Your Competitors Are Getting Clicks That Should Be Yours

Every time someone searches for your services and clicks on a competitor instead of you, that's money walking away. In local search, the top 3 results—the "local pack"—capture most of the clicks. Position 4 and beyond? Scraps.

If competitors are outranking you, it's not random. They're doing something better. Let's figure out what, and build a plan to beat them. Our complete local SEO guide covers the fundamentals if you need a refresher.

Understanding the Playing Field

The Local Pack: Those 3 map listings at the top of local search results. Heavily influenced by Google Business Profile optimization, reviews, and proximity.

Organic Results: The regular blue links below the map. Influenced by website SEO, content quality, and backlinks.

You need strategy for both. Depending on your business, you might prioritize one or the other—ideally you show up in both.

Step 1: Figure Out Who You're Actually Competing Against

Not who you think your competitors are—who does Google think your competitors are?

Search your target keywords (like "plumber Cedar City") and note:

• Who's in the Local Pack?
• Who's in organic results?
• Same businesses or different?

These are your SEO competitors, whether or not you consider them business competitors.

Step 2: Analyze Their Google Business Profiles

Look at their GBP and compare to yours:

• What categories did they choose?
• How detailed is their description?
• How many photos? What quality?
• Review count and average rating?
• Do they respond to reviews?
• Are they posting updates?
• Do they have products/services listed?

Where are they more complete than you? Those are gaps to close.

Reviews often make the difference. If they have 87 and you have 12, that's probably why they're beating you. Closing that gap requires a systematic effort—we cover this in our review generation guide.

Step 3: Analyze Their Website SEO

Technical stuff:

• How fast is their site? (Test with PageSpeed Insights)
• Is it mobile-friendly?
• Do they have SSL?
• Core Web Vitals scores?

On-page SEO:

• Do their titles include keywords + location?
• How are they using headings?
• How deep is their content?
• Do they have good internal linking?

Content:

• More pages than you?
• Active blog with relevant articles?
• Location pages for different areas?
• FAQ sections?

You can use free tools like PageSpeed Insights or paid ones like Ahrefs for deeper analysis.

Step 4: Look at Their Backlinks

Backlinks—links from other websites to theirs—are a major ranking factor.

What to look for:

• How many total backlinks do they have?
• What kinds of sites link to them?
• Local links? Industry publications? Directories?
• Are they getting links you could also get?

Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush show backlink data.

Common sources that are often available to you too:

• Local chambers of commerce
• Industry associations
• Local news or media
• Partner or supplier websites
• Community organizations

Step 5: Create Your Battle Plan

Based on your analysis, prioritize improvements:

If they have more/better reviews:

Implement a systematic review generation program. Ask every satisfied customer. Make it easy.

If their GBP is more complete:

Fill in every section. Add more photos. Post weekly. Respond to everything.

If their site has more content:

Create pages they don't have. Write blog posts targeting keywords they're missing. Be more thorough than they are.

If they have more backlinks:

Identify sources. Many links they have, you can get too. Focus on local and industry links.

If their technical SEO is better:

Fix your site speed. Ensure mobile works great. Implement schema markup.

Content Strategy for Outranking

Gap analysis: What topics do they cover that you don't? Create better versions.

Go deeper: If their page on "drain cleaning" is 300 words, write 1,500 with more detail, better photos, pricing info, FAQ.

Target what they miss: Find keywords they're not targeting but should be. Grab those.

Local content advantage: Write about your specific community. Local guides, local tips, local involvement.

Building Links to Beat Competitors

Get the same links: Chamber of commerce, BBB, industry associations. If they have them, you should too.

Find exclusive opportunities: Sponsor local events. Partner with complementary businesses. Get featured in local media.

Create linkable content: Ultimate guides, original research, free tools—stuff people actually want to reference.

Tracking Progress

Set up tracking:

• Monitor local pack positions
• Track organic rankings for target keywords
• Watch your GBP insights
• Compare review counts over time

Check monthly and compare against competitors. Are you closing the gap?

Timeline Expectations

This isn't overnight:

Month 1-2: Research and setup. Optimize GBP, fix basic site issues.

Month 3-4: Content creation, review generation underway.

Month 5-6: Start seeing ranking improvements.

Month 7-12: Significant gains if you're consistent.

Ongoing: Maintaining and extending lead.

Common Mistakes

Copying competitors exactly: If you're identical, Google has no reason to rank you higher. Be better, not the same.

Ignoring the local pack: Some businesses focus only on organic and forget about Maps entirely.

Underestimating reviews: In competitive markets, reviews often decide the winner.

Expecting quick results: SEO is a marathon. Consistent effort wins.

Giving up too early: You won't beat established competitors in 2 months. Stay the course.

The Competitive Advantage of Quality

Sometimes the best strategy is just... being genuinely better.

Better customer service leads to better reviews.

Better expertise leads to better content.

Better community involvement leads to better links.

SEO tactics only go so far. Real quality creates lasting advantages.

We Can Help

We build websites designed to compete and win in local search. Strategic structure, quality content, technical excellence. And we help you understand exactly what your competitors are doing so you can surpass them.

Related reading: Local SEO fundamentals, Getting more reviews, Keyword research.

Related reading

If you'd like a hand applying any of this to your own site, take a look at our Utah small-business web design services or book a free consultation.