The Things Your Competitors Do Differently (and how to take the lead)
Having a competitor sitting above you on Google is frustrating, but commercially, it gives you a massive advantage – they have done the expensive guesswork for you.
By putting your rival at number one, the search algorithm is publicly displaying exactly why your competitors beat you on Google. You can clearly see their site structure, the terms they target, how they display their local credentials, and how they pitch their services.
There’s no need to reinvent how search works in your market. Simply inspect the job they’ve done, identify the corners they cut, and build a cleaner, better version for your customers.
We’ll show you how to take the lead – just follow the steps below.
1. Follow the Money in Their Keyword Targets
A top-ranking competitor’s website will show you exactly which jobs bring in the money. They’re not wasting time ranking for broad questions like ‘how does commercial drainage work?’ That kind of topic brings in casual readers, not paying contracts.
Instead, look at their primary pages. You’ll find they’re targeting high-intent, location-specific terms like: web design Watford’, ‘fleet maintenance Cambridge’, or ‘structural steel fabricators A421’.
They’ve already tested which terms produce inquiries and as a result, their site is structured around commercial intent. By inspecting their blue title links in search results and the headings across their main pages, you get a clean list of the high-margin queries driving their enquiries.
You don’t have to guess what buyers in your area are searching for, because your competitor has already mapped it out for you.
Work Out What Got Them to Page One and What Will Knock Them Off It
Getting to page one requires your website to tick Google’s basic technical boxes. Staying on page one demands that you deliver better answers than anyone else. Here is how to take what your competitors built and add real value of your own:
Their Current Page One Setup | What Their Page Leaves Out | The Value-Add That Wins the Click |
Basic contact form and phone number | No indication of lead times or minimum project sizes | State your availability, lead times, and the kind of work you excel at upfront |
Broad claim of ‘Decades of Experience’ | No proof of local projects or recognised accreditations | Display industry certifications and local project photos |
Standard service descriptions | No practical breakdown of how a project actually runs | Outline the exact step-by-step process from initial site survey to sign-off |
Static, unchanging landing pages | No helpful resources for a buyer comparing quotes | Add a direct comparison guide or buyer’s checklist to keep prospects on your page |
The Step-by-Step Overtake Checklist
To move past a competitor, focus your effort on where you can deliver an immediate, noticeable upgrade over their current site:
1. Sharpen Up Your Title Tags.
Notice how their page appears in Google search results. If their title is Commercial Roofing Derby | Company Name, they are telling Google their trade and their location first. Match that structure across your service pages so Google immediately recognises your commercial relevance.
2. Answer The Questions They Avoid.
Lots of local sites hide their process behind a generic contact form. Stand out by outlining how your site surveys work, expected lead times, and typical cost of jobs. If a prospect gets clear answers on your site, they stop searching – and that directly improves your ranking position.
3. Claim the Surrounding Commercial Territory.
Established competitors often target central locations. Expand your reach by building localised landing pages for commercial hubs that sit around the edge of that central area.
4. Tidy up Your Local Directory Footprint.
Check their citations across Google, Bing, and major trade portals. Ensure your business name, address, and phone number are absolutely uniform across all web directories. Inconsistent contact details confuse search engines; absolute consistency builds algorithmic trust.
Overtaking Your Competitors – FAQs
Can I rank in nearby towns if my registered office is somewhere else?
Yes, but you can’t rank in the Google Map Pack for a town where you don’t have a verified physical postcode. Using virtual offices or fake addresses isn’t the solution; it will get you suspended. You can dominate the traditional organic search results below the map, though, by building specific, useful service-area pages packed with evidence of real projects completed in those locations.
What happens once we overtake them - will they just copy our site?
Most competitors won’t notice they’ve lost position for several months because they don’t audit their own search data weekly. And when they do realise, the usual reaction is to tweak a heading or buy some cheap links. As long as you maintain a regular flow of genuine client reviews and keep your project specs and pricing up-to-date, reclaiming the ground they lost to you will be very difficult.
How much content do I actually need to write to beat them?
If your competitor has 300 words of vague marketing copy, writing 2,000 words of vague marketing copy won’t get you anywhere. You win by delivering useful content that answers the questions your customers have.
A 700-word page that gives exact descriptions of the work you do, lead times, trade accreditations, and direct contact options beats a 3,000-word block of generic text every time. Google measures whether the user found what they needed, not the word count.
How long does it actually take to knock an established competitor off the top spot?
Three to six months, usually. If a competitor has held the number-one position in your area for three years, Google won’t replace them overnight just because you launched a better page on Tuesday.
Google will recrawl your site, test your page against user searches, measure whether visitors stay or bounce, and recalculate your local authority. You should see incremental movement onto page two within weeks, followed by a gradual climb into the top three as searchers choose your site.
Putting the Work In – How We Take The Ground Back For You
Overtaking an established competitor needs consistent, detailed work. Outsource Your Marketing takes over the entire technical and content workload with the goal of systematically stripping away your rival’s local search advantage.
Here is how we run the campaign from our base in Bedfordshire:
- Phase 1 – Diagnostic & Immediate Wins (Days 1–30)
We pinpoint the exact commercial queries driving inquiries to your competitor. We solve any immediate on-page technical bottlenecks, speed up your mobile load times, and fix baseline location signals across Google Maps. These immediate adjustments often instigate quick rank jumps for focused, high-margin searches within the first month. - Phase 2 – Deep Commercial Content Build (Days 31–90)
We replace thin generic pages with detailed, valuable landing pages built around how commercial buyers make purchasing decisions. We detail your service descriptors, turnaround times, and local credentials across key locations in your area. - Phase 3 – The Overtake (Days 91–180)
As Google observes searchers landing on your pages and staying there rather than returning to the search results, your algorithmic authority overtakes the competitor. We monitor the shift weekly, refine page elements based on real search queries, and cement your top-three position.
The Timeframe to Expect:
Plan for a 4 to 6-month campaign to completely displace a market leader from the primary commercial spots. Niche secondary services and localised town keywords will move in your favour more quickly, often between 60 and 90 days. This gives you incoming leads while we work on unseating your competitor from the most competitive search terms they’re using.
Ready to Put a Plan in Place?
In two decades of working with small, medium and large companies, we’ve seen dozens of market leaders knocked off page one by keener, more focused businesses.
We’ll work with you, pull up the seo search results for your most profitable services, and look at the exact gameplan your competitor has handed you. We’ll show you where they cut corners, explain how long the job will take, and show you what we can do to win that ground back.
