87: Keywords for your Homepage!

Summary

In this episode, Meredith's husband discusses how to optimize keywords for main website pages, such as the homepage and service pages. He explains the difference between targeting keywords like "photography" and "photographer" and emphasizes the importance of aligning keywords with user intent. His advice helps website owners structure their SEO to effectively capture the right audience for their services.

How to Optimize Keywords for Your Main Website Pages

When it comes to SEO, many website owners focus on optimizing keywords for their main service pages and homepage, but understanding how to properly implement those keywords is crucial to boosting your search engine ranking. In this episode, Meredith’s husband shares actionable tips on how to use SEO for your homepage and service pages, and why aligning your keywords with user intent is key to your success.

Keyword Cannibalization: Why It’s Not a Worry

One of the first concerns that often arises for website owners is the potential for keyword cannibalization between their homepage and service pages. Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on the same site are optimized for the same keyword, potentially causing those pages to compete with each other. However, Meredith’s husband explains that this is not something you need to worry about when it comes to your homepage and service pages.

The homepage acts as an umbrella for your site, while service pages fit under it. Some overlap in keywords is natural and won’t harm your SEO efforts. So, for example, if your homepage is optimized for "family photography," it’s okay for service pages related to family or children’s photography to share similar keywords without causing keyword cannibalization.

Photographer vs. Photography: User Intent Matters

A crucial point in SEO is understanding user intent. Meredith’s husband dives into the difference between "photography" and "photographer" as keywords. While Google will often figure out the context, it’s still important to consider the intent behind a user’s search.

• Photography: This tends to align more with informational searches. Someone searching for "family photography in Brooklyn" may be looking for inspiration or examples of work.

• Photographer: This typically indicates a transactional intent. A user searching for "family photographer in Brooklyn" is likely looking to hire a professional.

When optimizing your main service pages, the advice is to focus on "photography" since these pages offer the actual photography services. However, for your homepage, you should include both terms but lean more towards "photographer," since users looking for a professional to hire are likely to land on your homepage first.

Structuring Your Title Tags and Headings

Title tags and headings are essential for SEO because they tell search engines what your page is about. For your service pages, the keyword should be the first part of the title tag. If you’re offering family photography services, for example, your title tag should start with "Family Photography." After that, you can include variations such as "Children’s Photography" or even add location details like "Brooklyn Photographer" if space allows.

Key places to include your main keywords:

• Title tags: Place the keyword at the beginning for optimal SEO impact.

• Headings: Use the main keyword as part of your H1 tag and relevant subheadings to reinforce the page’s focus.

Bullet Points from the Episode:

• Don’t worry about keyword cannibalization between your homepage and service pages; they naturally overlap.

• "Photography" is suited for informational searches, while "Photographer" is better for transactional searches.

• Optimize your homepage for "photographer" to capture users looking to hire a professional.

• Place primary keywords, such as "Family Photography," at the beginning of title tags and headings.

• Include variations like "Children’s Photography" and location keywords where relevant.

Resources

For more structured SEO advice, Meredith’s husband offers a step-by-step guide called the "SEO Roadmap," which helps you optimize your website in an organized manner. Check out the roadmap mentioned during the episode for a comprehensive SEO strategy.