Locksmith SEO is how your business is found by consumers who have locked their keys inside their car, find themselves locked out of their home, or suffer a mishap such as a ket breaking off inside the lock.

No matter what the emergency, when someone needs a locksmith they turn to Google for a fast solution. Search engine optimization for locksmiths is highly competitive, with every business vying for the top search results within their local service area.

The days of grabbing the phone book or looking for a locksmith ad in the newspaper are far behind us. Instead, a consumer immediately goes to Google – and usually from a mobile device in these situations – and types in “locksmith near me” or “locksmith in [location]” to find a fast solution to their problem.

The major benefit of locksmith SEO is the abundance of free organic traffic available. Marketing and advertising costs have increased considerably in recent years, so anytime you can attract targeted traffic without having to pay on a per-click basis contributes to a lower overall cost per customer.

Search engine optimization in general takes time to achieve results, and this holds true for every business and industry. Some require more patience and work to reach the top of Google’s search results due to the competitive nature, and locksmiths are grouped into this category, and it’s related to the nature of the search query.

When a consumer is searching for a locksmith on Google they want to find one instantly and have a locksmith on-site solving their problem right away. Being found in the top results means attracting the majority of the calls and website visits that originate from Google.

This exposure is highly valuable as it leads to instant conversions. Nobody is searching for a locksmith and waiting days, or even hours, to schedule a service call. It’s an instant conversion and revenue for the locksmith company.

Let’s look at five simple locksmith SEO tips that lead to stronger website authority, higher rankings in Google Maps, and more priceless organic traffic hitting your blog which can then be converted into customers.

1. Create Directory Listings and Build Links

Listing your locksmith business on the top online directory listing website benefits your SEO in two ways. First, it helps you attract customers that use these directories to find businesses, just like they used the phone book back in the day.

In fact, YellowPages.com (or YP.com) is an example of a popular directory listing that you will want to secure – they have moved the old school phone book online. Other popular business directories include Foursquare, Facebook, Manta, Yelp, etc.

In addition to helping attract local customers, it’s also an opportunity to secure a link to your website. The top directories hold a lot of authority, which directly benefits your locksmith SEO effort.

While Google’s algorithm considers links, it also considers citation data, which consists of your business NAP (name, address, and phone number). Not all online directories will allow you to include a link, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of listing your business.

A consistent NAP across the internet is a strong signal to Google that your business is active, and the location data is used to help serve relevant search queries in your location. Focus on quality – if it’s not a directory that you recognize by name it’s best to avoid it.

2. Get Google Reviews for Your Google My Business Profile

Attracting Google reviews for your locksmith business is very important because they provide you with social proof that helps to attract new customers and they also act as a trust signal, instilling confidence and assuring Google that your business provides quality service.

There are many review platforms, like Yelp and Facebook, but Google reviews directly impact your rankings in the local map section. This is the very top of the search results, triggered when Google senses a search with local intent.

Consumers will more than likely leave you a review if you simply ask, and there is no better time to do that than after the service call. After letting the customer back into his or her car or home, simply ask them if they would mind leaving a review.

Their mood is typically very appreciative, and will gladly honor your simple request. To make it even easier include a direct link to your GMB profile on your invoices or receipt email. Let them know they can find a direct link there and watch how many appreciative customers leave you a review.

Attempt to secure a review from every customer. Your locksmith SEO results will improve, and even if you are not found in the top position, a higher number of reviews can help attract clicks and calls from consumers based on them being drawn to the business with a higher number of reviews.

3. Identify Low Competition Keywords

Keyword research is an invaluable part of a successful locksmith search engine optimization campaign. Don’t overthink it in the beginning. Create a list of keywords by writing down terms and search phrases that reflect what you offer – locksmith services – and where you are located.

Google has a keyword planner for its Google Ads customers that can be used to help identify terms, but using common sense and placing yourself in the shoes of the typical customer for all of the services provided will generally help identify terms that have an actual use.

Furthermore, you can use Google auto-complete to identify keywords that are actively being searched for. Simply type in “locksmith” or “lockout service” and see what auto-complete options are shown. Then, you can use location variants and the keywords you are using to identify variants.

There are a lot of keyword research tools out there, but more are simply guessing. Google auto-complete is data directly from Google – there is no second-guessing it. If it shows up as an auto-complete result you know for a fact it’s being searched often.

Be sure to target low competition terms and those with buying intent. For example, if a consumer types in “lockout out of car Tampa” they have a problem and need immediate help. You can do this for every type of locksmith service – lockouts, key retooling, etc.

4. Optimize Your Blog Posts

Now that you have a list of keywords to target you need to write blog content, targeting one keyword per blog post. This strategy allows you to optimize each post specifically for the target keyword. When your on-site optimization is perfected it helps your content rank organically.

Some low competition terms, especially in smaller markets, will be able to reach the first page of Google with nothing more than solid on-page optimization and some internal linking. More difficult keywords will require some off-site link building to reach page one.

Include your target keyword in the post title close to the beginning, throughout your blog content, being sure to include it in the first sentence, and then applying it to all other optimization elements – heading tag, alt-image tag, etc.

If you are running on WordPress, use a free plugin like Yoast SEO to help guide you. This simple tool makes it easy to ensure every little detail is optimized. Taking the time to do this can be the difference between sitting on page two and not receiving any traffic or hitting page one and attracting organic visitors that require your locksmith service.

5. Monitor and Track Your Results

The only way to know if your locksmith SEO campaign is working is by tracking and monitoring your results. There are three components that you will want to pay attention to.

Impressions: Most people focus on rankings, but if you only look at the top of the results (positions 1 - 10) you will miss out on a lot of opportunities. Dive into your Google Search Console data and look at impressions. You will find pages that are receiving exposure in the search results, the position they are showing up in, and what terms are triggering them. This is great data to see your progress, but also princess information to help you improve quickly by highlighting opportunities.

Traffic: Look at your traffic data from a 3, 6, 9, and 12-month window. Is the chart going up across the board? Even if just slightly – remember, SEO takes time – this is a good indication that your campaign is working. If there are inconsistent dips or a decline in traffic you will need to pinpoint the problem and address it.

Conversions: This is the most important piece of data – conversions. How many leads and customers is the campaign generating and how much revenue is your locksmith SEO effort making in relation to its cost. Many SEO agencies will focus on rankings or traffic volume, but without conversions that data is irrelevant.

Final Thoughts

For the best locksmith SEO results you will want to focus on increasing the authority of your website through link building and content publishing, while also constantly optimizing your Google My Business page and attracting reviews to command visibility in the Google Maps section.

The local map area is where most consumers turn to for an immediate solution to their problem. The feeling of being locked out of a home or car can be highly stressful and cause anxiety levels to spike, so the top results – provided they have a high number of reviews – are going to receive the majority of the calls and clicks.

The locksmith search engine optimization tips outlined above are a great starting point. Addressing each point will lead to increased traffic and more customers booking service calls. If you have any questions regarding what was discussed above or you would like to learn more about our locksmith SEO service, please feel free to contact us. Our team of dedicated locksmith SEO experts will be glad to answer your questions and explain how our fully managed service works.

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