The year is almost over. Before you close the books on 2021, invest one afternoon in your local SEO. The work you do this week will pay off in January when homeowners across San Antonio start searching for contractors, plumbers, HVAC techs, and handymen to tackle their New Year’s project lists.
Think of this as your year-end maintenance…for your marketing, not your truck.
Review Your 2021 Google Analytics
If you have Google Analytics installed on your website (and if you don’t, that’s priority one for January), pull up your year-over-year data:
- Total website visitors: Up or down from 2020?
- Top traffic sources: Are people finding you through Google search, social media, or direct traffic?
- Top-performing pages: Which pages get the most visits? Which ones convert?
- Mobile vs. desktop: What percentage of visitors are on mobile? (Hint: it should be 60-70%+)
This data tells you what’s working and what needs attention in 2022. Don’t guess…look at the numbers. When January arrives, our social media strategies for home services businesses will help you hit the ground running with your marketing plan.
Audit Your Google Business Profile One More Time
We talk about Google Business Profile often in this blog because it’s that important for local home services businesses. Do one final audit before New Year’s:
- All information accurate and current
- Holiday hours set for Christmas and New Year’s
- At least one post published in December
- All reviews from Q4 responded to
- 5+ photos uploaded in the past 90 days
If you’ve been consistent all year, great…you’re ahead of 90% of your competitors. If you’ve been inconsistent, a year-end cleanup gets you back on track. For a comprehensive year-end local SEO review, our 2023 guide to year-end local SEO for home services covers additional audit steps worth adding to your checklist.
Check Your Review Count and Velocity
Count your total Google reviews as of today. How does that compare to January 1, 2021?
The goal for most home services companies is 2-4 new reviews per month. If you’re below that, 2022’s resolution should include a systematic review request process…asking every satisfied customer, following up with a link, and tracking the results.
While you’re at it, check your average rating. If it’s below 4.5, read through your negative reviews for patterns. Is the same complaint coming up? That’s a business problem, not a marketing problem…and fixing it will improve both your reviews and your service. As you plan ahead for the new year, our local SEO guide for home services during the holiday season covers strategies for maintaining strong search visibility through the seasonal transition.
Verify Your Citations
End-of-year is a great time to run a citation audit. Check your business name, address, and phone number on:
- Google Business Profile
- Yelp
- Angi (formerly Angie’s List)
- HomeAdvisor
- BBB
- Nextdoor
- Your website
Every single one should be identical. If you moved offices, changed your phone number, or rebranded at any point in 2021, inconsistencies may have crept in.
Use Moz Local’s free scan tool to check for discrepancies across dozens of directories at once.
Set Your 2022 Local SEO Goals
Based on your 2021 data, set three specific goals for the new year:
- Traffic goal: Increase website visitors from organic search by X%
- Review goal: Reach [specific number] total Google reviews by December 2022
- Content goal: Publish [specific number] blog posts per month to build topical authority
Write them down. Put them on your office wall. Assign someone on your team to track them monthly.
Thank Your Customers
This isn’t an SEO tactic. It’s a human one. Send a year-end email or text to your customer list:
“Thank you for trusting [your company] with your home this year. We’re grateful to serve San Antonio homeowners like you. Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2022.”
Gratitude builds loyalty. And loyal customers don’t search for your competitors.
Here’s to a strong finish to 2021 and an even stronger 2022. Grow My Small Business helps San Antonio home services companies build their online presence. Free marketing resources at https://gift.growmysmallbusiness.com/.