And, the SERP Results Are…

Last month I launched the Chicago handyman service website to put up for sale to a small business owner. I thought I’d use it as an opportunity to try and get the site to show in SERPs for three keyword phrases that receive the most traffic in just 30 days. I threw myself out publicly with this SEO challenge, and… well…

While I did show up in Bing, Yahoo and MSN for my main phrases, and in Google for lesser terms… I did not achieve my goal of getting page-one SERPs in 30 days for my three targeted keyword phrases specifically in Google.  I’ll take the hit.

I gave a good effort though, and despite this shortfall, things are actually looking good. All is not lost.

All Is Not Lost…

I now have some data to make proper adjustments and have set a good foundation to build upon. I like to set challenges like this for myself, while keeping in mind that falling short of the set goals can be far from a total failure. It’s all about flexibility and being able to go with the flow.

SERP Results

These are the phrases I was targeting:

Google SERP Results: No page one SERP… Boo 

• chicago handyman LSV- 3,600, Listings 1, 440.000
• chicago handyman services LSV- 590, Listings 313,000
• handyman in chicago LSV- 390, Listings 1,450.000

I did much better in Yahoo and Bing as far as my top phrases.

Bing SERP Results:

• chicago handyman
  Results #17 of 24,100,000 results
• chicago handyman service
  Results #6 of 27,500,000 results
• handyman in chicago
  Results #16 of 30,600,000 results

Yahoo SERP Results

• chicago handyman
  #6 page one
• chicago handyman services
  #3 page one
• handyman in chicago
  #7 page three

Other SERP Results

However, while the site has not yet listed in Google for the major target  keywords, the site is receiving traffic from some other phrases. When this site is owned by an actual handyman, then specific towns and neighborhoods can also be targeted.  This will all start to add up, and over time, bring in many phone calls that will lead to work.

These are some of the phrases people are starting to find the site through Google SERPs.

Google SERP Results:

• handyman in chicago south suburbs
  Results #6 of about 2,100,000 for handyman in chicago south suburbs.
• chicago handyman drywall repair
  Results #7 of about 91,300 for chicago handyman drywall repair.
• drywall handyman chicago
  Results #14 of about 2,300,000
• affordable handyman chicago
  Results #5 of about 21,900 for affordable handyman chicago.
• craigslist handyman chicago
  Results  #6 of about 367,000 for craigslist handyman chicago.
• handyman service in south chicago
  #7 of about 93,000 for handyman service in south chicago

I still stand a good chance of ranking for the major phrases as well. The sites that I’m contending with that currently show consistently on the top SERPs, are sites that are not regularly updated. When I sized up the competition, I noticed that many of the sites are old and static.

What these sites that I’m contending with do have, is well established trust with Google. I’m the new guy in town compared to the current top listed sites. Right now, I have the site for sale, and Google can also apparently tell that there isn’t anyone actually “home” at this site. Removing the for sale text and videos could also help.

When this changes, and the Chicago Handyman Services site has some trust with Google as well, then the benefits of continually updated quality content, combined with off-page SEO factors,  will start to pay off. They are starting to pay already.

Keep Building

I’ll keep building until the site sells. If I have any major breakthroughs I’ll be sure to post again on the progress. For now I’m sticking to post titles using general terms that can be easily modified by the future owner without having to delete any posts. If this site was actually “live” with a real handyman behind it, this is what I would start doing.

• Taking Start To Finish Photos of Jobs
• Including Photos In A 35o Word Post (3 photos will do)
• Use Name of Town or Neighborhood In Title (example “Logan Square drywall repair”)
• Include Zip Code
• Make Videos
• Free Classified Listing Campaign
• Inbound Link Building

So no, I did not reach the goal of SERPs in 30 days on Google, but I am pleased with the 30 day results overall. No excuses though, I threw myself out there, I’ll take the hit. “-)

Free Search Engine Traffic Or Pay-Per-Click?

The best way to drive traffic to your website is with free search engine traffic. This brings quality traffic that converts well. Much of the paid ad traffic bounces right off sites. Many ads are clicked by mistake, or just out of curiosity rather than by serious consumers looking to buy your product or services.

I’ll give one example: Let’s say someone is using an online dictionary to look up the spelling of a word. This word just so happens to match one of your keywords that you use in an online pay-per-click advertisement campaign.

Your ad randomly shows up on the dictionary page, the person looking up the spelling sees the ad and out of curiosity clicks your ad.

They come to the site, look for about two seconds, and then return to what they were doing. You just passed out free money for nothing. That’s not cyber smart!