As a home inspector, staying on top of the digital landscape is crucial. One of the best places to start? Your online presence, and specifically, your website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
As many search engines evolve constantly (I've worked in the SEO and content space for years now and seen seemingly constant changes), it's important to keep up with the latest SEO trends. For home inspectors in 2024, the focus remains on local SEO, which will help potential clients in your area find your services easily.
While SEO can refer to the process of optimizing content for any search engine, most of the time when we talk about SEO we’re referring to SEO specifically for Google.
Why? Google continues to be the dominant search engine, and optimizing for it is key to your success in the search landscape. It’s where we’ve seen inspectors get the most bang for their buck when it comes to SEO investment.
In this article, much of the SEO guidance refers specifically to what home inspectors can do to boost their visibility on Google. However, all of the strategies are general best practices and should help you rank well on alternate search engines as well.
It can feel overwhelming to think to be visible, you have to outrank every home inspector on the internet. The good news is that home inspectors usually don’t have to worry about that – instead, the focus should primarily be on local SEO, which in short, refers to SEO where the goal is specifically to rank for local search queries, such as “home inspector in Denver, CO”.
In this article, we’ll cover our recommendations (based on what we at Spectora have seen help home inspectors succeed) for what you should prioritize to boost your visibility and grow your business:
We’ll also break down how inspectors can go the extra mile with their SEO work, and walk through:
If you’re just starting with SEO work, the first step is to create a Google Business Profile (GBP). If you already have a GBP, ensure it’s optimized and you’ve completed each step on this list.
Shown above is an example of what a Google Business Profile looks like for a home inspector.
Your GBP is like your digital storefront. Here are the steps to take to get started:
Shown above is an example of what a business description for a home inspection company might include, with key points highlighted.
After your GBP is set up, or if you already have a GBP, make sure to:
Making sure your business info is consistent across the web helps people find you easily. The best way to do that is to manage your local listings.
Local listings are online entries (such as Yelp, your Facebook business page, Apple Maps, and Bing Places for Business, to name a few) that provide key information about your business, such as your name, address, phone number (NAP), website, and hours of operation. These listings help search engines and potential customers find and learn about your business.
Consistent and accurate local listings across various platforms are crucial for improving your local SEO, as search engines account for accurate information across all platforms, and ensuring that people can easily find and contact you.
Here’s what’s important to keep in mind when it comes to listings management.
If updating each and every listing each time you make a small change sounds like a lot to manage, we have you covered with our SEO Boost product. Among other things, SEO Boost will ensure that all listings are always accurate and up-to-date.
Of course, an SEO presence isn’t just about your GBP and your local listings; your website plays a part as well.
A well-designed, easy-to-navigate website is key to attracting and keeping visitors. Here are the main areas you’ll need to focus on to build a well-performing site:
Unless you have experience building websites, we recommend leaving the website design and maintenance to the pros.
Our website-building services are designed specifically for home inspectors and we ensure that all of our websites follow the latest SEO best practices.
Blogging is a powerful tool for SEO and establishing authority. It's also one of the best tools a home inspector has to create educational content for both homebuyers and agents (and we have blog post ideas for home inspectors to get you started).
In 2024, helpful content is one of the factors that Google cares about most. For what it's worth, the actual human readers of your content likely care that your content is helpful, too.
If you're looking to blog, here’s how to do it effectively in 2024:
While we've covered the basics of local SEO in this article (and what most home inspectors will need to stay competitive in the digital landscape in 2024), the world of SEO is huge and we have additional strategies to try if you're looking to maximize your web presence.
To take your local SEO to the next level, consider implementing some or all of the following strategies:
By following our 2024 SEO checklist, you’ll make it easier for local clients to find your home inspection business online. While we know many inspectors get business directly through Realtors, direct-to-client marketing is important as well and your digital presence is a huge part of that.
While tools like ChatGPT can be incredibly useful for content creation, AI tools are still relatively new. When you're creating content (whether you use AI or not), you should always triple-check that your content is A) accurate and B) useful.
I personally use tools like ChatGPT to help me create outlines and organize my thoughts, but I always write the final content myself. If you do use AI to help with content creation, ensure that it is accurate and always cite that you have done so.
We recommend referring to Google's guide for AI-generated content if you plan to use AI for content creation for the most up-to-date guidelines.
There's no requirement that every home inspector needs a Google Business Profile, but we highly recommend it. A Google Business Profile will ensure you have a higher chance of capturing clients who search for a home inspector online and provide helpful tools like Google reviews that can help you stand out to buyers and Realtors alike.
We've seen that most successful home inspectors do have a great website. A website allows you to maximize your digital presence, increase your conversion rate (i.e. get more booked inspections), and also allows clients and agents alike to learn about your business.
How do I get Google reviews as a home inspector?
Always ask for a review on-site after a home inspection, and ensure that you follow up with the client after to ask for a review as well, either by email, by text, or in your home inspection software, if it allows you to do so (if you're a Spectora user, you can link out to an external review site through the Client Portal). We recommend automating this process and using tools that let you create workflows to follow up with a client after the inspection.