Brenda Farley, owner of Clear Water Prowash in Columbus, Ohio, took a hands-on approach to SEO. This allowed her to avoid unreliable SEO agencies and concentrate on modern SEO’s key element: authentic content.
Even though Clear Water Prowash already ranks for 501 keywords and has a domain rating of 9, our thorough SEO analysis revealed several opportunities for improvement.
In our SEO review for Clear Water Prowash, we found Brenda had three main reasons for the audit:
- She wanted to know how her YouTube videos affected her visibility online and looked for ways to improve their impact.
- Her goal was to boost rankings for specific service keywords, especially “paver patio restoration.”
- She noticed a competitor climbing quickly in search rankings and was curious about their strategies.
Clear Water Prowash’s Current SEO Status: A Quick Overview
Clear Water ProWash runs on WordPress, which already meets 90% of the requirements for effective SEO.
Analysis with Ahrefs indicates that a significant portion of the 501 keywords for which Clear Water Prowash ranks are local or “near me” keywords aimed at areas like Dublin, OH, and Powell, OH. These keywords are of low difficulty, rated 10 or less, making them relatively easy to dominate given the website’s current domain rating.
The website appears in various SERP features (SF), including:
→ local pack
→ People-Also-Ask
→ thumbnail images
→ video
To further enhance performance, the following actions can be taken:
- Responding to more “People Also Ask” queries.
- Diversifying keyword usage to prevent keyword stuffing.
Brenda’s top-ranking keywords draw 30-40% of traffic from their total search volume, suggesting significant growth potential by optimizing key identified keywords.
Her pages have seen fluctuating ranks, known as the “Google Dance,” indicating Google’s real-time assessment based on user engagement. Positive interactions boost rankings, while poor engagement lowers them. This emphasizes the need for continual optimization to keep users engaged.
So, what has Brenda been doing differently for the past year that’s catapulted her previously unranked pages to Google’s page number one, along with a notable surge in organic traffic to her site?
Brenda’s strategy over the past year focused on regular YouTube video uploads rather than direct website enhancements.
This tactic aligns with insights from Roger Wakefield, about Google’s preferential treatment for content that links social media with search engines. Since Google owns YouTube, it naturally prioritizes such content. By incorporating videos, Brenda leveraged this connection, sending signals to Google that boosted her website’s ranking.
This is a “secret strategy” that smartly utilizes social engagement to aid in search optimization, which answers one of her questions about how uploading videos over the past year has been helping her rank higher.
Let’s explore this further.
Brenda’s SEO Strategy: Insights and a Critical Review
The audit revealed Brenda’s SEO strengths and improvement areas:
- Local Keyword Optimization:
Her smart use of local keywords boosts her site’s visibility. However, there’s room to broaden her keyword range and avoid overusing phrases like “Columbus power washing.”
Pro Tips:
- Broaden the range of local keywords to include more services.
- Avoid overuse of the same keywords to prevent keyword stuffing.
- Enhance website content for better keyword variation with ChatGPT’s assistance.
How to Use ChatGPT to Enhance Keyword Variation and Website Content
The quality of results from ChatGPT heavily depends on the prompt you use. Here is an example of a good prompt:
“My friend, Brenda, has a power washing company in Columbus, OH. And I’m going to paste in the text from her location service page for Columbus. Please critique it for how we can do better with SEO, especially PAA. What other questions should she answer? Please go ahead and rewrite her content. We won’t be offended if you need to make big changes. This is important to me.”
Pro Tip:
Interacting politely and using a friendly tone with ChatGPT can enhance its output by 11%. A simple “please” makes your prompts more effective.
Question: Does Google penalize AI-generated content? No, if you mix it with real photos and videos.
- Google My Business (GMB) Utilization:
She has a well-maintained GMB profile, which is essential for local search visibility and boosting local SEO.
- Authenticity:
Using genuine photos from her projects, Brenda adds authenticity to her site, setting Clear Water ProWash apart and building trust with potential customers, which boosts search rankings.
In contrast, most competitors use stock photos, a practice seen as less genuine by Google and customers alike.
It’s too much of a hassle for “remote” SEO companies to obtain the “actual stuff” from business owners, so they resort to using “garbage” or filler content, which Google can easily identify as less valuable.
Pro Tip:
Incorporate authentic, before-and-after images or videos of projects on relevant pages to showcase service quality and effectiveness, improving appeal to both visitors and search engines.
The Role of Geo-tagging in Photos and Videos
Geo-tagging proves that “you are where you say you are” and this serves as a strong SEO signal to Google, as opposed to web pages that use generic stock photos. This enhances your site’s credibility and relevance in search results.
- Backlinks
The audit identified a lack of backlinks for Clear Water ProWash. To improve, the business should register in online local directory listings and develop relationships with neighboring businesses to support each other on social media and blog posts.
- Location pages:
While Brenda’s website has enough basic location pages, adding unique photos to each can significantly boost their rankings.
Contrary to popular belief, using identical photos and text on various pages isn’t very detrimental. However, creating custom content for each location enhances relevance and effectiveness. This strategy improves user experience and raises the chances of ranking higher in search results for those specific locations.
Pro Tip for Better Location Pages: Content, Backlinks, and Authority
Boost location pages not just by changing city names. Add a personal touch like mentioning a favorite local spot in Dublin, Ohio, showing real ties to the area.
Deepen this connection by collaborating with local businesses. From guest blogs at a pizza place to social media shoutouts, prove you’re a community member. This improves visibility to Google and potential customers.
Use similar tactics for backlinks. Engage with local groups or businesses by sharing your knowledge via guest posts or spotlighting local entrepreneurs through quick phone interviews, repurposing them into blog posts. This boosts SEO and diversifies your site’s content.
Audit Highlights for Brenda’s Other Concerns
We explored Brenda’s other two questions and here’s what we found.
Patio Wizards’ Strategy: Clever or Questionable?
Our audit spotted an interesting move by Patio Wizards, Brenda’s competitor. They’ve shot up in rankings not just through standard SEO but by buying several domains like Good Stuff Enterprises, (with already established backlinks) and redirecting them to their main site.
This boosts their SEO significantly but skirts the edge of SEO ethics.
Our two cents? Stay genuine. True content and real engagement are not only Google-friendly but also build trust with your audience.
Strategy for Dominating Paver Patio Restoration Keywords
Brenda aims to improve her ranking for “paver patio restoration” and can achieve this by applying her successful method from power washing services. She should establish individual pages for each city she services, incorporating phrases like “service + city name.”
Enhancing these pages with authentic photos and specific local content would increase their relevance and attractiveness. This approach would not only make her website more engaging to visitors and search engines but also establish her as the leading expert in paver patio restoration across those areas.
SEO Plan for Brenda’s Business
Our SEO audit identified clear steps to boost Brenda’s patio and pressure washing business online. Here’s the plan:
- Boost Domain Rating: Increase from 9 to 20 by adding location-specific content and more quality backlinks.
- Optimize Key Pages: Improve pages already near the top of search results for more traffic.
- Get More Backlinks and Social Buzz: Collaborate with local businesses and share work on social media to strengthen online presence.
- Use ChatGPT Smartly: Enhance web content with ChatGPT for engaging, SEO-friendly material.
- Hire a Virtual Assistant: For $500/month, a VA can implement these strategies, letting Brenda focus on her business.
Key Actions:
- Target local keywords to stand out in Columbus, OH.
- Use YouTube and social media to boost SEO.
- Create real, appealing content to build trust and rank higher.
- Enhance backlinks through local directories and partnerships.
- Employ ChatGPT for fresh, compliant content.
To enhance the audit’s effectiveness, we’re taking the findings and repurposing them into a blog post for a high-authority site, aiming to further improve her domain rating. This is part of adapting SEO strategies to stay competitive.
Your Next Step:
Looking to unlock your website’s potential? Head over to AreYouGoogleable.com now for a comprehensive SEO audit. Quick, effective, and absolutely essential—let’s go!