How’s your SEO?

By Rob Koci

This is the first page of a search I did for “renovations in Calgary.” (Sorry they are a bit tough to read but click on the image and it will appear in another window). Is that you at the top of the page? If you’re not within this screen capture, you’re probably not going to get a call from a homeowner doing this search. I clicked on a few of the links I was offered, and found excellent websites that were easy to navigate, told me a lot about the contractor and gave me an easy way to contact them. Why would a consumer go any further?

Well, one reason might be that they would try another search that was more targeted. Like this:

This search gave me a list of entirely different renovation companies. There is no crossover. I was expecting some. Maybe the renovators on the first list don’t do bathrooms, what renovation company DOESN’T do bathroom renos? Why are they not here too?

Here’s a search for “What does a kitchen renovation cost in Calgary?” To their credit, SmartReno, a listing website like HomeStars or HandyCanadian, jumps to the top of the list. Oddly, the second listing is for a Toronto renovator, I think because the word “price” is in the heading. The third listing is for a paint company! What happened to all the renovators? Was it because I worded the search in the form of a question that I got less targeted results?

Here’s one more. “Find a renovator in Calgary” brought out the stronger listing sites, with Kijji, SmartReno and RenoMark on the first page. To its credit, Kurma Builders shows up again, as does Western Bathrooms.

Experiment with your website by punching in searches you think the people you want to build for will use. Do you show up on the first page? If you don’t, call your website supplier and have a little talk.