How can you win over more homeowners with local search? Here’s a secret: It all starts with consistency. After all, your company’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) lay the foundation for your digital marketing strategy. And without the right structure, you’ll have a hard time keeping your appointment book full.
Whether you know it or not, your electrical company is already listed on hundreds of websites. Every website your business information is listed on is called a citation and displays your local business information. Search engines consider these citations as “votes” for your business, using them to determine how well your business ranks in local searches.
So, what does that mean for electricians? Well, if you’re struggling to update your online listings, it’s time to rethink your priorities. Here’s how to maximize your online listings so homeowners can find you when they need you most.
Let’s start with a simple definition. Your NAP—name, address, and phone number—are your key ingredients to a successful local search strategy. When it comes to online listings, your business information makes your electrical company unique and distinguishes you from other local electricians.
To win local business, you’ll need to list this information on your electrician website, local listings, social media profiles, and directories. This way, potential customers know how to contact you when they need to ask questions or book an appointment.
But there’s a catch: You need your NAP information to be accurate and consistent across every single listing. We’ve seen clients struggle to rank in local searches because of inconsistent NAP, and they’re far from alone. In fact, NAP variance is the #1 ranking issue in local search, with 41 percent of businesses having inconsistent or inaccurate citations.
So, why is NAP consistency so important? It’s simple: When your NAP information is accurate and consistent, search engines notice. When a local homeowner does a geo-targeted search for a local electrician, Google scans information from across the web. When your information is up-to-date, you show Google that you’re a trusted brand, which wins you more citation “votes” and higher rankings.
In contrast, when your name, address, and phone number are inaccurate or inconsistent, you make it harder for search engines to recognize your business. And sometimes, search engines can even confuse your business citations with citations for other businesses. When this happens, your “votes” get split up instead of working together to help your business rank better.
Inaccurate NAP information doesn’t just impact your search rankings. According to BrightLocal, 80 percent of customers lose trust in businesses if they find consistencies across online listings.
So, even if qualified leads still manage to find your business with local search, you risk sending them straight to the competition. Imagine all of the negative reviews that come pouring in when customers try to contact your business for lighting installation—only to be connected to a dead-end answering machine.
The good news? These issues are completely avoidable. Sure, you’ll need to set aside some time to update your online listings, but it’s well worth the effort. Here’s how to set up accurate NAP information for your electrician listings.
It goes without saying, but an accurate business name is critical to your online presence. You should always use your full company name—not the nickname people use for your business. Don’t add extra info, like slogans, services, or legal terms (like Co. or LLC), either.
For example, if your electrical company’s official name is “Premiere Cleveland Electrical,” you should use that name across every single platform. Avoid using variations or abbreviations, like “PCE” or “Cleveland Electrical.” And make sure you always use the exact same spelling, grammar, and capitalization.
At the end of the day, you need a consistent business name across every platform so leads (and search engines) can identify your electrical company.
When it comes to online listings, your address is the trickiest piece of the puzzle. Just like your business name, your address is vulnerable to abbreviations and variations. And if you’re running multiple brick-and-mortar locations, your risk of inconsistencies only grows higher.
If your electrical company has a physical location where customers can find you, you’ll need to add your address on every listing. Pro tip: You should use the address of your physical location, even if you’re doing business at other locations (like commercial businesses or residential neighborhoods).
Don’t use P.O. boxes or cross-streets, and make sure you’re using the same format across the web. Some common mistakes in addresses include:
Even with emails and live chat, customers still call businesses to request quotes on upcoming projects, book appointments, and ask for more information. It might be tempting to skip this one, but trust us—you need an accurate and consistent phone number across every listing.
You should use the same phone number across every platform, even if you’re using call tracking to measure the success of different campaigns. Different numbers will only confuse search engines and potential customers, so you should choose call tracking software that swaps out your number for targeted callers.
Of course, you’ll need a local phone number to verify your local geographic location to search engines and build trust with local homeowners. If you have multiple locations, make sure to provide different local numbers for each specific location. To make life easier for prospects, you should list your phone number across your website location pages and Google Business Profile listings.
Congratulations! You’re one step closer to a winning local search strategy. Now that you’ve created consistent NAP information for your business, it’s time to conduct a quick audit.
Whether you’ve been on the web for several years or a few months, you need to know exactly what your citations look like. You’ll also need to check these citations regularly to make sure your NAP information is still accurate and consistent. If this is your first audit, we recommend coming back in a few months to make any quarterly updates.
Not sure where to start? First, use the Company 119 Local Services Tool to identify any errors, such as:
Updating dozens of individual listings can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you’ve run an audit, you can manage your local listings with a few clicks with our centralized management tool.
That’s right—you don’t have to spend hours behind a desk to boost your local search rankings.
Within the Local Services Tool, you perform different tasks to manage your local search presence:
Between running your business, keeping your electricians busy, and working in the field, you already have a lot on your plate. It’s all too easy to forget about individual platforms, especially if you’re already scrambling to update a local phone number or change your physical location.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Follow our NAP checklist to stay on top of local search:
No matter what your local search strategy looks like, you need consistent and accurate NAP information to get in front of homeowners when they’re searching for a reliable local electrician.
At Company 119, we know that running a business requires hard work, grit, and perseverance. That’s why we’ve built digital marketing solutions that do the dirty work for you so you can focus on what matters most.
Struggling to keep your electrician listings updated? We’d love to help you learn the ropes with our Local Services Tool. Give us a call to take your local search strategy to the next level.
