What if this St. Patrick's Day you found and captured a magical SEO Leprechaun. He said he would grant you one SEO wish, if you would set him free.

You've got this!  

“I want to rank #1 for water damage in my city,” you stammer.

“No wait! I want to rank #1, #2, and  #3,” you add.

”No, No, NO!” you shout wanting to get this absolutely right. 

“I want to rank for EVERY AND ALL organic search results, and for my ENTIRE SERVICE AREA!” 

“Your wish has been granted, good sir!” he says with a wink and a tip of his green hat. 

So let me ask you: if this did actually happen, and you and only you ranked in the SEO results, what percentage of all the phone calls and clicks from page one of Google would go to you?

100%? Nope. 

60%? Not even close. 

40%? Keep guessing.

The truth is you would only get about 20% of all the calls and clicks.

What most people don’t understand is that your SEO results would live at the bottom of the page, off screen and unseen until searchers scroll down. They first see Google’s paid ads and about 20% of people click there. The remaining 80% scroll down and see Google’s “Local Pack” section.

The Local Pack consists of a Google map and a list of three Google My Business listings. Some call it the “Local 3 Pack.” These three businesses will get another 60% or so of the action.

That leaves only about 20% of your potential customers that will scroll past the ads and listings to reveal your SEO results. So be careful what you wish for; dominating SEO results may not be the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow you have been searching for.

The quickest and easiest route to more online leads is not traditional SEO, but rather ranking your Google My Business listing. To help, I have outlined three powerful steps you can take today, that will move your Google My Business Listing up in the ranks, so you can start getting more clicks and calls.

Step 1: Choose The Right Primary Google My Business Category.  

Get this wrong and no one will find you. You must select your category from their list, so make sure you pick the one that is best for your business.  

If you do water, fire, and mold, I suggest your primary category should be “Water Damage Restoration Service”. Don’t choose “Contractor” or “Building Restoration Service."

If you want to focus primarily on fire, I recommend “Fire Damage Restoration Service”.

Step 2: Add the Right Keywords in Your Business Title

A dead on match of the category and search terms in your business title is the best way to rank number one. In real world tests, it beats everything else.  

Change your business title from “Shamrock Fast Flood Fixers” to “Shamrock Water Damage Restoration Company” and you will shoot right to the top.  Add a location name to the mix  “Shamrock Water Damage Restoration Company of Chicago” and it’s a slam dunk, surefire winner in that city.

You read that right, and, yes. If you think about it, it raises lots of questions. First of all, can anybody do this? Can we have 20 identical business titles?!?

The fact is there is nothing stopping anyone from doing this... other than Google's terms of service. Google requires that the business title matches the business name or D.B.A.registered with the state. So if you want to rank, change your business title. But make sure you follow the rules.  If you're in a big city and the payoff could be huge, it might make sense to rebrand. Determine what it would take and decide if it’s worth it.  

If you see a competitor that has a business title that is inaccurate, you can report them to Google very easily in their listing. They will be flagged until they prove to Google their business title is legitimate.

Step 3: Get A Grid Search Report Of Your Service Area 

Who shows up in the three-pack is directly tied to the searcher's specific location. As someone drives down the street, search results literally change from one corner to the next. Unless you are willing to drive around your service area, and take careful notes of who ranks on what corner, you will not have an accurate picture of how you stack up against your competitors.

(Oh and you would need to do this every three or four weeks to see how things are changing.)

Luckily, there is a free tool that will provide a grid ranking report specifically for your business and your location. Simply enter your business name and the search term of your choice and the tool does the rest.

You will be emailed an easy-to-understand colored heat map with results for 82 search locations in your specific service area. Green dots mean you show up in the top three. Yellow and red dots mean you don’t.  Plus, it will give you a complete list of how your top 20 competitors are ranking as well.  An invaluable tool you can use to track your progress and gain a competitive edge.

You can get the free report at RestorationMarketers.com/RankingGrid 

So, you don’t need magical SEO powers, you just need to implement these three steps today, or find someone who can do it for you. It will make all your lead generation wishes come true.