Should I give up my SEO war?

[Deleted member 243462]

Hi everyone, I'm a gas engineer by trade, but decided to build my own website using wordpress, I have put countless hours into learning SEO, optimising my page, building citations, spend time on social media created an infomative blog, just doing everything I can to please the algothrym Google preaches. Good user experience and informative.

I keep a close eye on my competitors and out of know where someone has landed 2nd in a search im competing for because his domain is the keyword phrase. Something apparantly has been forgotten about for so long.There is no seo strategy going on, on the page or off.

I'm going insane. Does anyone else ever get this issue? or am I just completly missing something here and doing something completly wrong? Should I throw in the towel?

 

[SEOpie]

No.
Take this as an opportunity to analyse what you are doing differently to them and to learn how you can improve. If you're sure all your on-site content is in good shape, then have a look at their backlink profile, and try to work out exactly why they are where they are.

If they've used spurious methods, then in time this will hurt them. If not, you will learn of different avenues to explore.
Sometimes, however, it just makes no sense

 

[CWT2k1]

So as Google starts to require mobile friendly compliancy and continues to reduce the impact links have on results, everything will fix itself. Also I would report this to Google so they are aware.

 

[SEOpie]

After a very quick look, I can see that the vast majority of your backlinks come from directories.
I would put some effort into trying to diversify.

 

[Ashley Wright]

a EMD domain easily ranks these days, heck I could put up the EMD with the number 1 at the end and have it ranking within a week, like SEOpie states get some more diversity with your backlinks and you will soon have nothing to worry about

 

[Deleted member 243462]

Thanks for your contributions guys. I have checked their link profile using ahrefs, (please share if you know of anything better) they have 3 links as it stands . Their only dofollow link is from w3c validator. Their URL rank is 0, domain rank is 0. Looking into their keyword density on their page, its quite similar to mine but I have included the 3 word search term i'm trying to rank for, within my text a little bit more. They're using META Keywords. It's their home page thats ranked 2nd whereas I have created a page specifically to rank for this term. Their page load speed is quite good, only 1.3s to load. Mine fluctuates due to my host being in america, I'm just trying to figure out which host is best to go with in the U.K. Very frustrating.

With regards to my back link profile, I did go a little bit crazy on the link building using directories, it has crossed my mind that I may be being penalised for that, i'm a bit stumped where to really go to next, I am sharing links on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Not a lot though just every day ill share one. (Still got to be a gas engineer as well unfortunately).

Btw if you want to investigate yourself
coventryboilerinstaller with a .co and a .uk at the end (this is the EMD)
and my page in question is< URL removed reviews not allowed>/ (i'm not allowed to submit links yet so hopefully this isn't against the rules too much :s)
search term is 'boiler installations Coventry' (or similar)

Thanks again for taking the time offer your advice.

 

[Ashley Wright]

Something as simple as that he has had his domain since 2013 (2 and a bit years) could be easily the case just simple stats like this can be the difference sometimes in ranking for local keywords

 

[StevePoster]

decided to build my own website using wordpress, just doing everything I can to please the algothrym Google preaches. Good user experience and informative.

because his domain is the keyword phrase.

I'm going insane. Does anyone else ever get this issue? or am I just completly missing something here and doing something completly wrong?

Google is not the one to be pleased but your targeted users.

Having the keyword phrase within his domain is not only the basis.

It is a usual scenario and you are missing something most important from your mentioned activities and that is you audience intent, needs, benefits, and expectations that will be unique for them. This will be considered as branding and establishing your status in the related field.

 

[SEOpie]

With regards to my back link profile, I did go a little bit crazy on the link building using directories, it has crossed my mind that I may be being penalised for that, i'm a bit stumped where to really go to next, I am sharing links on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Not a lot though just every day ill share one. (Still got to be a gas engineer as well unfortunately).

Here's an idea: Find companies local to you that blog regularly, offer them a free boiler check for a mention on their blog.

 

[Ian J]

a EMD domain easily ranks these days, heck I could put up the EMD with the number 1 at the end and have it ranking within a week,

I'm not sure how correct that is. I have half a dozen EMD optimized specifically to a phrase ( eg whatisfactoring.org,uk factoringquotes.org.uk and factoring-invoices.co.uk ) and whilst they all ranked well they started to slip last year when Google changed their algorithm and announced that they were discarding EMD as part of their algorithm so I don't believe that EMD's are of value any more.

A search for the word "factoring" on Google will show just the company in the final spot having the word factoring in it's domain name unlike a year or so ago when there were quite a few EMD entries on page 1

 

[Ian J]

Something as simple as that he has had his domain since 2013 (2 and a bit years) could be easily the case just simple stats like this can be the difference sometimes in ranking for local keywords

My site ranked quite well until a couple of years ago and not only did it have the search term in the domain name but it's also been live since 1999 yet I have been overtaken by far newer companies so I think that's another point that has less value than it used to

 

[Deleted member 243462]

Thanks for your input Ian. There is clearly something I am missing then.

Steve poster - You're right. I do have every intention of pleasing my customers and the end user, my posts are directly trying to help people without giving everything away. It would be nice my page to rank higher to get the traffic thought as everyone wishes who puts time and effort into their website.

SEO pie - it's not a bad idea, something worth looking into. thanks for your advice.

 

[Ian J]

It would be nice my page to rank higher to get the traffic thought as everyone wishes who puts time and effort into their website.

I'm no SEO expert but time and effort could well be wasted if it's misdirected. Have you thought about become a full member of this forum and asking for a website review in the closed forums as the experts might spot something obvious that you have missed

 

[Tin]

Ian makes a good point about getting a full review, it often helps.

Just to add my 2c to the suggestions already and without going into specifics

First - A homepage carries more weight than an internal page, so if it's their homepage that is ranking for the keyword phrase and you're using an internal page you've got an instant imbalance.

Second - You're hosting in America. I'd get that sorted ASAP. Regarding recommendations, I use Vidahost and been more than happy with them for years.

Although the benefits of using an EMD has had the dial turned down somewhat for ranking benefits they are not dead and buried.

 

[InFront Digital]

The key to this may be experimenting and see what works best.
Some of the suggestions already stated are something to consider: try posting to sites other than directories for example.

Do you include keywords in articles aswell?

 

[MASSEY]

On the face of it, they seem to be ranking quite well for a plethora of terms. So well i would speculate something fishy going on.

Either they've got more backlinks than you think they do or there is some onsite black hat going on.

I'm about to start SEO'ing a new site for boilers, kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring, myself after getting yet another pasting from google.

My advice would be to not give up. Out of all forms of marketing currently, the internet has been very lucrative for enquiries. You can't beat having a site sitting high on google and generating lots of free enquiries. (free to some degree, you have to account for your own time too).

I'd also suggest that you look into PPC. As a result of what google have done to the results page layouts, more people are clicking the ads.

For the time it takes to throw up a primative but nice looking website, upload a bit of money to your google adwords and choose exact match for the terms google are allowing you to show your ad for (they don't let exact match show for low search volumes because they want people to waste money) it can generate enquirers quickly and relatively cheaply as long as your site hits the crucial points it needs to with clear contact information.

I'd also not obsess too terribly with specific phrases and pay more attention to how many visitors you are getting, if any, and try to work out if your site is doing a good job or not.

 

[Pistol101]

Looking at your site (i've assumed the domain from your username and Coventry!). Your big issue is the onsite work. You need to do some work on your title tags, and other on site attributes and bring them more in-line with the terms your targeting. I would also be out getting a few more links to, you don't have many and most are no follow links.

 

[Deleted member 243462]

Wow some great tips here, thanks guys.

I'm no SEO expert but time and effort could well be wasted if it's misdirected. Have you thought about become a full member of this forum and asking for a website review in the closed forums as the experts might spot something obvious that you have missed

I think it may be worth it to be honest, Ive had no real training on SEO just books ives read and articles etc, so help from an expert might not be a bad place to go. I have been done over in the past with a so called 'SEO Expert' so I'm really cautious about it happening again.

 

[Deleted member 243462]

Ian makes a good point about getting a full review, it often helps.

Just to add my 2c to the suggestions already and without going into specifics

First - A homepage carries more weight than an internal page, so if it's their homepage that is ranking for the keyword phrase and you're using an internal page you've got an instant imbalance.

Second - You're hosting in America. I'd get that sorted ASAP. Regarding recommendations, I use Vidahost and been more than happy with them for years.

Although the benefits of using an EMD has had the dial turned down somewhat for ranking benefits they are not dead and buried.

Tin, thanks for recommendation i will definitely the host, and I have also been thinking about changing the home page layout etc so will try and target my keywords and phrases within the text.

 

[Deleted member 243462]

The key to this may be experimenting and see what works best.
Some of the suggestions already stated are something to consider: try posting to sites other than directories for example.

Do you include keywords in articles aswell?

My articles so far are long phrases that people would type in for common plumbing issues, such as 'why is my radiator not getting hot' the aim was to rank for these to help drive traffic towards my site. This has worked well with social media.

 

[Deleted member 243462]

On the face of it, they seem to be ranking quite well for a plethora of terms. So well i would speculate something fishy going on.

Either they've got more backlinks than you think they do or there is some onsite black hat going on.

I'm about to start SEO'ing a new site for boilers, kitchens, bathrooms, rewiring, myself after getting yet another pasting from google.

My advice would be to not give up. Out of all forms of marketing currently, the internet has been very lucrative for enquiries. You can't beat having a site sitting high on google and generating lots of free enquiries. (free to some degree, you have to account for your own time too).

I'd also suggest that you look into PPC. As a result of what google have done to the results page layouts, more people are clicking the ads.

For the time it takes to throw up a primative but nice looking website, upload a bit of money to your google adwords and choose exact match for the terms google are allowing you to show your ad for (they don't let exact match show for low search volumes because they want people to waste money) it can generate enquirers quickly and relatively cheaply as long as your site hits the crucial points it needs to with clear contact information.

I'd also not obsess too terribly with specific phrases and pay more attention to how many visitors you are getting, if any, and try to work out if your site is doing a good job or not.

I average around 50 visitors each day at the minute. I'm not massively clued up on the analytics side of things to be honest, think I need to do a bit of youtube watching to explain everything. My bounce rate is around 75% on average, and my average session time is about a minute and half. Ive been thinking about creating some videos to help increase this.

I have thought about PPC but find it a little bit daunting, as I don't know the ins and outs of it at the minute, But your advice could be useful, you have given me something to think about.

Again guys your time and knowledge is priceless so think you all very much.

 

[UKSBD]

There's not a lot wrong.
Phrase selection and titles could be better, be careful internal pages are not competing against each other (and the home page), tidy up structure of tips section (do you need those 3 extra drop downs?), speed the site up, don't use Home so much as anchor to homepage and strengthen the home page more.

 

[Pistol101]

My articles so far are long phrases that people would type in for common plumbing issues, such as 'why is my radiator not getting hot' the aim was to rank for these to help drive traffic towards my site. This has worked well with social media.

That term is relevant to the issue, but it's not necessarily relevant to the person wanting to hire someone to fix the problem. You'll also be getting national and international traffic, who even if they wanted a plumber couldn't hire you. This will lead to the high bounce rate. High bounce rate can be good too, as they've just grabbed your phone number and called you.

You will be best in the long term going for some of the bigger terms like plumber. Google ranks terms like this based on the local environment, so your no longer competing with every plumber in the country, just local companies.

Don't worry about moving your hosting, it's not something i've seen much impact on local businesses. Make sure you Google business data is updated correctly and add in the correct hreflang tags to the tags. Your best quality traffic will come from the Google local listings.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I keep a close eye on my competitors and out of know where someone has landed 2nd in a search im competing for because his domain is the keyword phrase. Something apparantly has been forgotten about for so long.There is no seo strategy going on, on the page or off.

Or maybe there is.

The best SEO I know gets competitive rankings with sites where it looks like no SEO has been done. (On page or off page.)

Steve

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

You probably need an experienced SEO. After all you said you're a gas safe fitter not a SEO.

 

[alistairm]

I've only had a quick look at your site and I'm not an expert but I think your on page seo isn't too bad. Just a few simple things you can do if you're not ready to change to a UK host with servers in the UK yet as I think has been mentioned. In your Wordpress settings set your Timezone to London if it isn't already, and change the site language to English (UK). I'd also stick a Google map of your business address in the sidebar or on the homepage.

 

[ZeroDouble]

There's actually quite a few things that could be much better with your website, both from an seo, and a user experience / conversion point of view.

Without going into specific details (and getting my wrist slapped), you should think about what message(s) you're sending to your visitors, and the google search engine spiders.

At the moment you're boring your potential customers with waffle (instead of showing them which of their problems you can solve), and telling google that your company / site is about plus one buttons, how best to send them information, and other pointless website related stuff.

 

[Deleted member 243462]

Thanks for tips everyone, I'll take a look into making some alterations and hopefully make it a little bit more compelling for people to stick around.

 

[FirstClassVirtualOffice]

@Tin can I check on something you said earlier about hosting server being abroad....what if the domain is hosted on a US server to manage the email and then points to another (UK) server where the website sits? Does Google see this website as being hosted in the US or UK?

 

[quickfirerob]

Do you have a content strategy? For example, a regular blog post published each week? Without a fresh stream of content to keep you visible to search engines and encourage social sharing, you will have a tough time. Blogging and social media may seem like buzzwords -- but there's a reason for that.

 

[Tin]

@Tin can I check on something you said earlier about hosting server being abroad....what if the domain is hosted on a US server to manage the email and then points to another (UK) server where the website sits? Does Google see this website as being hosted in the US or UK?

Hi, I've answered you via PM as I'd need some more information from you which would result in taking this thread away from the OPs original intention.

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

No way, it's too much fun!

 

[ronnie7272]

Should I throw in the towel?

Yes you should throw in the towel with organic SEO.

Focus on developing your Google Business Page, Google+ account and a You Tube channel. The rest will look after itself.

You're doing more than ok considering you are self taught. I don't know if you have a You Tube channel but consider commenting and liking other plumbing related You Tube Clips (using your Google+ account) and eventually other people will like your comments and follow you. Start publishing your own videos on You Tube. There's a learning curve but once you begin to understand how to leverage marketing via You Tube your You Tube videos (with local keyphrases) will rank on page one of Google for your target keyphrases without you even trying to apply SEO to them. To begin with, make a long list of useful videos (not Coventry related) which you could publish which are helpful to the general public regardless of where they live. Once you start, you will get the hang of it and you add a few Coventry related videos in here and there.

If your videos are good, then your videos will have a high conversion rate to sales enquiries from Google traffic for your local keyphrases. In general, the public don't know good plumbers. Once they see you are a likeable character and other people like you (Google Business Page reviews, Google+ followers, You Tube subscribers/positive comments and replies etc.), they are likely to contact you for their plumbing needs. You could even do videos reviews on different boilers and/or boiler solutions. Some boiler manufacturers might contact you and you don't know what opportunities might be round the corner.

Embed some of your You Tube videos into your website to add credibility and improve conversion rates and if you really want to carry on doing some organic SEO then build links to the relevant You Tube clips you want to rank. You might be able to rank 2 or 3 You Tube clips per target keyphrase on page one but if you are one man band, it's not like you are looking for page one domination. Ranking one You Tube clip per keyphrase will be enough.

 

[S Isaac]

Or maybe there is.

The best SEO I know gets competitive rankings with sites where it looks like no SEO has been done. (On page or off page.)

Steve

What's their secret then?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

What's their secret then?

About 15 years experience and the ability to figure out what really works.

He has a course and I wrote about it (though the price has gone up since then):

http://www.bothsidesoftheclick.co.uk/if-youre-serious-about-learning-seo

Steve

 

[Simmy28]

+1 for Tin's Fresh Bananas SEO course. Really easy to understand and implement even for a novice, although time and effort is required. I signed up to the course about 5 months ago and the most basic of changes has made a difference to my rankings. www.freshbananas.co.uk.

 

[Tin]

Thanks Simmy, glad you're enjoying the course

Ray

 

[altonroot]

Exact match or phrase match domains were dominating search result around 10-15% earlier. Now they are reduced to 2-3% but they are still exist and it is harsh reality. Google has worked a lot to remove those but TBH they worked mostly on famous keywords like pay-day loan and viagra. For less competitive keywords and long term keywords it still works.

 

[S Isaac]

About 15 years experience and the ability to figure out what really works.

He has a course and I wrote about it (though the price has gone up since then):

http://www.bothsidesoftheclick.co.uk/if-youre-serious-about-learning-seo

Steve

Thanks, already got this and am just working through it now. Luckily, I bought before the price rise too.