Service

SEO-promotion, Link building, SEO audit

Project

The website of a UK company providing drain unblocking, inspection, and repair services for residential and commercial clients

Objective

– Increase organic traffic from Google
– Grow the number of inquiries and potential customers from organic search
– Improve website visibility for commercial queries in the drainage services niche
– Expand the website structure to cover additional services and local search queries
– Develop the informational content direction to attract additional targeted traffic
– Increase the website’s authority through content development and systematic work with off-page factors

Niche

Drainage and plumbing services in the UK market. The company specializes in serving residential and commercial properties, including emergency drain unblocking, diagnostics, maintenance, and repair of drainage systems. The target audience includes homeowners, landlords, property managers, and business representatives who need scheduled or emergency drainage services.

Period

January, 2025 - present day

Region

United Kingdom

Challenges of the project

The client’s website represents a UK company providing drainage and plumbing services for residential and commercial clients.

Main service areas:

  • Unblocking clogged drainage systems, toilets, sinks, baths, and showers.
  • Drainage diagnostics using CCTV inspection.
  • Drain repairs, high-pressure water jetting, and trenchless pipe rehabilitation.
  • Septic tank, cesspit, and private sewage system maintenance.
  • Emergency water pumping and response to local flooding.
  • Additional drainage and plumbing services for owners of residential and commercial properties.

At the start of cooperation, the project was already being worked on for SEO, but the existing efforts were not delivering stable results. Visibility and organic traffic remained low compared to the niche potential, and the overall trend was negative. In 2024, organic traffic was declining almost every month, with an average year-over-year drop of around 31%.

The initial analysis conducted by our team helped identify the main issues:

  • technical errors affecting SEO performance;
    insufficient optimization of commercial and regional pages;
  • weak performance of the existing website structure and limited coverage of local demand;
  • outdated content on some pages that had barely been updated for years;
  • very weak coverage of informational queries, despite high search demand in the niche.

The key objective was to stop the long-term decline in organic traffic and change the project’s growth trajectory. To achieve this, the existing SEO strategy had to be revised: technical errors needed to be fixed, commercial content had to be updated, the structure had to be significantly expanded for services and location-based queries, and the informational direction had to be developed systematically to cover additional search demand.

Project analytics prior to collaboration

Project Visibility:

Conclusion:

At the start of the project, the website had extremely low visibility in search engines.

Initial data:

MetricValue
Visibility score0.01
Organic SEO traffic≈ 838 visits
Queries the website ranked for≈ 2.3K

A large number of keywords combined with such low traffic indicated that most of the semantics were far from the top positions and generated almost no users for the website.

Despite previous SEO work and attempts to expand the website structure, the project was not showing stable growth. Commercial and regional pages had insufficient visibility, informational demand was barely covered, and technical and content-related issues further limited the website’s potential.

To change the trend, the SEO strategy needed to be comprehensively revised: expanding the structure for commercial and local queries, developing the informational direction, updating and optimizing existing content, fixing technical errors, and systematically working on off-page factors.

Traffic analysis:

Conclusion:

The analysis showed that the main problem was not simply the low volume of organic traffic, but its long-term decline. Although the website was already being promoted through SEO, the negative trend had not been reversed. Throughout 2024, organic traffic declined almost every month, and each month’s results remained lower than the same period in 2023.

On average, organic traffic was down by around 31% year over year. This decline affected pages directly related to customer acquisition, including drain unblocking and repair service pages, CCTV inspection pages, protective solution installation pages, and regional landing pages.

Therefore, the first SEO priority was to stop the steady decline and shift the organic channel toward growth. The further strategy was built not around maintaining the existing results, but around recovering lost traffic and then scaling the project.

Keyword distribution by rankings:

Conclusion:

The keyword distribution revealed an important feature of the project: Google was already ranking the website for a significant number of queries, but the vast majority of them were not reaching the first page of search results. Out of 1.22K queries in the TOP 100, only 94 were in the TOP 10, while top-ranking positions were held by only a very small share of the semantics.

This meant that one of the main growth opportunities was not only creating new pages and expanding semantic coverage, but also working with the visibility the website had already accumulated. Hundreds of queries were within the TOP 20–50 and could generate significantly more traffic if moved to the first page of Google.

That is why the strategy placed a separate focus on finding these queries and pages, re-optimizing them, and strengthening them. This made it possible to work in two directions at once:

1. achieve faster growth through the existing semantics;

2. create new entry points in parallel for further project scaling.

Team actions

Project problematics:

  • Technical errors in website optimization

At the start of the project, the website had a significant number of technical issues that reduced the effectiveness of SEO promotion and made further development of the resource more difficult. These issues affected page indexing, HTML markup, performance, responsiveness, and other technical aspects that influence crawling, page processing by search engines, and overall SEO efficiency.

During the technical audit, the following areas were identified and addressed:

  • errors in the robots.txt setup;
  • pagination issues;
  • duplicate pages;
  • issues with structured data;
  • HTML markup errors;
  • caching issues;
  • weak performance;
  • mobile responsiveness issues;
  • issues affecting user interaction with the website, and more.

Our team carried out comprehensive technical optimization:

  • prepared and implemented technical recommendations;
  • removed duplicates;
  • improved structured data and HTML markup;
  • optimized website performance.

As a result, the technical side of the website stopped being one of the factors limiting further SEO scaling and search visibility growth.

Project problematics:

  • Lack of metadata optimization for relevant keyword queries

At the start of the project, we identified systemic metadata issues both on the main service pages and on the website’s supporting service pages. Some Titles and Descriptions did not match the current semantics or search intent, duplicates were present, and the necessary geo-targeting was missing for local landing pages. In addition, metadata templates for standard page types had not been optimized, which led to duplicates and weakly optimized Titles and Descriptions when the structure was expanded.

As part of the work, we rebuilt the semantic core and clustered queries by page type. Based on this, we manually optimized Titles, Descriptions, and H1 headings for priority landing pages, and developed metadata generation templates for scalable groups of pages, taking into account the service, location, and target query cluster. This helped systematize the optimization of existing pages and create a foundation for further structure expansion.

Example of optimized metadata after semantic core collection:

Example of optimized metadata templates:

Project problematics:

  • Insufficient content optimization of commercial pages

At the start of the project, the quality of content on commercial pages varied significantly. Some service pages had no SEO text at all, while others contained content that was not optimized for the current semantic core. We also identified pages with partially or fully duplicated content, including among regional landing pages. As a result, different URLs could compete for similar groups of queries, while some priority pages did not have sufficient optimization.

As part of the work, we completely revised the content on commercial pages. For pages without text optimization, we prepared new content; existing texts were updated based on the collected semantics; and duplicate content was reworked according to the target queries of each landing page. We also separately optimized the heading structure, the use of primary and secondary queries, content completeness, and additional content blocks.

Example of properly optimized SEO texts on commercial pages:

Project problematics:

  • Lack of a systematic SEO scaling strategy

At the start of the project, we saw that some SEO directions were already being developed, but the work was not combined into a single strategy and was often not brought to full implementation. Articles were being published on the website, regional pages in the “service + location” format were being created, a case study section had appeared, and some commercial pages were being worked on. At the same time, the structure was scaled only selectively, informational content covered only a small share of the available semantics, and the case studies were barely optimized.

The main problem was not the absence of SEO work as such, but the lack of a systematic approach to developing each direction. The potential of local SEO was not being used in full, there was no large-scale work with informational semantics, and existing page types were not being developed as separate growth points for organic traffic. As a result, the website had a foundation for further promotion, but a significant share of search demand remained uncovered.

As part of the new SEO strategy, we developed a set of directions for scaling the project. We continued expanding the structure using the “service + location” model, worked through new types of landing pages based on competitor structure and semantic analysis, started systematic blog development, and optimized existing case studies. Separate areas of work included creating pages for different service sectors, expanding informational content, implementing programmatic SEO, and optimizing the website for AI search results. In addition, we tested new landing page models and SEO scaling directions that made it possible to consistently increase semantic coverage and the number of organic search entry points.

Examples of strategic directions implemented as part of SEO promotion:

– Development of a glossary to expand informational semantics and the website’s topical coverage.

– Development of the case study section and optimization of pages for relevant low- and mid-frequency queries

– Expansion of the local SEO structure: identifying all service areas and creating separate landing pages for “location + main service” combinations

– Scaling the regional SEO strategy by creating similar landing pages for lower-frequency services

– Expansion of the website’s commercial structure by creating separate landing pages with services for different industries and business sectors

In addition, we implemented a number of additional directions for systematic development and further scaling of the project’s organic visibility.

The foundation of our work on the project was a continuous cycle of testing SEO hypotheses, implementing solutions, and evaluating their actual effectiveness. Each new direction is first analyzed in terms of search demand, competition, and growth potential. After implementation, we track changes in rankings, visibility, organic traffic, and target inquiries, and then use the data to decide whether the strategy should be refined or scaled.

At the same time, any strategy requires further analysis and improvement. If a certain page type, content format, or structure expansion direction shows positive dynamics, it needs to be scaled. If the result is weak, the approach is adjusted, alternative options are tested, or the direction is temporarily deprioritized. This helps avoid spending resources on solutions that do not produce a measurable effect.

The main focus should always remain on the directions that prove their effectiveness through growth in search visibility, organic traffic, and the number of leads.

Alexey Kondratenko, SEO Specialist

Project problematics:

  • Ignoring informational demand and weak blog development

At the start of the project, the informational direction was barely used as a source of organic traffic. At the same time, the niche has significant search demand for problem-based and practical queries: causes of blockages, unpleasant drain smells, slow drainage, overflowing drains, ways to solve different issues, and other questions users have before contacting a professional service. Articles were published rarely, and a large share of the existing materials were short texts of just a few paragraphs, without proper semantic or structural development.

As part of the SEO strategy, we separated the blog into its own growth direction. Topics were formed based on semantic analysis, competitor research, and actual search demand. We also worked through seasonality to plan publications around periods of increased interest in specific drainage system problems. Instead of short posts, we started creating full expert articles that covered the user’s main query and related subtopics.

At the same time, we reworked the structure of informational materials. We added elements that improve their quality, expertise, and connection with other website sections:

  • Key Points block with short takeaways;
  • author information;
  • table of contents and a detailed H2-H3 structure;
  • FAQ and additional informational blocks;
    comments and expert additions;
  • internal linking to relevant services and other articles;
  • additional elements that strengthen E-E-A-T and improve topic coverage.

A separate direction was the creation of a glossary with full informational pages in the “What is + term” format. For this, we developed a content structure around key niche concepts related to drainage systems, sewage systems, and the technologies used.

Systematic development of the informational direction made it possible to significantly expand the website’s semantic coverage and create additional entry points from organic search. As a result, the blog and new informational pages became one of the important growth points for the project’s organic traffic.

Example of organic traffic volume by blog articles:

Example of organic traffic volume by glossary pages:

Project problematics:

  • Lack of website optimization for AI Search

At the start of the project, no separate work had been done on AI Visibility. The website was not prepared for new search formats at either the technical or content level:

  1. there was no strategy for increasing citations in generative search results;
  2. the content was not adapted to the queries and information formats typical of AI Search;
  3. the structure of the materials was not suitable for effective information extraction and citation by generative search systems.

As a result, the project’s presence in AI Search was almost zero. According to the analysis, the website appeared in only 3 Google AI Overviews responses, while visibility in ChatGPT and other tracked AI platforms was effectively absent.

As part of the SEO strategy, we separated AI optimization into its own direction. The work included developing expert informational content, reworking article structure, adding short answers and Key Points, FAQ blocks, authorship, expert comments, improving internal linking, and strengthening topical coverage. We also analyzed queries and sources used by AI systems when generating answers, while new materials were created with both classic Google Search and potential citation in generative search results in mind.

As a result, the website gained noticeable presence across several AI systems.

AINumber of responses
Google AI Overviews990
ChatGPT226
Perplexity240
Copilot138
Gemini105

In addition, visibility was recorded in Google AI Mode, Grok, and other systems, while the website’s content is used across dozens of pages on different AI platforms. As a result, AI Search turned from an almost non-existent visibility direction into a separate channel for the project’s presence beyond classic organic search results.

Project problematics:

  • Weak off-page optimization and lack of systematic link building

At the start of the project, work with the backlink profile was not structured as a separate systematic SEO direction. The growth in the number of quality referring domains was insufficient, and there was no consistent strategy for donor types, anchor list, or distribution of link equity between priority pages. For a competitive local niche, this further limited the potential for ranking growth.

As part of the new strategy, we established regular work with off-page factors. The main focus was not on mechanically increasing the number of links, but on growing the number of high-quality and topically relevant referring domains, diversifying the backlink profile, and building a natural anchor list. We also worked separately on distributing links between different types of landing pages, taking into account their priority and level of competition.

Result:

ParameterGrowthAchieved result
Number of referring domainsby 598706
Number of backlinksby approximately 1.4Kmore than 3K
Domain Ratingby 17 points24

The growth of the backlink profile became an additional factor in strengthening the project’s authority and supported the promotion of key pages for target queries.

Example of backlink profile dynamics after implementing systematic link building:

Results

Traffic growth dynamics:

Comparison of organic traffic metrics (last calendar month / first month of SEO work):

Keyword growth dynamics:

Growth in keyword distribution by position:

Summary

The comprehensive SEO strategy helped change the project’s dynamics and move from a long-term decline in organic visibility to stable growth. The main focus was not on isolated point-by-point improvements, but on the systematic development of the website: technical optimization, structure expansion, strengthening commercial pages, scaling local SEO, developing the blog and glossary, working with case studies, industry landing pages, off-page factors, and AI Visibility.

One of the main results was organic traffic growth. To illustrate this, let’s compare:

MetricJanuary 2025July 2026Dynamics
Number of organic sessions6706,687+898.06%
Number of engaged sessions4543,200+604.85%

Thus, the growth was not only reflected in third-party SEO tools, but also confirmed by actual Google Analytics data.

The distribution of search queries also changed significantly.

RankingNumber of phrases: beforeNumber of phrases: after
TOP 11283
TOP 341258
TOP 534386
TOP 10941.03K
TOP 202111.32K
TOP 21-50691254
TOP 51-1001.22K390

This dynamic shows a clear redistribution of semantics from lower search result ranges into the TOP 20 and, most importantly, onto the first page of Google.

A separate result was the development of directions that were barely used at the start of the project. The website gained significant presence in AI Search: 989 mentions in Google AI Overviews, 226 in ChatGPT, 240 in Perplexity, 138 in Copilot, and 105 in Gemini. At the same time, systematic work with off-page factors helped increase the number of referring domains by around 600, reaching 705. The number of backlinks grew by approximately 1.4K to 3K, while DR reached 24.

As a result, we achieved the project’s initial objective: to stop the long-term decline in organic traffic and move toward stable positive dynamics. Over the promotion period, organic sessions grew almost 10 times, more than 1K queries reached the TOP 10, the backlink profile strengthened significantly, and the website gained noticeable presence in AI Search. At the same time, the further strategy is built around continuous testing of new growth points, analyzing their impact on rankings, traffic, and inquiries, and scaling the directions that prove their effectiveness with actual data.