Why does my small business need a professional website?

A professional website builds trust, helps customers find you on Google, and turns visitors into paying clients. Without one, many people won’t take your business seriously or may choose a competitor instead.

How much does web design cost for a local service business?

Website pricing depends on your needs, but most small service businesses invest between $1,000–$8,000 for a custom site that’s designed to attract leads and grow revenue.

What is the difference between web design and branding?

Web design focuses on building your online home, while branding defines how your business looks and feels. Together, they create a consistent image that makes you stand out and builds customer trust.

How long does it take to design and launch a website?

Most small business websites take 3–6 weeks to design, build, and launch, depending on the number of pages, features, and revisions needed.

What is local SEO and why is it important for home service businesses?

Local SEO is the process of making your business show up when people search for services in your area. For contractors and service businesses, it means ranking on Google Maps and local results when customers need you most.

Do I need a logo and brand identity before building a website?

It’s best to have a professional logo and brand identity first, so your website feels consistent and polished. If you don’t, we can design your branding and website together as part of the process.

How do you make sure my website shows up on Google?

We use SEO best practices like keyword research, fast-loading design, mobile optimization, and Google Business Profile integration to improve your search rankings.

What types of businesses do you work with in Hampton Roads?

We specialize in service-based businesses like contractors, HVAC, roofing, plumbing, cleaning, healthcare, and other local providers across Chesapeake and Hampton Roads.

Do you offer ongoing support after my website goes live?

Yes. We provide updates, maintenance, and SEO support so your website continues to perform and bring in new customers.

Can a new website really help me get more customers?

Yes. A well-designed, SEO-friendly website helps your business show up in local searches, builds credibility, and encourages people to call or book your services.

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How to Audit Your Site for Technical SEO Issues

WEB DESIGNSEO

Danielle Leland

9/25/20255 min read

When most business owners think of SEO, they picture keywords and blog posts. But here’s the truth: even the best content won’t rank if your website has technical SEO issues.

Think of technical SEO as the foundation of your website. If it’s cracked, unstable, or incomplete, search engines like Google won’t trust it — and your rankings will suffer.

That’s why every local business in Hampton Roads should run a technical SEO audit at least once or twice a year. The good news? You don’t need to be a developer to identify most issues. With the right tools and a clear checklist, you can uncover (and often fix) the problems holding your site back.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to auditing your site for technical SEO issues.

Step 1: Check Your Website Speed & Performance

Why it matters: Google prioritizes websites that load quickly, especially on mobile devices. A slow site increases bounce rates and drives potential customers to competitors.

How to audit:

Use free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom.
Test both mobile and desktop performance.
Pay attention to metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and Time to Interactive (TTI).

Quick wins: Compress images, enable caching, and minimize unused plugins. (See our [Quick Fixes: Improve Your Site Speed in Under a Week] (cluster) article for a step-by-step guide.)

Step 2: Ensure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly

Why it matters: Over 60% of searches in Hampton Roads are from mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-responsive, you’re losing customers before they even see your services.

How to audit:

Run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Manually check your site on different devices (phones, tablets) to see if text, buttons, and menus are easy to use.

Quick wins: Adjust font sizes, improve button spacing, and ensure images scale properly on smaller screens.

Step 3: Scan for Crawl Errors

Why it matters: Google needs to be able to “crawl” and understand your site. If important pages are blocked or broken, they won’t appear in search results.

How to audit:

Use Google Search Console → Coverage Report.
Look for errors like 404 pages, redirect loops, or blocked pages in robots.txt.

Quick wins: Fix broken links, clean up redirect chains, and make sure service pages are crawlable.

Step 4: Review Your Site Structure & Navigation

Why it matters: A clear structure helps both users and search engines. Google rewards websites with intuitive navigation and logical hierarchy.

How to audit:

Make sure your main menu links to your core service pages.
Check if every important page is reachable in 3 clicks or less.
Use tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider to visualize your site’s architecture.

Quick wins: Add internal links, simplify menus, and avoid orphan pages (pages with no internal links pointing to them).

Step 5: Analyze Your URL Structure

Why it matters: Clean, descriptive URLs improve both rankings and click-through rates.

How to audit:

Look for long, confusing URLs with random characters.
Check for keyword relevance (e.g., yourbusiness.com/roof-repair-chesapeake is better than yourbusiness.com/page?id=123).

Quick wins: Shorten URLs, remove unnecessary parameters, and include relevant keywords.

Step 6: Check HTTPS & Security

Why it matters: Customers won’t trust an unsecured site, and Google penalizes sites without HTTPS.

How to audit:

Look for the padlock symbol in your browser’s address bar.
Test your SSL setup at SSL Labs

Quick wins: Install an SSL certificate (usually free with most hosting plans). Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.

Step 7: Audit Your Sitemaps & Robots.txt

Why it matters: Sitemaps tell Google what to crawl; robots.txt tells it what not to crawl. Errors here can block your site from ranking.

How to audit:

Check that your XML sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console.
Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt and make sure it isn’t blocking important pages.

Quick wins: Submit updated sitemaps, remove “disallow” commands for key pages.

Step 8: Fix Duplicate Content Issues

Why it matters: Duplicate content confuses Google and dilutes your rankings.

How to audit:

Use Siteliner or Copyscape to find duplicate content.
Check for duplicate title tags and meta descriptions in Screaming Frog.

Quick wins: Consolidate similar pages, use canonical tags, and rewrite thin or duplicate content.

Step 9: Optimize Core Web Vitals

Why it matters: Google’s Core Web Vitals are official ranking factors tied to user experience.

How to audit:

Run your site through Google Search Console → Core Web Vitals.
Look for issues with LCP, FID (First Input Delay), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift).

Quick wins: Compress images, preload fonts, and reduce third-party scripts.

Step 10: Review Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Why it matters: Structured data helps Google understand your content and display rich results (like star ratings, FAQs, and business info).

How to audit:

Test your site using Google’s Rich Results Test.
Check that your business info (NAP: Name, Address, Phone) is consistent.

Quick wins: Add LocalBusiness schema, FAQ schema, and service-specific schema where relevant.

Final Word: Technical SEO is the Foundation of Local Rankings

For service businesses in Hampton Roads, a website audit isn’t just a technical exercise—it’s a growth strategy. Fixing issues like slow load times, crawl errors, and duplicate content can immediately improve your visibility and help you outrank competitors.

The best part? You don’t need to fix everything at once. Start with the quick wins in this checklist, then build toward a fully optimized site.

Want to learn more? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Web Design for Service Businesses in Hampton Roads.

Need a Quick Web Design Checkup?

We offer FREE Website & SEO Audits for local businesses in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton Roads, and beyond.

Danielle Leland

Author, Owner

With a BSBA and 3 years of design experience, Danielle is a Hampton Roads based web design, SEO, & brand designer helping service businesses grow online.