Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in helping your business appear in front of the right audience. Most potential clients turn to Google to find local lawn care and landscaping services, so if your website isn’t ranking well in search results, you’re missing out on valuable leads. However, many landscaping businesses make common SEO mistakes that hurt their rankings and limit their reach. Below, we’ll cover the biggest SEO mistakes that could be costing you customers—and how to fix them.

1. Ignoring Local SEO

One of the biggest mistakes landscaping businesses make is failing to optimize for local searches. Since most customers are searching for services in their area, your business needs to rank well for location-specific keywords.

Common Local SEO Mistakes:

  • Not optimizing your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).
  • Failing to use city- and region-specific keywords in your website content.
  • Missing local directory listings like Yelp, Angi, and the Better Business Bureau.

How to Fix It:

  • Claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile, ensuring your address, phone number, and service areas are accurate.
  • Use keywords like “lawn care in [your city]” or “landscaping services in [your town]” throughout your website.
  • Get listed on local business directories and ensure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms.

2. Not Optimizing for Mobile Users

Over 60% of Google searches come from mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re driving potential customers away.

Common Mobile SEO Issues:

  • Slow-loading pages that frustrate users.
  • A design that doesn’t adjust properly on mobile devices.
  • Hard-to-click buttons or difficult-to-read text.

How to Fix It:

  • Use responsive design so your site adjusts to different screen sizes.
  • Optimize images and enable caching to improve load speed.
  • Test your site using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and make necessary adjustments.

3. Using the Wrong Keywords

SEO success depends on targeting the right keywords. Many landscaping businesses either use too broad keywords or don’t target what customers are actually searching for.

Common Keyword Mistakes:

  • Targeting general keywords like “landscaping” instead of specific phrases like “residential lawn care in [city].”
  • Ignoring long-tail keywords (e.g., “best lawn fertilization services near me”).
  • Stuffing keywords unnaturally into content, which hurts readability and rankings.

How to Fix It:

  • Research the keywords customers actually use (try Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest).
  • Focus on local, service-specific, and long-tail keywords that match customer intent.
  • Naturally incorporate keywords into headings, content, and URLs.

4. Lack of Quality Content

Google rewards websites with valuable, relevant content. If your site lacks content—or contains thin, duplicated, or outdated information—you won’t rank well.

Common Content Mistakes:

  • Having only a few short pages with minimal information.
  • Not updating your blog with fresh, helpful content.
  • Using duplicate content copied from competitors or other sources.

How to Fix It:

  • Create detailed service pages explaining what you offer.
  • Regularly publish blog posts answering common questions (e.g., “How to Prepare Your Lawn for Spring”).
  • Focus on seasonal content to address customer needs year-round.

5. Neglecting On-Page SEO Elements

On-page SEO includes elements like title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and image alt text. Ignoring these small but important details can hurt your rankings.

Common On-Page SEO Mistakes:

  • No title tags or meta descriptions, or ones that are too generic.
  • Not using H1, H2, and H3 headers to structure your content.
  • Forgetting image alt text, which helps search engines understand your images.

How to Fix It:

  • Write compelling, keyword-rich title tags and meta descriptions for every page.
  • Use headers (H1, H2, H3) to break up content for readability.
  • Add alt text to images describing what’s in the picture (e.g., “Professional lawn mowing in Dallas, TX”).

6. Failing to Build Backlinks

Backlinks—links from other reputable websites to yours—are one of the strongest ranking factors in SEO. Without them, your website may struggle to gain authority.

Common Link-Building Mistakes:

  • Not having any backlinks from reputable sources.
  • Relying on low-quality or spammy links, which can harm rankings.
  • Missing opportunities for local and industry-specific backlinks.

How to Fix It:

  • Get listed on local directories and landscaping industry sites.
  • Reach out to local bloggers, home improvement websites, and landscaping forums for guest posting opportunities.
  • Encourage satisfied customers to mention your business online or link to your site.

7. Ignoring Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO ensures your website is properly structured for search engines to crawl and index. Without it, even great content won’t rank well.

Common Technical SEO Issues:

  • Slow site speed due to large images, unoptimized code, or too many plugins.
  • Broken links and 404 errors that harm user experience.
  • Missing an XML sitemap or robots.txt file for search engine indexing.

How to Fix It:

  • Compress images and enable browser caching to speed up load times.
  • Regularly check for broken links using tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console.
  • Submit an XML sitemap to Google so all your pages get indexed.

8. Not Tracking SEO Performance

Without tracking your SEO performance, you won’t know what’s working—or what needs improvement.

Common Tracking Mistakes:

  • Not using Google Analytics to monitor traffic and user behavior.
  • Ignoring Google Search Console for indexing and ranking insights.
  • Failing to adjust your SEO strategy based on data.

How to Fix It:

  • Set up Google Analytics to track website visitors, keyword performance, and conversions.
  • Use Google Search Console to check for SEO errors and indexing issues.
  • Regularly review data and refine your SEO strategy based on results.

Contact Us for an SEO Audit

SEO is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail, strategy, and consistent effort. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can improve your landscaping business’s online visibility, attract more local customers, and grow your revenue.

If you’re unsure where to start, our team of digital marketing experts specializes in helping landscaping businesses succeed online. Contact us today to discover how we can boost your rankings and leads!