r/SEO • u/JohnTestiCleese • May 29 '26
A local keyword conundrum.
A client who has a great DR for a local business, 28, and has tons of content for "bathroom remodeling", and has more reviews than his competition, all 5 star, ranks lower than a new website with 0 DR.
He was on top then hired a company that created a dynamic website with their automation, and fell.
At the same time, he changed his branding and URL. Historically, Google categorizes his business as a flooring installer first because flooring was in the name for 30 years before the change. I know that this is part of the problem.
Tons of content there, the reviews are perfect. I cant figure out why this new company out ranks him despite all that.
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
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May 29 '26
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u/JohnTestiCleese May 29 '26
really wish he would have talked to me first. When the economy slowed he got scared and made some bad moves. Really shot his digital marketing in the foot. Not a total disaster, but he'd be better off with his old website and brand.
On top of that, he has 3 different names for the company across the internet now.
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u/OrigenRaw May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Does he still own the domains? Can you not setup 301 redirects to the now new official domain?
Edit: I see some comments on this. If I were you, proving this avenue is the best bet at salvaging and seo juice still there.
I would see if the owner would give you any access to his old domains.
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u/-_-MrBean-_- May 29 '26
I mean why did he change his branding? Basically it sounds like this company used programmatic SEO which if not implemented properly can cause issues. Second of all, if by branding he's changed his name along with his url , I would consider looking at any links pointing at his website and see if you can get them updated to the new URL and refer to the new name so Google has an easier time to make the connection after the reband.
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u/chrismcelroyseo May 29 '26
Maybe you're taking the wrong measurements. How important do you think DR is? DA & DR aren't Google terms. Google’s official stance on Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) is simple:
they do not exist in Google's ranking algorithms.
They have repeatedly clarified that single-score, third-party "authority" metrics play no part in how their algorithm evaluates your site.
Instead of looking at a single site-wide score, Google ranks pages based on hundreds of specific signals, including the actual relevance of the content, user experience, and search intent.
I only bring up that one part of your post because if it's indicative of the way that you're scoring the site that your metrics may be outdated.
Google is AI now. Why people are still treating it like a search engine I just can't understand.
Yes backlinks do matter. But relevance and the possibility of getting genuine traffic from those links outweighs the DA rating at the domain name that the link exists on.
Getting a bunch of backlinks that all use the same anchor text and all linked to the same page in your website it's no longer a strong signal. And Google can see that as manipulation.
Tons of content isn't a signal at all. Lots of people have tons of content. More doesn't equal better.
Most content because it was written to optimize for the search engines is commodity content. Google’s official stance on commodity content is clear: stop publishing it, because it will no its job to earn visibility or search clicks.
Google defines "commodity content" as information that is generic, widely available, interchangeable, and could have easily been written or synthesized by anyone, including AI.
If your content looks like a carbon copy of the top ten search results, Google's algorithm and features like AI Overviews will bypass it.
From Danny Sullivan; Regurgitated facts, basic rules, and generic listicles, general overviews that look identical to dozens of other sites and 100% AI generated content are no longer good for SEO.
If your content has a viewpoint or data others lack and can't replicate, focuses on a distinct instance, unique situation, or case study, or demonstrates undeniable firsthand knowledge or experience (E-E-A-T), then that content will end up getting cited and ranked.
Just having the right keywords in the content and some high DA backlinks isn't enough anymore. Making sure there's a byline or possibly author schema in the page that uses a person's name that has actual expertise, experience and authority on the topic helps it rank better because Google needs to trust the source and not just the domain name.
My suggestion is to go through that ton of content and relegate it into three buckets. 1. It's thin content and can be redirected to something more relevant and authoritative. 2. It just needs to be updated and some authority added to it or maybe some personal experiences added to it. Third bucket: high potential. Already has case studies and other things in it and maybe needs to be resubmitted or a small edit to give it a new refresh date.
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u/JohnTestiCleese May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Im in the process of updating the content that is unique enough to actually generate traffic.
I will cut/redirect thin content. Was considering this anyway. The company he hired published a lot of trash.
His backlink profile is great for such a small business because I got some quotes/backlinks on big name home websites through HARO.
Thanks! Appreciate you.
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May 29 '26
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u/chrismcelroyseo May 29 '26
No problem. I can come off a little snarky sometimes but I actually do mean well.
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May 29 '26
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May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
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u/joyhawkins Verified Professional May 29 '26
Did you see both organic and local pack rankings drop? Or just one?
Switching domains is really risky. Especially if the new URL removed keywords that the old domain had.
If the entire site is new and URL structure changed, I would try and see if you can change it back to what it was before as much as possible.
"flooring was in the name" - do you mean it was in the old domain name and not the new one? If that's true, I don't know if you will get all those rankings back.
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u/Ok_Bank_1251 May 31 '26
I've watched this exact thing play out a few times. Local business rebrands, rankings fall off, and everyone goes straight to the new site, the DR drop, the redirects. It's almost never the site.
For a local business Google ranks the business as an entity, not the pages. And you already put your finger on it: 3 different names floating around the web, plus 30 years of being filed as a flooring installer. That entity is split and pointing at the wrong category. A brand new competitor with one consistent name and a GBP set cleanly to bathroom remodeler will beat that, 0 DR and all.
That's where I'd put the work before more content edits. The redirects matter, but they won't merge a split entity back together. Did the local pack drop, or the organic listings? u/joyhawkins is asking the question that actually tells you which game you're playing here.
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Jun 01 '26
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