The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast · Rich Harshaw

2350: The Website That Scored "Negative One" On Web Audit

·14 min·1 clip

A contractor's website scored negative one on an audit, with findability at eight and conversion ability in the negatives.

This episode features host Rich Harsha analyzing a website audit for a construction company. Harsha role-plays as Google to explain why the site performs poorly in search results. The client, a business owner from the Chicago area, learns his website scored a negative one overall on the audit. The audit breaks down into findability, scoring eight out of 100, and conversionability, which scored negatively. Technical SEO issues include only ten pages and slow loading speeds, which Google penalizes. For local SEO, the site scored zero because it lacks local pages, so Google cannot determine its service area. The website ranks for only eight keywords, whereas Harsha states clients typically target 250 to 1,000. Meta titles on the pages exist but are too short and generic to be effective. Content optimization is poor because page headings are identical, making each page look the same to Google. The site has no blog or additional content, resulting in a zero score for "diggable" content meant to engage visitors. Off-page signals are weak, with an unoptimized Facebook page failing to support the website's credibility. A surprising moment is Harsha's analogy comparing the website to a poorly recommended restaurant Google hesitates to suggest. The client's Google Business Profile is noted as a relative strength, earning four points, but it's an exception. Harsha reveals the site lacks schema code, a special markup that tells Google the business is local. The digital services manager's note states the site is "the opposite of confusing; it's too simple." The identity section, which conveys what makes the company unique, scores only five out of 40 points. Despite having 20 Google reviews, none are displayed on the website to serve as social proof. The host concludes the site functions merely as an ineffective online brochure that doesn't convert visitors. The tone is direct and educational, with Harsha using clear analogies and specific data from the audit report. The style is a consultative one-on-one conversation, walking the client through each metric. Business owners in home services or remodeling would find this episode valuable for understanding SEO fundamentals. Listeners seeking advanced digital marketing strategies or a highly produced narrative might find it too basic.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast