Brand listed as plumber, can we still rank for other markets?

[remkoallertz]

We have a lead generation website in the Netherlands in the plumber business. The last two years we were focussing on local SEO, and gain some rankings on keywords like 'plumber amsterdam'. We also connected google my local business in different city's, so we rank in both the citations as in maps. Now we want to get some rankings with the lead generation brand on other keywords. Keywords for other markets like 'handyman' 'roofer' etc.

Google remembers what kind of business we are, since we are listed as plumbing company. My question is, can we still go for those other markets with the brand? The markets/ keywords are related and all in the home improvement segment. So for example, example.com/plumber example.com/roofer etc.

The other option is to target those specific markets with other brands/ domains.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Remko,

Let's work through this scenario together. Let's say that I operate a lead-gen directory for auto dealerships in Texas. Like any business owner, I want to rank well, and my livelihood depends on the traffic I get and the conversions the businesses in my directory receive.

So, in violation of Google's guidelines, I list myself in Google My Business, knowing that I'm not supposed to. What can happen then?

1. Any random Google user looking for an auto dealership and encountering my directory in the local pack can feel frustrated by the waste of his time in calling me or driving to my business only to discover I'm not an auto dealership. In his frustration, he can report me to Google for spam. And, he certainly doesn't trust my directory after this experience, seeing that I've misled him.

2. An auto dealership owner in Texas who has been pitched about joining my lead gen directory may look at the local pack and decide that, in essence, I'm stealing a spot in the local pack results that he or any other legitimate dealership can't occupy because I've taken it. Angry about this, he can report me to Google for spam. And, at the same time, he will no longer consider my lead gen directory a place he would want to be listed, because it's not adhering to guidelines. He doesn't feel he can trust such my business. So, I've just lost a customer for life.

3. The SEO team working for an auto dealership in Texas sees I'm violating Google's Guidelines, and can report me for spam.

4. A Local SEO anywhere in the country sees what I'm doing while they're doing their job, and can report me to Google for spam.

5. And, at any time, Google can realize I'm spamming on their own, either as a result of their algorithm detecting that my business doesn't meet their guidelines or because this is detected manually by Google staff.

The risks to me of any of the above 5 scenarios are that:

1. Google will take down my listing, so my efforts at rankings will have been in vain and any marketing spend I put into this will be wasted.

2. I now have a black mark against my business in Google's eyes for violating their rules. This could prejudice them against my whole business, and who knows what that might do to my organic rankings?

So, these would be the risks I'd be facing. And they are big ones. Most businesses would not want to deal with these risks.

What Would Be A Better Way?

So, I revisit my marketing plan**,** because I realize I can't afford to risk angering consumers and losing their trust in my brand, auto dealership owners who might become customers of mine, or Google upon which I'm dependent for traffic. I realize that it's not fair to take local pack spots away from legitimate car dealerships. And yet, I need to survive, so what is open to me?

I have two options: organic rankings and PPC. So, I'm running a lead-gen directory. In order to be successful, I have to prove to auto dealership owners that I can rank highly in the organic results for their core terms, so that I'm getting leads I can send to them. I have to acquire the organic SEO skills that will enable me to live up to this claim, meaning I've got to learn what it takes to earn those high organic rankings. So, this is where I turn all of my attention: earning organic rankings that I can legitimately have a claim to and without risking my business.

Where I can't manage to get organic rankings yet due to high competition, I am going to have to invest in PPC, just like any other business. Hopefully, I can chip away at this over time and move up in the SERPs as my directory becomes of higher value in Google's eyes, but until then, I may have to fill in the blanks with PPC.

What I've outlined here would be considered ethical marketing for my business, and respects the idea that I want to stay in business for the long haul. Unlike spam practices which mean the hammer can fall on all my work at any time, the practices my hypothetical directory has determined to take have the goal of building a brand that can be trusted by consumers, customers and Google for years to come.

To me, there is no question that this is a much stronger approach to marketing.

[remkoallertz]

Hi Miriam,

Thanks, and i understand it's not the right way. But this is how we rank #1 (in maps) on 'plumber amsterdam' (loodgieter amsterdam). When we remove the citation, we loose lots of our traffic, and it is harder to rank organic also for the plumber + city combinations.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Remko,

If your business is a lead gen site/directory, it should not be listed in GMB as a plumber - it's not a local business. Unless I am misunderstanding and your company actually provides plumbing services directly to customers, then you should remove the GMB listing. I've linked to Google's guidelines in one of my replies, above, that should help give you more complete details on which business models are allowed/not allowed by Google in their GMB product.

[remkoallertz]

Hi Miriam,

We have a general brandname (no EMD/PMD), but we are listed in google my business (local places) as a plumbing company. Does this influences the ranking opportunity for other local services.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Remko,

So, for example, let's say you currently have your lead gen business located at NetherlandsPlumbers.com. Such a domain automatically associates your business (both for human users and search engines) with the plumbing industry. One would expect to find plumbers on such a domain, but would not expect to find roofers or bathroom remodelers on such a domain. So, while it's not impossible that you could get roofers' or other contractors' pages to rank via your NetherlandsPlumbers.com website, it's not a natural association.

Conversely, if you had a domain like NetherlandsHomeService.com (or even some sort of generic brand name like DootdeDoot.com or whatever you call the directory) you would not be sending a signal of limitation with the domain name. Human users and bots won't be limited to expecting only info about plumbers at NetherlandsHomeService.com or DootdeDoot.com. There is no limitation to what might exist on such a domain.

Moz.com might be a good example of this. We have traditional SEO software here. We have Local SEO software here. We have a blog and a forum. If, instead of being Moz.com, this domain was localseosoftware.com, we'd be sending a signal to search engines and human user that we are limited to just Local SEO software, right?

So, if you are expanding your offerings beyond plumbing, what I'm suggesting is that now is the time to look closely at whether your present domain name limits you. If it does, you might need to start fresh with a new domain that does not automatically limit you to the plumbing industry.

[remkoallertz]

Hi Miriam,

Thanks, what is the upside of using a new domain or brand instead of adding new pages to the old brand? Is it hard for the old brand (because listed as local plumber business) to rank on other services?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Remko!

Thanks for the clarifications. If your business is a virtual business, then Local SEO is not the appropriate marketing strategy. Only local businesses should be listed in Google's local product, and while your business represents local businesses, it is not, itself, a local business. Rather, your business would be along the lines of a directory (like Yelp or ZocDoc or YellowPages). Like these large directories, you will need to utilize organic SEO (rather than Local SEO) in hopes of getting highly ranked organically for whatever terms you are targeting.

Given that yours is not a local business, the decision here would be whether you want to operate a single directory for plumbers and another for roofers, or, if you want to build out a single large directory for all home services. In the long run, the latter might be a better strategy for building a brand (like ZocDoc) that is instantly recognized in the Netherlands as being associated with finding all home services. This might necessitate you starting fresh from today with a new domain (like NetherlandsHomeServices.com or whatever) and set up redirects from the old plumbing directory to the new domain.

Alternatively, you could build individual directories on unique domains for each service type. The drawbacks here would include less opportunity to build a single, strong brand, and more complexity of managing multiple sites instead of a single site.

As you continue to weigh your options, you might want to check out a company like Diamond Certified, which rates businesses in California: http://www.diamondcertified.org/

[remkoallertz]

Hi, thanks,

its a lead generation platform with local pages for local contractors. We are now focussing on plumbing, but we would like to rank for keywords in other contracting services. We now only developed content for plumbing on this domain.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Remko!

I'm really sorry you didn't receive a speedier reply to a good question. I have some questions, reading your post:

1. Are you saying you have a single business at a single physical location? Or are you talking about more than one business.

2. If a single business, are you saying that the company offers both plumbing and other contracting services like roofing?

3. Have you developed content on your website for each of the services the company offers?