2 years no ranking - should I delete site and restart new?

[corneliuspa]

I've been helping a friend with his web site. He owns a brick-mortar business here in Las Vegas, NV. Main keyword is "widget school las vegas". Google maps page will not trigger in 3 pack despite having more photos and reviews than competition. Site stuck at position #11 (top of page 2 organic) for 2 years. Site seems good with content compared to competition and the design is rather appealing. He is ready to give up and start with a fresh site and domain name. Would this be a good idea? Any ideas why such poor ranking?

Any insight would be appreciated. Is starting with a fresh site/domain ever a good idea?

[edited by: goodroi at 1:29 pm (utc) on Aug 2, 2020]
[edit reason] Welcome to WebmasterWorld, please go read the rules :) [/edit]

[goodroi]

If someone doesn't know enough SEO to rank site A, they likely won't know enough SEO to rank site B.

Focus on making your site popular & profitable without Google. You can start by developing a following on social media and collaborating with other relevant sites. You didn't mention anything about building high quality traffic generating links.

[not2easy]

Starting over is usually a mistake. First take a good look at the factors on the site that might influence better search positions. Today, user experience and speed to load are the most important factors. Link building helps but first the site needs to be in technically optimal condition. Whether it is a static html site or a CMS like WordPress, there are choices made in design and image use that can influence a site's success or lack of it.

While browsers are very forgiving, I always suggest that folks take their URL to the W3C testing tools to run them through the Validation for both html and css. Not that the site needs to validate to function, but their reports can tell you quickly what or whether anything needs attention. And it is free. ;)

Visit their validator tools:
HTML Validator: [validator.w3.org...]
CSS Validator: [jigsaw.w3.org...]

[tangor]

@corneliuspa....

Welcome to Webmasterworld!

Keep plugging away. A restart resets the "site" to "zero" and starting from scratch a second time is just that ... starting over.

Actually #11 is not a bad place to commence working on SERIOUS updating of a site to reach page one. That you have two years consistent on page 2 means there's SOMETHING there ...

For me the " and the design is rather appealing" gives me a pause. Does any of that require "all dancing, animation, video or audio"? If so cull that down to the bare minimum and concentrate on CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT!

Do the obvious speed tests, responsive design, and keep the IMAGES down to a dull roar. TEST TEST TEST for mobile response/use. Amazing what little it takes to make that experience "not appealing" on the small screen.

Also bear in mind that your target is one city and one school/location on a service that caters to the world and a bazillion sites. Cutting through that clutter is a full time job, particularly if the "product" is not absolutely unique.

Starting over is not a good choice, but CHANGING THINGS makes a lot of sense.

Do a full audit of the site and see what is "too much", "not enough" and go from there.

MEANWHILE, do not neglect ordinary buzz such has location advertising on radio, tv and print.

See if any social media might help.

Lastly, find a way to go viral---usually something unusual or community related that local news reporting will pick up and help spread the name/site.

[lucy24]

should I delete site and restart new?

For a site that’s associated with a brick-and-mortar business? No, no, a thousand times no. All you’d be doing is losing those customers who have come to associate the established business with a specific domain name. And those customers are almost certainly more important than people who have never heard of the business until it showed up in a search engine.

[JS_Harris]

Make sure the title is clear on branding, service and location if you want people to find you.
.