CADMAP: #1 for the searches that win survey work

Rank Roots built authority for CADMAP, a surveyor serving London and the South East, with guest posts backed by a second tier of supporting links. We added local off-page SEO and made its services clearer to AI search tools. In October 2026, Ahrefs showed CADMAP at #1 on Google UK for 4 of its 5 top keywords, including “topographical survey london” and “gpr survey cost”.

The client and the challenge

CADMAP Ltd is a TSA-approved land and building surveying practice. Architects, planners, developers and designers rely on it for accurate survey data before they design or build.

What CADMAP offers:

• Topographical surveys
• Measured building surveys
• PAS 128 utility surveys
• GPR surveys
• CCTV drainage surveys
• 3D laser scanning (BIM)
• Drone surveys
• Setting out engineering
• CAD services

Where it works:

• North Finchley: London
• Cranleigh: Surrey
• Brighton: Sussex
• Southampton: Hampshire

Who we needed to reach: Architects, planners, developers, designers.

The challenge: Survey work is won locally. Buyers search for a service, a place or a price, such as “topographical survey london” or “gpr survey cost”, then contact one of the first few results. CADMAP needed its service pages in those top spots, with enough authority to stay there.

Goal and brief

1. Rank the service pages for local, buying-intent searches
2. Build authority with guest posts and tiered backlinks
3. Make CADMAP’s services clear to AI search tools

What we did

1. Guest posts. Articles on relevant, established websites with natural links to CADMAP’s service pages, building authority around surveying and construction.
2. Tiered backlinks. Each guest post was backed by a second tier of supporting links, so more authority flows through to the pages that bring in enquiries.
3. Local off-page SEO. Off-page work focused on the areas CADMAP serves, so it ranks for searches that pair a service with a place, such as “topographical survey london”.
4. AI visibility. Clear, consistent information about CADMAP’s services, prices and coverage, so AI search tools such as Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT can understand and recommend the business.

Results: rankings

In October 2026, Ahrefs showed CADMAP at #1 on Google UK for 4 of its 5 top keywords (490 monthly searches): two buying-intent searches, a price search and a local search, and two spellings of the brand name.

Source: Ahrefs, October 2026, Google UK.

Results: traffic

Ahrefs estimates CADMAP’s organic traffic held near 400 visits a month, peaking in September 2026: 407 visits and $1.1K traffic value in October, with 74% of visitors from the UK (United States 9%, Bangladesh 5%, India 5%, Philippines 5%). Traffic value is Ahrefs’ estimate of what the same visits would cost as Google Ads clicks; it is not revenue.

Pages that bring in visitors (share of UK organic traffic, visits a month, Ahrefs, Oct 2026):

• Homepage: 37% (113)
• GPR survey price: 20% (61)
• Topographical, utility & GPR surveys: 17% (52)
• GPRS surveys: 5% (14)
• Setting out engineering: 3% (9)

Evidence

All screenshots are original project evidence, unedited.

Key takeaways

• Buying-intent searches. Someone searching “gpr survey cost” or “topographical survey london” is close to booking. Ranking first puts CADMAP in front of buyers at the moment they choose a surveyor.
• Brand searches. Ranking first for “cadmap” and “cad map” means people who hear the name find CADMAP straight away, not a competitor.
• Still ranking. CADMAP still ranks at the top for local survey searches.
• What’s next. Social media marketing, so the brand buyers find on Google also shows up where they scroll.

How to read these results: Rankings and traffic are Ahrefs estimates, not Search Console data. Two of the four #1 keywords are CADMAP’s own brand name, and starting positions aren’t included.