Why Your Competitors Are Outranking You on Google and How to Fix It

SEO · 4 min read

Why Your Competitors Are Outranking You on Google and How to Fix It It’s a frustrating feeling. You’re a great contractor, but your competitors are all over the first page of Google, and you’re nowhere to be found. It feels like you’re invisible online, while they’re getting all the calls. Before I started Rank Contractors, I was a contractor myself. I know the frustration of seeing your competitors get the online attention you deserve. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping contractors like you dominate the search results. If your competitors are outranking you on Google, it's not because they're better contractors. It's because they're playing the SEO game smarter. The good news is, you can too. In this article, I’ll break down the most common reasons why your competitors are outranking you on Google and give you an actionable plan to start climbing the ranks. 1. Your Online Business Listings Are a Mess Think of your online business listings as your digital storefronts. You have one on Google (your Google Business Profile), Yelp, Angi, and a dozen other places. If your information is inconsistent across these platforms – different phone numbers, old addresses, a slightly different business name – it confuses Google. And a confused Google is not going to rank you well. Your competitors who are outranking you on Google likely have this dialed in. Their Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are identical everywhere. They’ve filled out every single section of their Google Business Profile with juicy details about their services, service areas, and what makes them special. They have tons of recent, positive reviews, and they’re responding to every single one. How to Fix It: Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile: This is non-negotiable. Fill out everything. Add photos, post updates, and encourage your happy customers to leave reviews. This is your most powerful tool for local SEO. Clean up your citations: Use a service to find all your online listings and ensure your NAP information is consistent across the board. It’s tedious work, but it’s a foundational piece of the puzzle. Get more reviews: Actively ask your customers for reviews. The more positive reviews you have, the more Google will trust you and the higher you’ll rank. (We can help you with a system for this, by the way. Check out our services page). 2. Your Website Isn’t a Lean, Mean, Lead-Generating Machine Your website is your home base. It’s where potential customers come to learn more about you and decide if you’re the right contractor for the job. But if your website is slow, clunky, and doesn’t work well on a phone, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Google cares about user experience, and a bad user experience will tank your rankings. Your competitors who are outranking you on Google probably have a website that’s fast, easy to navigate, and looks great on any device. They also have unique, high-quality content on their site that answers their customers’ questions and positions them as the go-to expert in their field. They’re not just “sprinkling in” keywords; they’re creating content that’s genuinely helpful. How to Fix It: Make it mobile-friendly: More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t responsive, you’re losing customers and rankings. Period. Speed it up: A slow website is a death sentence. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to see how your site performs and get recommendations for improvement. Create unique, quality content: Stop using generic, cookie-cutter content. Write about your services in your own words. Answer common customer questions in a blog. Show off your work in a project gallery. Give potential customers a reason to choose you. (If you're not a writer, we have a team that can help you create content that gets results. Learn more about our pricing). 3. You’re Not Building Authority with Backlinks Backlinks are like votes of confidence from other websites. When a reputable website links to yours, it tells Google that you’re a trustworthy source of information. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more authority your website has, and the higher you’ll rank. Your competitors who are outranking you on Google are likely getting backlinks from a variety of sources: local news outlets, industry associations, and other relevant websites. They’re not just waiting for backlinks to happen; they’re actively building them. How to Fix It: Get listed in local directories: Join your local Chamber of Commerce and other business associations. Get listed on relevant industry websites. Sponsor local events: Sponsoring a local sports team or community event is a great way to get a backlink from a local website. * Create link-worthy content: Create content that other websites will want to link to. This could be a helpful guide, an in-depth case study, or a unique infographic....