Local SEO Simplified for Land Clearing Companies
SEO is like the soil your company grows from—it’s foundational. If we’re not playing the SEO game to win, we might as well be shouting into a void.
Local SEO refers to the process of ranking at the top of the SERPS (Search Engine Results Page) and Google Maps to get more leads for your business from relevant local searches. These searches take place on Google, Google Maps, and other search engines. Local SEO is important for land clearing companies because their services are typically linked to specific geographical locations.
Why SEO matters for land clearing companies
Local SEO is an important asset for your land clearing company because it helps you get discovered by potential clients in the areas you service and makes you more money. Unlike national or global SEO, local SEO focuses on reaching customers in a specific location. When someone searches for “land clearing services near me”, you want to make sure you show up in the top 3 search results or in the 3 pack of Google Maps.
Key Takeaways
| Section | Key Takeaways |
|---|---|
| Importance of Local SEO | – Local SEO is essential for land clearing companies to attract clients within specific geographical areas. – Aim to rank in the top 3 search results or in the Google Maps 3-pack. |
| Google My Business (GMB) | – Fully complete your GMB profile: business name, address, phone number, website, and hours of operation. – Add photos, respond to reviews, post regular updates. – 30-40% of local SEO clicks come from GMB listings. |
| Bing Places for Business | – Similar optimization techniques as GMB. – Bing holds 9% of the market share in the US. – Making sure the presence on both GMB and Bing Places can lead to extra leads. |
| Reviews | – Critical for ranking higher in Google Maps or Bing Places. – Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. – Respond to all reviews promptly and professionally. |
| Local Link Building | – Partner with local businesses and community organizations. – Get mentioned on local websites and directories. – Write articles and press releases for local media outlets. – Backlinks significantly boost search engine rankings. |
| Local Citations and Directories | – Citations (mentions of your NAP) improve local search rankings. – Look for consistency across directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, BBB, etc. – Use niche directories specific to land clearing companies. |
| On-Site Optimizations | – Create dedicated local service pages. – Optimize content with local keywords. – Use local business schema markup. – Optimize SEO titles, URL slugs, and meta descriptions. |
| Content Strategy | – Blog content drives traffic and improves SEO. – Focus on commercial intent content. – Use the “What, When, Who, Why, and Where” approach. |
| Website Optimization | – Garuantee mobile-friendliness. – Speed up your site. – Simplify navigation and make consistent CTAs. – Display testimonials and social proof. |
| Tracking and Analysis | – Use Google Analytics to track performance metrics. – Set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to monitor site performance and fix issues. – Track click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversion rates. |
| SEO Tools | – Free tools: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Moz Local. – Paid tools: SEMrush, Ahrefs, BrightLocal. |
Off-Site Optimizations You Can Apply
Google My Business (GMB)
GMB optimization techniques
- Make sure your GMB profile fully filled out, including business name, address, phone number, website, and hours of operation.
- Add photos or videos to your GMB profile.
- Collect and respond to all your reviews; Good or bad. You want to have more reviews than your competitors
- Post regular updates to keep active. Users who see you on Google Maps will see that you are active and will want to contact you more than someone who doesn’t. It builds trust.
- Include relevant keywords in your business description
- Make sure to add all the services in GMB that you do in the “edit services” and “edit products” sections
- Add Q&As to help answer the questions of the users.
Importance of GMB for local businesses
For local businesses, especially service-based ones like land clearing companies, GMB is a super important asset. It makes your business appear in the local google map pack and showcases your services. It also provides potential customers with important information such as your operating hours, address, and contact details. If you want to learn more about local SEO using GMB we have this other guide.
30-40% of your clicks in Local SEO will come from your Google My Business listing, so make sure you get them reviews boys!
Bing Places for Business
You can apply the same optimization tips from Google My Business to Bing Places. You may be asking, who the hell uses Bing? Well hate to cut it to you, Bing now has 9% of the market share in the United States.
Just last week several of our clients got 2 leads from Bing searches. You might not think that is much, but throughout 2 to 3 months that’s an extra 10 leads you can acquire for doing absolutely nothing. Amazing don’t you think?
Differences between Google My Business and Bing Places
- Google has a larger user base compared to Bing, but Bing still holds a significant share, particularly among older demographics and certain geographical regions.
- While both platforms offer similar features, GMB tends to have more advanced tools and integration options.
- Bing Places integrates with Bing’s search engine and maps, while GMB integrates with Google Search and Google Maps. Make sure to have your land clearing company on both platforms. They take almost no time to set up!
Reviews
Why reviews matter for local SEO
Reviews are super important for local SEO because the way you rank higher in Google Maps or Bing Places is 90% based on how many reviews you have. Search engines consider the quantity, quality, and location of the reviews when determining your business’s relevance and authority in local searches.
Strategies for getting and managing reviews
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your GMB and Bing Places listings.
- You can provide direct links to your review pages in follow-up emails, invoices, or on your website. You can also give them a business card, send them a link to your GMB account, or make a QR Code that sends them to your Google My Business profile to review.
- Make sure to respond to reviews quickly regardless if they are positive or negative. Thank customers for positive feedback and address any issues raised in negative reviews professionally.
A lot of work will come from word of mouth if you can do these kinds of things for your land clearing customers or clients.
Local Link Building Tactics
Strategies for acquiring local and niche-relevant backlinks
- Partner with local businesses, community organizations, or events. Sponsor local events or charities and get your business mentioned on their websites with a nice juicy backlink.
- Sign up to local citation or directory sites and place your business information on them.
- Write articles or blog posts for local websites or industry-related blogs. Make sure these articles include a link back to your site.
- Publish press releases about significant business developments, such as new services or community involvement, and distribute them through local media outlets. We recommend EIN Presswire.
- Offer to provide testimonials for local businesses or suppliers you work with. In return, ask if they can link back to your site from the testimonial.
- Buy backlinks from link providers such as Sir Links A Lot
Why backlinks outweigh content in SEO importance
While content is essential for engaging users and providing valuable information, backlinks are a more significant factor in determining search engine rankings.
Backlinks act as brownie points from other websites telling the search engines that your content is trustworthy and authoritative. High-quality backlinks can dramatically improve your search visibility and drive more organic traffic to your site.
What is a high-quality backlink you might ask? The simple answer is a website with a ton of referring domains that are not spammed with forum links or low-quality PBN (public blog network) links.
Local Citations and Directories
Understanding Why You Need Local Citations for Your Land Clearing Company
Local citations are mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites such as Yelp.
Citations help search engines verify your business’s existence and legitimacy, which can improve your local search rankings. Citations can appear on local business directories, websites, apps, and social platforms.
General Citation Sites for Your Land Clearing Company
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
- Four Square
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Apple Maps
- Bing Places
- Next Door
- Just Landed
- Brown Book
- Proven Expert
- Twitter/X
Niche Directories for Land Clearing Companies
- HomeAdvisor
- Houzz
- Thumbtack
- Angie’s List
- Promatcher.com
Please note there might be local directories or local citation sites in your county, city, or state that you can add your NAP (Name, address, and phone number) to.
We only recommend facebook, linkedin, and twitter/x for social media accounts. The rest are kind of pointless because they bring no value in bringing in new clients as a local service-based business owner.
On-Site Optimizations
Creating effective local service pages
You should make dedicated Local service pages on your website to help you rank more easily for the Location + Service page you are targeting. Local SEO is more black and white than Global SEO.
Here are some important rules to follow when creating location specific service pages:
- Include content that mentions the specific location you serve and addresses local concerns or conditions relevant to your services.
- Clearly describe the services you offer in each location, including any unique aspects or specialties.
- Make sure that your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) is displayed and consistent across all local service pages a few times without being spammy about it.
- Show your reviews or testimonials from customers in that area to build trust and credibility. If you do not have reviews from that area, use reviews from other close cities.
Optimizing content for local search
- Use Local keywords that include your service area (e.g., “land clearing in [City]”) throughout your content.
- Include local keywords in headers and subheaders to improve SEO and make the content more crawlable for the Crawlers.
- Link to other relevant pages on your site to improve navigation, help keep users on your website to increase user metrics, and improve crawlablity to your site for SEO.
- Use a local business schema markup to help search engines understand your content and improve your local search visibility. Almost ALL SEO WordPress plugins have a FREE local schema markup feature. Just input your information into it, and it will automatically attach it to the HTML of your website.
On-Page SEO Optimizations
SEO title optimizations
The SEO title (or title tag) is one of the most important on-page SEO things you need to nail down or clear out if you know what means Mr land clearing business owner. It should be straight to the point, include your main keyword, and include your location for local SEO.
- Keep your SEO title tag under 60 characters to display fully in search engine results.
- For local service-based companies, keep it simple. Main Service + Location + Company Name.
URL slugs: What they are and how to optimize them
URL slugs are the part of the URL that comes after the domain name and are important for SEO. They should be clean, concise, and include relevant keywords.
- Include keywords and location
- Avoid unnecessary words or complex structures.
- Separate words with hyphens for readability and SEO benefits.
First Example: “yourwebsite.com/land-clearing-ca”
Second Example: “yourwebsite.com/land-clearing-services-in-california” > “yourwebsite.com/land-clearing-ca”
Third Example: “yourwebsite.com/landclearingservicesincalifornia”> “yourwebsite.com/land-clearing-ca”
Meta title optimizations
The meta description should be optimized similarly to the SEO title. The meta description is displayed in search engine results underneath the SEO title and should show what exactly the user should expect when they click on your page.
Basic meta description optimizations rules to follow:
- Make sure your main keyword and location are present.
- Make the meta title is short enough to be fully displayed which is 140-160 characters.
- Encourage users to click through to your site using a compelling call-to-action.
- Add your phone number at the end of the meta description.
Keyword Optimization
Identifying top keywords and queries for land clearing
Let’s keep this simple for your land clearing business’s site. If you provide these kinds of services: land grading, land leveling, land clearing, tree removal, stump removal, sod removal, grass removal, or forest mulching, use this rule of thumb.
H1: Location + Service
Ex: Los Angelas Tree Cutting Services
You are here to make money and you do not need expensive keyword research tools to tell you what you already know. The only thing we do recommend here at Blue Sky Advertisement is to use a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) tracker like SERP Fox to track the positions of the keywords you are trying to rank for.
If you want to use keyword research tools here is a list:
- Google Keyword Planner inside of Google Ads
- SEMRush
- Ahrefs
Here is an Extra Tip:
Focus on long-tail keywords that are specific to your services and location, as these often have less competition and higher conversion rates. Examples include “affordable land clearing in [City]” or “residential land clearing services in [City].”
How to Add Keywords More Effectively
- Include primary keywords in page titles, headers (H1, H2, H3), and subheaders. ONLY use ONE H1 tag per page. It makes your page more easily crawlable to the crawl bots.
- Naturally, incorporate keywords into the body content without being spammy and provide value to the reader.
- Make sure to use keywords in the alt text of images to display more information to the crawl bots.
- Write meta descriptions that include relevant keywords and encourage users to click on your site’s link.
Local Land Clearing Companies Content Strategy
Importance of blog content with commercial intent
Why even do a blog as a local land clearing company? Blog content is important for driving traffic to your site, engaging potential customers, and improving your SEO. Content with commercial intent specifically targets users who are likely to convert into customers.
The Main Differences Between Informational and Commercial Intent Content
- Informational Content: Provides valuable information without directly promoting your services. Examples include “How to Prepare Your Land for Construction” or “Benefits of Professional Land Clearing.”
- Commercial Content: Focuses on promoting your services and converting readers into customers. Examples include “Top Reasons to Choose Our Land Clearing Services” or “Customer Success Stories in [City].”
Do not waste your time writing blog articles such as “What is land clearing” as a local company. These types of queries have been answered a million times and they will NOT bring you in any leads. Please stick to writing articles such as “How to + Service + City” and “Where to + Service + City”.
Using the “What, When, Who, Why, and Where” approach in content
- What: Describe what your services entail and what customers can expect.
- When: Explain when your services are most beneficial or necessary.
- Who: Identify who can benefit from your services (e.g., homeowners, developers, commercial property owners).
- Why: Highlight why customers should choose your services over competitors.
- Where: Specify the areas you serve and any location-specific considerations.
Extra Tips: Use these strategies when writing commercial intent blog posts for your local land clearing company.
- Create blog posts that answer common questions potential customers might have about land clearing services.
- Write detailed guides or case studies that demonstrate your expertise and the quality of your work.
- Encourage readers to contact you for a quote or to learn more about your services.
Website Optimization
Here are a few things you can focus applying to your land clearing site:
- Since half of web browsing is done on mobile, just make sure your site is mobile friendly.
- Speed up your site by removing unused plugins and any bloat. Use Pagespeed Insights or GTMetrix to check where your site is falling short.
- Make your site easier to navigate on both mobile and desktop. Make sure to remove your “blog” page and add it in the footer. You are here to make money not have people come from your home page to your blog.
- Write clear, helpful information about land clearing in your County or State.
- Make sure to have local service pages for each location you do business in. Only target cities NOT towns. Only mention the towns on the city service page.
- Make it easy for people to contact you and make your CTA (Call-to-action) consistent throughout the site. Do not say “contact us” then “free consultation”. It confuses the user.
- Make sure to have testimonials and social proof on your site to help your conversion rate.
- Add a cache plugin to your site to speed it up. There are many, so choose from the group.
- Make sure to downsize the images on your site. The sweet spot for most photos are around 100kb to 200kb.
Tracking and Analysis
Using Google Analytics to Track Performance
Use GA4 to get the bulk of the information you need to assess
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on your site from search results. Higher CTR = Good
- Bounce Rate: The percentage of users who leave your site WITHOUT taking ANY action.
- Dwell Time: The amount of time users spend on your site. Longer = Better
- Traffic Sources: Sort by organic search, direct, referrals, social media, and paid search if you are running Meta Ads or Google Ads.
- User Behavior: Monitors page views, bounce rates, and session durations.
- Conversion Tracking: Keep track of your form submissions and phone calls.
Make sure to make a Google Analytics account and a Google Tag Manager account, then attach it to your site in order to track them. Google and all other search engines have been using user signals to attempt to track the “quality” of sites. Just try to stay in the range of 50% or below for the bounce rate on your site.
Using Google Search Console
First Set up your site in Google Search Console
- Sign up and verify you are the owner of the domain. You will have to go into your hosting site’s DNS records and add the TXT file when prompted.
- Upload your sitemap to help Google crawl and index your site efficiently. We here at Blue Sky Advertisement typically just force index 5-7 pages and wait a little bit of time.
- Use the provided tools in Google Search Console to track your site’s performance and address any issues.
- Use the performance tab to track your site’s performance in Google Search.
- Identify and fix any issues preventing your pages from being indexed by Google.
- You can check if an individual URL is indexed on Google or request indexing for new or updated content.
Using Bing Webmaster Tools
First, set up your site in Bing Webmaster Tools
- Sign Up: Create an account at Bing Webmaster Tools and verify your site ownership.
- Submit Your Sitemap: Upload your sitemap to help Bing crawl and index your site efficiently.
- Monitor and Optimize: Use the provided tools to track your site’s performance and address any issues.
Unique features and benefits of Bing Webmaster Tools
- Access detailed keyword insights specific to Bing’s search engine. This is a good way to do keyword research for an already up and running website.
- Receive regular SEO reports highlighting opportunities and issues.
- Analyze your site’s backlink profile and monitor new links.
- Perform regular site scans to identify and fix technical SEO issues.
SEO Tools You Can Use for Your Local Land Clearing Business
Free SEO tools for local businesses
- Google Analytics: Provides insights into your website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.
- Google Search Console: Helps monitor your site’s presence in Google Search results and identify any issues.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: Offers similar usability to Google Search Console but for Bing.
- Moz Local: Assists in managing your business listings across various online directories.
Paid SEO tools and their benefits
- SEMrush: Cheaper Option $129.95 per month
- Ahrefs: More expensive, but better for link building. $129.99 starting, but does not have the same features of SEMRush. $200+ package gives you better features than SEMRush.
- Moz Pro: We haven’t used this in years. We advise you to avoid using the paid version of Moz.
- BrightLocal: Automates your citation and directory creation process. Unfortunately, they will be removed shortly after canceling your subscription. We recommend you do them by hand for the main bulk of your citations or directory pages.
