Decorator Website SEO: 7 Fixes to Rank in the Top 3

If you’re a decorator ranking at the bottom of page 1 for your target keywords, you’re close—but close isn’t good enough. The top three results capture the vast majority of clicks, both in the map pack and the organic listings below. Position 10 might as well be page 2.

The good news is that painting and decorating isn’t a hyper-competitive market like plumbing or roofing in major cities. Like window cleaners trying to break into the top 3, with solid SEO foundations, breaking into the top positions is achievable. With solid SEO foundations, breaking into the top 3 is achievable. I recently audited a Leeds decorator’s website that was stuck at position 10 and identified seven fixes that would push them up the rankings.

These same issues appear on decorator websites across the UK. Here’s what to look for on your own site.

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What the Site Got Right

Before diving into the problems, it’s worth noting what this decorator was doing well—because these elements are likely helping them rank on page 1 in the first place.

Clickable contact details in the header. Customers searching for decorators are often collecting quotes or need someone quickly. Having your phone number and email visible and clickable at the top of every page removes friction from the enquiry process.

Strong social presence. The site linked to active profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. This matters increasingly for AI search, which looks for references to your business across the web, not just on your website. Multiple active profiles also give you more marketing touchpoints with potential customers.

Decent content depth on the homepage. The homepage had around 500 words of content, which is the minimum you should aim for on any page you’re trying to rank. This baseline content is likely one reason the site made it onto page 1.

Sticky call-to-action on mobile. When viewing the site on mobile, a “Get Your Quote” button stays fixed at the bottom of the screen. Since most customers find local businesses on their phones, this persistent CTA is a smart conversion element.

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Fix 1: Your Main Heading Should Be an H1, Not an H2

The site had well-optimised heading text that included the main keyword and location—exactly what you want. The problem was technical: the heading was tagged as an H2 instead of an H1.

Google reads websites as structured data, not visual layouts. It expects a clear hierarchy: one H1 as the main heading, then H2s for major sections, H3s for subsections, and so on. When your main heading is an H2, you’re not signalling to Google what the page is primarily about.

Check your own site by right-clicking the heading and selecting “Inspect” in your browser. Look for the HTML tag wrapping your text. If your main heading shows <h2> instead of <h1>, ask your web developer to fix it. This is a quick change that properly signals your keyword focus to search engines.

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Fix 2: Fix Technical Errors That Break User Experience

When clicking through to interior pages, a technical error kept appearing—some kind of popup or loading issue that required extra clicks to dismiss. The exact cause would need deeper investigation, but the impact is clear.

Technical glitches like this hurt you twice. First, they frustrate potential customers and make your business look outdated or unprofessional. Second, Google notices when users struggle with your site, and it factors into rankings.

Test your website yourself. Click through every page on both desktop and mobile. Fill out your contact form. If anything feels broken, sluggish, or annoying, fix it.

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Fix 3: Add More Content to Your Service Pages

The site had individual service pages for different types of work—interior painting, exterior painting, woodwork, and so on. Having dedicated service pages is exactly right. The problem was that these pages were thin, with barely any content on them.

Thin content doesn’t rank. Google wants to see comprehensive, useful information that actually helps searchers. For a service page to rank, aim for at least 500 words covering the specific service, the types of properties you work on, your process, and what makes your approach different.

For an interior woodwork painting page, you might discuss the types of wood you work with, different finish options, how you prepare surfaces, common challenges in period properties, and examples of work you’ve done in local neighbourhoods. The more specific and useful the content, the better your chances of ranking.

This is exactly how we structure our websites for painters—with dedicated, content-rich service pages built in from day one.

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Fix 4: Include Your Target Location on Service Pages

Several service pages were missing the target location from their H1 headings. The SEO title might say “Interior Woodwork Painting Leeds,” but the visible heading on the page just said “Interior Woodwork Painting.”

Consistency matters. Your target keyword and location should appear in both the SEO title and the H1 heading. This reinforces your geographic focus and helps Google understand exactly who should see your page in search results.

Go through each of your service pages and check that the location appears in both places. If you serve multiple areas, your main service pages should target your primary location, with separate location pages for secondary areas.

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Fix 5: Create Genuinely Localised Location Pages

The site had location pages for areas like Meanwood, which is good strategy—but the execution was poor. Each location page used identical template content with only the place name swapped in. The images were the same across every page.

This approach used to work. It doesn’t anymore. Google has become sophisticated at detecting thin, templated content that provides no unique value. A location page that’s just your homepage with “Meanwood” find-and-replaced throughout won’t rank.

Effective location pages need genuinely localised content: the types of properties common in that area, specific streets or neighbourhoods you’ve worked in, local landmarks that help customers identify with the area, and ideally photos from actual jobs in that location.

I covered this in detail in my guide on how to rank location pages on page 1—including a real example of a cleaning website that ranked 5th on Google with zero backlinks by getting location page content right.

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Fix 6: Replace Static Testimonials with a Dynamic Google Reviews Widget

The homepage had testimonials, which is good for trust. But they were static—manually added text that never changes. Meanwhile, the business had 21 Google reviews, many of them recent.

Static testimonials have two problems. They go stale, showing the same quotes for years even as newer, better reviews come in. And customers have learned that businesses cherry-pick their best testimonials, so static quotes carry less trust than they used to.

WordPress has free plugins that pull your Google reviews directly onto your website in a dynamic carousel. The reviews update automatically as new ones come in, keeping your content fresh. Customers can see these are real Google reviews, not curated quotes, which adds credibility.

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Fix 7: Embed Your Google Business Profile Map

The business had a Google Business Profile but hadn’t embedded the map on their website. This is a missed opportunity.

Embedding your GBP map on your homepage helps Google connect your website to your Business Profile. Since the map pack (the three local results with the map) appears at the top of search results for queries like “decorator Leeds,” anything that strengthens your Business Profile helps you capture those prominent positions.

Before you can embed your map, you’ll need a verified Google Business Profile. If you’ve been rejected for verification due to “no signage,” check out my guide on how to fix GBP verification issues—it’s a common problem for home-based tradespeople.

Adding a map embed is straightforward. Find your business on Google Maps, click “Share,” select “Embed a map,” and add the code to your homepage. It’s a small change that reinforces the connection between your website and your local listing.

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Bonus: Beef Up Your About Us Page

The About Us page was thin, with little information about the business history or the people behind it. Google values About Us pages because they help establish trust and legitimacy. A business with a detailed About page featuring real information about its history, team, and values appears more trustworthy than one with a generic paragraph.

Include your target location in the About page heading and content too. If you’re targeting Leeds, mention your history in the area, how long you’ve served local customers, and your connection to the community.

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Key Takeaways

✓ Check that your main heading is tagged as H1, not H2—right-click and inspect to verify

✓ Test your website thoroughly for technical errors that frustrate users

✓ Aim for at least 500 words of useful content on every service page

✓ Include your target location in both the SEO title and H1 of every page you want to rank locally

✓ Create genuinely localised location pages with specific streets, property types, and local references—not templates with swapped place names

✓ Replace static testimonials with a dynamic Google reviews widget

✓ Embed your Google Business Profile map on your homepage

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Next Steps

These seven fixes address the most common issues holding decorator websites back from top rankings. None of them require advanced technical skills—most can be done in a day with basic WordPress knowledge or a quick call to your web developer.

If you’d rather focus on painting houses than optimising websites, we build websites specifically for painters and decorators that are optimised for local search from day one.

Want to see exactly what’s holding your website back? Get a free SEO report and find out where you stand against your local competitors.