins for most prospects, they cannot be properly measured, nor can they help improve your company’s reputation and expand your digital footprint.
There are a lot of SEO companies on the market that offer bundled services under a monthly or annual contract. As a result, there is no definitive answer for what should and should not be included. It is safe to say that not all SEO services for electricians are created equal. However, the best electrician SEO agencies can typically personalize any plan to fit your electrical company’s unique needs.
SEO for electricians typically includes the following services below:
- Content analysis and strategy
- Competitor analysis
- Intent-based content creation
- On-page and off-page SEO optimization
- Reputation management
- Local search engine optimization
- Tracking and reporting
Electrician SEO is an effective lead generation tactic that electricians rely on to increase their sales pipeline, locally and nationally. Any business can get leads, but it’s the quality of the leads that SEO can produce for a company that can make it a powerful tool for your business. Leads can be collected during several different stages of the buyer’s journey.
One way electricians get leads is by publishing informative content on a consistency basis. This content helps nurture their audience, and if a user is ready to invest, there are sign-up forms that appear either at the bottom of a content piece, or as an exit popup. Another way electricians can leverage SEO to acquire leads is by offering a free consultation.
The price your business will pay for SEO depends on several factors, such as the size of your business, the services offered at your marketing & SEO agency of choice, and your location. Before exploring what’s out there, it’s critical to remember that when it comes to SEO, you get what you pay for.
Basic electrician SEO services can cost about $600 – $1,200 per month. If you’ve hired a marketing agency, there may also be other fees associated with your SEO services, such as a retainer fee. According to a study conducted by Ahrefs, 74.7 percent of respondents reported charging clients a monthly retainer fee. The average monthly retainer fee can range from $501 – $1,000 per month.
However, if you have the bandwidth to manage SEO on your own, it can cost considerably less.
When it comes to electrician SEO, there are a couple of ways you can attract an online audience to your business. One way would be to focus on a search engine optimization strategy that is not limited to increasing your visibility in a specific geographic location, but to users around the country. This is called national SEO. Electricians that use national SEO most likely operate on a large scale and have multiple locations.
Another common SEO strategy employed is to focus on attracting online users who live nearby and are searching for keywords like “certified electrician near me”. This is known as local SEO. Local SEO is one of the most common types of search engine optimization electrical contractors use. Given electricians typically service a particular area, local SEO enables them to reach this audience with location-based online advertisements.
SEO for electricians can offer an immense amount of benefits to your business. According to a small business survey conducted by the Manifest, only 49 percent of businesses have invested in search engine optimization to improve their company’s visibility. Simply by implementing an SEO strategy, these companies already have a leg up on the competition.
Beyond having the power to outperform competitors, Google rewards electrician websites that satisfy its algorithm with high levels of visibility. The higher your business appears on search engine results pages (SERPs), the more credible it can appear to prospects. Credibility and visibility can result in a higher percentage of leads for your business–offline and online.
Electricians can also benefit from SEO because it is one of the most affordable and effective ways to generate leads. According to Hubspot, leads generated from SEO have a 14.6 percent close rate, which means the leads your business receives are also more likely to convert to customers.
Electrician SEO can be implemented and managed independently or by your marketing & SEO agency of choice. However, it’s important to know that each option comes with its benefits and disadvantages. If you are strategic, digitally-savvy, and you may have a little extra time to tackle SEO management on your own, have at it. But before getting started, there are a few things you should know about search engine optimization that most agencies won’t tell you.
- Keywords Matter – Keyword research will be the foundation of your SEO strategy
- Time is Money – While the task of SEO has no definitive time frame, Search Engine Journal estimates that it can take anywhere from 4-120 hours per week.
- Watch Out for Algorithm Updates – Google frequently undergoes algorithm updates, which is one of the most common reasons an electrical business can experience a dip in search results.
Limited knowledge of updating a website, lack of time, or fear of improper implementation are some of the many reasons an electrical company may decide to hire a professional, instead of managing SEO in-house.