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James Hunter Architectural Design

Architectural designer · St Albans, Christchurch

What your customers see when they look for you, and where that puts you among 252 Christchurch architects.

ReportLocal marketing report
Checked12 October 2026
Your marketChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
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Executive summaryExclusive Marketbase business report

James Hunter Architectural Design

Architectural designer · St Albans, Christchurch

Where you stand#111of 252 architects
Overall health5.6/10across the eight areas

Going well

03Map positions9.908Opening hours9.201Google listing9.102Reviews8.4

Where we can help

07Google search and traffic5.204Listings and social3.305Facebook page3.006Your website-
How AI describes youMarketbase business report

What AI tells people about you

James Hunter Architectural Design provides bespoke residential and commercial architecture services from Saint Albans in Christchurch and across Canterbury. James is a Licensed Building Practitioner with over 30 years of technical experience and specialises in new builds, high-spec townhouses, high-end home renovations and complex hill-site projects such as Mt Pleasant and Sumner.

James Hunter Architectural Design is an architectural practice based in Saint Albans, Christchurch, offering residential and commercial design across the Canterbury region. The practice is led by a Licensed Building Practitioner with over 30 years of technical experience, delivering design work for modern new builds, multi-unit townhouses, high-end home renovations and complex hill-site engineering projects including Mt Pleasant and Sumner.

Services include full architectural plans, building consent documentation and council liaison, plus coordination with trusted local building contractors. James states the practice focuses on functional, buildable solutions that consider budget and site constraints, and offers design work for small modern homes, heritage modernisation and commercial office fit-outs.

Customers commonly report a professional, personable experience with clear technical knowledge and attention to detail. Review themes note reliable council consent support and practical, well-executed designs that respond to clients' requirements. Clients describe receiving sound advice through the design and consent stages and ongoing collaboration during projects.

Locally, the practice is positioned as a technical, hands-on architectural designer for Christchurch and wider Canterbury projects. Distinguishing features include long technical experience as an LBP, experience with challenging hill sites, and an emphasis on handling consent processes and contractor collaboration to deliver build-ready solutions.

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01Google listingMarketbase business report

Your Google listing

James Hunter Architectural Design shows a very healthy Google Business Listing, with a 9.5/10 health score. The listing includes a website link, a clear title, claimed status, and a visible phone number, along with open-for-business status. The key finding is strong listing completeness, complemented by well-presented photos and a detailed description that places the business in the local top quartile.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Open statusYour listing shows the business as trading, so customers see accurate availability and Google treats the listing as live.
  • ✓
    ClaimedYour listing is claimed, so you control what it says, you can reply to reviews, and edits suggested by the public come to you first.
  • ✓
    NameYour business name is showing on the listing, so a customer searching for you by name finds you, and everything else on the listing hangs off it.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Photos on the listingYou have more photos on your listing than half the businesses here, so a customer arriving has enough to look at that they stay on it.
  • 2
    Category fitYour categories cover this market better than the middle of the field, so you appear in most of the searches your competitors appear in.
  • 3
    Description lengthYour description is one of the fuller ones in this market, which means a customer comparing you side by side has more of your case in front of them than most.
11 checks on your Google listing. You're seeing 6 of them.
9.1Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Tiles © Esri
James Hunter Architectural Design
1
James Hunter Architectural Design✓✓
5.0 ★★★★★ (8)
Architectural designer · St Albans2
Open 5 days ✓
DirectionsCall Website
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
From the business

James Hunter Architectural Design provides bespoke residential and commercial architecture services across Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region. As a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) with over 30 years of technical experience, James specialises in modern new builds, high-spec multi-unit townhouses, high-end home renovations, and complex hill-site engineering projects (including Mt Pleasant and Sumner). From handling intricate building consent documentation and council liaisons to collaborating with trusted local building contractors, we deliver functional, buildable solutions tailored to your budget. Contact us today to discuss your small modern home design, heritage modernisation, or commercial office fit-out.

3
Google listingChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #24 for your Google listing
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Google SearchGoogle MapsBusiness Profile
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02ReviewsMarketbase business report

Your reviews

The Google Business health for James Hunter Architectural Design is very high, scoring 8.6 out of 10. This indicates strong overall performance and solid customer satisfaction. The most notable finding is the top 10% star rating, reflecting excellent reviews from clients. A key opportunity is improving the response rate to reviews to strengthen trust further.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Star ratingYour rating is among the highest in this market and it does its own selling - a customer sees it before they read anything else.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Response rateNone of your reviews have a reply, which means a customer reading them sees your happiest and your angriest customers with nothing from you in between.
  • 2
    Review countYour review count sits above the middle of this market, which puts you in the group customers read as established rather than untested.
  • 3
    Review confidenceRating and volume together put you ahead of most of this market, which means a customer sees a well-rated business with enough reviews behind it to be believed.
4 checks on your reviews. You're seeing all of them.
8.4Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
James Hunter Architectural Design
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
5.0★★★★★8 reviews 2
5
4
3
2
1✓
consent process 4design process 4attention to detail 3understanding 3district council consent 2budget 2
3How far your rating and your review count together can be trusted
Google reviewsChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #40 for your Google reviews
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Google reviewsBusiness Profile
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03Map positionsMarketbase business report

Where you show up on the map

James Hunter Architectural Design shows a very high overall health in Google Maps search, with a score of 8.6 out of 10. This indicates strong local visibility and steady performance in the Christchurch area. Top opportunities lie in maintaining borough presence and continuing updates to sustain a top quartile standing in the wider region.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Maps visibility across the city groupThere is no wider Maps reach available to a business at your address - you appear across more of the surrounding suburbs than anyone in this market.

Top opportunity

  • 1
    Maps visibility in your own suburbYou show up in local Maps searches more often than the middle of your suburb, so a customer searching nearby is likely to see you in the first handful.
2 checks on your map positions. You're seeing both.
9.9Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
1234Tiles © Esri
architectural designer
✓Top three for "architectural designer" in 26 suburbs, seen in 72
1
Grant Weekes Architect5.0 ★ (1) · Architectural designer
2
James Hunter Architectural Design15.0 ★ (8) · Architectural designer
3
Walker Architecture5.0 ★ (6) · Architectural designer
4
Yardley Architecture5.0 ★ (7) · Architectural designer
Map positionsChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #3 for map positions
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Google Maps
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04Listings and socialMarketbase business report

Where customers find you

James Hunter Architectural Design shows a below-average health score of 3.4 out of 10 for social presence and directories, indicating limited visibility. The strongest current asset is an outstanding Instagram profile with high trust, while LinkedIn presence is present but less prominent. Key opportunities focus on establishing active Facebook and TikTok profiles, plus consistent listings on LinkedIn, TikTok Directory and GrabOne.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Instagram ProfileWe found your Instagram Profile page, and the trail between you and it is unambiguous - it is linked from something you own, or it dominates a search for your name.
  • ✓
    LinkedIn ProfileWe can see your LinkedIn Profile listing (https://linkedin.com/in/james-hunter-546076273) found via: Google search results, Your website.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Having a Facebook page at allWe could not find an active Facebook Profile page for your business, so anyone who goes there to check your hours, read your posts or send a message lands on nothing.
  • 2
    Tiktok ProfileWe could not find an active TikTok account for your business, so anyone who looks for you there finds nothing.
  • 3
    Yellow ProfileWe could not find an active Yellow Profile listing for your business, which means anyone checking you there finds nothing and moves on to whoever is listed.
18 checks on your listings and social. You're seeing 5 of them.
3.3Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Gjames hunter architectural design st albans
AllImagesMapsNews
InstagramjameshunterdesignnzJames Hunter Architectural Design | Instagram✓
LinkedInjames-hunter-546076273James Hunter Architectural Design | LinkedIn✓
FacebookNo account found1
TiktokNo account found2
YellowNo listing found3
LinkedInNo listing found✓
Listings and socialChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #170 for listings and social
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GoogleFacebookInstagramTikTokLinkedInYour website
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05Facebook pageMarketbase business report

Your Facebook page

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top opportunity

  • 1
    Facebook pageCriticalWe could not find an active Facebook Profile page for your business, so anyone who goes there to check your hours, read your posts or send a message lands on nothing. Shown at a typical score for this market.
9 checks on your Facebook page. You're seeing 1 of them.
3.0Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
facebook
james hunter architectural design st albans
We didn't find any resultsMake sure everything is spelled correctly or try different keywords.1
Facebook pageChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #176 for your Facebook page
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Facebook
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06Your websiteMarketbase business report

Your website

Overall on-page health is 4.5 out of 10, indicating moderate concerns for the business. Key strengths include a valid favicon, HTTPS content, an H1 tag and an SEO-friendly URL. The most important opportunities relate to refining meta descriptions, adjusting the title tag length, improving text-to-page size balance, and reducing render-blocking resources to improve load times.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Domain UniquenessYour web address is yours alone, so everything your site earns - links, mentions, search standing - accumulates under your name and stays with the business.
  • ✓
    FaviconThe tab your site opens in carries your own icon, so a customer with a dozen tabs going can find their way back to you by sight.
  • ✓
    Page file sizeYour home page is light enough to open quickly on a phone with a weak signal, which is where most people meet a local business for the first time.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Separate sites linking to youNo separate website links to yours.
  • 2
    On-page scoreSeveral checks on your home page fail at once, and a visitor meets all of them in the first few seconds: a slow open, no clear heading, nothing under your name in search that says what you do.
  • 3
    The shape of your link profileNo links to your site were found, so there is no shape to read yet.
23 checks on your website. You're seeing 6 of them.
-Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
🔒jameshunterdesign.co.nz✓
✓Favicon
✓Page file size
1Separate sites linking to you
2On-page score
3The shape of your link profile
Your websiteChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
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Your websiteGoogle Search
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07Google search and trafficMarketbase business report

How people find you on Google

James Hunter Architectural Design shows an average overall website health, with notable room for improvement in paid traffic activity and ongoing organic momentum. The main takeaways are that paid traffic is underdeveloped and needs targeted experiments, while organic value is mid-range and improving with content and links.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    What you spend on adsWe can see no paid search activity for your site, which in most local markets is the norm rather than a gap.
  • 2
    Monthly ad visitsYour site receives no visitors from paid search, which for most local businesses in this market is the norm rather than a problem.
  • 3
    What that traffic is worthThe search visitors reaching your site are worth less than half the businesses here, so the people arriving are browsing rather than buying.
6 checks on your search and traffic. You're seeing 3 of them.
5.2Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Garchitect bryndwr
AllMapsImagesShopping
21No ads from you on any search
www.jameshunterdesign.co.nzJames Hunter: Architectural Designer Christchurch ...

Bryndwr, Christchurch. James Hunter is a leading residential architectural designer in Christchurch, specialising in modern home design and bespoke new builds ...

adnz.org.nzBryndwr House One
3About 17 visits a month from search, across 18 searches
Google search and trafficChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #122 for Google search and traffic
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Google SearchGoogle Maps
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08Opening hoursMarketbase business report

Your hours against demand

James Hunter Architectural Design has partial alignment with local demand: weekday lunch hours are well matched, notably Tuesday 12pm and Wednesday 11-12pm, and Thursday 12-1pm. Significant missed demand occurs at weekends when the practice is closed during peak Saturday midday (11am-2pm) and Sunday noon. There are no open hours during low-demand times, so extending weekend midday hours would be the most commercially sensible change.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top opportunity

  • 1
    Hours aligned with demandYour hours line up with demand worse than nearly every business here, which means a good share of your open time passes with nobody looking for what you do.
1 check on your opening hours. You're seeing it.
9.2Strong
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
James Hunter Architectural Design
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
Hours 1
Monday8:30am-5pm
Tuesday8:30am-5pm
Wednesday8:30am-5pm
Thursday8:30am-5pm
Friday8:30am-5pm
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed
Opening hoursChristchurch architects · 252 businesses
You are #22 for opening hours
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Your listed hoursWhen people search
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The next step

Your top opportunities, in one place.

These are your top 18 opportunities, from the 74 checks we run on every business. Tick any of them to see where it takes you.

01Google listing3 opportunities

02Reviews3 opportunities

03Map positions1 opportunity

04Listings and social3 opportunities

05Facebook page1 opportunity

06Your website3 opportunities

07Google search and traffic3 opportunities

08Opening hours1 opportunity

Where you'd stand#111of 252 Christchurch architects
9:41
Christchurch architectsOverall · 252 businesses
You are #111 overall
Open my free 7 days →
The how for every one of these, and everything else we found, in the order that moves you fastest.
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