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If there were a natural step, a simple process, or a hidden strategy to boost your locksmith business presence online, would you want to know more? If so, pull up a chair and sit back. Today, we will take you behind the scenes and introduce you to seven website strategies that do just that.
Please note; when a website optimization process ends, a new, more streamline activity begins. As you scroll through the strategies, keep in mind, each online process has evolved over time. What was practiced with locksmith web design less than three years ago is obsolete today!
Keyword Planning and Strategic Use
Building a locksmith website today has seen positive changes. Web designers and content writing teams now avoid stuffing landing pages with irrelevant keywords, trying to rank the site on page one. That tactic was once acceptable, but today, websites are aggressively penalized by search engines for this practice.
Keyword planning and strategic use now come first before a site gets built. When planning the keywords to use, ask yourself what best describes your clientele. To boost your local online presence, consider the area and customers you serve. You want keywords and phrases that closely connect your company to your community.
For example, Keyway Lock and Security, a Chicago Locksmith client, they focus on commercial locksmith services and hardware product sales in and around their city. When you view their website, it clearly shows in the blog posts, product details, and association membership descriptions, keyword planning is used with their community in mind.
The objective to remember, as a local locksmith service provider, you want page one ranking, but your company’s listing must show up in your service area. So, if you only service Chicago, Illinois, El Paso, Texas, or Wauchula, Florida, then plan and tailor your keywords so your local customers can find you quickly.
Updating Keywords and Content for Products and Services
On every locksmith website, it should be a common practice to have products and services listed, preferably with separate pages that describe each item in greater detail, i.e., Residential page, Commercial page, Schlage page, etc. These are known as your vertical pages, which get crawled, indexed, and ranked.
With the creation of each vertical page, specific keywords or keyword phrases were chosen and optimized for that period in time, i.e., 2009, 2015. However, with search engines continually updating, they push site owners to keep their websites current, informative, and easy to navigate. Therefore, any existing pages need editing to stay current. Adding new pages to your site improves your search rankings too.
For example, if you added any new services or product lines, since the creation of your website, but no pages show that addition, then create a new page for each. Include exhaustive details. Insert your keywords. Check that these specific words flow naturally with the topic. When the search engines crawl your site, the content gets cataloged as current material, boosting your website in search results.
Building a Tight Community With Your Social Media Followers
Years ago, lock shops and mobile locksmiths relied heavily on referrals from previous customers. Today, social media is the recognizable driving force behind referrals and business growth in every industry. Furthermore, how you interact with your followers daily or weekly can generate new business.
The strategy is straightforward to do. Start adding new content to your site, i.e., a blog, an article, a case study, etc. Next, go to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest account and let each group know you just posted new content for them to check out. Add a link to the latest piece with a brief snippet.
At first, the response will be slow. However, keep adding a new piece once or twice a week and notify your followers. The interest will start to build. Within 4-6 months, you will have created a growing platform of loyal members who will listen and turn to you first when they or someone they know needs your locksmith services.
Utilizing Backlinks from Authority Locksmith Associations and Directory Websites
If you are like most locksmith website owners, you want Tier 1 backlinks from authority sites because it boosts your domain’s rankings. As a reference point to remember, backlinks get ranked under a Tier system of importance, with Tier 1 being the highest and most coveted, Tier 2 ranked as good and bad, and Tier 3 the worst types of backlinks.
- Tier 1 Backlinks – Editorial, Guest Blogging, Niche Directories, and Relationship-Based
- Tier 2 Backlinks – Guest Posting at Scale, Header, Footer, and Sidebar Links
- Tier 3 Backlinks – Paid Links, Comment Spam, General Directories, and Irrelevant Websites.
In the locksmith industry, those authority websites are industry associations and directory sites, i.e., SAVTA, ALOA, Pacific Locksmith Association, The Greater Philadelphia Locksmith Association, The Texas Locksmiths Association, etc.
As for authority locksmith directories in the US, there is FindALocksmith.com, 1-800-Unlocks.com, FairTradeLocksmiths.com, and many more. The key to these authority associations and directories is to include as much information as each list will permit. Those details are crawled, indexed, and will show up in search results.
Using Data Aggregators and Directories to Improve Citations
If you have never heard of data aggregators, it is a technology process that compiles information from databases and then presents it in a summarized format. For instance, your locksmith website might have an e-commerce section that sells locks, parts, and hardware products to the public.
The information you gather from each buyer is stored in a database. When compiled, the data will present the types of products your customers choose over other brands. What you uncover gives you a clear idea of the primary products your customers want more and who is buying them.
So, if the data shows you have more sales of Sargent lock hardware, from building contractors, you can then promote that brand more visibly on your website and list it in the various directories, which improves your citations. When that contractor is searching for Sargent locks, your site, and the updated indexes get displayed.
Incorporating Website Analytics Tools for Accurate Site Performance and Ranking Updates
Want to know the performance of your site or if it is losing its ranking? Tech-savvy locksmith business owners have started incorporating website analytics tools to get those answers. Many companies provide these tools. Some devices are free, while others charge a monthly or yearly user fee. The most popular tool is Google Analytics.
With web analytics tools, you can track everything that happens on your locksmith website. You will know where your visitor started from, the product or hardware they viewed, and the item they purchased. You can track your customers, see the products they are scrolling through, and review your total sales for the week, the month, or annually.
By using these tools, the analytics data will reveal a host of activities happening on your website. As a locksmith website owner, merging powerful analytics tools into your site, could open the door to new product sales, customer engagement via emails or content additions.
Using Website Platforms that are Search Engine Friendly and Easy to Optimize
When websites first arrived on the internet, they were rudimentary and difficult to navigate. Today, however, with advanced technology and newer coding languages platforms became search engine friendly, easy to optimize, and provides a more excellent user experience, which locksmith business owners expect.
With that said, when it is time to build your new locksmith site, or if you are moving an existing domain to another hosting provider, we do have a word of caution for you. Before you sign-on or transfer your website domain, do your research first.
Today, unfortunately, there are still many website themes sold that do not meet modern website design standards. These outdated themes will not display correctly on mobile devices, affecting a searcher’s experience; negatively. In some instances, an older website theme can hinder the site from moving up in the search results.
Before you buy, you want to know ahead of time if the new website is mobile-friendly, device responsive, and if the installed theme gets updated regularly. These features play a huge part in having your domain search engine friendly, easy to optimize, and boosting your locksmith business presence online.
Summing it all up
As you start this journey, keep the process simple. Start with planning your keywords and keyword phrases that target your local customers and service area, and update your site’s content regularly. By giving the search engines fresh, new, and engaging content, consumers will find the information they want quickly.
Next, start to or boost engagement with your social media community. When you keep them in the loop, by having them check out your newest material, you are providing them with tailored content they were not expecting. In return, they will trust you first and refer your company to their friends and colleagues when they need emergency locksmith services.
Finally, as you create your locksmith content, get those highly valued Tier 1 backlinks from locksmith authority sites. Study all customer information from data aggregators and stay on top of your domain’s daily activity by using reliable analytics tools.
And last but not least, do thorough research before using any website platform. You never want to discover; the website theme used was obsolete and not compliant. That oversight could be the reason search engines are preventing your website from boosting your business presence online.