When you are in the Private Investigative market, especially in a hard to break into area such as Queens NY, there are hundreds of PI’s that are all fighting over the same piece of real estate. When it comes to getting a piece of that real estate, you need to be both a great Private Investigator and a marketing genius. Most people use Google also referred to as “The Search Engine” or “TSE” to search for a prospective Private Investigator and when it comes to marketing, your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is your lifeline. Here are some tips to help you to get the most calls which in turn translates into the most business for your company.
- Why are Blogs good for Private Eye marketing in Queens?
- Good question. Let’s start at the beginning – literally. The Blog you are reading was written for several reasons, but the main one is marketing. Look closely at the title which is one of the most important, if not the most important aspects of the Blog. It is the information in the title that “TSE” will use to determine if your Blog appears on page one or not. “TSE” looks for and likes certain “crumbs” of information and when the “TSE” Gods find the crumbs they are looking for, they favor that Blog. First of all, “TSE” likes “lists.” So when it sees the number “5” it knows there should be a list located in the Blog. This captures Google’s attention for ranking purposes. Next is “Best Private Investigator”. This is a phrase that a potential client would search for. It should always be at the beginning or close to the beginning of your title because anything near the beginning “TSE” looks at as more important to rank for compared to the rest of the title. Finally, “Queens NY” will target your audience even further. When a potential client wants to know where to find the best Private Investigator in Queens NY, that is pretty much what they will google. They aren’t looking for Lynbrook NY or they would search for it. You will see that most, if not all of those words are in the title so “TSE” will see it as a match and this Blog will appear (ideally) in their search results. Therefore the wording of this title is extremely important for ranking purposes. There are other factors in the blog itself, but the title is definitely the biggest.
- Why are reviews so important for Private Detective SEO ranking?
- Another good question. Prospective clients notice reviews. They matter for several reasons, both to the clients and to your ranking because they matter to “TSE”. They appear in the “Map Pack” listing, which is always on the first page of a client’s search. The “Map Pack” is the first three spots in the map section at the start of the first page, just below the paid ads. This is also the most visible part of the first page. Getting good reviews goes a long way to entice prospective clients into calling you. When they look at the list of PI’s in Jamaica Estates for example, you want to be the one with the most 5-star reviews. That will give you the edge over the competition and will get you the call and potential business. Related to the Map Pack and reviews is “Google My Business.” You have to optimize your Google My Business section in order to have a chance to be featured in the Map Pack. Getting many good reviews by doing good work helps a long way to achieve this coveted spot.
- What is “Google Ad Words” and why is it important?
- This is the paid advertisement section of the first page. These ads get a lot of visibility and potential for prospective clients to call. They are at the top and bottom of the first page. You will need a budget of about $150 a month to get proper visibility. You will also need a very good SEO company to optimize your campaign.
- Why does a quality Investigative Agency website matter for SEO ranking?
- You need a well-designed website to rank well on the first page of the “Organic” listings. The Organic listing begins underneath the Map Pack section. In fact, you want to aim for one of the top three companies listed in the Organic listings. That is prime real estate from a marketing perspective as those listings get the most calls from prospective clients. Site design will cost anywhere from a few thousand to ridiculous, but it is worth the investment. But until the SEO is optimized, it is just eye candy and nothing more. The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the locomotive on the train that is your marketing campaign. Plan to spend a minimum of $500 a month for SEO and make sure that you have a quality SEO company/person to handle it. The SEO person can make or break your marketing. We ourselves went through a few before lucking out and finding the person we have now (In case you were hoping the answer is no – we are not giving you his phone number so don’t bother asking). A good SEO person will be able to get you to those coveted spots, at the very least keep you on the first page, and keep you there so calls will continue to come in throughout the year. They will help to optimize your business to the area you want to focus on. For example, if you do most of your work in Steinway NY, you need to make sure that you stress that to your SEO person so they can optimize to it. When starting out, the best way to get on the Map Pack is to focus most of your attention on that one area and then once you are ranking well you can branch out to other areas. It is also important not to start out with too large of an area. You need to narrow it down at first. Don’t come in to your SEO person and say you want to be optimized to Long Island NY. Pick one area, such as Garden City NY and expand from there. Your website also needs good content that “TSE” will consider in ranking you. Your SEO person should be able to help you with that as well. That is why it is so critical to find the right SEO Company (nope, still not giving you his number).
- Is Social Media that important for ranking and marketing?
- The answer is YES. “TSE” favors updating your message to the world and your prospective clients. The use of photos and posting Blog articles on various sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are crucial. YouTube is especially important as “TSE” owns YouTube. You need to put at least a few business videos on the site as well. Optimizing to towns such as Lindenwood or services like person locates or surveillance within your service area is helpful also. Try to have a presence on as many social media sites as possible.
Once your Private Investigation Agency is on the first page in a “TSE” search (especially at the top of the page) it benefits both you and the prospective client. You get the calls and the chance to help them in what is most likely a difficult situation, and they have the benefit of getting the best person for the job. After all, if you weren’t the best, you wouldn’t be getting the calls, right?
You might be asking yourself, why we are giving away all of our marketing secrets? We aren’t, don’t worry. We have many, many more tucked away. But we want to reach out and help other PI’s that are struggling. We view the PI community as exactly that – a community. If we help each other, it makes us all look better. Especially in this difficult time we are living in, we can all use a helping hand. We have extended ours, so now pass it forward and do the same.
Investigreat, LLC is a recognized full service Private Investigation Agency that is fully licensed, insured and bonded with offices in Jamaica, Long Island City and Connecticut. We handle cases in Queens NY, Brooklyn NY, the Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island NY and all of Connecticut. Terri Dornfeld, along with her husband Adam, have been working cases from missing persons and surveillance to worker’s compensation and all general investigation services, together since 1992.
Investigreat LLC | Private Investigators serving Jamaica NY, Long Island City NY, Brooklyn NY, Queens NY, The Bronx NY, Manhattan, Westchester County NY, Long Island NY and all of Connecticut.
Connecticut Office: 860-899-1710 | New York Office: 718-412-1845 | Text: 718-309-1269