The Gold Coast is growing.
Fast.
More people, more businesses, more competition.
If you're a plumber, sparkie, cleaner or builder on the Coast, you've probably felt it.
Jobs are harder to land.
Customers have more options.
And relying on word of mouth alone isn't cutting it anymore.
SEO can fix that.
It's not some mysterious thing reserved for big companies with huge budgets. It's just about making sure people can actually find you when they search Google for what you do. Different businesses need different approaches, though.
Should your company be investing in SEO on the Gold Coast?
Yes, if your business is in the right industry for the Gold Coast demographic that's searching online.
In our experience and based on data and tests we've run the types of companies we believe should invest into SEO on the Gold Coast are local service providers like plumbers, electricians, cleaners, builders & pest control. Professionals like accountants, lawyers & mortgage brokers. Hospitality companies in tourism, restaurants and accommodation and Healthcare Providers such as doctors, dentists, skin clinics and surgeons.
Here's a breakdown of each industry and types and companies on the Gold Coast and how we've seen SEO work exceptionally well to build their online presence, drive more traffic/leads/sales and grow their business.
Local Service Providers (Plumbers, Electricians, Cleaners, Builders, Pest Control)
The Gold Coast's population continues to grow. Due to a housing shortage, both Mayor Tom Tate and Councillor/Planning Chief Mark Hemmel have said new housing will need to be taller and built upwards rather than spread out (source: Developers lodge plans for Australia's tallest building with 101-storey tower in Southport).
This means plumbers, electricians, cleaners and similar home service companies will naturally grow because of the increase in demand. It also means SEO will become imperative for pest control, lawn mowing and construction companies as competition in these industries intensifies.
Your digital visibility matters more than ever. When someone's hot water system breaks, or they spot termites, they're not flipping through the Yellow Pages. They're searching Google on their phone right now. If your business doesn't show up, you've lost that job to a competitor who invested in their online presence.
Companies like GC Pest Control and Brighton Homes have already become aware of this and have achieved top rankings in Google. Both of these local service providers have achieved top rankings by optimising their websites around their services and the Gold Coast, building high-quality backlinks and a strong content strategy. This allows these types of companies to ride the wave and survive any changes in demand in future.
Professionals (Accountants, Lawyers, Mortgage Brokers)
According to the Gold Coast Economic Outlook 2024, the region is now Australia's fastest-growing economy. Economy ID reports a total of 93,002 businesses active and registered for GST in Gold Coast City (Economic Outlook Report).
With a growing economy and this many businesses operating on the Gold Coast, there is, and will continue to be, high demand for professional services such as accountants, lawyers, mortgage brokers, IT and marketing companies.
The general population using these businesses is internet-savvy, and more and more people are going to Google to find a provider rather than relying on referrals. Having worked with lawyers, accountants, mortgage brokers and IT companies, we've found customers use keywords such as "Accountant Gold Coast" or "Lawyer Gold Coast" to find a company to work with.
An example of an accounting company that's taking advantage of SEO on the Gold Coast is Crest Accountants. By optimising their title tag, H tags, and homepage content, creating industry-specific pages, and explaining their services in detail, this website has built strong theme relevance to both accounting and the Gold Coast.
In addition, the company has built a 4.9-star reputation on their Google Business Profile and actively posts to the profile regularly. This has earned them top rankings both in the maps pack and organically, which means they're the first company customers see when looking for accounting on the Gold Coast.
Tourism, Accommodation and Restaurants
The Glitter Strip is known around the country as one of Queensland's top tourism hot spots.
SEO allows your tourist attraction, hotel or restaurant to get in front of both locals and interstate visitors when they're searching on Google.
Gold Coast Fishing Charters is proof of this. They've used a simple SEO strategy consisting of an exact match domain, quality content and links to rank at the top of Google for many years. They're the first destination when people search for "fishing charter Gold Coast" on Google.
On the other hand, restaurant Rick Shores proves that you don't need to operate in the heart of the Gold Coast to rank for "Restaurant Gold Coast". Through a high-quality link profile and a simple site structure, this restaurant has been able to rank its website on the first page of Google and the top of the maps pack for "Restaurant Gold Coast", even though the restaurant is located in Burleigh Heads.
That is the power of doing SEO correctly in these industries, which results in more organic traffic and sales as a result of effective SEO efforts.
Healthcare Providers (Doctors, Dentists, Skin Clinics and Surgeons)
According to a study published by Queensland Health, Queensland's ageing population and rising rates of chronic disease mean patients require increasingly complex, multidisciplinary care. Referrals to specialist outpatient and elective surgery services are also increasing.
This means demand for doctors, surgeons, dentists and skin clinics continues to rise. But it's important to use the right SEO strategy to take full advantage of this demand.
For example, dentists on the Gold Coast have the advantage of lower competition. We've found people looking for a dentist on Google use hyperlocal keywords, for example, "Dentist Biggera Waters" or "Dentist Robina".
Gentle Dental has taken advantage of this knowledge and hyper-focused their entire website around Biggera Waters, earning them the top spot on Google when new potential patients look for them.
Healthcare is built on trust. And these days, trust starts with your online presence. Patients are researching their options before they book, and if your practice doesn't show up in search results, or your website looks outdated, they'll book with someone else.
Why These Businesses Choose SEO
You can burn thousands on Google Ads every month if you don't know what you are doing.
Traffic comes in, but the tap turns off when you stop paying.
Investing into SEO on the Gold Coast is different.
It compounds.
Rank well, and the inquiries keep coming without you paying for each click.
Plus, these are people actually searching for what you do. They're not scrolling Facebook and getting interrupted by an ad. They need your service right now. Better leads, better conversion rates.
Your competitors are already doing this. If you're sitting it out, you're just giving them your customers.
Ready to Grow Your Business With SEO?
Running a local service business on the Gold Coast and losing jobs to competitors?
SEO can fix that.
The market's getting tighter.
The businesses showing up first on Google are the ones getting the work.
At Websites That Sell, we help Gold Coast businesses show up on Google and turn that into actual customers. If you want to talk about what SEO can do for your business, get in touch.