Whether you’re just starting out or have an established business website in Calgary you’ve been made aware by friends and family for the treasure trove of leads/traffic that awaits for you from search engines.
We at Visibility Drip take you on a ride to the most lucrative but also the most competitive SERP(search engine results pages) to rank for. Let’s see through hard data, who you will be competing with and how long will it take to rank your website in your niche.
We will be focusing on the universal index rankings (the ol’ good blue links) as local map rankings are more volatile for a number of reasons such as proximity, and with Google’s diversity update (started rolling in August 2024) it’s much tougher drawing meaningful conclusions there.
Google Diversity update means that Google will not show a website twice on the 1st page i.e. if your website ranks in the local map pack it won’t be shown on the 1st page in the blue organic links rankings or vice versa. But for that, another time.
If all of the above is gibberish to you, we suggest to read our ‘What is SEO, in simple English” guide before reading further.
Terms we will be using:
Ahrefs: it’s one of the best SEO tools out there. It tracks keyword volume via clickstream data and rankings.
The SERP: that’s the links, map packs, and other features that search engines show/rank for a query.
Backlinks: it’s basically another domain linking out to your website.
Monthly searches: how many times Calgarians would search for a keyword, e.g. 3000 Calgarians search for “personal injury lawyers Calgary” monthly (super scary stat otherwise lol).
The top 10 most competitive industries, services or trades to rank for in Calgary are as follows:
1- Legal services
- Keyword: personal injury lawyers Calgary
- KD: 42. Ahrefs.com says that you’ll need around 60 referring domains to rank in top 10.
- Monthly searches: around 3000 with variations included
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.mcleod-law.com/services/personal/personal-injury/
Now Mcleod Law has been around (registered) from 1998. The historical data, impressions and index presence is nothing short of envy. These are all ranking factors amassed through time. Mcleod Law has a superb URL architecture created from scratch with scaling in mind. They should really take their SEO team for lunch or even better, a fat bonus!
Interesting enough, though Ahrefs states you’d need 60+ referring domains to rank in top 10, their /personal-injury/ show only one do-follow backlink (upvotes on the internet, other websites linking to yours). What helps the rankings of this URL is the internal links from other pages.
Example: https://www.mcleod-law.com/services/personal/litigation-and-dispute-resolution
Links out Mcleod Law’s /personal-injury/ post together with other 16 internal links.
The content on the website is written in active voice and starts with “You’re not alone in this..”. The lawyers section below features professional taken images linking to each lawyers personal bio page with publicly listed number, email, practice area and extensive professional bio. That screams trustworthiness in our books.
As that wasn’t enough, in the ‘Related Resources’ they list out PR publications and notable work which further boosts the their establishment.
All hope isn’t lost, and there’s ways to outrank giants like Mcleod Law and we’ll talk about that at the end of the research. Let’s see the 2nd most competitive SERPs in Calgary.
2 – Real Estate
- Keyword: Calgary real estate
- KD: 37. Ahrefs states you would need 50+ referring domains to be able to rank in the top 10
- Monthly searches: around 56,000 with variations included
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.realtor.ca/ab/calgary/real-estate
Realtor.ca has been registered year 2000 as per public WHOIS records. It has Canada-wide SEO rankings but they do dominate Calgary for real estate related keywords since 2020.
They have around 13 strong do-follow domains. Not much in terms of backlinks but editorial, in-content backlinks that move the needle.
Search engines are about click satisfaction today, and if users are clicking on it, coming back (I know, I did myself) and Realtor keeps satisfying users which their real estate finding app, then it will continue to dominate the real estate SERP for Calgary.
This URL hosts a real estate finding app, which is a clue for you if you want to start your real estate website and what function it should do. It’s light on content (pushed down below the page) and minimum banner ads. With that said, there’s no room for discouragement.
Keep building, tell the world and they’ll come as my former boss at Helcim.com used to say when I was working as the SEO Specialist there.
3 – Home Services
- Keyword: roofing calgary
- KD: 52. Ahrefs states you would need around 91 referring domains to rank in top 10.
- Monthly searches: around 2000 with variations.
- 1st ranking blue link: https://calgaryeliteroofing.ca/
You might be wondering why ranking for ‘roofing Calgary’ is calculated with 52 keyword difficulty and places no.3 in our research, when ‘Calgary real estate’ has a KD of 37. We take third party tools as relative and not absolute.
It’s about getting data insights on referring domains. But there’s more to that. To keep it short, search engines see at the overall domain quality even when search engines as Google have denied it until recent years.
Realtor.ca has proven its trustworthiness which it leverages and a byproduct of that is ranking easier with less referring domains. Just good content (in this case a good app that makes finding homes for sale, rentals super easy!)
Now let’s get back to ‘roofing Calgary’. The 1st ranking result is super light on content. Early on in the page they showcase their badges, they’re a member of AARA, BBB accredited.
They have a lot of social proof (reviews, PR mentiones) and a photo of their staff and branded trucks loaded with ladders ready to help Calgarians with their roof. Clean colours and great UX featuring a search bar.
Their homepage ranks for around 144 keywords that bring an estimated 1,055 monthly organic traffic.
CalgaryEliteRoofing has around 95 quality in-content referring domains. Overall a great technical and on-site setup, light on content and a social fortress. Something to keep in mind if you’re a roofer looking to break through the 1st page on Google.
4 – Healthcare
- Keyword: dentist Calgary
- KD: 54. Ahrefs states you will be needing to build around 54 referring domains to be able to rank in top 10.
- Monthly searches: around 3000 monthly searches (with variations).
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.pathwaysdental.ca/
The domain has around 139 reffering domains. Its organic traffic value is sitting at around $8400 per month (that’s how much you would pay in Google ads monthly to get the traffic that PathWaysDental is getting).
They feature a video early on above the fold featuring frontdesk, clients and actual office. Warm colours, clean CTAs (e.g. click to action buttons e.g. “book your $1 new patient exam today!”.
They showcase their PR mentions, awards and feature their services in a grid with clear crisp to-the-point type of services they offer. The have around 8 FAQs with short and sweet answers.
They showcase which areas they service in Calgary (helps with local SEO).
Whatever they’re doing with their website they’re doing it right as you’ll need to showcase a physical location, staff, video and interactions with what seems like real clients.
5- Financial services
- Keyword: accountant calgary
- KD: 39. Ahrefs states you would need roughly 53 referring domains to rank in on the 1st page.
- Monthly searches: 750
- 1st ranking blue link: https://accountantcalgary.ca/
Well this is a first one. Until now we’ve seen some partial match domains (meaning they have brand + keyword in their domain name). The 1st ranking website for ‘accountant calgary’ is an exact match domain. A wildly misused tactic till today by SEO tradesmen.
Before you go and register the next available domain with ‘accountant calgary’ in it, the next 8 ranking websites are mostly branded.
Google has gone places with dedicated Core Updates that specifically target and de-mount exact match domains that are built just for SEO and not for users. But that’s another subject. Believe in yourself and pick a memorable brand name.
Now back to the research. AccountantCalgary has around 104 referring domains and specifically targets SMB accountant in Calgary. Their above the fold (the visible area once you land on a page without scrolling) features 2 columns: optimized copy + input form for businesses looking to explore their services.
Early on they feature their badges and mentions. They feature from what we know a few stock photos and the website is heavy on text. Their headings, interlinks show they pay a lot of attention to SEO specifically.
They’ve embedded their Google Business Profile close to the bottom of the page something seen almost every time with professional services websites.
I randomly checked other ranking results and all of them look quite similar without much breadth comparing to the dentistry website we saw earlier. In my opinion that makes some room for a talented UX blended with SEO to bolster the monotony to Calgary accounting SERPs.
6- Automotive
- Keyword: dealership Calgary
- KD: 53. According to Ahrefs you would need ~95 referring domains to rank in top 10.
- Monthly searches: 5,369
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.autoshouse.com/
Low quality images, ad banners early above the fold, lots of CTA and inventory is pushed below the fold. Right off the bat, I know the UX is terrible especially on desktop the mobile is a bit better. Again, scrolling down below a full-width banner with a CTA on financing. I’ve seen dealership websites in Calgary that are built much more intuitive with focus on their search bar inventory.
Digging further in the interlinking section, they don’t have much in-content (not navigational link in the menu bar) interlinks to the homepage. Not much on their blog section either.
With a short review, I can only conclude that this website has been around for 15 years now and by their organic growth chart on Ahrefs, I can only state that staying persistant pays off with SEO.
Search engine optimization efforts are often mistakenly for a one time push. But the bar set by Autoshouse is set super low, meaning whenever bigger dealership brands such as Shaw GMC decide to push to gain organic traffic it’s game over for Autoshouse.
Then why does it rank? Well first of all, it’s been registered in the distant 2010. It stacks around 212 referring domains. Their backlinks aren’t breathtaking, but they’re focusing heavily on volume.
7 – Oil & Gas services
- Keyword: oil and gas companies calgary
- KD: 61
- Monthly searches: 1000, including variations
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.cenovus.com/
Now it gets interesting. If you’re in oil and gas then get ready to compete with publicly listed companies i.e. Cenovus. This domain is so powerful they don’t even have ‘oil and gas’ in their title. This is why Google shines amongst search engines. It’s able to tie the entity Cenovus with oil and gas. This is advanced SEO and it’s related to the brand building business.
Cenovus is engrained in the lives of Calgarians and Albertans in general. They employ thousands and contribute to the overall GDP. Their PR presence is huge to the point that it’s laughable to talk about.
They have over 2000 referring domains and the homepage pulls around 10,000k monthly traffic. It’s most likely informational searches from folks looking at e.g. Cenovus careers.
Ranking above Cenovus would require economical and environmental impact that drives news mentions, governmental mentions and other activities.
8- Restaurants & food service
- Keyword: restaurants calgary
- KD: 29. Ahrefs states you would need around 35 referring domains to break in the top 10.
- Monthly searches: 4.8k monthly searches per Ahrefs.
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurants-g154913-Calgary_Alberta.html
If you want to capture organic traffic from folks interested in most likely dining (thing search intent) then you’re competing with a giant like Trip Advisor. This is a similar situation to our number 2 in this research, the real estate SERP. Basically you’re competing with websites that have huge presence worldwide.
A clue for you if you want to get found organically, is to build an aggregator website that collects and organizes user-generated content aka UGC (reviews, ratings, photos) worldwide.
Aside form the 40 external websites linking to TripAdvisor’s page about the best restaurants in Calgary, this URL has countless of supporting internal links to further boost organic presence.
To outrank TripAdvisor and dominate the info content space for restaurants and food in Calgary, you can start by finding gaps in the UX of 1st ranking page and build a better aggregator.
9- Fitness & wellness
- Keyword: yoga calgary
- KD: 36. Ahrefs states you would need 47 referring domains to break through top 10 (1st page)
- Monthly searches: around 3000 monthly searches where Calgarians search for yoga.
- 1st ranking blue link: https://yogasantosha.ca/
Similar to oil and gas (no.7 above) this website doesn’t have an optimized page title. Just off the bat it manages to outrank pages that are super optimized e.g. ranking page no.6 has “Hot Yoga, Massage & Acupuncture” in its title.
No wonder when the YogaSantosha boasts around 361 powerful referring domains.
Whois says its been regisetered on January 31, 2007. Almost two decades of being indexed, ranked and offering superb experience (they have livestream classes, teacher training, pre-natal yoga etc) search engines most likely haven’t got it wrong here. They’re ranking a website that deserves the 1st spot and as websites are the ‘product’ of search engines, Google won’t demote this website anytime soon.
-10 Education & training
- Keyword: private schools calgary
- KD: 50. Ahrefs states you would need circa 84 referring domains to be able to rank somewhere on the 1st page.
- Monthly searches: around 2000 monthly volume where Calgarians are browsing for the best private schools in Calgary for their loved ones.
- 1st ranking blue link: https://www.ourkids.net/calgary-private-schools.php
After leaving Ourkids you’re left equipped with the right information. At least that was my feeling. I love the UX, warm shaded colours, featuring a quote from a student above the fold + picture of students.
The listicle (format of an article like the one you’re reading now) features numbered list of the best schools in Calgary. They feature a photo of the students (looks real not AI) teaching in the listed school, pricing, how many students, and something that I liked the ‘insider reviews’ section. They link out to a report rich in information for each school.
They’ve went beyond and reviewed each school so compiling this listicle was a breeze. Interesting enough they have a low amount of inbound referring domains but I guess good UX, clear crisp to-the-point content trumps domain authority (more links, more authority or at least that’s what my colleagues SEOs say).
To rank this lucrative niche, you would need to do your homework. Starting exploring, investigating these schools gather user generated content (reviews!) with incentives and creating listicle should be a breeze afterwards.
How to outrank the aforementioned websites?
Now the hard cold truth. The above mentioned domains are where they are because they’ve done the work. Think of search engines as a big strip mall where the most trafficked parts of the mall are taken already. Something similar to the food court in Chinook mall and the stores close to it. They get the most exposure then let’s say the 2nd floor stores.
Now it doesn’t mean them being there is set on stone. You would need to go the extra mile with your website and I mean the whole SHTICK!
You need to be heavily invested in EEAT (stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Something like Mcleod Law in no.1 does, “shamelessly” featuring their staff, their knowledge, education and hobbies. If your novice injury lawyer website features stock photos you’re out for lunch!
Go small thing big! Start with a laser targeted niche. Mcleod Law has changed its URL structure multiple times since 1998. You can always re-brand later, run PR campaigns announcing that, and scale.
For breaking in real estate, dealership, or food SEO, you need good developing skills. Hire a UX, find gaps and build better.
These niches are a magnet for word of mouth referral. Once you offer something better your brand searches will skyrocket even before ranking for commercial intent keywords e.g. ‘buy’, ‘rent’, ‘finance’ etc. It will take time no lie, but there’s always social and PR campaigns to help speed this up.
This will enable you to tie up your website as the entity that rules these industries. When Calgarians think of renting a place, they’ll think ‘Your awesome app’ instead of Realtor.ca.
Something that Cenovus has successfully achieved without any SEO. Search Engines know so much about Cenovus that they rank this domain for ‘oil and gas companies calgary’ without having to even optimize for that keyword.
In saturated industries like ‘dentist calgary’ or ‘roofing calgary’ quality matters but customer experience matters even more. You need a lot of visual content. Think of video client testimonials, before and after photos, reviews, photos with clients and lightly optimized content.
A supporting blog does wonders when first-hand, helpful content is published and not AI or SEO focused content.
Finding the right Calgary SEO company to help out
Visibility Drip is an seo company servicing Calgary’s finest small businesses. We know that to be able to rank a website is hard work equal to building a business from the ground up but the right way. You need someone local that knows the landscape and understands information retrieval at the palm of their hand.
If you think you’re in the brand building business give us a shout. That’s why TV ads work, podcasts, radio ads. It’s about building your brand and SEO is there to help if you have useful information to retrieve for Calgarians. Till next research!
