How a septic company shows up on Google in a small county

Start with your Google Business Profile

This is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in the short list of three businesses above the regular results. Fill in every part of it honestly:

• Your real business name, exactly as it appears on your truck and invoices.
• The primary category that matches your main work, such as septic system service, plus any others that fit.
• Each service you offer, like pumping, repairs, installs and inspections, in plain words.
• A service area listing the towns and counties you drive to. If you work from home, you can hide your address and show the area instead.
• Your hours, the number customers should call, and real photos of your trucks, crew and jobs.

Get reviews, and reply to them

Reviews are one of the signs of prominence Google can see, and they are what a customer reads before calling. Ask every customer after every job, while they are happy. Make it easy with a direct link they can tap. Reply to every review, good or bad, in a sentence or two. A steady flow of recent reviews counts for more than a burst of them years ago.

Make your website name the towns

Your Google profile points to your website, and Google reads both. A website that says plainly what you do and where you do it, town by town, helps Google match you to searches like “septic pumping” plus the name of a town. Use the same business name, phone number and address on the site as on the profile, and give each main service and each main town a clear section or page of its own.

Keep your details the same everywhere

Your business is probably listed on more sites than you realize: Bing, Apple Maps, Facebook, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau and local directories. Check that the name, phone number and service area match everywhere. Mismatched numbers confuse customers and give Google less confidence about which details are right.

What a small county changes

In a small county there are fewer septic companies, so a well kept profile stands out quickly. But customers are spread out on rural roads, and many search with the nearest bigger town or the county name rather than their own community. Cover the places your customers actually live, not just the town where your shop is, and expect some searches to come from the county next door.

What to avoid

• Adding town names or keywords to your business name on Google. It breaks Google’s rules and can get the profile suspended.
• Using a fake address or a mailbox to appear in another town.
• Buying reviews or writing your own. Google removes them, and customers can usually tell.

How long it takes

Plan on three to six months for a profile and website to build up, depending on the competition in your area. Auspero sets up and keeps up your Google Business Profile as part of every package, asks for a review after every job on the Growth package, and shows the progress in your monthly report.