Clouds building
Joliet
48/ 100
Local SEO needed
Hardest Dentists · 64
Calmest Electricians · 31
SEO Market Map Illinois
SEO Market Map · Illinois · 5 cities · 12 trades
Today’s SEO forecast for Illinois.
Illinois ranks 8th of 14 states for search competition, at 54 against a median of 54 across the 14 states measured so far. Its hardest trade is dentists (67); its calmest is pool companies (41). Pick yours.
The five-city outlook
Where search is calm, and where it is severe.
Joliet is calmest at 48; Chicago runs at 67.
Clouds building
Rockford
49/ 100
Local SEO needed
Hardest Pest control · 58
Calmest Electricians · 27
Storms likely
Aurora
53/ 100
Local SEO needed
Hardest HVAC · 64
Calmest Pool companies · 35
Storms likely
Naperville
55/ 100
Local SEO needed
Hardest Dentists · 72
Calmest Pool companies · 42
Severe
Chicago
67/ 100
Full SEO plus paid
Hardest Law firms · 80
Calmest Landscaping · 52
The Illinois radar
Chicago runs hottest.
Chicago, Naperville, Aurora, Rockford and Joliet, stormiest first.
- 67ChicagoSevere
- 55NapervilleStorms likely
- 53AuroraStorms likely
- 49RockfordClouds building
- 48JolietClouds building
- Clear skies 0–19
- Mostly sunny 20–34
- Clouds building 35–49
- Storms likely 50–64
- Severe 65–100
State lines: US Census Bureau. Numbered pins follow the key, stormiest first.
What we found
Inside Illinois’s numbers.
- Chicago (67): toughest, law firms at 80, where the top three hold 1,365 reviews at the median and 20 of 20 rivals have passed 100. Calmest, landscaping at 52 (154 at the median).
- Naperville (55): toughest, dentists at 72, where the top three hold 708 reviews at the median and 20 of 20 rivals have passed 100. Calmest, pool companies at 42 (23 at the median).
- Aurora (53): toughest, HVAC at 64, where the top three hold 469 reviews at the median and 14 of 20 rivals have passed 100. Calmest, pool companies at 35 (8 at the median).
- Rockford (49): toughest, pest control at 58, where the top three hold 377 reviews at the median and 8 of 20 rivals have passed 100. Calmest, electricians at 27 (10 at the median).
- Joliet (48): toughest, dentists at 64, where the top three hold 1,191 reviews at the median and 18 of 20 rivals have passed 100. Calmest, electricians at 31 (25 at the median).
The deepest review moat in Illinois: HVAC in Chicago, where the top three hold 2,597 reviews at the median. The thinnest: pool companies in Rockford, at 7. Ratings run lowest for pool companies in Aurora (3.94 stars across the top ten) and highest for med spas in Rockford (4.98).
We read 178 top-ranking competitor sites across Illinois’s searches. WordPress runs 92 of them; 47 are custom or another builder. 59% carry local business markup, against 54% across every state measured, and 65% changed their sitemap in the last year.
Each trade, calmest city to toughest
- PlumbingRockford 50 → Chicago 78
- HVACJoliet 49 → Chicago 73
- RoofingJoliet 42 → Rockford 57
- ElectriciansRockford 27 → Chicago 66
- LandscapingRockford 41 → Chicago 52
- Pest controlJoliet 34 → Aurora 59
- Pool companiesRockford 33 → Chicago 59
- DentistsRockford 58 → Chicago 77
- Law firmsRockford 52 → Chicago 80
- Med spasRockford 48 → Chicago 72
- VeterinariansJoliet 52 → Chicago 63
- ChiropractorsJoliet 49 → Chicago 65
What a searcher sees on the map
The view from the phone.
80/ 100
Severe
Competitors with deep review counts and built-out websites hold the top spots. This market rewards full SEO, with paid search to buy time while it builds.
- 1,365 median reviews among the top three
- 20 of the top 20 with 100 or more reviews
- 4.9 average stars across the top 10
The full forecast
Every city, every trade.
| City | Plumbing | HVAC | Roofing | Electricians | Landscaping | Pest control | Pool companies | Dentists | Law firms | Med spas | Veterinarians | Chiropractors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 78 | 73 | 56 | 66 | 52 | 58 | 59 | 77 | 80 | 72 | 63 | 65 |
| Aurora | 58 | 64 | 49 | 46 | 42 | 59 | 35 | 62 | 60 | 49 | 60 | 51 |
| Naperville | 58 | 60 | 57 | 43 | 50 | 45 | 42 | 72 | 55 | 63 | 56 | 60 |
| Joliet | 55 | 49 | 42 | 31 | 49 | 34 | 37 | 64 | 57 | 56 | 52 | 49 |
| Rockford | 50 | 51 | 57 | 27 | 41 | 58 | 33 | 58 | 52 | 48 | 54 | 58 |
Start with the audit.
About 60 seconds, no email, and you get named findings for your own site, not a score out of a hundred.