Ranking 1st on Google

I don’t know how it all works and it seems to change by the minute and depends on if you’re searching on a desktop or on a mobile device, but for now I’m number one on Google for a search using Window Cleaning. That’s pretty cool.
Now the phone is going to start ringing in 3…2…1… …in 3…2…1… … ahem… in… 3…2…1… Or not. :slight_smile:
Thanks for the help again @JaredAI! If anyone needs a website or help with SEO, contact Jared. He knows is stuff.

Log off your google acct and them check again

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I didn’t even have to log out, I just refreshed and I’m #4! Google voodoo ran out I guess. :poop::flushed:

Check your ranking incognito mode.

Im sure Jared is good at what he does.

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The view from where I’m sitting. Still not bad results, considering your newness and the number of companies already in your market.

Yeah still a lot of work to do but you’re on the map! Get more google reviews!

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Good job Jared. The website looks good.

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What I don’t get is some of the people ranking higher don’t even have a website. Not sure what the heck Google is looking at.

Rescue doesn’t.
Ned has a link to an unregistered domain
Andrew has a link that leads to another website for a cleaner in South Carolina.

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I haven’t confirmed this, but ive been suspecting that opening hours make a difference too. During my opening hours i often rank in the top three. When I’m closed i don’t (whereas my competition is never shown as closed). Also the location of the searcher i think matters. I’ve searched in one area and been top three…searched from a different town and dropped. Again, not positive, but i feel like I’m seeing a correlation.

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Google Maps will show ANYTHING relevant rather than showing nothing at all.

Once you get them to start noticing you, you will see yourself move up. Seems @JaredAI has a good grip on it. It can take a while though, as Places is a long game in SEO. If you really want to kick start it, get some reviews :slight_smile:

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I saw someone mention hours as a factor for google rankings. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but yesterday I added Saturdays as being open and received 4 calls for blind repairs this morning.

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As far as I can tell, yes, it absolutely makes a difference.

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I think another thing that makes it difficult to get google reviews is the fact that you have to have a google account in order to leave a review. Not everyone has a gmail account and those who don’t aren’t likely to open one just to leave a review for their window cleaner.

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That’s true. You could do like one of my competitors and leave one yourself. You know, “on behalf of those who couldn’t.” lol.

I was tempted for a minute to flag it, but I’m just not the type… :smiling_imp:

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I had a copycat competitor who did this. He was also using my DBA name on his Facebook and website. Shady character but he is no longer in business so I guess it didn’t do him much good.

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Dang, man. What a maroon.

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Keep in mind this is just ranking in Google maps which is way different than ranking organically. You don’t have to have a website to rank in Google maps as its more about businesses and locations which still exist but may or may not have a website.

Don’t get me wrong it’s great to rank in Google maps so it’s still good but just wanted to clarify what we are talking about. It’s much easier to rank in the maps section than organically. Also to see where your true placement is, as already suggested, make sure you are logged out of Google otherwise they will show you at the top but only you will be the one seeing that. Others won’t. Reviews is one of the biggest factors in ranking, next to nearest location to the search.

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I see what you are saying. It seems Maps is more important that organic results simply because its at the top of the page and jumps out at the viewer. Scrolling down below maps and you get a bunch of 3rd party sites like thumbtack, homeadvisor, Yelp, Angie’s List, and Yellowpages, which are probably difficult to compete with in terms of SEO. There are a couple competitors that rank, but not many.

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@JaredAI good advice…great reviews help SEO. They’re not a magic bullet that will suddenly rank you number one, but they’re an important piece of the puzzle - check out The big picture guide to local SEO: ranking in 2016 & beyond

These stats are already 2 years old…but even back then it was estimated they account for 8.4% of your ranking! And seeing the emphasis Googles placed on review placement the last 2 years, it wouldn’t be surprising if that number was significantly higher now.

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Yah that would be my thoughts as well however several years ago that wasn’t the case. Even having to scroll down the organic section was more important. A lot has changed in the last 5 years and I haven’t kept up with it so I’m not sure which is more viewed now. I personally use the local maps for the very reason you described. I hate using the third party sites because some of them suck and I get Pissed because I waste my time clicking on them. I generally stick to the local maps section when looking for a service for my home.

I used to keep track of all of that nut haven’t had time the last couple of years so I don’t know which is more important now.