How a Los Angeles general contractor went from zero online visibility to ranking in Google AI search — without spending a single dollar on ads.
ClientDesign & Create Builders
IndustryGeneral Contractor
LocationLos Angeles, CA
Timeline3 Months
Ad Spend$0
Where They Started
Great work. Zero visibility.
Design & Create Builders had the craftsmanship, the reviews, and the reputation. What they didn’t have was any presence online. In Los Angeles — one of the most competitive contractor markets in the country — they were completely invisible to anyone who didn’t already know them.
Every week without visibility was another week of calls going to competitors who showed up first on Google.
Strong portfolio of completed work
5-star rating on Google
Happy clients willing to refer
But zero traffic coming in organically
✕ Website had a noindex tag — Google was ignoring it entirely
✕ No meta descriptions on any core page
✕ 38 of 51 images had zero alt text
✕ Mobile page speed score of 59 — well below competitive threshold
✕ Google Maps average rank of 17.12 — far outside the map pack
✕ Near-zero organic website traffic
The Results
Numbers don’t lie.
Here’s what happened in the first 3 months — no paid ads, no shortcuts, just the right work in the right order.
+202%
More people finding the business on Google
Profile Views
+156%
Increase in clicks from Google to their website
Website Clicks
320
Unique monthly visitors — up from near zero
Monthly Visitors
5m 28s
Average time on site — visitors are genuinely engaged
Session Duration
5.85K
Total search impressions in 3 months (was 0)
Impressions
100
Perfect technical SEO score — improved from 61
SEO Score
+80%
Growth in total clicks month over month
Click Growth
#1
Ranking in Google AI search for “design and build LA”
AI Search Position
What We Did
Foundation first. Rankings follow.
Most agencies jump straight to content and backlinks. We fix what’s broken first — because a leaky foundation kills everything built on top of it.
01
Unlocked the Website
A noindex tag was telling Google to ignore the entire site. We removed it, submitted the sitemap, and got them properly indexed — turning the lights on for the first time.
↑ Not Indexable → Fully Indexed
02
Optimized Every Page
Rewrote title tags and meta descriptions across all core pages. Added keyword-rich alt text to 38+ images. Restructured content around what LA homeowners actually search for.
↑ SEO Score: 61 → 100
03
Google Business Profile
Overhauled the profile with optimized categories, service areas, photos, and descriptions — the Google Business Profile management that drove a 202% jump in profile views and a steady Maps ranking climb.
↑ Maps rank: 17.12 → 16.04 in 20 days
04
Page Speed Fixes
Addressed critical load time issues including a 27.9s largest contentful paint. Faster sites rank higher and convert more visitors into actual calls and quote requests.
↑ Performance score: 59 → 66 (ongoing)
05
Local Keyword Strategy
Built a targeting strategy around the exact terms LA homeowners use — “design and build,” “home builder LA,” “general contractor,” “kitchen remodel.” Tracked weekly.
↑ Ranking #1 for “design and build” across LA
06
Monthly Sprint Reports
Clear, no-jargon monthly reports showing exactly what moved and why. Every sprint builds on the last — compounding results without compounding costs.
↑ Impressions up 37.9% month over month
★ Standout Achievement
Design & Create Builders now appears in Google’s AI search results for “design and build in Los Angeles” — alongside firms that have been established since 2010.
Google AI search surfaces only a handful of businesses per query. Appearing here means Google considers D&C Builders one of the most relevant and trusted results in LA — an authority signal that compounds over time. Earning that placement deliberately, rather than by luck, is what our AEO work for contractors is built to do.
How It Unfolded
Three months. Real momentum.
Month 1 — June 2025
Foundations Fixed
Removed noindex block, submitted sitemap, rewrote all title tags, added alt text to 38 images. Business profile views up 202% vs. prior year.
Month 2 — July 2025
Traffic Starts Moving
320 unique visitors — up 69.3%. Average session time doubles to 5m 28s. Website clicks up 80%. Organic search becomes top traffic source.
Month 3 — August 2025
Ranking Competitively
5,850 total search impressions. Ranking #1 for “design and build” across LA. Appearing in Google AI search results. Maps rank steadily climbing.
Ongoing
Compounding Growth
The foundation is solid. Each month builds on the last — traffic, visibility, and inbound calls keep growing without any ad spend.
Your Turn
Same first step. Free SEO Diagnosis.
Everything above started with one 30-minute call and an honest look at where the visibility was leaking. That’s the same call you’d be booking — no pitch deck, no pressure, no jargon. If you’d rather start with the deep version, a full SEO and AEO audit covers the same ground in far more detail.
Who it’s for
This is built for one kind of business. If that’s not you, I’ll say so on the call.
Remodelers and general contractors serving a defined local market
Your work and reviews are strong — the phone just doesn’t ring from Google
Most jobs come from referrals, and that pipeline goes quiet without warning
You’re paying for Angi/Thumbtack leads, or ads, and want to own the traffic instead
You want inbound calls in 90 days, not a 12-month brand campaign
What gets reviewed
Run before the call, walked through live on screen with you.
Google Business Profile setup versus your top three local competitors
Where you actually rank in the map pack for your money service terms
Technical basics — indexing, titles, meta, images, mobile page speed
The keywords homeowners in your service area are really searching
Where calls are leaking: the gaps between a search and your phone ringing
What you leave with
Yours to keep, whether we work together or not.
A plain-English list of what’s broken, ranked by what’s costing you jobs
The three fixes to do first — and the order to do them in
An honest read on timeline and what results are realistic in your market
A straight answer on whether you need help at all, or can handle it in-house
✓ No obligation. No contract discussed unless you ask.
Why it’s worth 30 minutes
The alternative is guessing — or paying someone to guess for you.
D&C Builders had a single line of code hiding them from Google entirely. Nobody had caught it.
Most contractor sites have two or three issues like that sitting in plain sight.
Finding them takes half an hour. Ignoring them costs a job a month, quietly.
↑ 61 → 100 SEO score in the first sprint
What happens after you book
STEP 01
Confirmation, same day
You get a calendar invite plus four short questions — your site, your service area, the towns you want work in, and the jobs you want more of.
STEP 02
I do the work first
The audit is run before we speak. You’re not spending the call answering discovery questions so I can look busy — the findings are already on the screen.
STEP 03
The 30-minute call
We go through what I found, what it’s costing you, and what I’d fix first. You ask whatever you want. If it isn’t a fit, I’ll tell you early instead of talking you into it.
STEP 04
Written recap
Within 24 hours you get the findings and priority fixes in writing. If you want help executing, a scope and price come with it. If not, the notes are still yours.
Ready to Get Found Before Your Competitors?
30 minutes, your market reviewed before we talk, and the fix list is yours either way.
