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Your client didn't choose to need you. They are selling or letting, their notary or agent is asking for a file, and they need an appointment fast. Some of these owners follow the name they're given. The others search on Google, where quote platforms and national networks sit above local firms. I work to make both paths lead to you.
15 years in SEO
4 books on SEO and GEO
200+ sites tracked every day
1M / month visits to my e-commerce site
They trusted me with their visibility
Darty
Eurofins
Cegid
EBP
CNP Assurances
Ingram MicroA title that talks about expertise, not inspections
A seller is looking for a property inspector in Angoulême, ten days before signing. Your site comes up third, below two platforms. Its title says “Expertise” and its description talks about peace of mind. They don't click. Rewrite both.
Fig. 1. Three results for an inspection. Only one says who will come out. (You carry out inspections every day. Your title announced expertise.)
What this means for you. I rewrite the title and description of every page in the owner's words: their situation, their town, your lead time.
SEO for a property inspector means making an inspection firm visible on Google when an owner, a landlord or a property professional is looking for someone in their area. It relies on a complete Google Business Profile, separate pages for sales, lettings and building work, and clear information on lead times and the area covered. It is measured by the bookings received directly, with no middleman.
The problem
Two agencies and a notary's office can account for most of your bookings. If one of them changes provider, your month takes a hit. Direct requests from private individuals make that dependence less dangerous.
For “property inspection” followed by a town, you find comparison sites and quote sites ahead of the firms. They show a teaser price and assign the job afterwards. The owner doesn't know who will come to their home.
They don't know which inspections apply to their property, how long the visit takes, or when they'll get the report. If your site doesn't answer those three questions, they call the one that does.
An audit, for real
The site below doesn't exist, but its flaws do: they're the five I spot most often. Hover over a number.
Expertise at the service of your property
A certified professional for all your property inspections, with complete peace of mind.
Online quoteFig. 2. Fictional site, reconstructed. Any resemblance to yours would be a good reason to call me.
What your customers type
Six plausible searches, given as examples. None of them is a measurement. The ones for your area are gathered during the audit.
What works
You travel to the client, so the profile needs to say how far. I set the category, service area, services and opening hours. A profile that names your towns has a case to make in local searches, against a head office based in another region.
These three clients have neither the same questions nor the same urgency. Three separate pages, reachable from the menu, avoid one long text that mixes everything up. Each one ends the same way: how to get a date.
In this trade, the lead time often decides the booking. Usual wait for an appointment, report turnaround, ability to come out urgently: these three lines belong at the top of the page. You only write what you can deliver.
The owner wants to know you're compliant without knowing the regulations. A page presents your certifications and your insurance, with their validity dates, based on the documents you send me. I copy the titles; I don't interpret any of them.
Notaries, agencies, managing agents and property managers also look you up on Google before handing you a first job. A page aimed at them explains how to book a job with you, how quickly, and in what form they receive the reports.
What costs dearly
The owner doesn't know these abbreviations. They understand “I'm selling a house” or “I'm letting a flat”. Start from their situation; the acronyms come afterwards.
Obligations change, pages stay the same. An out-of-date text on a property inspector's website makes a bad impression. I prefer short, dated pages that point to the official sources.
“The whole region” reassures nobody about lead times. Naming your usual towns and saying what happens beyond them gives a clear answer.
Someone signing in ten days doesn't fill in a form and wait for a reply. The number must be clickable at the top of every page.
The method
Four actions, ranked by how quickly they take effect. None of them requires you to become a copywriter.
One-minute test
Five frank questions to find out whether support makes sense in your situation. Sometimes the answer is no, and I'll tell you.
What it brings in
A ranking doesn't pay a salary. What counts is what it brings: enquiries, customers, revenue. Move your page up and see what it could bring in.
Example assumptions, open to challenge: 350 searches a month for an inspection before a sale, 6% of visitors make a request, one request in three signs (this varies a lot from one trade to another), €350 per client. Click-through rates by position are rough orders of magnitude, and they have been shifting since Google started showing AI answers above the results. Rerun the calculation with your own figures
Possible revenue€0
Close to home
In Charente, a property inspector travels between Angoulême, Cognac and small towns such as Jarnac, Barbezieux, Ruffec or Confolens. The housing stock ranges from town flats to old stone houses. The seller searches with the name of their town and wants to know when you can come. A firm that names its towns and its lead times answers that search. The Newp agency, which I co-founded, has its offices in the département.
Village houses, longères, converted outbuildings: the owner of an old stone property wonders how your visit will go. A page explaining how it works in an old house, with the towns you cover, reassures the seller before you arrive.
In Angoulême, a landlord looks for an inspection before letting, sometimes for several flats. They type the name of the town and want a quick answer. A page designed for them, with a direct contact and simple arrangements between two tenants, can build a lasting relationship.
Around Cognac, the vineyards include estates with storehouses, barns or offices. If you work on these buildings, say so. The seller and their notary are looking for a firm that has already seen this type of property.
Beyond Google
Owners increasingly ask an AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Mistral before calling anyone: “I'm selling a 1960s house near Cognac, which inspections do I need and who can come before the end of the month?”. The AI gives a general answer about the documents to gather, advises checking with a professional, then sometimes names a few firms.
On the regulatory side, I don't try to get you cited: the official sources are there for that. On the choice of firm, however, the AI picks up whatever specific information it finds: towns covered, appointment lead time, types of property, reviews. A firm described as “pre-sale and pre-letting inspections, Cognac area, stated lead times” is more likely to be named than one described as “property expertise”. I align this description across your website, your profile and the trade directories.
Question asked to an AII'm selling a flat in Angoulême and signing is close. Which property inspector can come quickly?
Three options for this job:
Fig. 3. Reconstruction, names hidden. This is the spot we aim for: on the list, with the most precise description.
Three typical cases
Three made-up examples that don't match any real firm. They show how the plan changes depending on the starting point.
They have just obtained their certifications and have no referrers yet.
Almost all its jobs come from the same contacts.
It wants to grow pre-works surveys and jobs for managing agents.
In practice
Pricing
The fee depends on four things. I give you a precise amount after a free first thirty-minute conversation.
Fancy a game?
A giant takes up the whole first page of your market. It has five weak spots. Take the coin and slide it into the machine.
INSERT COINSLIDE THE COIN INTO THE SLOT
Fig. 4. Sixteen seconds. No towns were harmed in the making of this game.
Together, let's devour your competitors.
One by one, and in order. Every spot gained makes the next one easier to take: that's why it keeps growing. See the method
Who you're talking to
My name is Kévin Papot. More than fifteen years in the job, four co-written books, and the Newp agency, co-founded in Charente. I also run my own online shops, in France and internationally: one of them went from zero to a million visits a month.
Before we talk tags, we talk margin, average basket and profitability. When you book a call, I'm the one who picks up.
FAQ
For two reasons. Your referrers may change their minds or their provider. And the owner who is given your name looks you up before calling: what they find confirms or weakens the recommendation.
I wouldn't advise it as a matter of principle. Explain what your service includes: time spent on site, who comes, report turnaround, your availability afterwards. Many sellers prefer to know who is coming into their home.
You can, at your own responsibility and as long as you keep it up to date. For my part, I avoid writing a fixed list. I suggest a page that asks three questions about the property and invites people to call you to find out which inspections are required.
In this trade, the price is asked for in the first minute. An indicative price list, or a few examples by type of property, avoids calls that go nowhere. You decide the level of detail; I format it.
By asking the right person at the right time: the owner, on the day they receive their report. A short message with a link is enough. These reviews usually talk about punctuality, clarity and turnaround, which is what the next client wants to read.
No. One page for each of your real areas, usually two or three, with the towns named in the text. Dozens of pages identical except for the town name help nobody.
Before a first job, often yes, or a member of staff does. They look for your certifications, your insurance, your lead times and a direct contact. The page aimed at them saves them time.
It's a good idea, with an anonymised report. The owner sees what they will receive and understands the price. Just check that no address or name remains legible.
By writing few regulatory sentences. The pages describe your service, your lead times and your area, which rarely change. For the rest, they point to the official sources, and you review everything before publication.
The Google Business Profile can bring in calls fairly quickly once it's set up. The website pages take several months. I guarantee neither volume nor date; I show you every month where the requests come from.
See also
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