Chuck Doucet, owner of Restoration Pros, has seen a decline in phone calls and website traffic over the past few years, highlighting the need for a stronger online presence.
The advantage of visibility on Google is gaining direct insights from the search engine’s perspective. This visibility is crucial for a company handling emergencies; it allows potential customers to quickly find the solutions they need.
Current Situation of the Restoration Pros’ Website
Website:
At first glance, Restoration Pros’ online presence looks solid. The website has a professional layout, with videos that effectively showcase expertise and detailing services like restoration and mold remediation for fire and flood damage.
However, the site has a low link authority score of 2.2 out of 100, largely due to links from low-value paid directories.
Keyword Ranking:
Restoration Pros currently ranks for only 91 keywords, far below the target of several thousand. It does rank for ‘water damage restoration pros,’ a new, high-volume term with low keyword difficulty, which offers a strong starting point.
The keyword “water and fire restoration company New Iberia Louisiana” has a low search volume (only 10 searches monthly) and zero difficulty. The company ranks in position 10 for this keyword, indicating competition with nine other companies for visibility, despite it being an easy keyword.
The company struggles to rank higher for low-difficulty terms like “water mitigation Lafayette,” where it currently sits in position nine.
Local Visibility:
In Lafayette, Louisiana, the company appears in the local pack, enhancing discoverability for potential customers.
They need to maximize visibility across various Google SERP features, including images, videos, local results, and related searches.
Performance Metrics:
The company has improved its position in search rankings (from position 8 to 5 for some terms). Most traffic comes from the Google My Business (GMB) profile rather than the company website.
Pages:
The company has only 10 pages on its site, which is insufficient given its 20 years of business experience. This indicates a glass half-full situation: there’s progress, but significant room for improvement.
The homepage does most of the heavy lifting in terms of ranking, while the location and service pages are underperforming. The homepage ranks for about 40 keywords, indicating it is the company’s top-performing webpage. Its pages haven’t been optimized for SEO, nor have any real links been built.
Traffic:
Almost all traffic is directed to the homepage, leaving other essential pages (like those for emergency services) with minimal traffic or visibility. While people recognize the brand (Restoration Pros) due to their 20-year reputation, they aren’t finding it through relevant service keywords.
Content Quality:
The water damage restoration page includes relevant keywords, but it lacks authority due to insufficient backlinks. Additionally, the page has no trust signals or substantial traffic, offering minimal SEO value. The blog lacks an author profile, suggesting the content may be AI-generated without conveying authority or expertise.
Links:
There are no links from the Google My Business listing to the specific service page, which would strengthen the local presence. The clickable phone number on the page is a positive aspect.
Without high-quality links, their site won’t rank for important keywords like “water remediation” or “fire damage restoration.”
E-E-A-T:
The content fails to demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T) as per Google’s updated guidelines. There is little proof of real-world experience in the content, which diminishes credibility.
The content must go beyond generic descriptions, reflecting real-world expertise in services like water damage, mold removal, or fire restoration. They must showcase genuine experiences, including technician activities and community involvement to satisfy Google.
Visual Content:
The website lacks a sufficient volume of photos, stories, reviews, and images that showcase experience.
While some genuine photos exist, there is a call for more authentic, non-stock images to represent the company’s work accurately.
Community Connection:
There’s a need to demonstrate the company’s connection to the local community, like partnerships with local officials or participation in community events.
PAA:
The website addresses some “People Also Ask” questions but doesn’t provide sufficient answers to make a significant impact.
ChatGPT Review:
Evaluating any company’s online presence is now easier than ever—no guesswork required. I pasted the website text directly into ChatGPT to get a quick analysis that highlights content gaps in seconds. I prompted the AI to evaluate specific E-E-A-T factors, especially experience.
ChatGPT pinpointed where the page falls short in demonstrating real-world expertise and suggested additional questions from the “People Also Ask” (PAA) section. Common inquiries like “What does it cost?” or “Can they come right away?” are essential—Google expects clear answers to the questions real users are searching for.
A Strategic SEO Approach for Restoration Pros
No substantial SEO work has been done to enhance the site’s visibility. Chuck Doucet needs to focus on building location and service pages that emphasize real-life experiences and proven results to improve search performance.
Instead of just filling pages with keywords, they should demonstrate genuine expertise. For example, participating in local events like cook-offs and fundraisers—wearing branded shirts and taking photos—can strengthen community ties and trust as a local provider.
Simple location tagging in the photos (like Youngsville or Lafayette) can enhance local visibility. The device model doesn’t matter; what counts is capturing authentic moments. Technicians can upload photos to a shared Google workspace to streamline content creation.
Currently, the content appears generic, lacking unique connections to areas like New Iberia or Lafayette. It should reflect local engagement by including non-restoration content, such as posts about community events, favorite local dishes, or even a technician’s personal ties to an area.
Create powerful one-minute videos that capture stories, client experiences, and reviews.
Storytelling can showcase the company’s local roots. Consider sharing:
- The company’s founding story
- Growth and development of technicians
- Community involvement at local events
These stories can highlight the company as not just a restoration service but as an integral part of the area.
Hire a virtual assistant (VA) to repurpose and manage content across different platforms.
While the SEO strategy isn’t terrible, it lacks signals of community involvement. There’s no need to create a new website—just meaningful content that shows their investment in the community and the team. Dedicate 6-10 weeks to building this content out with authentic stories.
The truth about SEO companies is that they often provide jargon-filled reports that don’t show real progress. Ranking for more keywords is irrelevant if it doesn’t drive calls or leads. Effective SEO should prioritize genuine community-based content, not complicated tricks.
Many business owners aim for top rankings on terms like “Richardson emergency plumber,” but end up spending thousands without results—just a silent phone. The solution is to take control. Conduct regular audits, set clear standards, and stay actively involved in the strategy. Just as restoration companies need licenses, digital marketing should have the same level of accountability.
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