City-by-city SEO
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Barnstable County, MA · SEO Services
SEO Agency in Barnstable County: Rank Where Every Business Is Competing
Before choosing an SEO agency in Barnstable County, study the field: local search in Barnstable County is crowded, at 116 businesses per 10,000 residents. GetPhound delivers SEO for local businesses on monthly plans that are flat, with no setup fee or contract, and the numbers below are where we would start.
Snapshot
Barnstable County's Local Search Competition Index and What Sits Behind It
Local Search Competition Index
85.8/ 100
Ranked 39 of 1,822 counties with 20,000+ residents and also 14 of the 400 markets we cover. The higher the score, the more local businesses are competing for the same searches. How we calculate it
We grade every U.S. county-equivalent with 20,000 or more residents on how many local-search businesses (including the lawyers, dentists, contractors, restaurants, salons and agents that customers find on Google and the map) are chasing the same residents. Barnstable County scores 85.8, which is among the most contested markets in the country.
Two features set Barnstable County apart: it is a county with unusually many local-search businesses for its size, and it is also a county where new home permits are slowing this year. Below, eight measures set it beside every other county.
- Headcount change since the 2020 Census +1.2% A quicker pace than 55% of counties
- Median household income (2023 est.) $89,448 Higher than 88% of counties
- Local-search business locations per 10,000 people 116 More crowded than 99% of counties
- How those businesses changed, 2017 to 2022 +8.6% Faster growth than 67% of counties
- Portion with under 5 employees 66.5% Greater share than 90% of counties
- Change in employer locations, all industries, 2017 to 2022 +2.7% A slower pace than 51% of counties
- Cities and towns of 2,500+ residents 1 Fewer places than 94% of counties
- New-home permits per 10,000 residents (2025) 29.6 More new homes than 52% of counties
Each bar sets Barnstable County among all 1,822 U.S. counties with 20,000 or more residents. Source data: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, County Business Patterns (2017 and 2022), Census income estimates and the Building Permits Survey.
The search picture
Barnstable County Has More Local-Search Businesses Than Most Counties
Barnstable County packs 2,689 local-search employer locations into 231,735 residents, 116 per 10,000 people and more than in 99% of counties. The more businesses compete for the same searches, the more it pays to be precise about services, cities and neighborhoods.
Barnstable County has 231,735 residents, which ranks 304th of 3,143 U.S. counties, and its population has changed +1.2% since the 2020 Census. Across all industries it has 8,913 employer locations, 38.5 per 1,000 residents.
Barnstable County is spread out, with 231,735 residents and Barnstable Town as its largest place. People search by the nearest town or by "near me", so a local SEO plan covers the service area and not just one town name.
79% of residents (182,026 people) live outside any incorporated place, so county-level and "near me" searches matter as much as city names.
Who else is in the results
Which Barnstable County Categories Are Most Contested in Local Search
We divide each local-search category's employer locations by population and compare that with the median county. Read 2.0x as two times the businesses per resident a typical county has.
CategoryBusiness locationsCompared with a typical countyShift, 2017 to 2022Locations with under 5 employees
Landscaping servicesMost contested 483 +19.9% 358
Residential remodelersQuickest growth 435 +46.5% 339
Real estate agents and brokersTiniest shops 168 +9.8% 155
Beauty salons 106 -7.8% 65
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors 211 +12.2% 149
Electrical contractors 147 +12.2% 115
Full-service restaurants 435 -0.5% 179
Janitorial services 95 +21.8% 75
Law offices 161 -4.7% 123
Accounting and CPA firms 49 -7.5% 34
Dentists 108 -5.3% 32
General automotive repair 84 +2.4% 56
Physicians offices 114 -24.5% 54
Roofing contractors 15 -11.8% 13
Insurance agencies and brokeragesLeast contested 78 -11.4% 40
Crowding compares employer locations per 10,000 residents with the median U.S. county of 20,000+ residents (1.0x is typical; the dark tick marks it). Figures are establishments from the Census County Business Patterns (2017, 2022), which says nothing about search volume. See the method
In Barnstable County, the landscaping services category is the most contested, with 483 locations at 6.4 times the typical density, up 19.9% since 2017. Residential remodelers (435 locations, 6.2x) and real estate agents and brokers (168 locations, 2.9x) also run above a normal county. At the other end, the insurance agencies and brokerages category (78 locations) is below typical density at 0.9x, which means fewer competing sites to outrank.
Residential remodelers grew fastest, up 46.5% since 2017 to 435 locations, so new rivals keep arriving there. Physicians offices went the other way, down 24.5% to 114 locations. The tiniest competitors are in real estate agents and brokers: 155 of 168 locations (92%) have fewer than five employees.
One caution: the table counts businesses, not searches. No keyword search volume or traffic numbers are claimed here; a crowded category is a sign that more sites are competing, not a forecast of results.
Similar markets
Which Markets Look Most Like Barnstable County?
We matched Barnstable County to the six markets in our 400-market set that look most like it on population, income, local-search competition and how fast the business base is growing.
| Market | Score | People | Population change since 2020 | Local-business change since 2017 | Tiny locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstable County, MA (this market) | 85.8 | 231,735 | +1.2% | +8.6% | 66.5% |
| McHenry County, IL | 78.9 | 312,800 | +0.8% | +3.6% | 65.8% |
| Ulster County, NY | 72.1 | 182,333 | +0.3% | +5.4% | 66.1% |
| Larimer County, CO | 85.1 | 370,771 | +3.3% | +11.7% | 64.3% |
| Rockland County, NY | 86 | 340,807 | +0.7% | +6.6% | 69.4% |
| York County, ME | 71.4 | 218,586 | +3.1% | +5.8% | 66.6% |
| Litchfield County, CT | 70.5 | 185,000 | -0.1% | +3% | 66.8% |
The six look-alikes are the counties in our 400-market set that sit closest to this one on size, income, local-search competition, small-business mix and growth. Sources are listed above.
McHenry County, IL is the closest match, scoring 78.9 against Barnstable County's 85.8. Litchfield County, CT is the furthest from it, scoring 70.5. The small-business mix differs too: 69.4% of Rockland County, NY's locations have fewer than five employees, against 66.5% here. If you already do SEO in one of these markets, the comparison shows how alike the competition is, not what your results will be.
Housing demand
New Homes in Barnstable County: Below the 2022 Peak, Still Slowing This Year
Housing units authorized by building permits. Data: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (county annual files, and the year-to-date bars compare the same months each year). Permits count homes approved to be built, not homes completed.
Barnstable County authorized 887 housing units in 2022 and 686 in 2025, about 23% fewer; 2025 still works out to 29.6 units per 10,000 residents, more than in 52% of counties. For January through August, permits are running at 227 against 418 a year earlier (−45.7%).
The construction-linked categories already most contested in Barnstable County are landscaping services (6.4x typical) and residential remodelers (6.2x typical). Because SEO builds gradually, the best time to start is before demand arrives; pages that are already indexed and ranking meet new households first.
Do the math
An SEO Payback Calculator for Barnstable County Businesses
SEO is a monthly cost that pays back gradually, so the useful question is how many new customers it has to bring in to pay for itself. Tell the calculator what a customer is worth and which plan you are weighing.
What happens, in order
Our SEO Process in Barnstable County
Start with research
We dig into your services, cities and competitors, audit your site end to end, and draft a six-month roadmap. It is included in your monthly rate.
Page by page
RankGuarantee™ produces a local landing page for each service in each city you serve, and your website gets on-page and technical fixes.
Google Maps, content, AI search
We polish your Google Business Profile, citations and reviews, publish Strategic Content Assets, and organize your pages so AI search can read and use them.
Measure & expand
Each month you receive a Search Console and Analytics report from your account manager, and we put new pages and content where the data points.
What you get
Local SEO, Google Maps and AI Search for Barnstable County Businesses
Google Maps optimization
Profile optimization, citations, weekly posts, rank tracking and review management, so you are in the map pack when Barnstable County customers search nearby. More on Map SEO.
AI search optimization
Clear, structured pages and consistent business details give AI tools facts to draw on. A mention in an AI answer cannot be guaranteed by anyone; this improves the odds.
Content and on-page SEO
Technical fixes, on-page work and written content that answers real customer questions, published monthly on every Organic Growth plan.
SEO services, an SEO agency, an SEO company, local SEO, organic search, search engine optimization: different words for the same work of getting Barnstable County businesses found on Google, Maps and AI search. You work with one account manager and see the numbers each month. If you also want ads, we manage Google, Bing and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) as well.
Monthly plans
Simple Monthly SEO Pricing in Barnstable County
Each plan is month to month with no setup fee. Your monthly rate covers onboarding: research, an audit and a six-month plan. Walk through it with our CEO.
Questions we hear
Barnstable County SEO Services: Your Questions Answered
How much do SEO services cost in Barnstable County?
Pricing is flat and monthly. RankGuarantee™, our local landing page system, is $495 a month on its own. Organic Growth plans, which add Google Maps work, AI search optimization, content and more landing pages, are $1,495 (Silver), $2,495 (Gold) and $3,495 (Platinum). You pay no setup fee and sign no contract.
How soon will I see results from SEO in Barnstable County?
A fixed SEO timeline would not be honest. Results build gradually and depend on the competition, your website and what we can publish. Landscaping services is the most contested category in Barnstable County at 6.4x typical, so it is the one to be patient with. We plan in six-month cycles and show you the movement monthly, and you can cancel anytime.
Is Barnstable County a competitive market for SEO?
Density is highest in
More than most. Barnstable County scores 85.8 on our Local Search Competition Index, ranking 39th of 1,822 counties with 20,000+ residents and 14th of the 400 markets we cover. Landscaping services, at 6.4 times the typical county. Fewer than five employees work at 66.5% of local-search locations, which often means thin websites to outrank. That makes city-and-service pages and strong reviews more important, not less.
Which local businesses compete for search in Barnstable County?
Across the fifteen categories we track, the largest by employer locations in Barnstable County are landscaping services (483), residential remodelers (435) and full-service restaurants (435). Measured against a typical county, the most contested are landscaping services (6.4x) and residential remodelers (6.2x). A large or crowded category does not settle whether SEO will work for you; it only shows how many other sites you would share the results with.
Which cities in Barnstable County would you build pages for?
The ones you serve. In Barnstable County that is usually the main towns plus the surrounding area, and RankGuarantee™ builds local landing pages for each service in each place you cover, 25 new pages a month on the $495 plan and 25 to 100 on Organic Growth.
Can you help me rank in the Google Maps results?
Absolutely. All Organic Growth plans include Google Business Profile optimization, citations and review management, along with on-page and technical SEO, strategic content and AI search (GEO) work. Maps rankings matter most for searches like "near me", and much of what people search for in Barnstable County depends on them.
Does SEO help me show up in ChatGPT and Google's AI answers?
It may. AI search (GEO) optimization is part of our plans: clear, well-structured pages and consistent business information give AI tools more to draw on. We cannot promise a mention in an AI answer, and neither can anyone else, but the work behind rankings is also the content those tools draw from.
Is SEO or Google Ads the better choice in Barnstable County?
Frequently both. Ads can send calls within days and charge per click; SEO takes longer to build and keeps working without a per-click charge. If leads cannot wait, start with ads (we manage Google Ads, Bing and Meta too) and build SEO as the asset that makes you less dependent on ads.
Am I locked into a contract, and what do I get each month?
No contract, no setup fee, cancel anytime. Your monthly fee pays for onboarding (keyword research, a website audit and a six-month strategy), the landing pages and content your plan includes, page management and rank tracking, and one dedicated account manager who reports to you each month.
Around Barnstable County
Counties Near Barnstable County
If you serve beyond Barnstable County, these are the closest counties, center to center:
- Nantucket County, MA: roughly 29 miles out, 14,444 residents, index score 84
- Plymouth County, MA: roughly 35 miles out, 535,308 residents, Local Search Competition Index 72.9
- Dukes County, MA: roughly 36 miles from here, 20,819 people, index score 78.5
- Bristol County, MA: about 48 miles away, 581,841 residents, index score 66.7
- Bristol County, RI: about 58 miles out, 50,255 residents, index score 59
- Newport County, RI: around 59 miles out, 83,832 residents, competition index 74.9
Behind the numbers
How This Barnstable County Page Was Built
The figures on this page are drawn from public U.S. Census Bureau data, computed the same manner for every county, so you can compare Barnstable County with any other market. We never use client account data and we do not publish search volumes, traffic or rankings from client work, since each business is different.
- Last updatedOctober 16, 2026
- Data sourcesCensus population estimates (2023), County Business Patterns (2017, 2022), Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2023), the Building Permits Survey (2021 to 2026 year to date), Gazetteer files.
- MethodThe Local Search Competition Index and every other figure here are defined on the methodology page. See every market in the index.
- Report a mistakeSpot an error? Email hello@getphound.com and we will compare it with the original Census data.
Contact Us
Let's Talk About SEO for Your Barnstable County Business
Share what you sell and where in Barnstable County you want customers. We will walk through the plan that fits. To book a strategy session with our CEO, call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com.