The first thing you need to do is discover relevant things potential clients are searching for on Google. The queries people type into Google are known as keywords, even though they are normally more than one word.
I offer website design and support to local service businesses in my home city of Mackay. So, a potential keyword for my business would be website design Mackay.
But before doing any other SEO work, you and I need to find out how many people are searching for this and related keywords. Ideally, we should do this before starting to build your website.
Online Keyword Research Tools
Several online tools can help you do this. I like SEMrush, but Moz is particularly good for local businesses. If I type website design Mackay into one of these tools, it tells me:
- The average number of people who search for that term each month
- How difficult it will be to rank for that term (red = challenging, yellow = moderately challenging, green = less challenging)
Does Your Research Show SEO Is Worth It
First, I need to consider the total number of relevant searches. 110 potential clients are more than enough to make SEO a worthwhile investment for me.
Next, I must think about how hard it will be for a local business to rank for these keywords. More challenging keywords require investing more time and money in SEO.
30 searches per month are relatively easy (green or < 20). So, it would still be worth my while investing in SEO.
Note that you don’t need to limit yourself to these relatively easy keywords. After doing SEO work on my website, I rank no. 1 for challenging (red) keyword website design Mackay.
A Page Per Service & Why?
My main service is website design. But I also offer other things, including:
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Graphic design
I should have a dedicated page for each. But why?
Google Ranks Pages Not Sites
When someone types a search query into Google, such as web design Mackay, Google strives to suggest the most relevant pages.
A page dedicated to web design Mackay is more relevant than a generic services page with a little bit about each service I offer. Remember, the more relevant a page is for a search query, the more likely it is to rank well on Google.
Therefore, I recommend having a dedicated page for each key service you offer.
Service Pages NOT Keyword Stuffing
Many years ago, you could rank well on Google using a technique called keyword stuffing. This involves finding a specific keyword, such as solar panel cleaning Mackay, and stuffing that exact group of words into the page as often as possible.
As you can imagine, the real people who visited these pages didn’t find them to be user-friendly. So, Google got smarter and, thankfully, keyword stuffing no longer works.
I don’t want a page that is clumsily stuffed with a single keyword, such as website design Mackay. Rather, I want a page that is focused on designing websites for small businesses in Mackay.
The writing on the page needs to:
- Provide potential clients with the most helpful information they need
- Help Google understand the focus and intent of the page
That said, it is likely that your page will include:
- A focus keyword
- Related keywords
- Related words
