North East Damp Proofing: 0 to top of local search in 4 months
By David Sessford · 24 June 2026 · 6 min read
Your competitors will not read this. Their loss.
A brand-new damp-proofing website. No history, no rankings, no traffic. Four months later it's top of Google's local Map Pack across the North East, pulling roughly 100 visitors a week and 80 phone calls a month. Here's exactly how we did it.
The snapshot
- Client: North East Damp Proofing. Damp specialists serving the whole North East of England.
- Starting point: a brand-new website, launched ~4 months ago, with zero rankings and zero traffic.
- The deal: a KillerEdge-owned landing page. We build, own and rank the site; the business gets the calls. (Our Lead Generation partnership model.)
The challenge
Local trades are one of the toughest arenas in search. Damp proofing in the North East is no exception: established competitors with years of history, reviews and links already owned the Map Pack. We were starting from absolute zero. A fresh domain Google had never seen, no authority, no reviews, no rankings. The job: become the first name a homeowner sees when they search for damp help in Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham and beyond. Fast.
The strategy
For a brand-new local site, vanity keywords are a distraction. We went straight for the searches that turn into phone calls. Local, high-intent "damp proofing near me" and "damp proofing [town]" queries. And built everything around being chosen, not just seen. Three pillars:
- A conversion-first landing page. Fast, mobile, trust-led, with the phone number and quote request front and centre.
- Local SEO & Google Business Profile. Owning the Map Pack across the region.
- Authority link building. The craft behind years of client wins, aimed squarely at this site.
What we actually did
1. Built a landing page engineered to convert
Rather than a sprawling brochure site, we built one sharp, fast-loading landing page focused on a single job: turn a worried homeowner into a phone call. Clear services, real coverage areas, trust signals, and a click-to-call that's never more than a thumb away on mobile.
2. Dominated local with Google Business Profile
The Map Pack is where local trade leads are won. We set up and optimised the Google Business Profile properly. Correct categories, service areas covering the North East, consistent name/address/phone (NAP) across the web, and a steady flow of genuine reviews. This is what put North East Damp Proofing into the top local results.
3. Targeted the searches that pay
We mapped the page and its content to the exact terms people actually use when they have a damp problem and a budget. "damp proofing", "rising damp treatment", "condensation specialists" and the town-by-town variations across the region. So the site shows up for the searches that end in a booked survey.
4. Built real authority
A new domain has no trust. We earned it the white-hat way. Relevant, quality links and local citations that tell Google this is a legitimate, established North East business. No spam, no shortcuts; just the link-building discipline that's moved rankings for 14+ years. (It's the same engine behind the Backlink Vault and our 2026 link-building approach.)
"New domain, no history, a competitive trade. And still top of the map in four months. That's local SEO done with discipline, not luck.". David Sessford, Founder, The KillerEdge
The results. 4 months in
- Top of the local Map Pack and ranking #1 for most local damp-proofing searches across the North East.
- ~100 visitors a week. From a standing start of zero.
- ~80 phone calls a month. Real, high-intent enquiries from people who need the work done.
- All from a site that didn't exist four months ago.
Because this is a KillerEdge-owned landing page, the business carries no upfront SEO cost and simply takes the calls. The Lead Generation partnership in action.
Why it worked
No magic. Just the right priorities executed with discipline: a page built to convert, relentless local SEO, and genuine authority. For a local service business, that combination beats a bigger, older, slower competitor every time. It's exactly what we teach inside The Dojo and run for clients through the partnership.