Why SEO Isn’t Enough in a Competitive Market—and What to Do Instead

If you’re in a competitive market and offer HVAC, electrical, or plumbing services, and you’re up against big players, this post is for you.

We recently had a call with a business owner in Edmonton, Canada, who’s been investing in SEO for three years with little to show for it. Despite having 431 Google reviews, he’s still getting crushed by competitors with 3,000–5,000 reviews. Sound familiar?

The truth is: SEO alone isn’t going to move the needle in highly saturated markets. But don’t worry—there are strategies that do work. In fact, one of our HVAC clients in a super competitive market is up double year-over-year using the exact methods we’re about to walk through.

Why SEO Isn’t Enough in Saturated Markets

I believe in SEO. It’s a core part of any strong marketing strategy. But here’s the reality:

• If your competitors have been doing SEO for 10+ years…
• If they have thousands of reviews…
• If they dominate local search already…

…then starting SEO now and expecting major results in 12–24 months is unrealistic.

That was the exact issue with the company we spoke with. Their Google Business Profile is solid, their on-site SEO is clean (title tags, meta descriptions, H1s—all optimized for “Edmonton HVAC”), and yet… crickets.

So What Do You Do Instead?

Let’s walk through the 3 key pillars that will actually help you grow when SEO alone won’t cut it.

1. Service Area Pages: The Underrated SEO Strategy

If your main city (like Edmonton) is too competitive, target the suburbs.

Many large companies don’t want to travel outside their main service area. That’s your opportunity.

✅ Build dedicated service area pages for nearby towns and communities.

For example:

• Instead of just “HVAC near me,” create a full page for “HVAC Services in Tofield.”
• Do this monthly—add one or two new pages consistently.
• Include local landmarks, testimonials from that area, and town-specific keywords.

This approach is less competitive and often converts better.

2. Improve Your Booking Rate (It’s an Easy Win)

On our call, the HVAC business owner said his booking rate was 50%. That’s low.

For demand trades like HVAC (especially if you charge a dispatch fee), your booking rate should be 70–80%.

Why This Matters:

• Raising your booking rate from 50% to 70% = 20% more jobs booked
• Which directly leads to 20% more revenue, without needing a single new lead

How to Fix It:

• Train your CSR team on how to handle objections and explain your value
• Use scripts for consistency
• Call audits to identify missed opportunities
• Follow-up automation for leads who didn’t book the first time

3. Maximize Every Service Call with Cross-Selling

One HVAC contractor we work with (up 2x year-over-year!) changed the game by turning every service call into a revenue opportunity.

Here’s what they did:

• Techs performed a whole-home inspection on every service visit
• Offered estimates for:
  • Tankless water heaters
  • Hot/cold room solutions
  • Ductless mini-splits
  • Generators
  • Service contracts
• Created a non-pushy follow-up process to nurture those estimates into sales

When you increase your estimate volume, you naturally increase your close rate—more estimates = more sales.

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Bonus: Lead Nurture and Retargeting = Lifetime Value

You don’t get lifetime value without a lifetime relationship.

If you’ve been in business 5, 10, 20+ years, you’re sitting on a goldmine of past customers who already trust you. But are you staying in touch?

Do this:

• Send email newsletters with seasonal offers
• Use text message marketing to stay top of mind
• Offer fall/spring inspections, service reminders, and cross-sell upgrades

This ongoing relationship builds repeat business and increases customer lifetime value.

What If You’re Just Starting Out?

You might be thinking, “I don’t have a customer list yet to retarget or leads to nurture.”

That’s okay. You just need to beat the big guys where they can’t compete: on unscalable strategies.

Here’s how:

• Go to B2B networking events
• Join Chambers of Commerce
• Build relationships through referral partners
• Be boots on the ground—this is where you win early

It’s not scalable, and that’s exactly why it works.

Does Visibility Matter?

Yes, visibility matters. But if you’re in a competitive market, SEO won’t be your silver bullet.

Instead, focus on:

• Building out service area pages
• Increasing your booking rate
• Maximizing cross-sell opportunities
• Staying connected through lead nurture and retargeting
• And grinding through unscalable outreach if you’re just starting

Want help building this kind of system? That’s what we do—help businesses go from $1M to $5M and beyond with strategy that works in the real world, not just online.

Contact us and we will do the same (even better!) for your business.