How to rank in first position on Google for the highly competitive keyword. ‘IT Support London’.
When targeting a keyword in SEO, it’s essential to analyse the SEO strategy of the top ranking website. This way we can determine exactly what is needed to take their number one position.
With over 1,600 monthly searches, the keyword “IT support London” is one of the most sought-after terms in the UK’s IT service sector.
Table of Contents
For businesses needing reliable IT support in London, this search is often the starting point. In such a competitive space, ranking at the top isn’t just about visibility, it’s an indicator of authority and trust.
As of the publication of this SEO assessment, Air IT is sitting at the number one spot. Their website, airit.co.uk, has managed to capture this position by deploying a sophisticated SEO strategy with quite a surprising twist.
In this assessment, I’ll break down the core elements of Air IT’s SEO approach. By understanding how Air IT has achieved this feat, it will provide insights into the type of strategies that an up and coming IT companies will need when entering this space.
The brand
Name: Air IT
About: A managed IT service provider based in the UK. They offer a wide range of IT services, including managed IT support, remote IT support, IT consultancy, cyber security, managed cloud services, business intelligence, and communication solutions.
Domain: airit.co.uk
First seen: July 27th 2010.
Current SEO performance
Air IT is performing excellently from an SEO perspective. They are ranking highly for competitive keywords on both a national and local level.
Organic Keywords and Rankings
In total Air IT ranks for 2,957 organic keywords. They hold top positions for high-traffic, high-intent keywords, including “IT support” (2nd position) with 6,600 monthly searches and “IT support London” (1st position) with 1,600 monthly searches.
They aren’t just focused on London however, they also rank in 1st position for IT support Birmingham, Glasgow and Nottingham. They’re in 5th for IT support Manchester, 5th for Yorkshire, 8th for Edinburgh, and the list goes on.
Air IT has set out to dominate the IT support landscape, and from what I can see, they’re doing a great job.
Branded vs Non-Branded Traffic
The brand holds strong recognition, with 51.4% of traffic driven by branded keywords like “Air IT” which has 2,400 monthly searches. This indicates that half of their audience is already familiar with the brand, a significant advantage in maintaining a loyal customer base as well as a huge authority signal for Google.
Non-branded keywords account for the remaining 48.6% of traffic, comprising approximately 2,920 keywords. This balance shows that while Air IT benefits from strong brand recognition, it also captures a considerable share of new users searching for general IT support services.
Estimated Organic Traffic
According to SEMRush, Air IT’s current estimated monthly traffic is 7,900 visits, with an approximate value of $41,700. While these numbers are not necessarily accurate, they offer a baseline for assessing the site’s SEO reach and value.
Traffic Decline since April 2023
It’s worth noting that the website appears to have experienced a drop in traffic in April 2023, corresponding with a loss of almost 500 ranked keywords. This decline would need further investigation to identify possible causes, which could range from Google algorithm updates, to technical SEO issues. Identifying and addressing the underlying factors could help Air IT regain and even improve its previous traffic levels.
Underperforming Keywords
Although Air IT are ranking excellently for IT support related keywords, there are keywords that are underperforming.
Given their dominance of IT support, you would think they would be doing well for keywords such as IT solutions (1600 searches currently in 64th), IT services (1600 searches currently in 40th) and Managed IT services (1900 searches, currently in 93rd).
Maybe they aren’t concerned about these keywords, or have their focus solely on IT support, but, I imagine it wouldn’t take much to get these other IT related keywords ranking on page 1 too.
Website assessment
Air IT’s website is professional, visually engaging, well-structured, and clearly designed with both user experience and SEO in mind.
Above the Fold
A hero banner with a large page title, “IT Support London,” immediately signals to both users and search engines that the page is highly relevant to searches for IT support in London.
This, accompanied by a well placed call to action,“Get a free consultation,” encourages user engagement from the outset.
Local Trust Signals and Testimonials
The page includes several localised trust indicators and testimonials, which appeal to users searching for IT support in London. Showcasing real client feedback builds trust with potential customers and signals quality to Google, helping boost local SEO relevance.
Testimonials and customer success stories reinforce credibility, providing prospective clients with social proof that supports Air IT’s expertise and reliability.
Service Breakdown
A detailed section highlights Air IT’s core services, including Managed IT Support, Managed Cloud, Cyber Security, and Business Continuity. Each service block is accompanied by a short description, keeping the content concise yet informative.
By breaking down their services, Air IT caters to a range of user intents and keywords within the IT support niche, potentially capturing more long-tail searches related to specific services.
Localised Content and Visuals
Air IT uses London-specific images and references, helping reinforce the page’s relevance to the London area. Local images and references to London landmarks will likely improve the page’s local search ranking and make the content feel more tailored to London-based users.
The page also includes a small map pinpointing their London location, which further enhances local relevance and helps to establish them as a nearby provider.
Reviews and Social Proof
The ‘What our customers say’ section has high impact Google reviews from happy customers. This is followed by statements of expertise, qualifications and tools, along with other benefits of using their service.
Benefits and Highlighted Metrics
Key metrics such as “98% of our clients are completely satisfied with our rapid, reliable and expert service” and “We aim to answer all calls to our service desk within 15 seconds” are displayed prominently. These statistics emphasise Air IT’s efficiency and reliability, which can be persuasive for businesses looking for dependable IT support.
Providing tangible benefits is an effective approach for conversion optimisation, as it speaks directly to user concerns about response times and service levels.
FAQ Section
A collapsible FAQ section addresses common questions about IT support in London, such as “Why should I choose Air IT?” and “What areas do you cover?” This is an effective way to capture additional keyword phrases and long-tail queries, as Google often highlights FAQ content in search results.
The FAQs provide helpful content and will enhance user experience by answering questions directly on the page. This helps reduce the need for users to leave the site to find more information.
Credibility and Experience
Having an awards section provides exceptional value not just for potential customers, but also for Google’s ‘Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trust’ ranking metric.
The “Why Work With Us” section highlights key metrics (such as 52% first contact resolutions, 96% client satisfaction), showcasing measurable value. This data-driven approach is highly persuasive, appealing directly to business clients who prioritise proven results.
Partner logos and industry certifications, displayed prominently further down the page, reinforce Air IT’s authority. Aligning with recognised names in tech and IT further builds trust and enhances their credibility.
On-Page SEO
The on-page SEO is excellent without being overbearing. The meta title and description both contain the focus keyword ‘IT Support London’ as does the h1. There are almost 1800 words on the page and very little feels like fluff. London is mentioned 37 times and IT support 43 times, making the page highly relevant to the search term. The ALT text for images also contain relevant keywords.
Internal Linking and Navigation
The footer and content areas include internal links to other relevant services and resources, guiding users to explore additional areas of the site. It includes all the company pages required for good customer experience and E-E-A-T, such as about pages, awards, accreditations, careers and more.
It also contains a column for sectors, which helps segment their audience and provide additional relevant content. Their location pages also have dedicated sitewide links in the footer, ensuring internal links throughout the website. This all allows Google to better understand the site’s structure and improve crawl-ability throughout.
Content strategy
When it comes to SEO, content is far more than just words on a page, it’s the cornerstone of engagement, authority, and visibility in search engines.
Quality content helps answer user queries, solve problems, and establish trust, all while signalling to Google that a site is relevant, authoritative, and worth ranking highly.
For a highly competitive keyword like “IT support London”, relevant content is essential for attracting both search engines and potential clients by addressing their needs directly and convincingly.
Relevance
Relevance is probably the biggest metric Google looks for, as it’s constantly striving to provide users the most relevant search results.
When building an SEO strategy, it’s essential to analyse the relevance of competitors to see how you can make your website the most relevant result.
Indexed Pages
Ait IT has approximately 450 pages indexed on Google, providing a good amount of content for search engines to evaluate. This broad indexation allows for the targeting of multiple keywords across different services, locations, and audience segments.
Keyword Usage in Titles and Headers
- 12.53% of indexed pages contain “IT support” in the title,
- 11.04% include “IT support” in the H1.
This level of optimisation signals to Google that the website has a strong focus on IT support, which will be contributing to its high relevance and rankings for IT support related keywords.
Only 0.88% of pages include “London” in the title or H1, which indicates a relatively low emphasis on location-specific targeting for London.
Keyword Frequency in Body Text
The keyword “IT support” appears 16,137 times across the site’s body text, which constitutes 4.19% of the total content.
This high density reinforces the site’s relevance to IT support, helping it achieve strong rankings for various related terms.
“London” is mentioned 1,022 times, making up 0.27% of the website’s content. Although relatively low, this frequency is likely sufficient when combined with a well-optimised landing page specifically for “IT support London”.
Types of content
Air IT has a range of content that caters to different needs, stages in the buyer journey, and SEO strategies. Each type of content plays a role in building authority, targeting specific keywords, and engaging audiences.
Local Landing Pages
Example: “IT Support London, Birmingham, Manchester, etc.”
These pages are optimised for location-specific searches, allowing Air IT to rank for terms like “IT support London”. By creating targeted content for each location, Air IT establishes itself as a locally relevant provider, building trust with users looking for nearby support and enhancing visibility in local search results.
Audience Segmentation Pages
Example: “Charities, Construction, Education, Financial etc.”
Air IT has pages tailored to specific audience segments, such as small businesses, charities, or specialised sectors like construction and finance. These pages help provide additional relevant content, while also demonstrating an understanding of each group’s unique challenges and requirements.
Segmenting by audience also helps capture more specific, intent-driven searches and makes the content more relevant and personalised.
Case Studies
Case studies showcase real-world examples of how Air IT has helped clients overcome challenges, demonstrating the tangible impact of their services. This type of content is particularly effective for building trust and credibility, as it provides prospective clients with evidence of successful outcomes.
Case studies are powerful for SEO, as they provide unique content and often contain keywords relevant to specific services and industries.
Service Pages
Example: “IT Support, IT Consultancy, Cyber Security, etc.”
Each core service offered by Air IT has its own dedicated page. These pages go in-depth on what each service entails, how it benefits clients, and why Air IT is the ideal provider. By focusing on individual services, these pages target high-intent keywords and help potential clients quickly find relevant information, driving conversion rates.
Service pages are foundational for SEO, as they target transactional keywords and signal to search engines the specific areas of expertise the company can rank for.
Company Pages
Example: “About, Careers, Awards, Accreditations, etc.”
Company pages provide insight into Air IT’s background, values, and expertise. Pages like About and Awards build trust by showcasing the company’s experience and recognition within the industry, while Careers pages help attract talent. These pages contribute to SEO by satisfying E-E-A-T and building brand authority by giving users a clearer picture of the company behind the services.
Resource Hub
Example: “Webinars, Templates, Downloadable Sector Guides, eBooks, Podcasts”
The resource hub is a collection of valuable, educational content that positions Air IT as a thought leader in the IT support field.
Resources like webinars, eBooks, and templates not only add value for users but also attract backlinks and improve SEO by encouraging engagement. This type of content is particularly useful for building relationships with users in the research or consideration phases, keeping Air IT top-of-mind as a helpful and knowledgeable resource.
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness)
In most competitive professional fields, establishing strong E-E-A-T signals is essential for ranking well and building trust with both users and Google.
Content Quality Signals
- Quality Language: The website uses a substantial number of quality-related terms, with 4,444 instances of words like “research,” “study,” and “data,” making up 1.15% of the website’s overall word count. This presence of quality-oriented language indicates a commitment to delivering informed, well-researched content.
Academic and Professional Credentials
- Credentials Referenced: There are 8,739 mentions of academic or professional credentials such as Professor, MSc, BSc, and BA, accounting for 2.27% of the site’s word count. This high frequency of credentials supports a strong image of professionalism and expertise, enhancing the site’s authority. Referencing credentials, even if indirectly, helps reassure users that content is created or overseen by knowledgeable individuals.
Academic and Research Links
- External Links to Academic or Government Sources: The site has no outbound links to .gov, .ac.uk, or .edu domains. Including references to reputable sources such as government or academic websites can strengthen the credibility of information, especially for E-E-A-T purposes. Adding links to recognised authorities would bolster the trustworthiness of Air IT’s content, signalling to users and search engines that the site references reliable data and insights.
Professional Association Signals
- Industry Accreditations and Associations: There are 1,167 mentions of professional associations, certifications, or accreditations across the website, making up 0.3% of the total word count. These references highlight Air IT’s affiliations with industry bodies, helping establish authority and reliability. Including visible accreditations from recognised associations can reinforce trust, which is a big part of E-E-A-T.
Schema Markup
- Schema Types Used: Schema is implemented extensively on the website, providing search engines with structured data that enhances E-E-A-T signals:
- Person Schema: Found on 203 pages, indicating the presence of individuals associated with the content or organisation, which can support expertise and transparency.
- Organisation Schema: Used on 230 pages (44.81% of the site), signalling the entity’s presence and reputation. Organisation schema helps Google understand the site’s brand, enhancing authority and potentially improving local SEO.
- Review Schema: Present on 32 pages (7.06% of the site), reinforcing trust by showcasing user feedback. Reviews schema adds a level of credibility by highlighting client satisfaction, an important trust signal for prospective clients.
Blog Content
- Industry-Relevant Blog Posts: The blog publishes an average of 5 posts per month focused on news, advice, and IT-related issues. Regularly updated blog content demonstrates Air IT’s ongoing engagement with current industry trends, which supports the “Experience” and “Expertise” components of E-E-A-T. Although authorship information is included in schema, it is not visibly displayed on posts. Making author names visible could further enhance credibility by linking content to known experts within the organisation.
Technical SEO
Effective technical SEO is essential for website performance, ensuring that pages load quickly, are easy to navigate, and meet the standards required to rank well on search engines.
Loading times
Slow pages can lead to higher bounce rates, which can negatively impact rankings, particularly for competitive keywords.
Homepage Performance:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 1.6 seconds – A solid LCP score, as Google considers anything under 2.5 seconds as “good.”
Interaction to Next Paint (INP): 347ms – Reflects how quickly the page responds to user input, which is within an acceptable range.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): 0.13 – Indicates minor layout shifts, staying within the acceptable threshold (below 0.1 is ideal, but 0.25 is still considered “good”).
First Contentful Paint (FCP): 1.3 seconds – The time taken to render the first piece of content, which is good for user engagement.
Time to First Byte (TTFB): 0.8 seconds – Shows that the server response time is relatively fast, contributing to quicker overall loading times.
IT Support London Landing Page Performance:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 2.5 seconds – While acceptable, this is on the upper limit, and further optimisation could improve user experience.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP): 365ms – Acceptable but slightly slower than the homepage, likely due to page complexity.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): 0.02 – Excellent, indicating minimal unexpected layout shifts, which is ideal for SEO.
First Contentful Paint (FCP): 2.4 seconds – This could be improved, as faster FCP times help engage users more quickly.
Time to First Byte (TTFB): 1.5 seconds – Slower than the homepage, indicating room for improvement in server response time for this specific page.
On-site issues
Several technical issues have been identified that could impact Air IT’s SEO performance and user experience:
Sitemap
There are 37 incorrect pages in the sitemap, which can lead to indexing inefficiencies. Ensuring the sitemap is accurate and only includes live, relevant pages is essential for helping search engines crawl the site effectively. They are using Yoast sitemaps, so it would be simple to keep this updated as part of routine maintenance.
Broken Internal Links
Broken links have a direct correlation with drops in ranking positions, so it’s essential to keep on top of these. Air IT has 21 broken internal links which could potentially be impacting engagement and ranking positions. Fixing these links is critical to maintaining a smooth user experience and preventing unnecessary bounce rates.
Broken External Links
14 broken external links may also negatively impact user experience, as they lead to pages that no longer exist. Removing or updating these links will improve the site’s credibility and ensure users are directed to reliable resources.
Broken Images
Broken images can detract from the site’s visual appeal and professionalism and I found eight in my crawl. Replacing these images or correcting their file paths can help maintain the overall quality and user experience of the website.
Off-page SEO and link building
Backlinks are one of the most important elements of SEO. After all, it was Google’s ‘PageRank’ algorithm that made it such a success in the first place.
Backlinks act as endorsements from other websites and signal to search engines that content is valuable, credible, and worthy of ranking highly. High-quality backlinks, especially from relevant and authoritative sources, can significantly boost a website’s visibility in search results.
Current Backlink Profile
- Authority Score: 36
- Backlinks: 29.9k
- Referring Domains: 2,843
Anchor Text Profile
The anchor text used in Air IT’s backlink profile is primarily branded, with some keyword-rich variations. However, they do have a good amount exact match anchor text links such as:
- “IT support” – Used in 82 backlinks
- “IT support London” – Used in 24 backlinks
- “Business IT support” – Used in 8 backlinks
On examination of the anchor text I found various other brand names, for example Netstar, Riverside, Infotech and Vital.co.uk.
On closer examination I discovered that Air IT are in the business or buying IT companies and then swallowing them into their own brand.
Acquisition Strategy
Air IT appears to have leveraged acquisitions to not only grows its business, but also its backlink profile.
Here is an article published by Comms Business in May 2024 titled ‘Air IT extends into Scotland with latest acquisition’.
This highlights how Air IT has acquired thirteen businesses since receiving funding from a company called August Equity. The result of this is that thirteen websites, including all of their respective backlinks, have been redirected to Air IT’s website.
Because these acquisitions are within the IT industry, the inherited backlinks are not only numerous but also highly relevant to Air IT’s niche. This has provided Air IT with backlinks from highly credible sources such as:
- Wikipedia
- Industry Publications
- National Newspapers
This strategy largely explains their 2,843 referring domains, which would be difficult to achieve through traditional link-building methods alone.
By integrating established IT companies and their backlink profiles, Air IT has gained a significant SEO advantage. Not only are they inheriting all the backlinks from each of their acquisition websites, but also gaining media coverage on each acquisition which is helping gain even more links from local news outlets and media websites.
Additional Link-Building Efforts
Gaining acquisitions isn’t their only link building strategy. They have also gained links by more traditional means. For example, they sponsored Notts County Football Club and gained links from nottscountyfc.co.uk, as well as some accompanying news coverage.
Some of their content has also gained links, such as an article about using two monitors to increase productivity, however, their acquisition strategy is by far the dominant link building strategy and is providing a huge amount of authority for their domain.
Buying companies and assimilating websites which already have established backlink profiles is an expensive, but highly effective strategy.
It’s one that’s difficult to replicate from an SEO campaign, but by analysing each of these website’s link building strategies we can gain insights into what is required to gain links within the IT sector.
Social media
While Google doesn’t admit that social media activity is a direct ranking factor, it plays an essential role by amplifying brand visibility, increasing engagement, and driving traffic to a website.
When done effectively, social media can enhance brand awareness, build credibility, and create opportunities for backlinks, all of which contribute indirectly to SEO performance.
For a B2B business like Air IT, social media offers a platform to showcase expertise, engage with clients, and establish authority in the IT industry.
- Followers: 440
- Activity: Approximately 4 posts per month
- Content Focus: Primarily behind-the-scenes content and company news
With a modest following and low posting frequency, Facebook serves as a supplementary platform for Air IT. Behind-the-scenes content humanises the brand, fostering a sense of transparency and connection with followers. Increasing posting frequency and integrating more educational content could enhance engagement, supporting SEO by keeping the brand visible and engaging with a broader audience.
X (Twitter)
- Followers: 2,047 (following 2,775)
- Activity: 4–8 tweets per month
- Content Focus: Behind-the-scenes updates and podcast promotions
Air IT’s presence on X (formerly Twitter) is more active, focusing on both internal updates and promoting podcasts. This platform is valuable for sharing quick insights and engaging with industry conversations. While the engagement here could be strengthened, Twitter serves as a useful channel for promoting content, potentially driving traffic back to the site and boosting SEO indirectly.
- Followers: 17,335
- Activity: Frequent updates with a mix of content types
- Content Focus: Behind-the-scenes insights, promotional content, and advice/educational posts
LinkedIn is clearly Air IT’s strongest social platform, with a substantial following and frequent updates. The mix of behind-the-scenes content, promotional posts, and educational content positions Air IT as a thought leader and credible authority in the IT sector.
LinkedIn’s professional audience aligns well with Air IT’s B2B focus, making it the ideal platform for building connections. A good presence on LinkedIn can help build brand authority and generate referral traffic to the website, which all indirectly benefit SEO.
YouTube
- Subscribers: 61
- Content: 77 videos, mostly behind-the-scenes content and podcast-style discussions
- Activity: Not updated regularly
Although Air IT has produced a decent amount of video content, the channel has a limited following and is not frequently updated. Video content, particularly advice and discussions, is a powerful medium for establishing expertise and engaging users.
Regular updates and a targeted strategy could improve YouTube’s effectiveness in driving traffic, supporting SEO by providing an additional source of valuable content that aligns with user intent.
Instagram (Air IT Careers)
- Followers: 74
- Content Focus: Career-oriented, focusing on recruitment and employee insights
- Activity: Low posting frequency
Air IT’s Instagram account is branded around careers, and aimed at attracting potential employees. While it has a small following, the content is nicely designed, which helps present Air IT as a professional and desirable employer.
Final assessment
On the whole, Air IT are doing an excellent job of SEO, and likely has an experienced SEO agency supporting their efforts.
Their success stems from a sophisticated multi-faceted strategy that combines high quality content and traditional SEO best practices with an acquisition-based business model that is taking care of their to link building.
The strategy is already successful in its scalability within IT support, ranking for multiple locations and maintaining strong relevance for their core services.
Areas for improvement
There is definitely room for improvement, as can be seen by their underperforming keywords. However, with such a solid foundation it should be relatively easy to make quick wins across multiple IT services and solutions.
Address Technical Issues
Fix all technical issues. These are minor and can be solved by regular audits to fix broken links and update sitemaps.
Investigate the drop in traffic and loss of keywords that happened in April 2023. This may be recoverable and could provide be a quick way to gain a large increase in traffic.
Address Underperforming Keywords
Keywords such as IT solutions (1600 searches and currently in 64th), IT service (1600 searches and currently in 40th) and Managed IT services (1900 searches, and currently in 93rd) should be ranking a lot higher than they are.
These are all high intent transactional keywords, so an increase in visibility will almost certaintly result in an increase in new customers.
I imagine it wouldn’t take much to get these keywords ranking on page 1 of Google. It could be as simple as appending sitewide tags to page titles that include the words, ‘Managed Solutions and Services’. This would instantly make every page on the website relevant to these keywords whilst not detracting from the IT support keywords.
Enhance E-E-A-T
Although the website has an excellent E-E-A-T score, making authors and content creators more visible on the website will enhance both expertise and trust. Also, I would consider linking out to more studies, statistics or relevant information on reputable websites, ideally educational or government sites. Small tweaks such as these can keep you ahead of competitors and close any windows of opportunities competitors may have.
Advice for competitors
It would be difficult for a newcomer to compete with Air IT, as it would take a big investment and a sophisticated SEO campaign. However, one of Air IT’s weaknesses is their content relevance to London. They are massively relevant to IT support, and this has allowed them to rank top in London, despite having just a couple of pages relevant to London.
A competitor that is focused solely on London could take Air IT’s London ranking positions by being more relevant to London itself. They could achieve this by creating a large volume of London themed content, focusing on London businesses, audiences, services and case studies.
However, it would be no mean feat, and they would probably need to utilise both content marketing and digital PR to gain a link profile strong enough to compete with the top industry players.
If you want to learn more SEO strategies used by London businesses, or are interested in our SEO services for London, visit our SEO services London page here.
What did you think of this SEO strategy breakdown. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!