A seamless pattern of black polka dots on a white background.

Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO for Land Clearing and Dirt Work Companies

Josh Stockel • June 26, 2025
A black circle with a shadow on a white background.

If you’ve ever searched for a restaurant, mechanic, or contractor and picked the top result—congrats, you’ve experienced local SEO.


Now imagine your future clients doing the same thing. They Google “land clearing near me” or “brush removal in Liberty Hill”—and your business pops up first. That’s the power of local SEO.


Here’s your no-fluff, contractor-friendly guide to understanding and winning at local SEO in 2025.


What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is how you show up in Google when people search for services in your area.


It includes:

  • Showing up in the Map Pack (top 3 business results with reviews)
  • Ranking your website for location-based searches
  • Getting found through “near me” searches on mobile


Why Should You Care?

Because people trust Google. And if you’re not showing up when they search, your competitors are.


Local SEO helps you:

  • Get free, high-quality leads
  • Look more legit than your competitors
  • Stay busy year-round—even when referrals dry up


5 Local SEO Must-Haves for Land Clearing & Dirt Work Contractors


1. A Google Business Profile That’s Fully Optimized

This is your #1 local SEO asset. Make sure you:

  • Choose the right category (e.g., Land Clearing Service, Excavating Contractor)
  • List all your services
  • Add real photos (weekly!)
  • Get reviews and reply to every one


2. Service Area Pages on Your Website

If you serve multiple cities, each one needs a dedicated page.

  • Title: “Land Clearing in Bastrop, TX”
  • Include local references, photos, and a call-to-action


Google loves specificity.


3. Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone)

Make sure your business info is exactly the same across:

  • Your website
  • Google Business Profile
  • Facebook, Yelp, BBB, etc.


Inconsistencies confuse Google and lower your ranking.


4. Local Backlinks

Reach out to:

  • Builders and developers
  • Realtors
  • Community sponsorships
  • Chamber of commerce listings


Ask if they’ll link to your site or list you on their resources page.


5. Fresh Content

Share recent jobs, FAQs, or project highlights. It doesn’t have to be long—just consistent.


Example: “We cleared 4 acres in Burnet this week for a family building a new home. Took two days and involved cedar mulching and stump removal.”

That’s a post Google will index—and a story a prospect might relate to.


Local SEO doesn’t have to be hard—but it does have to be done. And when you do it right, it brings in leads week after week, no ad spend required.


Want to dominate your local area? 👉 Let’s set up your SEO foundation

Featured Resources

Check Our Latest Resources

By Josh Stockel June 29, 2025
Demolition is all about precision, speed, and removing what no longer serves a purpose. And funny enough—that’s exactly how digital marketing should work too. In 2025, the demolition companies that are getting the best leads, winning the most bids, and scaling fastest aren’t doing it by accident. They’ve got a marketing system in place. Here’s the full playbook we use to grow demolition contractors across the U.S.—no fluff, just what works. Foundation: Build a Site That Converts Before you worry about ads or SEO, you need a website that works. Your site should: Clearly explain what you do (residential demo, commercial, interior, slab removal, etc.) Show real job photos with before/after shots Include trust signals like licensing, insurance, and certifications Make it easy to call, text, or request a quote (especially on mobile) Don’t overthink design. Focus on speed, clarity, and action. Phase 1: Google Business Profile + Local SEO Demolition is location-driven. People search terms like “garage teardown near me” or “demo company in Amarillo.” Start by: Optimizing your Google Business Profile (categories, photos, services) Getting reviews that mention project type and city Creating city-specific pages on your website for each area you serve This will get you free traffic and calls—even without paying for ads. Phase 2: Paid Ads That Filter Out Time-Wasters Now you’re ready to run Google Ads or Facebook Ads—but not just any ads. The best campaigns: Use keywords with intent (“interior demo quote,” “commercial building demolition cost”) Send users to a service-matching landing page (not your homepage) Include clear messaging about what kinds of jobs you take Bonus tip: Add a short form with qualifying questions (e.g. “Project timeline?” or “Is there asbestos on site?”). This filters out low-quality leads and helps you prep better quotes. Phase 3: Retargeting to Win the Slow Deciders Demo jobs are often part of a longer process—planning, permitting, budgeting. That means some prospects won’t convert right away. Retarget them with: Facebook and Instagram ads showing successful jobs Short videos of your crew at work Testimonials from happy GCs, developers, or homeowners Staying visible keeps you top-of-mind when the job is ready. Phase 4: Automation = More Jobs With Less Chasing When someone contacts you, they should hear back instantly. Not an hour later. Not the next day. That’s where CRM automation comes in. With tools like our Lead Nurturing Software , you can: Auto-text a new lead within 1 minute Email a checklist or quote request form Remind yourself or your team to call back It’s not about replacing you—it’s about scaling you.  Phase 5: Monthly Reporting + Adjustments You can’t grow what you don’t track. Every month, review: Lead sources (Google, Facebook, referrals, SEO, etc.) Cost per lead Conversion rate (leads that become jobs) This tells you what’s working—and where to double down. The best demo companies in 2025 aren’t just swinging wrecking balls. They’re swinging smart marketing strategies that keep the pipeline full. Want help putting this system in place? 👉 Get your custom demo marketing plan Want even more insight? Check out our Land It Podcast where we sit down with dirt world pros and unpacked the exact marketing tactics that helped them go from word-of-mouth to fully booked. We cover website must-haves, ad strategies, and how they built trust online that led to big jobs. 🎧 Listen to the Land It Podcast
By Josh Stockel June 27, 2025
Buying leads sounds easy: pay a service, get names and phone numbers, and close jobs. But if you’ve tried it, you know the truth—most bought land clearing leads are a dead end, a money pit, or worse: a fast track to frustration. In 2025, smart land service contractors are ditching third-party lead sellers for direct, high-quality leads that come from their own marketing systems. Here’s why buying leads is a trap—and what works better. 1. Bought Leads Are Shared Leads When you buy leads from platforms like HomeAdvisor, Angi, or random “contractor lead services,” you’re often one of five or more contractors getting the same info. That means the second you call, the homeowner’s phone is already ringing off the hook. You’re in a race to the bottom—forced to slash prices or lose the job entirely. Often times, the lead will even tell you how surprised they are that you are calling because they submitted that info WEEKS ago! 2. Bought Leads Are Low-Intent Many of these leads filled out a generic form that asked them if they might want something cleared someday. They haven’t researched your services. They’re not ready to hire. Some don’t even know what they want. Compare that to a homeowner who Googles “land clearing contractor near me” or "excavation company near me", visits your website, and fills out your quote form—they’re already invested in you. 3. Lead Quality is Impossible to Control When you buy leads, you can’t filter by: Job size Property location Timeline Budget Access issues So you waste hours chasing quotes you’d never take if you knew the details up front. 4. You’re Renting, Not Building Even if you get a few jobs from bought leads, you’re not building your brand—you’re just paying someone else for theirs. When you stop buying, the leads stop. There’s no pipeline. No compounding value. No long-term marketing asset. 5. Reviews and Referrals Go Back to the Platform When you do good work for a bought lead, their loyalty is to the platform, not you. Their review goes on the lead service site, boosting their credibility, not yours. 6. You Lose Pricing Power Because the customer sees multiple bids at once, you’re stuck competing on price—not value, expertise, or reputation. That’s a race most contractors can’t win profitably. 7. It’s Expensive in the Long Run Sure, each lead might cost $30–$100. But when you factor in time wasted on bad leads, discounts needed to win bids, and the lack of repeat business, you often spend far more than you’d invest in your own lead generation system. What Works Better Than Buying Land Clearing Leads? Build Your Own Pipeline When you control your own lead generation, you own your pipeline. That means: ✅ You choose who sees your ads ✅ You set the tone with your branding ✅ You pre-qualify leads before they ever call ✅ You nurture leads automatically, turning cold inquiries into warm opportunities Use Google Ads for High-Intent Leads People searching “excavation contractor in [city]” aren’t just browsing—they’re ready to hire. A well-targeted Google Ads campaign puts you in front of them at the perfect moment. Invest in Local SEO Your Google Business Profile and website pages optimized for specific cities or services keep bringing in free, qualified leads month after month—without paying per lead. Create a Website Built to Convert Your site should answer three questions within seconds: What do you do? Where do you work? How can I contact you? Add job photos, testimonials, and a clear quote request form—and your site becomes your best salesperson. Why This Matters Now More Than Ever Land services are booming. But with more contractors advertising online, the difference between growing and grinding is whether you own your pipeline—or rent it from someone else. Building your own marketing engine isn’t instant, but it pays off every month with better leads, higher margins, and a stronger brand. 👉 Ready to stop buying bad leads and start getting high-quality calls from your own marketing? Let’s build your lead machine 🎧 On the Land It Podcast, we share real stories from contractors who ditched lead-buying and took control of their growth. Listen to how they did it—and what you can learn from their journey. 👉 Listen to the podcast
By Josh Stockel June 23, 2025
You might be the best excavator in your city—your trench lines are clean, your timing is tight, your crew is reliable—but if you’re not ranking on Google, the only people who know that are the ones who already hired you. The truth is, most excavation contractors don’t rank well in local search results. Not because Google is out to get them. And not because their competitors are better. But because they’re missing the basics of visibility. In this blog, we’ll break down why most excavation companies struggle to rank—and how to fix it. 1. No Location-Specific Service Pages If your website is just one page that says “We offer excavation,” you’re not helping Google—or your customers—understand where you work and what you offer. Google doesn’t assume. It indexes content. If you want to show up for searches like “foundation excavation in Temple TX,” you need a page on your site with that exact phrase. That page should include: A brief description of the service Where you offer it A call to action Photos of a real job (ideally in or near that location) Without that, you’re invisible. 2. Your Google Business Profile is Incomplete When’s the last time you updated your Google Business Profile ? A lot of contractors don’t even realize this is one of the most powerful ranking factors in local search. If your profile has old photos, missing hours, no service area info, or no reviews, Google sees it as dormant. Keep it updated. Add new jobsite photos weekly. Ask happy customers to leave reviews. The more activity, the more visibility. 3. You’re Not Earning Local Backlinks Google rewards businesses that are connected to the community. One of the ways it judges that? Backlinks from local websites. These don’t have to be from high-traffic blogs. Even links from your chamber of commerce, a local builder directory, or a sponsor listing on a high school football page make a difference. Each one tells Google, “This business is real and active in this area.” 4. Your Website is Slow or Not Mobile-Friendly Site speed and mobile usability are now major ranking factors. And most excavation sites were built 5+ years ago and haven’t been touched since. If your site takes too long to load, or it’s hard to use on a phone, Google will rank you lower—period. Use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to check your load time, or have a pro take a look. Sometimes, just compressing images and removing old plugins can speed things up. 5. You’re Not Creating Content You don’t have to become a blogger, but Google favors sites that are active. That means: Posting job updates Writing short blog posts about common questions (e.g. “How deep should you trench for a water line in Texas?”) Sharing before-and-after images with a few lines of context Every update gives Google another reason to index your site—and customers another reason to trust you. 6. You’re Ignoring Review Strategy Reviews are not just for reputation—they are ranking fuel. Ask every customer to leave a Google review and mention: What you did (e.g. “foundation dig”) Where it was (e.g. “Georgetown, TX”) Why they’d recommend you This builds local SEO power while creating trust with new visitors. Ranking isn’t a black box. It’s a repeatable system. And when you do it right, your business becomes the first name people find when they need dirt work done. Want a free excavation SEO audit? 👉 Request yours here