Part 4 in our series on local SEO for cleaning companies
When you think of site content, you probably think text for Web pages and blogs. But website content also encompasses videos, slideshows, audio presentations, infographics, articles, white papers and any other form of media.

Site content serves two purposes: It provides visitors with an awesome on-site experience and it helps search engines rank your site based on searcher intent (You might recall that term from the first article in the series).

Content, combined with website design and page speed, are important local SEO factors and should count as 30 percent of your SEO strategy. (You may recall in Parts 2 and 3 of our series, backlinks, citations, and reviews contribute 20 percent to a local SEO strategy.)

This article focuses on content and provides tips on developing useful, searchable information for your website that passes the “Who Cares?” test. In other words, would your spouse, children, sibling, relatives, and friends choose to read this content in their free time?

This proven four-part strategy will help you craft content for your local cleaning business website so it can obtain great search engine ranking results:

Determine the intent of searchers

A good starting point for determining search intent is a Google search. Look at what’s already ranking in Google to get a handle on search intent for your cleaning business. Then, craft generic and specific content that will match that searcher behavior and, as a result, deliver high rankings in search engine results.

Other ways to determine search intent include running an AdWords campaign, surveying existing customers on how they found your site, using a mass market survey tool like Google Consumer Surveys, or asking family and friends what they might search for when looking for your products and services.

Craft content that’s better than your competition’s

You need to develop engaging content that matches the intent behind a given search query. (Not the boring 500-word, keyword stuffed, SEO blog article!)

Consider these content strategies:

• A collection of best tips;
• Specific content that addresses common cleaning problems, such as: How to Clean Wine Off a Sofa or How to Clean Streaky Windows.
• Blog posts that address common cleaning issues consumers have;
• Videos on how to perform a cleaning task.

Write original content only. Never duplicate content found on other websites. Duplicated Web pages compete against each other for higher positions in search results. Plus, duplicate content will negatively impact your site’s ranking.

Write highly clickable meta titles and descriptions for content

Meta titles and descriptions are the text summaries that appear in search engine results. If you want a searcher to choose your site, your summary needs to be exciting, give searchers an idea of what they’ll find from reading the content. Think of your meta title and description as an ad with the sole purpose of getting people to click your result when they find you in search.

Promote your content to get high quality links

To boost your ranking in search engine results, seek out good, quality links (See Part 2 in our series on Backlinks).  

Now that you’re crafting some great content for your website, get ready for Part 5 of our Local SEO series on Design and User Experience (UX). Learn how website design can enhance the user experience of your prospective customers and keep your existing customers coming back!

Part 1: The #1 Local SEO Rule: Does Your Website Have What Search Engines Want?

Part 2: How to Build Backlinks to Boost Local Web Traffic to Your site

Part 3: 3 Ways to Get the Reviews and Citations Your Website Deserves

John Crenshaw is Director of Search, Content & Media at Oodle.io.