How Do I Get More Leads for My Cape Cod Business?
I actually noticed this question online and thought what a perfect blog post this would be so let’s get into it! Ranking on Google as a Cape Cod business follows mostly the same rules as ranking anywhere else. There's one wrinkle worth knowing about, and it comes down to the fact that "Cape Cod" isn't actually a town, it's Barnstable County. More on that in a minute but first the fundamentals, because these are critical ranking and attracting leads.
Start with Keyword Research
Before anything else, figure out which keywords actually matter in your industry and how much search volume each one gets. Knowing what prospects type into Google is one of the most important ways to increase your rankings as a local businesses.
Review your Website’s SEO Foundation
If you're asking how to rank better, your website is probably already built. This is a god time to give it an full SEO review. Are your URLs good with keywords included? Are your meta titles and descriptions competed for every page and include words from your keyword research. Do your images have alt text and do your images have a good file name not just a string of letters and number? And do you have a good amount of both internal links (pointing to your own pages) and external links (other sites pointing to you)?
Links & Citations
Having lots of both Internal and external links tell Google your site has authority on a topic, and it ranks you accordingly. The same holds true for citations or directories think online yellow pages, Houzz, etc. There needs to be consistency across for your business name, address, and phone number. These NAPs as they are referred to need to match exactly across every directory and listing site you appear on. Inconsistent information is one of the quietest ways businesses lose rankings.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
If you're a local business on Cape Cod trying to grow, GBP, is an important platform and often overlooked. Your profile touches nearly everything above: you can work your important keywords into your profile and it earns you links back to your site. Year-rounders and summer visitors alike are searching for businesses near their location, whether that's "contractor near me" or “landscaper near me, the more complete your profile, the more likely you are to rank when someone searches for your services.
Posts and Reviews
Once your profile is filled out there is still more to do. Posting regularly and gathering reviews does two things at once: it signals to Google that you're an active, engaged business (and Google rewards that), and it shows potential customers what’s it can be like to work with you. Google has recently make posting even easier, you can now schedule out your posts so you can batch your work. Read our recent blog post: Google Update: GBP Scheduled Posts
SEO for the Cape Cod Region
Here's the exception I mentioned earlier. "Cape Cod" is a region, Barnstable County, made up of towns like Hyannis, Falmouth, Chatham, and a dozen others. People search "Cape Cod [service]" all the time, but Google still wants to see that you're relevant to the specific town you're actually in.
What we would suggest is two local service pages, one around "Cape Cod" as the broader regional term, and a page for your specific town. If you serve more than one town, that second page becomes a proper service-area page naming each one you cover. If you only have a Cape Cod service page you're competing for the regional term, while competitors who built both may show p in additional searches
Local Service pages are worth their own blog post, on how to to actually structure local and service-area pages soon. For now, just know they’re important to add to your site.
Curious how your business currently ranks when someone searches for your services on Cape Cod? Get your Magnetic Score with Keyword Tracking and get a clear action plan for improving your local rankings.