Local SEO pages
With RankGuarantee™, each service gets its own page in each city you serve, so a search for your service in a Cass County town lands on a page written for that search. How it works.
Cass County, ND · SEO Services
Local SEO for Cass County When New Building Slows
Building in Cass County is cooling this year, which shapes how SEO should be built here. GetPhound is an SEO agency for small businesses: pages for each city you serve, Google Maps and AI search work, and flat monthly plans with no contracts. Here is the data behind the Cass County market.
Snapshot
Cass County's Local Search Competition Index and What Sits Behind It
Local Search Competition Index
75.7/ 100
Rank 148 of 1,822 counties with 20,000+ residents and 55 of the 400 markets we cover. The higher the score, the more local businesses are competing for the same searches. How the index is built
We score every U.S. county-equivalent with 20,000 or more residents on how many local-search businesses (the lawyers, dentists, contractors, restaurants, salons and agents that customers find on Google and the map) compete for its residents. Cass County scores 75.7, which is more contested than most.
What shapes SEO in Cass County is more than the score. It is a county where new home permits are slowing this year, and it is one of the faster-growing counties in the country. Below, eight measures set it beside every other county.
- How much the population has changed since 2020 +6.4% Ahead on growth than 91% of counties
- Middle-of-the-road household income (2023 est.) $75,477 Above than 72% of counties
- Local-search business locations per 10,000 people 62.9 Denser than 86% of counties
- How those businesses changed, 2017 to 2022 +8.8% A quicker pace than 67% of counties
- Portion with under 5 employees 57.8% Smaller share than 54% of counties
- How all employer locations changed, 2017 to 2022 +6.2% Growing faster than 69% of counties
- Communities with 2,500 or more people 3 More towns than 62% of counties
- New-home permits in 2025, per 10,000 people 59.4 More building than 79% of counties
Each bar places Cass County among all 1,822 U.S. counties with 20,000 or more residents. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, County Business Patterns (2017 and 2022), Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates and the Building Permits Survey.
What shapes local search here
Why This Year's Building Slowdown in Cass County Matters for SEO
Building is slowing in Cass County (−29.3% in permits so far this year, 670 units against 948). Slower construction shifts demand toward upkeep, so pages built around repair, maintenance and replacement searches deserve more of the effort.
Cass County has 196,362 residents, which ranks 356th of 3,143 U.S. counties, with population change of +6.4% since the 2020 Census. Across all industries it has 5,923 employer locations, 30.2 per 1,000 residents.
Fargo dominates Cass County with about 68% of its residents, so rankings there matter most, but the rest of the county (West Fargo, Horace and Casselton) searches by its own town names.
Where people live
Cass County by Place: A Search Market for Each
The largest places in Cass County by resident count. A local SEO plan can build pages for any of them, one per service you offer in each.
| Place name | People (2023 est.) | Slice of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Fargo | 133,188 | 68% |
| West Fargo | 40,400 | 21% |
| Horace | 5,643 | 3% |
| Casselton | 2,472 | 1% |
| Mapleton | 1,435 | 1% |
| Kindred | 1,024 | 1% |
Data: the Census Bureau's Population Estimates. Places are cities, towns and census-designated places; where a city runs into a neighboring county, only the part inside Cass County is counted.
New construction
Cass County Housing Permits Since 2022: Down From the High, Still Slowing This Year
Housing units authorized by building permits. Data: the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey (county annual files, and the year-to-date bars compare the same months each year). Permits are authorizations, not completed homes.
Cass County authorized 2,058 housing units in 2022 and 1,166 in 2025, about 43% fewer; 2025 still works out to 59.4 units per 10,000 residents, more than in 79% of counties. For January through August, permits are running at 670 against 948 a year earlier (−29.3%).
The construction-linked categories already most contested in Cass County are real estate agents and brokers (3.0x typical) and insurance agencies and brokerages (1.9x 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.
Your competition
Cass County Local Search Competition by Category
We divide each local-search category's employer locations by population and compare that with the median county. A reading of 2.0x means double the businesses per resident of a typical county.
CategoryBusiness locationsCompared with a typical countyShift, 2017 to 2022Tiny locations (under 5 staff)
Real estate agents and brokersMost contested 147 +30.1% 139
Beauty salons 90 +9.8% 65
Janitorial services 77 +22.2% 46
Insurance agencies and brokerages 137 -4.9% 100
Roofing contractors 20 +25% 11
Electrical contractors 75 +7.1% 38
Dentists 90 +9.8% 22
Accounting and CPA firms 37 -5.1% 23
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors 95 +14.5% 44
Residential remodelers 80 +17.6% 66
Law offices 74 +0% 44
Landscaping services 79 +1.3% 57
General automotive repairFastest growing 56 +30.2% 27
Full-service restaurantsMost room 131 +4% 20
Physicians offices 48 -12.7% 12
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 Cass County, the real estate agents and brokers category is the most contested, with 147 locations at 3.0 times the typical density, up 30.1% since 2017. Beauty salons (90 locations, 2.9x) and janitorial services (77 locations, 2.6x) also run above a normal county. At the other end, the full-service restaurants category (131 locations) is below typical density at 1.0x, which means fewer competing sites to outrank.
General automotive repair grew fastest, up 30.2% since 2017 to 56 locations, so new rivals keep arriving there. Insurance agencies and brokerages went the other way, down 4.9% to 137 locations. The tiniest competitors are in real estate agents and brokers: 139 of 147 locations (95%) have fewer than five employees.
This is a picture of the competition, not of demand. How many people search for a service and how quickly a page can rank depend on factors public data does not show, so read crowding as a reason to plan and a quiet category as an opening.
Similar markets
Six Counties That Resemble Cass County
We matched Cass 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.
| Place | LSCI | People | Change since 2020 | How local businesses changed since 2017 | Tiny locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County, ND (this page) | 75.7 | 196,362 | +6.4% | +8.8% | 57.8% |
| Bay County, FL | 71.8 | 190,769 | +8.9% | +13.8% | 58.2% |
| Minnehaha County, SD | 67.7 | 206,930 | +4.9% | +15.5% | 58.2% |
| Smith County, TX | 64.2 | 245,209 | +5% | +5.4% | 56.7% |
| St. Tammany Parish, LA | 72.4 | 275,583 | +4.2% | +9.6% | 61.1% |
| Boone County, MO | 68.4 | 189,463 | +3.2% | -0.3% | 58.6% |
| Iredell County, NC | 73.1 | 199,710 | +7% | +16.5% | 60.7% |
Look-alikes are the six counties in our 400-market set closest to this one on size, income, local-search competition, small-business mix and growth. Same sources as above.
Bay County, FL is the closest match, scoring 71.8 against Cass County's 75.7. Smith County, TX is the furthest from it, scoring 64.2. St. Tammany Parish, LA has 61.1% of its local-search locations under five employees against 57.8% in Cass County. Already investing in SEO in one of these places? The comparison shows how similar the competition is, not what your results will be.
Run your own numbers
An SEO Payback Calculator for Cass County Businesses
SEO is a monthly investment that builds over time, so the useful question is how many new customers it has to bring in to pay for itself. Enter what a customer is worth to you and the plan you are weighing.
The pieces of SEO
SEO Services for Cass County: Local SEO, Google Maps and AI Search
Google Maps optimization
We optimize the profile, build citations, post weekly, track rankings and manage reviews, so you show up in the map results when Cass County customers search nearby. About Map SEO.
AI search optimization
Pages and business information structured so AI tools have clear, consistent facts to draw on. Nobody can guarantee an AI mention, but this makes one more likely.
On-page and content
Technical fixes, on-page optimization and written content that answers real customer questions, published every month 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 Cass County businesses found on Google, Maps and AI search. Every plan comes with one account manager and a monthly report from Search Console and Analytics. Gold and Platinum add a fully managed website.
How it works
Our SEO Process in Cass County
Audit and strategy
We dig into your services, the cities you serve and who you compete with, review your website from top to bottom, and write a six-month roadmap. It is included in your monthly rate.
Page by page
RankGuarantee™ creates a dedicated landing page for every service in each city on your list, and your website gets technical repairs and on-page upgrades.
Maps, writing, AI
We polish your Google Business Profile, citations and reviews, write and publish Strategic Content Assets, and lay out your pages so AI search has clear facts to draw on.
Measure & expand
Your account manager walks you through a monthly Search Console and Analytics report, and we build more where the numbers show it will help.
Monthly plans
SEO Services Pricing: Flat Monthly Plans
No setup fee and no contract on any plan. Your monthly rate covers onboarding: keyword research, a website audit and a six-month plan. Talk it through with our CEO.
FAQ
Cass County SEO Services: Your Questions Answered
What does an SEO agency charge in Cass County?
Pricing is flat and monthly. RankGuarantee™, our local landing page engine, is $495 a month on its own. Organic Growth plans, which bring in Google Maps work, AI search optimization, content and more landing pages, run $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 Cass County?
There is no honest fixed timeline for SEO. Rankings build over time and depend on the competition, your site and the work we can publish. Real estate agents and brokers is the most contested category in Cass County at 3.0x 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 Cass County a competitive market for SEO?
More than most. Cass County scores 75.7 on our Local Search Competition Index, ranking 148th of 1,822 counties with 20,000+ residents and 55th of the 400 markets we cover. Real estate agents and brokers leads on density, at 3.0 times the typical county. 57.8% of local-search locations have fewer than five employees, which often means thin websites to outrank. That raises the value of city-and-service pages and strong reviews.
Which local businesses compete for search in Cass County?
Across the fifteen categories we track, the largest by employer locations in Cass County are real estate agents and brokers (147), insurance agencies and brokerages (137) and full-service restaurants (131). Measured against a typical county, the most contested are real estate agents and brokers (3.0x) and beauty salons (2.9x). Size and crowding in a category do not decide whether SEO works for you; it only shows how many other sites you would share the results with.
Which cities in Cass County would you build pages for?
Whichever ones you cover. Cass County has 3 places of 2,500 or more residents, led by Fargo, West Fargo and Horace. RankGuarantee™ builds local landing pages for each service in each city you serve (25 new pages a month on the $495 plan, 25 to 100 on Organic Growth), so the plan follows your service area, not the county line.
Can you help me rank in the Google Maps results?
We do. Each Organic Growth plan covers Google Business Profile optimization, citations and review management, along with on-page and technical SEO, strategic content and AI search (GEO) work. Map results matter most for searches such as "near me", and most of the local categories in Cass County rely on them.
Will SEO help my business appear in AI answers like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews?
It can. We include AI search (GEO) optimization in our plans: clean, structured pages and consistent business information give AI tools more to draw on. Nobody can guarantee an AI mention, and we do not promise one, but the work that earns rankings also builds the content those tools use.
Is SEO or Google Ads the better choice in Cass County?
Usually a mix of both. Google Ads can bring calls within days, but each click costs money; 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 let SEO build the asset that reduces your reliance on them.
Is there a contract, and what is in the monthly fee?
There is no contract and no setup fee, and you can cancel anytime. What you pay each month includes onboarding (keyword research, a website audit and a six-month strategy), the landing pages and content your plan includes, continuing page management and rank tracking, and a dedicated account manager who reports to you monthly.
Next door
Outside Cass County: The Closest Counties
If you serve beyond Cass County, these are the closest counties, center to center:
- Clay County, MN: about 36 miles from here, 66,258 people, competition index 48.8
- Traill County, ND: about 36 miles away, 7,908 residents, Local Search Competition Index 43.1
- Ransom County, ND: about 38 miles out, 5,603 residents, competition index 56.5
- Barnes County, ND: roughly 39 miles away, 10,726 residents, index score 50
- Steele County, ND: about 42 miles away, 1,782 people, index score 0
- Norman County, MN: roughly 46 miles out, 6,329 people, Local Search Competition Index 27.4
Behind the numbers
How We Built This Cass County Page
Each number on this page is taken from public Census Bureau data, computed the same way for every county, so you can compare Cass 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.
- Data refreshedOctober 16, 2026
- SourcesCensus population estimates (2023), County Business Patterns (2017, 2022), income estimates from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program (2023), Building Permits Survey (2021 to 2026 year to date), Census Gazetteer files.
- MethodThe Local Search Competition Index and the numbers derived from it are explained on the methodology page. Compare all markets in the index.
- Found an error?Noticed a mistake? Email hello@getphound.com and we will compare it with the original Census data.
Talk to Us
Let's Talk About SEO for Your Cass County Business
Share what you sell and where in Cass County you want customers. We will walk through the plan that fits. Call 610-825-4363 or write to hello@getphound.com and we will set up a strategy session with our CEO.