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The most popular search site is still Google, so it’s important that your business appears on page one when they search for your construction services that you offer. For example, if people search “timber extension” along with your city/town, then you want to be on page one, bonus if you can be in the top three results. But if you’re not, it can be frustrating trying to figure out why. Keep reading to learn exactly why your business isn’t ranking.
Google has revealed that mobile devices now dominate online searches, with users relying on smartphones far more than computers, laptops, or other devices in 2024. Your website should function seamlessly on a mobile or tablet device, which means that the website automatically adjusts and adapts to fit the screen size of the device being used, providing a smooth and user-friendly experience. If it still doesn’t then Google will pick up on this and your company will move down the search rank.
Sometimes when your website is new Google hasn’t quite found it yet, although it should do eventually. The easiest way to find out if your business website is indexed is to type into Google search: “site:” followed by your website’s address without the ‘www.’ at the beginning. For example, to find if our site is indexed we would type: site:buildermarkering.co.uk. If your site comes up, then you’re indexed, and you need not take the next step. If you do need to index your website, then add your website to Google Search Console which will tell Google your page exists.
All content on your site should be of high quality. Avoid having blurry photos or having only images on one page. Google likes it when there is written relevant content on pages. Additionally, the more written content you have on your site, the more opportunities to include keywords. It’s these keywords which tell Google how relevant your website is to someone’s search query. While keywords remain important, Google now emphasises search intent and the overall quality and context of the content, not just keyword density. Overusing keywords like “timber extension” can even harm rankings so using natural, relevant phrases, synonyms, and contextually rich content is crucial.
Backlinks are just when your website link gets featured on someone else’s website. Being featured elsewhere shows Google that you must be a trustworthy website if people will post about you, therefore you will be ranked higher. Although, your ranking will be much higher if featured on a relevant website that Google ranks highly already.
So how do you gain backlinks? Contact people and see if you can write content that is relevant to your business for them so you can feature on their website, along with a link to your website. However, don’t just copy and paste a blog article you have already posted on your own website because Google will be able to pick up the duplicated content, and you guessed it, you’ll be penalised for it. The extra effort can go a long way.
Google My Business Profile (now rebranded as Google Business Profile) accounts that are active can encourage Google to see you as trustworthy, simply because you’re keeping it up to date. This one is easy to fix. Try to ensure that at a minimum, you have complete business details, including photos and posts, and keep them updated regularly. The goal is to create content that people will engage with. You can share your project photos, company news and blog posts, keeping your audience informed and engaged. This keeps your profile fresh and relevant, which can improve your local search ranking.
57% of people visiting a website will abandon it if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds and 80% of them will never return, so it’s imperative that your site loads quickly. If this happens often, then Google will pick up on this and penalise you lowering your search ranking.
Slow loading speeds can be caused by several factors that impact user experience and SEO rankings. First, if your website experiences high traffic, it may require an upgraded web server or the implementation of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to effectively handle the load. Another common cause is large, unoptimised images. Using heavy formats and file sizes can slow down load times, so it’s recommended to use modern, compressed formats like WebP, JPEG, or PNG for better performance. Additionally, inefficient coding can contribute to slower speeds. Ensure your website’s HTML, JavaScript, and CSS are optimised by minimising unnecessary code.
This is slightly less glamorous but includes page titles, XML sitemaps, keywords and website crawling for errors. If you’re not confident with these more technical aspects of SEO or simply don’t have the time to manage them, we’re here to help. Our team can handle all of these tasks for you, ensuring your website is fully optimized to perform well in search engine results, drive relevant traffic, and provide the best user experience.
