When a specialized house lifting and structural moving company came to us, they had decades of expertise but almost no online visibility. Their website was outdated, their search rankings were nonexistent for key service terms, and the phone was not ringing from organic search. We built a complete website redesign paired with a targeted SEO strategy for house lifting and structural moving, and the results were significant: a 120% increase in qualified leads and 200% growth in Google organic traffic.
Why Do Specialized Construction Companies Struggle With Online Visibility?
House lifting, structural relocation, and foundation repair are niche services. Most homeowners do not know these services exist until they face a flooding threat, a failing foundation, or a need to relocate a building. That creates a unique marketing challenge: the audience is small, the search volume is low compared to general contracting terms, and the buying intent is extremely high when someone does search.
The problem for many specialized construction companies is that their websites were built years ago, often by a family friend or a bargain provider. These sites lack proper page structure, load slowly on mobile devices, and contain thin content that search engines cannot associate with the right topics. When a homeowner in a flood zone types “house lifting company near me” into Google, those outdated websites simply do not appear.
“Most niche construction businesses have incredible expertise and terrible online presence. The gap between what they can do and what Google knows they can do is where the biggest growth opportunity sits.” – Strategy Team, Emulent Marketing
On top of that, the competitive field for structural moving and house elevation is narrow. Only a handful of companies operate in any given region, which means the ones who invest in digital marketing can capture a disproportionate share of available leads. The barrier to entry for ranking well is lower than in crowded markets like general roofing or plumbing, but someone still has to do the work.
Common Online Visibility Barriers for Niche Construction Firms
| Barrier |
Impact on Lead Generation |
How a Redesign Addresses It |
| Outdated website with no mobile support |
Lost visitors who search from phones (over 60% of local queries) |
Responsive, mobile-first design that loads in under 3 seconds |
| No dedicated service pages |
Google cannot match queries to specific offerings |
Individual pages for house lifting, structural moving, foundation repair |
| Missing local SEO signals |
Invisible in map pack and “near me” results |
Google Business Profile, local citations, and location-based content |
| Thin or duplicate content |
Low authority, poor rankings across all target terms |
Original, topic-rich content built around entity associations |
| No calls-to-action or conversion paths |
Visitors browse and leave without contacting |
Strategic CTA placement, quote request forms, and click-to-call buttons |
What Does a Conversion-Focused Website Redesign Look Like for a House Lifting Company?
A website redesign for a specialized construction company is not just about making things look better. The goal is to build a site that serves two audiences at the same time: the homeowner or property manager who needs to make a decision, and the search engine that needs to understand what the company does and where it operates. Every design choice has to support both of those goals.
For this project, we started with a complete site architecture overhaul. The previous website had a single services page that briefly mentioned house lifting, structural moving, and foundation repair all in one block of text. We broke that into individual service pages, each built around a specific topic cluster. The house lifting page covered residential elevation, flood zone compliance, FEMA guidelines, and the unified jacking process. The structural moving page addressed building relocation, route planning, and commercial projects. The foundation repair page explained helical pier installation, shoring, and basement excavation.
Key elements we built into the redesigned website:
- Dedicated Service Pages: Each core service received its own page with 800+ words of original content, clear headings, and internal links to related topics across the site.
- Project Gallery With Context: Instead of a generic photo slideshow, each project included details about the scope, location, challenges faced, and outcomes delivered.
- Service Area Pages: We created pages targeting specific geographic regions the company serves, helping capture “near me” local search queries and regional searches.
- Trust Signals Throughout: Trust signals like customer testimonials, industry certifications, years of experience callouts, and insurance verification badges appeared on every key page.
- Mobile-First Layout: The entire site was designed for mobile screens first, then expanded for desktop. Click-to-call buttons sat at the top and bottom of every page.
- Structured Data Markup: We added LocalBusiness schema, Service schema, and FAQ schema to help search engines categorize and display the company’s information in rich results.
“A construction company’s website should work like its best salesperson. It should answer questions before they’re asked, build confidence through proof, and make it simple for someone to reach out.” – Strategy Team, Emulent Marketing
The redesign also addressed page speed. The old site took over seven seconds to load on a mobile connection. We compressed images, eliminated unnecessary plugins, and moved to faster hosting. The result was a load time under two seconds, which directly impacts both user experience and Google’s ranking calculations.
How Did We Build an SEO Strategy Around Low-Volume, High-Intent Keywords?
The biggest misconception about SEO for niche services is that low search volume means low opportunity. The opposite is true. When someone searches for “house lifting contractor” or “structural moving company near me,” they are typically deep in the decision-making process. These are not casual browsers. They have a property that needs to be lifted, moved, or repaired, and they need a company that can do it.
We built the SEO strategy around this reality. Instead of chasing broad construction terms with thousands of monthly searches, we mapped out every variation of how a homeowner, insurance adjuster, or municipality might search for house lifting and structural moving services.
Keyword Strategy Breakdown by Intent Type
| Intent Category |
Example Keywords |
Content Strategy |
| Service-specific |
“house lifting services,” “structural moving contractor,” “home elevation company” |
Dedicated service pages with detailed process descriptions |
| Problem-aware |
“how to lift a house out of a flood zone,” “foundation failing what to do” |
Educational blog posts and FAQ sections |
| Location-based |
“house lifting company [city],” “structural mover near me” |
Service area pages and local SEO signals |
| Cost and planning |
“how much does it cost to lift a house,” “house moving permits” |
Resource guides that answer specific buyer questions |
| Comparative |
“house lifting vs. new foundation,” “move house or demolish and rebuild” |
Comparison content that positions the service as the better option |
We then created a content pillar and topic cluster model. The pillar page was the main house lifting service page, and the cluster content included blog posts about flood zone regulations, foundation repair options, the structural moving process, cost guides, and permit requirements. Each piece linked back to the pillar, and the pillar linked out to the clusters. This structure helped Google understand the topical authority of the site.
Additional SEO tactics we deployed:
- On-Page SEO for Every Page: Title tags, meta descriptions, header hierarchy (H1 through H3), image alt text, and internal links were configured following on-page SEO best practices.
- Entity and Semantic SEO: We mapped related entities (flood zone elevation, FEMA compliance, helical piers, unified jacking systems) and made sure they appeared in the right proximity to primary keywords throughout the content.
- Google Business Profile Improvement: The listing was fully updated with accurate service categories, a detailed business description, project photos, and a review generation strategy to increase map visibility.
- Local Citation Building: We submitted the company’s information to relevant construction directories, local business listings, and industry-specific platforms like the International Association of Structural Movers.
What Role Did Content Strategy Play in Generating Qualified Leads?
For a company in a niche like house lifting, content strategy is not about publishing high volumes of blog posts. It is about creating the right content that answers the exact questions potential customers ask before they pick up the phone. Every piece of content we created served a specific purpose in the buyer’s journey.
We started by interviewing the company’s team to identify the questions they hear most often from prospective customers. Questions like “How long does it take to lift a house?” and “Will my house be damaged during the move?” and “Do I need a permit to raise my home?” became the foundation of the content calendar. These are real questions from real buyers, and answering them on the website builds credibility before the first phone call ever happens.
The content strategy also targeted insurance adjusters and municipal officials. Many house lifting projects originate from insurance claims or government-mandated elevation requirements. We created content that spoke directly to these audiences, explaining the process, timeline, and compliance standards they need to verify. This expanded the company’s reach beyond just homeowners and brought in referral-quality traffic from professional channels.
“Content for niche construction companies should not try to go wide. It should go deep. Answer every question a buyer might have, and you become the obvious choice before they ever compare prices.” – Strategy Team, Emulent Marketing
Content types that generated the most leads:
- Process Explainer Pages: Step-by-step descriptions of how house lifting works, from initial assessment through final placement. These pages ranked well for informational queries and built trust with first-time visitors.
- Cost Guides: Transparent content about what affects the price of a house lift or structural move. These pages captured high-intent traffic from people actively budgeting for a project.
- FAQ Sections: Built with FAQ schema markup, these sections appeared directly in Google’s search results as rich snippets, increasing click-through rates.
- Location-Specific Service Content: Pages targeting regions prone to flooding, hurricane damage, or coastal erosion. These connected the service to the geographic urgency driving the search.
How Do You Measure the Success of a Website Redesign and SEO Campaign?
Numbers tell the story. Within the first six months after launch, the redesigned website and SEO campaign delivered results that justified the investment many times over. Tracking these outcomes required setting up proper measurement from day one, including Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, call tracking, and form submission tracking.
Performance Results After the Redesign and SEO Implementation
| Metric |
Before Redesign |
After Redesign (6 Months) |
Change |
| Google Organic Traffic |
Baseline |
3x baseline |
+200% |
| Qualified Leads (calls + form submissions) |
Baseline |
2.2x baseline |
+120% |
| Page 1 Keyword Rankings |
2 keywords |
28 keywords |
+1300% |
| Average Page Load Time (mobile) |
7.2 seconds |
1.8 seconds |
-75% |
| Bounce Rate |
72% |
41% |
-43% |
| Google Business Profile Views |
Baseline |
2.5x baseline |
+150% |
The 120% increase in qualified leads is the number that matters most because it translates directly into revenue. These were not random website visitors. They were homeowners dealing with flood zone compliance, property managers needing structural assessments, and insurance companies looking for qualified contractors. The average project value for house lifting is substantial, so even a modest increase in lead volume creates a meaningful revenue impact.
The 200% growth in Google organic traffic came from ranking for terms the company had never appeared for before. Many of these were long-tail keywords with lower monthly search volumes but very high conversion rates. A search like “cost to lift house above flood zone in [state]” may only get 50 searches per month, but the person searching is ready to hire.
We also saw a significant drop in bounce rate, from 72% down to 41%. That means visitors were staying on the site longer, reading multiple pages, and engaging with the content before converting. The mobile load time improvement from 7.2 seconds to 1.8 seconds played a major role in keeping visitors on the page instead of hitting the back button.
What Lessons Can Other Niche Construction Businesses Take From This Project?
This project reinforced several principles that apply to any specialized construction firm trying to grow through digital marketing. Whether you run a general or specialty contracting business, a marketing strategy for an architecture firm, or a structural moving operation, these takeaways are directly applicable.
Principles that drove results in this project:
- Own Your Niche Online: In a specialized market, you do not need to outrank massive construction brands. You need to rank for the specific terms that your actual buyers use. Focus your SEO on the exact services you offer and the regions where you operate.
- Build Separate Pages for Each Service: Combining all services on one page makes it harder for Google to match your content to specific searches. Individual pages let you rank for each service independently and give visitors a clearer path to the information they need.
- Invest in Content That Answers Real Questions: Every blog post or resource page should address a question that your sales team hears regularly. If customers ask it on the phone, they are searching for it on Google too.
- Pair Local SEO With Your Service Area: For construction companies that serve multi-state or regional areas, creating location-specific content is not optional. Google favors locally relevant content, and so do your potential customers.
- Track What Matters: Vanity metrics like total page views are less important than qualified leads. Set up call tracking and form submission tracking from the start so you know exactly which pages and keywords generate real business.
“The companies that win in niche construction marketing are the ones who treat their website as a lead generation system, not a digital brochure. Every page should have a purpose and every purpose should lead back to a conversion.” – Strategy Team, Emulent Marketing
Conclusion
Turning a specialized house lifting company into a lead generation machine took a combination of thoughtful website design, targeted SEO, and content that speaks directly to the people who need these services most. The results, including a 120% increase in qualified leads and 200% growth in organic traffic, show what happens when a focused digital strategy meets deep industry understanding. At Emulent, we work with construction companies across specialties to build websites and search strategies that bring in measurable business results.
If you need help with digital marketing for your construction business, reach out to the Emulent team. We will build a plan that fits your services, your market, and your growth goals.
