Key takeaways
- Your customers' words come from your own quote requests first. Read last season's in your CRM before opening any keyword tool.
- Searches that name a service, or a service and a town, are closest to a signed client. Cost and how-to searches are earlier in the decision.
- Patio and wall buyers research for weeks. Their cost searches are worth a page even though they do not say near me.
- Block job seekers, DIYers and material buyers in your ads, and add the plural and misspelled forms yourself.
The right keywords for a landscaping company are the words homeowners actually type, and they rarely match the job names in your software. People search "lawn mowing service", "yard cleanup", "someone to cut my grass" or "paver patio cost". Find those phrases, give each group its own page, and keep ad budget away from the searches that never become clients.
How landscaping and lawn care customers search
Homeowners search by the job they want done or the problem in front of them, in plain words, and the words change with the season. The same person who searched "spring cleanup" in March searches "leaf removal" in October.
Your language and theirs often differ:
- You sell a maintenance agreement. They search "weekly lawn service" or "lawn mowing near me".
- You quote bed maintenance. They search "weeding flower beds" or "mulch installation".
- You build hardscapes. They search "paver patio", "retaining wall" or "fire pit installer".
- You run seasonal cleanups. They search "yard cleanup", "leaf removal" or "overgrown yard cleanup".
- You sign snow contracts. They search "snow plowing for driveway" or "snow removal service".
The trigger shows up in the words too. "Landscaping for a new house", "lawn care for a new build" and "yard cleanup before selling" all come from homeowners who have just had a reason to hire, and who may stay on your route for years.
High-intent vs research searches
| Question | High-intent search | Research search |
|---|---|---|
| What they want | To book or get a quote | To learn, compare or price |
| How it reads | A service and "near me" | "How much", "how to", "which is best" |
| Where to send them | A service page with a call button | A guide that answers the question |
| In paid ads | Worth bidding on | Usually a negative keyword |
High-intent vs research searches
High-intent searches name a service and imply a place, and the homeowner is ready to call. Research searches ask how much or how to, and come earlier. Both deserve a landing spot, but not the same one.
| Search type | Example | Where it should land |
|---|---|---|
| Service + near me | "lawn mowing service near me" | Google profile and the lawn maintenance page |
| Service + town | "landscaper" plus the town name | That town's service area page |
| Problem | "overgrown yard cleanup" | Seasonal cleanups page, with how fast you can start |
| Project cost | "retaining wall cost" | Hardscaping page that explains what drives the price |
| Seasonal contract | "residential snow plowing contract" | Snow removal page with signup open in early fall |
| How-to | "how to edge a flower bed" | Usually nothing. Skip unless it fits a guide you already have |
Design-build searches break the usual rule. A homeowner pricing a patio may research for weeks before they call, and one signed install can be worth a season of mowing. Cost searches for hardscaping are worth a real page, even though they never say "near me".
Building a keyword map
- Start with your own records. Export last season's quote requests from Jobber, LMN or your landscaping CRM and note the exact words homeowners used to describe the job.
- Group the phrases by service. Mowing and lawn care, design, patios and walls, cleanups and leaves, and snow each get a group. Anything that does not fit is a sign of a service you sell but do not show.
- Check what Google suggests. Type the start of each phrase into Google and note the autocomplete and "People also ask" questions.
- See what you already show up for. The queries report in Search Console lists the searches your site appears for today (Search Console). Pages appearing for the wrong searches need rewriting.
- Read your ads' search terms report, if you run ads. It is the most honest record of customer language you have.
- Give each group one page. One primary page per group, so two of your own pages do not compete. Area pages take the service-plus-town searches (how to build them).
- Mark each group's season. Note when it peaks, so the page is updated a few weeks before: cleanups in late winter, aeration in late summer, snow in early fall.
Negative keywords for ads
Negative keywords stop your ads from showing on searches that will never become clients (Google's negative keyword help). For a landscaper, the usual leaks are job seekers, DIYers and people buying materials.
- Jobs: jobs, hiring, salary, crew leader, seasonal work.
- DIY and how-to: how to, DIY, tips, yourself.
- Materials and equipment: mulch for sale, landscape rock, pavers for sale, sod for sale, mower repair, snow blower.
- Education: course, degree, certification, design software.
- Services you do not offer: tree removal, pool, irrigation, or commercial snow plowing if you only do driveways.
Negative keywords do not automatically match close variants the way regular keywords do (match types), so add plurals and common misspellings yourself. Do not block seasonal services you sell. Pause the snow ad group in spring instead, so its history is there when you turn it back on in the fall. For the organic side of this work, see SEO for landscaping companies.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We build your keyword map from your own quote requests and search data, then match every group to a page, an ad group or your Google profile, with dates for each piece before the season it serves. The site, profile and ad accounts stay in your name. We report on signed recurring clients and installs by search group, not traffic. Book a growth consultation and we will show you which customer searches you are missing.
Sources
- Google Search Console, Google
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help
- About keyword matching options, Google Ads Help