Effective Online Marketing & SEO Tips for Garage Door Dealers 

Homeowners and commercial facilities in this day and age are quick to leverage search engines like Google to find garage door service providers when in need. Investing in online marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) has become essential for garage door dealers, installers, and service repair businesses. Action Industries is well versed in the industry and online marketing, so read on to understand the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) to get your website in front of potential customers.  Better search engine rankings can equate to more leads that can help keep your business running profitably. 

What is SEO? 

SEO is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results (like Google, Bing, or Yahoo) to attract more organic (non-paid) impressions and clicks. The goal is for your website to rank higher than the competition for relevant keywords or phrases that people search for. Doing so ensures you’re easily found when a potential customer searches for “garage door repair near me.” 

How Does SEO Work? 

SEO can be intimidating for many, but if you provide helpful content and a good website experience your chances are increased to be in a more favorable position over time. Search engines are built to provide relevant content for a search query, so searching “garage door services 44149” provides results for local businesses instead of installers in another region. SEO aligns your website with the way search engines rank content, so your page is pushed to the top of relevant search results. To have good SEO, you need your website to have the information the search engines are looking for. 

On-Page SEO 

On-Page SEO focuses on website content, keywords, title tags, meta descriptions, and text headings. The content itself should be informative and either answer a searchers question or solve a problem. In the case of a garage door installer, having your hours of operation, physical location, service offerings, and how to schedule an appointment is a good start. The addition of blog posts, helpful guides, and an informative “About Us” section can further flesh out your web pages with relevant keywords and helpful information to improve SEO.  

Keyword Selection  

When adding content to your website, it is important to keep keywords in mind. Keywords are words and phrases that search engines crawl the internet for to determine which websites are relevant to display in a user's search results. You can use Google Search Console to find the exact keywords Google favors for your website.  Even conducting a few searches of your own in Google for service-related keywords can give you an idea of what types of results Google deems valuable. See below for some popular key phrases tailored to a local market to get you started: 

• Garage door repair near me 

• Garage door installation in [city] 

• Garage door opener replacement [zip code] 

• Emergency garage door service [neighborhood] 

While it may be tempting to stuff as many keywords into your content as possible, Google will notice when you're using keywords just for the sake of it and will hold it against your website’s ranking. Therefore, always put informative and relevant content first and let keywords fall into place naturally. 

Technical SEO 

Even if your content and keywords are excellent, technical issues can block your site from being found. Here are a few site-wide issues you’ll want to proactively fix before them become problematic: 

Site Speed 

The average consumer only spends about 10 seconds on a website before leaving, so Google prioritizes fast load times. Optimizing image sizes, reducing JavaScript, and enabling cache and compression (especially on mobile devices) can all help to improve the load time of your website. You can easily check your speed by plugging your URL into PageSpeed! 

Eliminate Errors 

Fixing 404 errors, broken links, and redirect issues (301/302) will also streamline your website and steadily improve your SEO. It's important to periodically check your website for potential errors. This can easily be done with a variety of online SEO tools, or a software program like Screaming Frog. 

Visuals 

Visual presentation is another important factor Google pays close attention to. A website’s appearance on a desktop or laptop device will differ from when it’s displayed on a mobile device, so make sure both lack any errors or display issues. 

Instead of listing all services you offer on one page, create dedicated landing pages for each major service—such as garage door installation, spring replacement, or commercial garage door repair. Doing so improves keyword targeting and relevance. It also makes for a better visual experience and allows you to show service-specific testimonials and FAQs. 

Off-Page SEO 

Off-page SEO focuses on what happens outside of your website and can help improve your ranking by association through creating more brand authority.  

Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile 

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is one of the most important tools for local SEO. This listing appears in local search results and on Google Maps, making it crucial for garage door dealers who serve specific service areas. Claiming a profile and linking it to your site gives your company extra authenticity and exposure.  

Here’s some quick tips for profile information: 

• Use your complete and accurate business name, address, and phone number (NAP) 

• Upload high-quality photos of your team, products, and recent work 

• Regularly update your business hours and services 

• Encourage customers to leave reviews and respond to them 

For an in-depth look at business profiles, check out our guide! 

Generate Local Citations and Backlinks 

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative. To do this, you can partner with local contractors, home improvement blogs, or realtors. Also consider sponsoring local events or charities and asking for a mention (or citation) on their website. Be sure to submit your business to online directories like Apple Maps, Yelp, Angi, and the Better Business Bureau for further exposure. 

Encourage Online Reviews and Manage Reputation 

Reviews are one of the biggest ways to boost trust with clients and improve your ranking. Afterall, few clients will click on a garage door repair website with one star. See our article on all things feedback for tips on gathering, answering, and responding to reviews!  

Indexing 

When search engines scan websites, the collected content is stored in a massive database called the index. Search engines draw from the index when fulfilling a customer’s search. Google crawls small business websites every few days to a couple of weeks, which can leave the index outdated. Be sure to use the URL index tool in Google Search Console after creating a new page on your site to ensure its content can be found by searchers. 

 

While search engine optimization may seem complicated at first, at its core SEO is all about connecting searchers with relevant information and making that experience the best it can be. If you maintain your website, you’re already on track to have a good SEO baseline for organic rankings. Of course, there is always room for improvement. Check out Action’s guide for digital marketing for more tips on raising your garage business to new heights.