Answering Questions to Win at SEO
Electricians get sold on a version of search engine optimisation – cram some keywords into the homepage, get a few links, wait. And then there’s the one that does. The right way to do seo for electricians starts with a very simple premise: your ideal customers use Google to search for their problems. If your website solves their problems better than your competitors, Google sends them to you. That’s it, in a nutshell.
The difficult part is not getting that idea. It’s doing it over and over again, for the questions people ask – not the questions you think people ask.
Customers Don’t Search Like You Think They Do
You may think people search for “electrician [city]” only. Some do. But a large proportion of your potential customers search for “why does my power point keep tripping,” “how much does it cost for an electrician to put in a power point in my garage,” “can I do my own electrical work,” and “how long does it take to upgrade a switchboard.” These are real searches. They occurs hundreds of times a month in medium sized cities, thousands in big cities.
Those searches are people with issues, concerns about money or concerns of any kind. Not yet, but they’re looking. And if you have a website that doesn’t answer their questions, then you’re not even on their radar. You’re giving a competitor who took the time to write a 600-word page with the information they want a huge leg up.
Electricians who get it think of their website as more than a brochure. They view it as an hour a day, seven days a week helpdesk.
How “Answering Questions” Works in Practice
It doesn’t mean producing a PhD dissertation on electricity theory. Nobody wants that. It means writing useful content that answers questions a home owner or small business owner might have. A page called “How much does a switchboard upgrade cost in [City]?” that accurately lists the price range, the factors that contribute to the costs, and the sequence in which the work will be done – that’s useful. Google likes useful content because people like useful content.
FAQ pages are underrated. An FAQ page with as few as 15 questions and answers (2-4 paragraphs per question) around common electrical problems can drive traffic to that page from 50 or more different search queries. If you work it right, individual questions on that page can be featured snippets – those zero position results that show up above the rest. That’s difficult to achieve through paid search and relatively easy to achieve through content, if you do it right.
Blog posts work similarly. Focussed posts that answer specific questions work better than long, comprehensive guides. “Is it OK to use an extension cord as a wire?” is a post. “Why do the lights flicker at home?” is a post. “Should I get a permit for a power connection to a garden shed?” is a post. They are all little fishing nets dipped in the vast sea of local searches.
The Fast Track to Ranking
Many people don’t realise this. Ranking for question-based, long-tail keywords can be faster than ranking for competitive “head” keywords such as “electrician Sydney.” The latter has all the established electricians in Sydney gunning for it. The question keywords? Far less competition. A page that answers a question can rank number one within weeks, compared to the months or years it can take to take a page up the rankings for a very competitive keyword.
It’s like being able to book in at the hottest restaurant in town, versus walking into a less crowded one next door with equally good food. You still get a meal. And you get it faster.
Electricians Can Grow Their Business with Google’s Featured Snippets
Google’s featured snippets are taken from pages that clearly and succinctly answer the question. If someone searches “how often should I get an electrical inspection” and your page includes a paragraph early in the copy that answers that question, Google may just use that paragraph at the top of the search results. Your website name and link are there. Even non-clickers see your brand.
To improve your chances of getting a snippet, try to put the answer to the question right after it. Don’t put the answer at the end of the third paragraph. Say it first, and then elaborate. Use the question as a heading. Keep the answer to 40-60 words – this is what Google likes to use.
Earning a.Client’s Trust Before You’ve Even Spoken
This tactic is actually a psychological one. By the time a prospect reads your page that answers their question, they’ve already had a good experience with you. You’ve demonstrated knowledge. You’ve demonstrated empathy. When they call, it’s not an unknown electrician – it’s the one who explained the problem when no-one else would.
That initial rapport has a higher sale rate. Get fewer objections to price, fewer “think-it-overs” and quicker sales. It’s no small thing. In a trade relationship that’s built on trust, strolling into the first meeting with the lead already is more valuable than any promotion.
You Don’t Need to Ask Questions – They’re Already Asked
Services such as Google’s “People Also Ask” boxes are invaluable. Type in any local electrical service and read through the questions. That, is a content calendar. The questions in this box are what people want to know. Create a page for each question. Make them specific, and local if it’s local, and answer them as if you were explaining something to a friend, not as if you were trying to fool the algorithm.
The beauty of good SEO is that the more you help people, and the less you worry about the algorithm, the happier the algorithm will be. It’s like Google knows we all want useful content. Who knew.
The competition is mostly still trying to use keywords in their headers. There’s a gaping hole to be filled between that and a true question-answering strategy. This is an opportunity, a gap that will not remain open.
