Hey there, I’m Nolen Walker, an SEO entrepreneur who owns multiple digital marketing agencies and a software company. I got my start in the SEO industry, helping irrigation contractors rank on Google search results and drive more leads to their businesses.
Key Takeaway
Much has changed in my 15+ years in the digital marketing industry, but the goal of driving qualified leads to your business website remains essential. The process of getting there is a lot different than it was ten years ago, but it remains attainable when consistently utilizing the proper techniques.
My irrigation SEO guide is designed to help sprinkler repair contractors avoid costly mishaps and achieve online visibility as quickly and affordably as possible in 2024.
SEO as a Marketing Channel for Irrigation Companies
Those of us in the digital marketing industry tend to overcomplicate SEO. As a business owner, you care less about the process of ranking than the results it drives in the form of leads, sales, and customers.
That’s why I encourage my irrigation clients to view SEO as a marketing channel rather than a process.
Like other marketing channels, PPC, Facebook Ads, and print advertising, SEO works out well for some businesses but not others.
There are many reasons why SEO doesn’t work for some sprinkler repair companies, and they have led some business owners to give up on SEO entirely.
There are many reasons why SEO doesn’t work for some sprinkler repair companies, and they have led some business owners to give up on SEO entirely.
I fully understand your frustrations with the industry, as paying a large monthly retainer for subpar results is discouraging and problematic.
I aim to enlighten you on how some companies succeed with SEO and how you can emulate their strategies to achieve similar results.
SEO Quick Wins for Irrigation Professionals
Startup irrigation companies may be unable to afford the $500-$2,000 monthly cost of professional SEO services. However, you can manually perform several SEO tasks to drive your business free leads. I will outline them below.
Google Business Profile
Every legitimate business can claim and optimize their Google Business Profile for free. Verified listings are eligible to rank on Google’s Map 3-Pack, which can result in 100% free leads for your business.
Remember that listings without reviews or a connected website tend to rank much lower in search results. However, other variables also influence Google Maps visibility, including your business’s location and the searcher’s proximity.
Pro Tip: Follow This Google Help Document to Create Your Google Business Profile
Directory Listings
Most businesses pay a service provider to claim and optimize their citations across various directories. However, many are unaware that you can perform this process yourself, free of charge.
You can delegate this task to your office manager or intern, but be mindful that it is time-consuming. If you want to focus on a few directories initially, consider Yelp, Better Business Bearua, and Apple Maps.
Pro Tip: Watch This YouTube Video to Create a Free Yelp Listing
Social Media
Another SEO-friendly task you can perform manually is creating social media profiles and pages for your business. You should start with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, allowing businesses to create an official page, profile, or channel.
Creating social profiles is worthwhile even if you don’t yet have content to share. By establishing your brand on these major platforms, you begin to send social signals to search engines like Google, which will serve you well as your campaign expands in the future.
Pro Tip: Follow This Google Help Document to Create a Business YouTube Channel
Expanding Your Reach With Professional SEO Services
After performing the fundamental SEO tasks mentioned above, most businesses will ultimately hit a glass ceiling regarding visibility and lead generation.
At this point, you can choose to level up with professional SEO services. However, it’s important to mention that this is the stage at which most business owners encounter their first mishaps in the oversaturated SEO industry.
Whether you choose an inexperienced SEO consultant who means well but lacks the expertise to drive results or an intentionally malicious agency that locks you into a long-term contract, the experience results in an increased skepticism of SEO as a process, industry, and marketing channel.
Vetting The SEO Agency Before Hiring Them
I cannot stress enough the importance of vetting an SEO agency before hiring them. Search for their brand name on Google, read their Google Business Profile reviews, and set up an introductory consultation with the agency owner before making any commitments.
Be skeptical of agencies that cold call your business or target you with Facebook ads. While there are exceptions, these practices are typically associated with the most dishonest agencies in the industry.
SEO Techniques Used By The Best Agencies
I’ve been running multiple digital marketing agencies for over 15 years, and I’ve been in contact with thousands of business owners about their agency experiences. I can tell you first-hand the techniques utilized by SEO agencies that consistently deliver results for their clients. I will outline these below:
Quality Content Over Quantity
The most obvious commonality among successful SEO agencies is that they don’t overproduce content on their clients’ websites. Google’s recent updates, including the Helpful Content Update and the March 2024 Core Update, have dropped the hammer on websites mass-publishing low-quality content.
99% of blog posts created on small business websites are unhelpful. However, too many agencies continue to include these posts within their services because they are considered a “deliverable” item, meaning they are tangible and acknowledged by their clients.
Don’t fall for this trap in 2024, as these posts will harm your website instead of helping it rank on Google Search. Content itself is not inherently bad, but the type of content traditionally created for irrigation websites is among the lowest quality on the web.
Software
The best SEO agencies have a differentiating factor, typically a piece of software that assists their clients. This can take the form of lead generation, lead nurturing, or client relationship management. In my case, it comes with a piece of software I invested millions in, DataPins.
My DataPins software separates my agencies from others in the industry because it was designed based on 15+ years of first-hand experience performing digital marketing services for local contractors. The software generates and consolidates digital branded signals like E-E-A-T and schema markup for SEO.
The traditional tasks associated with SEO agencies are now obsolete in 2024. Services that do not include software are unlikely to keep pace with agencies that have invested their resources in client-specific tools.
Month-to-Month Agreements
On the payment side of things, most of the successful SEO agencies offer month-to-month agreements because their services actually deliver results. The only agencies that force their clients into 6-month or longer contracts are those that know their services don’t work.
Typically, agencies that offer long-term agreements are very fond of PPC (Google Ads) as it ropes the irrigation contractor into multiple payment streams that fatten the pockets of the country’s most arrogant gurus. I’ve heard from far too many contractors who’ve lived through this nightmare.
I advise every local company to avoid any agreement longer than month-to-month, so the onus remains on the agency to consistently deliver positive results to your business.
Advanced SEO Concepts You May or May Not Want to Know
At the beginning of this guide, I noted that the outcome of an SEO campaign is more important than the process. Some business owners are rightfully focused on lead generation, not the process that makes that possible.
However, some business owners like to know all the details of the process, which I outline below.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the groundwork for an optimized website. Things like XML sitemaps, URL structure, SSL certificates, and site speed optimization are all technical components of search engine optimization.
Properly implementing technical SEO requires decades of experience from industry professionals, which is why an experienced agency is critical for a sustainable digital marketing campaign.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO gets into the nitty gritty of SEO work, including meta tags, title tags, meta descriptions, internal linking, and text formatting. The implementations of these tasks are often nuanced and based on custom research combined with experience and expertise.
Novice SEO professionals often overlook the minutia of properly naming image files and inserting relevant alt text, which breeds long-term resentment from their underperforming clients.
Keyword Research
Keyword research involves using tools like Moz and SEMRush to identify the best terms and phrases for a local SEO strategy. For irrigation contractors, terms often focus on sprinkler repair and irrigation services.
Unfortunately, properly using keyword research tools requires decades of experience, as the search volumes and other estimates are often inaccurate and lack the proper context of an SEO strategy.
For example, location-specific terms like sprinkler repair seattle may not register volume on such tools but will absolutely drive visitors to a local irrigation website.
Source: Moz
Integrated Reputation Management
Most business owners know the importance of online reviews and how they influence consumer behavior. Fewer know about how reputation management integrates with SEO for a cohesive digital brand in 2024.
Generating reviews is insufficient if customers never view them, and increasing visibility without customer feedback is equally limiting. Showcasing recent reviews on your business website (through an HTML slider) is one example of this type of integration.
Link Building
Link building is the most challenging component of an SEO strategy because of the misinformation surrounding it. While links are a ranking factor in Google search results, not all links hold SEO value. Furthermore, many link-building processes violate Google’s spam guidelines and can be penalized.
The only links worth pursuing are those that are relevant to your business. Typically, these link opportunities manifest through real-life networking and relationships that reflect your businesses’ standing in your community.
For example, joining your local chamber of commerce or sponsoring a Little League team in your services area can garner highly valuable website backlinks. Conversely, paying a website owner to guest post on their sports blog wastes time and money.
Moving Forward With SEO for Irrigation Companies
I hope this guide helps you make good decisions about your digital marketing campaigns in 2024. I’ve outlined multiple free SEO tasks you can complete without the help of an agency or consultant.
For irrigation contractors looking to expand their organic reach to a higher level, investing in professional services can help.
You can contact me to discuss my SEO process and how my agency can assist you with ranking your irrigation company higher on Google Search and Google Maps.