(Bookmark this — this is a full blueprint.)

Every month, thousands of homeowners and businesses search for cleaning services in Columbus, Ohio.

Just “house cleaning Columbus” pulls 2,000+ searches/month. Commercial cleaning, move-out cleaning, deep cleaning — thousands more.

Easily a 7-figure/year opportunity sitting in your backyard.

When someone searches:

“cleaning service Columbus Ohio”
“house cleaners near me”
“move-out cleaning Columbus”

Google shows three things:

Paid ads
Google Business Profiles (the map pack)
Website results

The map pack gets the most calls. This is where the money is.

Here’s the crazy part…

🚨 The Columbus Cleaning Market Is Wide Open

I checked the top 3 businesses in the map pack today.

They have:

⭐ 112 reviews (4/mo) ⭐ 87 reviews (2/mo) ⭐ 41 reviews (0/mo)

If you understand local SEO… this is a gift.

Most cleaning markets in cities this size have 300–600+ reviews at the top.

Columbus is underdeveloped and the review velocity is weak.

If you hit 8–12 reviews per month, you take over the map pack in under a year.

Here’s exactly how I’d do it.

🔥 Step 1 — Use an Exact-Match Business Name

If starting fresh, I’d name the legal business:

[Brand Name] + Cleaning Service Columbus

Example:

“ClearNest Cleaning Service Columbus”
“BrightWay Cleaning Columbus”
“EcoPure Cleaning Columbus”

Why?

Because Google gives weight to keywords inside business names if it’s your real legal name or DBA.

This immediately gives you positioning advantage because:

None of the top-ranked competitors in Columbus are using exact-match names.

Immediate edge.

If you already have a business:

File a DBA with the optimized name
Update your Google Business Profile (GBP)

🔥 Step 2 — Outpace Everyone With Review Velocity

Review count matters. But review speed matters more.

Your competitors:

112 reviews → ~4/month
87 reviews → ~2/month
41 reviews → ~0/month

If you do 8–12 reviews/month, your profile surges.

Here’s the review system:

📌 In-Person Ask (Most Important)

Train every cleaner to ask immediately after the final walkthrough.

Script to use:

“Thank you for having us today. Google reviews really help small teams like ours grow. If you’re happy with everything, could you scan this QR code and leave a quick review? It takes 20 seconds.”

📌 Follow-ups

Email + SMS at 24 hours
Another at 72 hours
Only ask satisfied customers

📌 Respond to every review within 24 hours

Use local keywords in responses:

“Thank you for choosing us for your move-out cleaning in Columbus!” “Glad we could help with your deep clean in the Short North area!”

This is small but boosts relevance.

🔥 Step 3 — Fully Optimize Your GBP

Most cleaning companies ignore half the features in Google Business.

You won’t.

Fill out every service:

House cleaning
Deep cleaning
Move-in/move-out cleaning
Apartment cleaning
Office cleaning
Post-construction cleaning
Airbnb turnover services
Green/eco-friendly cleaning
Bathroom + kitchen deep scrubs
Carpet & upholstery (if offered)

Add keyword-rich descriptions to each.

Post twice per week:

Before/after photos from real jobs
Short updates
Q&A with keywords
Seasonal reminders (spring clean, pre-holiday, etc.)

Stock photos = bad. Real jobs = massive trust signal.

🔥 Step 4 — Website SEO That Feeds the GBP

Your Google Business drives most calls, but your website acts as the authority engine that boosts your map results.

Build these core location pages:

Columbus Cleaning Service (homepage)
Columbus House Cleaning
Columbus Deep Cleaning
Columbus Move-Out Cleaning
Dublin Cleaning Service
Westerville Cleaning Service
Grove City Cleaning Service

For each page, write unique content about:

Local neighborhoods (Short North, Dublin Bridge Park, German Village)
Local quirks (older homes, rental turnovers, OSU student apartments)
Area-specific problems (pet hair, older carpets, Midwest dust/pollen)

Add:

Driving direction maps
Service-specific explanations
Before/after photos for that area

Do NOT copy-paste content between cities.

Google punishes that immediately.

🔥 Step 5 — Add Video On Your Homepage

A 30–60 second video explaining:

Your cleaning process
Why Columbus homes need different cleaning approaches
Hard-water minerals in Ohio homes
Pet-heavy neighborhoods and allergy dust
Midwestern seasonal dirt problems

This massively boosts:

Time on page
Trust
Conversions
Rankings

🔥 Step 6 — Build Citations (Name/Address/Phone Consistency)

List your business on:

Yelp
Bing
Apple Maps
YellowPages
Angi
Thumbtack
HomeAdvisor
Better Business Bureau

Then add every Columbus-specific directory you can find.

Make sure your name, address, and phone number match exactly on every single listing.

⚡ The Reality Check

The #1 cleaner in Columbus only gets 4 reviews a month.

This is nothing.

If you:

Get 8–12 reviews monthly
Post real job photos twice per week
Build out 5–7 location pages
Respond to every review
Add citations + backlinks

You take over the map pack in 9–18 months.

And with Columbus search volumes…

You’re looking at $100k/month revenue from SEO alone, often higher with commercial contracts.

Most local markets are brutally competitive.

Columbus is winnable. Wide open. Slow-moving competitors.

Which is the perfect setup for someone who wants to take the #1 spot and stay there.

⭐ How I’d Dominate the Cleaning Business Market in Columbus, Ohio (And Rank #1 on Google Maps)