VT Blog
Fresh insights on web development, design, and SEO.
Local SEO for Home & Field Services: 7 Quick Wins
Local results are won on simple, consistent execution. Here are seven wins you can ship this week to move up in the Map Pack. 1) Google Business Profile hygiene. Choose the most specific primary category, add 2–3 relevant secondary categories, list real services with prices (if possible), and upload 8–12 high-quality photos (logo, exterior, team, before/after). Fill “from the business” with a concise 700–750 char pitch using city + service keywords naturally. 2) NAP consistency. Make your Name, Address, Phone match exactly across your site footer, GBP, and top citations. Fix suite numbers, abbreviations, and old phone numbers. Use a single canonical phone. 3) Reviews that mention services + city. Ask after each completed job with a short SMS that includes your GBP link and prompts like: “What did we do, where, and what was most helpful?” Don’t incentivize—just make it easy and specific. 4) Local citations. Claim/clean the basics (Apple, Bing, Yelp, BBB, Nextdoor) and a few industry directories. Avoid mass low-quality directories. 5) Service pages that target intent. Create separate pages for each high-value service (e.g., “Water Heater Installation”) and one “Areas We Serve” hub linking to 3–6 city/area snippets. Add FAQs, pricing ranges, and real photos. 6) Internal links. From the homepage and any relevant blog posts, link to your money pages using natural anchor text. Keep important pages within 2 clicks. 7) Tracking & iteration. Add UTM parameters to GBP Website/Appointment, turn on call tracking, and review Search Console > Performance for local queries monthly. Keep shipping photos, posts, and reviews—local SEO is a compounding habit.
Core Web Vitals in Plain English: Hit 90+ on Mobile
Core Web Vitals measure how fast the page becomes useful, how stable the layout feels, and how quickly it responds to your tap. • LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): when the biggest above-the-fold element (often hero image/title) finishes rendering. Goal ≤ 2.5s on mobile. • CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): how much stuff jumps around as assets load. Goal ≤ 0.1. • INP (Interaction to Next Paint): responsiveness after a tap/click/keypress. Goal ≤ 200 ms. How to measure quickly: 1) PageSpeed Insights for field data + lab hints. 2) Lighthouse (Performance tab) to reproduce locally. 3) Chrome UX Report / Web Vitals extension for ongoing checks. Fastest fixes I ship first: — LCP: compress/resize hero media to ~1200–1600px width, serve AVIF/WEBP, add explicit width/height, preload the hero image or the main headline font, and "<link rel=\"preconnect\" href=\"https://fonts.gstatic.com\">" if you use hosted fonts. — CLS: always reserve space. Add fixed height to images/video, use "font-display: swap", avoid inserting banners above content, and stabilize ad/embeds with containers. — INP: reduce JS work. Remove unused libraries, split non-critical scripts, debounce input handlers, replace heavy click handlers with native behavior, and avoid long tasks >50ms. Hydrate fewer components and prefer CSS for simple animations. Bonus: • Ship critical CSS inline for the above-the-fold, defer the rest. • Use a CDN and cache HTML where possible. • Watch “opportunities” in PSI and fix the ones that touch LCP/INP first. Small changes stack up fast on mobile networks.
Design That Converts: Above-the-Fold Patterns That Work
Great above-the-fold design is simple: one promise, one action, zero friction. Here’s a pattern I use repeatedly because it converts. Structure: 1) Headline = outcome, not service. “Get more booked jobs this month” beats “Professional web development.” 2) Subheadline = proof + specificity: who, where, how fast, what result. 3) Primary CTA (high contrast) and a supporting CTA for low-commitment users (e.g., “See pricing” or “View work”). 4) Visual that reinforces the promise: real UI mockup, dashboard metrics, or a customer photo—never a generic stock handshake. 5) Trust elements in the fold: logos, short testimonial (one sentence), or a key metric. Visual craft that matters: — Typographic rhythm: 1.25–1.333 scale, generous line-height, max width ~62–70ch. — Spacing: use a consistent scale (e.g., 8px step) and double spacing between sections to create breathing room. — Contrast and focus: one primary color for CTA; everything else is neutral. Use subtle motion on hover only. — Mobile first: keep the headline at 2–3 lines, place the CTA before the fold, and make it thumb-reachable. Checklist before ship: • Can a new visitor understand the offer in 5 seconds? • Is there exactly one dominant action? • Do we show proof (logo/testimonial/metric) without scrolling? • Does the hero image load fast (<=150KB) and have explicit dimensions? Design is clarity. Remove anything that doesn’t help the user say “yes” to the next step.