Case Study Mystery
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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.
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Many thanks Kristen, I appreciate the answer being specific to the question
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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?
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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.
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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!
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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