Case Study: Successfully Relocating a Business Across Provinces

The Move: Key Steps

1. Market Research and Strategic Planning

Prior to the move, Purpose Driven Promotion conducted extensive market research to identify relevant search trends and understand the local competitive landscape in the new city in Alberta.  While the business had been in operation since 2002 in British Columbia, it had no presence in Alberta. However, we found that search habits in the Alberta city closely resembled those in the business’ current BC city, therefore the search phrases targeted were easily transferrable to the new city.

2. Website Optimization for Local SEO

Once the phrases were approved, we waited until approximately 1 month before the physical move to transition the SEO from the BC phrases to the Alberta phrases.  This is because the client wanted to ensure his current business did not suffer. Since we weren’t sure exactly how Google and the other search engines would take the search phrase and location based changes, we agreed.

1 month before the business was to move, the website was optimized for the Alberta local SEO by updating location-based keywords, creating new content for the Alberta market, and ensuring the site structure supported local search queries. At the same time, we de-optimized the BC related content.

3. Updating Google My Business and Local Citations

Once the business physically moved to Alberta, we proceeded to update the Google My Business (GMB) listing and other local citations to ensure the business would appear in searches relevant to the new location. We waited until the business had relocated to Alberta before updating the NAP information.

There were a few setbacks with the migration of the map listing – while the only changes to the business were the address and phone number, Google suspended the listing a few times.  We had to provide an invoice with the new business address at one point, which helped the business become initially verified in the new location.

When the owner of the business went in to update his business hours later, the listing then became suspended again.  At this time, we had to submit a video showing the business address, along with the work vehicle in the video.  After submitting the video, the listing was again reinstated.  Future updates to the listing were later applied with no further suspensions.

SEO and Traffic Analysis Timeline

The SEO efforts resulted in significant keyword ranking improvements and increased traffic, as detailed below:

August 2023: Initial SEO Activity

When the SEO campaign began in June 2023 (1 month before the business moved), none of the targeted keywords were ranking on Google.ca in the new Alberta location. However, within 2 months, significant improvements were observed, one phrase jumping from unranked to position 10. This rapid progress demonstrated the early effectiveness of the SEO strategies, including location-based optimizations and competitive keyword targeting.

December 2023: Traffic Growth

By December 2023, Google Analytics reported a 7.89% increase in users and a 10.81% increase in new users compared to the previous period. These improvements aligned with the positive keyword ranking trends, indicating that the higher visibility in local search results was successfully driving traffic to the website.

March 2024: Further Ranking Improvements

In March 2024, continued progress in keyword rankings was observed. Several keywords achieved top 10 positions, with the phrase that first hit the top 10 back in August rising to position 3. This marked a pivotal point in the SEO strategy, showcasing the consistent optimization efforts paying off in terms of search visibility.

June 2024: Top 10 Dominance

By June 2024, most of the targeted keywords were ranking within the top 10 positions on Google.ca. The most important phrases reached positions 3 to 6 during the month, proving that the business had established strong local authority in search results, securing a competitive edge in the new province.

October 2024: Sustained SEO Success

In October 2024, SEO success continued, with some keywords reaching as high as position 2 in local search results. The trend of top 10 rankings was sustained, demonstrating long-term SEO effectiveness.

Results and Outcomes

1. Increased Local Visibility

By optimizing for the new location, Purpose Driven Promotion was able to show significant improvements in local search visibility. Keywords related to the business’ core services in Alberta consistently rank in the top 10 on Google.ca.

2. Higher Website Traffic

The business experienced a 7.89% increase in overall users and a 10.81% increase in new users by December 2023, with sustained growth through 2024 as SEO strategies continued to deliver. Visitor traffic continues to improve, with new customers coming to the website daily.

3. Revenue Growth

Increased visibility and traffic directly contributed to a rise in customer inquiries and bookings, leading to growth in revenue within the first year of relocation. While the business does not quite have the same revenue growth as prior to the move, all indications are that it is on track to do so in the coming months.

Conclusion

Moving a business from one province to another requires not only physical logistics but also a well-planned digital strategy. Through effective local SEO, content optimization, and consistent monitoring, Purpose Driven Promotion successfully navigated this transition, achieving sustained growth in both search rankings and website traffic, securing a dominant position in the client’s new market.