Case Study Mystery

[abisti2]

This has been driving me slowly mad for ages - a site that consistently outranks my client site despite my clients site apparently being more SEO friendly on every level:

Google UK search term "chimney sweeps london"

My client site: http://apexchimneysweeps.co.uk

The other site: http://www.firkinschimneysweeps.co.uk

Can anyone shed any light on how this is happening? I really hope I'm being an idiot and missing something obvious!

Comparisons:  (A = apex F = firkin)

Domain age: A 2000 / F 2013

Domain Authority: A 16 / F 9

Page Authority: A 29 / F 22

I would say Apex page content is better and is certainly updated more often.

[abisti2]

Many thanks Kristen, I appreciate the answer being specific to the question

1. Yes, we've racked our brains over this one. The business serves London almost uniquely but the HQ is further out. I wonder if anyone has found away around this that works?

2. This is interesting and a bit of a minefield. I guess the only thing we can do is test. Hopefully Penguin 4 will ensure quicker feedback on testing than previously.

[abisti2]

Hi Chris

Many thanks for this. I'll look into this.

Point 2 - we already have a listing on Foursquare. Do you have any other suggestions for backlinks? Hard to get too viral with Chimney Sweeps!

Regarding point 3 - all our content is unique except the one you looked at, sods law I guess!

[Chris_Hickman]

Hello,

There's an number of reasons of why a site may outrank another site. With a quick comparison it does appear your site is better in a few areas. There are some pretty typical SEO changes I would make to increase the site's ranking.

1. Review your meta - Looking at a few pages on your site I would suggest reviewing your meta, including title and description. Utilize your location and keywords within both the title and meta description. You're wasting some great real estate.
2. Build some back links - The number, and quality, of back links pointing to your site are very low. Avoid posting to strictly directories. I suggest finding quality business listing sites (like FourSquare) to post your business. A few high quality back links will separate you from the competition.
3. Write your own content - I threw your latest blog post into CopyScape and it turns out it's just a copied and pasted article from another site that was posted a few weeks prior. Create some content that people are asking questions about, develop content that is helpful and entertaining to users.

These are just a few points, I would suggest a complete site audit to see where else you are missing opportunities. If you would like some additional information feel free to contact us.

Chris

Adficient.com