Shoreham’s mix of businesses
Shoreham-by-Sea sits at the mouth of the River Adur in West Sussex, a few miles west of Brighton. It is a small town with an unusually varied economy. Shoreham Port, the largest commercial port between Southampton and Dover, stretches along the coast towards Hove and handles over two million tonnes of cargo a year, supporting marine, logistics, building supplies and industrial firms. Brighton City Airport, whose Grade II* listed Art Deco terminal opened in 1936, is home to flight training and aviation businesses. And the town itself, around the High Street and East Street, is lined with independent cafés, shops and services.
The houseboats along the river opposite the town, many built from old vessels, are one of the area’s best-known sights and a reminder that Shoreham has a character of its own, distinct from Brighton and Worthing on either side.
The town and its landmarks
The old town centres on St Mary de Haura, a Grade I listed Norman church founded around the end of the 11th century, which still serves as the town church. The Adur Ferry Bridge, opened in 2013, links the town to Shoreham Beach, and at the harbour mouth stands Shoreham Fort, completed in 1857. On the riverbank, the Ropetackle Arts Centre runs a programme of music, comedy and talks. These are places people search for and around, whether planning a visit, finding somewhere to eat before a show or looking for a café on the walk to the beach. Shoreham businesses can mention them plainly where relevant, which helps Google connect you with those searches.
Who we help in Shoreham and Adur
- Town centre independents: cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops and personal services serving residents and day visitors.
- Trades and home services covering Shoreham, Southwick, Lancing and the villages of the Adur valley.
- Port, marine and industrial firms around the harbour and business parks such as Dolphin Road and Lancing Business Park, selling mostly to other businesses.
- Aviation and training businesses at the airport, whose customers may come from across the South East.
- Professional services, many of them small firms, which is typical of Adur’s economy.
How people search here
Residents search the way people do anywhere: “electrician Shoreham”, “dentist near me”, “cafe Shoreham-by-Sea”. Because the town is small and sits between two larger places, Google often fills local results with Brighton or Worthing businesses unless Shoreham ones make their location obvious. That is a gap a well-set-up local business can close quickly.
Port and industrial customers search differently. A buyer looking for marine engineering, storage or aggregates searches by service and capability, often from well outside the area, and wants evidence: what you do, for whom, to what standard. Aviation customers, such as people looking for flying lessons or trial flights, compare a handful of options across a wide area and read a lot before booking.
How we approach it
For local businesses, local SEO comes first: a complete Google Business Profile, consistent name, address and phone details (with “Shoreham-by-Sea” written in full, since there is also a Shoreham in Kent), reviews, and website pages that name the areas you actually cover. A clear service area page for Shoreham, Southwick and Lancing beats a long list of place names.
For B2B, port and aviation firms, we build service pages that answer the questions buyers ask, using keyword research to find the terms they really use, and content such as case studies, specifications and guides that show competence. We also check the technical health of the site, since many industrial sites are old and slow on mobile.
Genuine local links come from business groups, suppliers, customers, the port and airport communities and local press. Our link building focuses on those. If you are moving to a new website, our migration service keeps the rankings you have already earned.
Standing out between Brighton and Worthing
Shoreham businesses face a particular problem: they sit between two larger places with many more businesses. Google’s local results lean on distance, relevance and prominence, and a Brighton firm with hundreds of reviews can appear for a Shoreham search if Shoreham competitors give Google too little to go on. The fix is not complicated. Name Shoreham-by-Sea and the areas you serve on your website, keep your profile complete and active, earn reviews that mention the work you did, and get listed by local organisations. Done consistently, that puts genuinely local businesses back in front of local customers.
Next steps
Our post on getting a Google Business Profile right applies just as much in Shoreham as in Brighton. To see how we work, read our case studies, or get in touch for a short review of where you stand.