Is it coming up on the dreaded time to build another website for your business. One of the easiest things to overlook throughout that process is how to develop a site that also applies SEO best practices. If you’re looking at building a new website, we have some important tips to keep in mind.
Keywords
When a website is developed with SEO in mind, a great starting point is identifying the keywords the site should be targeting. Rather than build a site and force a keyword strategy on it, you can develop a strategy first and build the framework of your site around that plan. Just remember these principles of choosing the right keyword.
City-Specific Pages
Another crucial element to a website that wants to drive local rankings is including city-specific pages on the site. In the navigation bar, consider adding an “Areas We Serve” section. This section will contain a list of cities and suburbs that represent your service area. Each unique city you serve should have its own unique page. So, if ABC Landscaping serves the Denver market, I would include unique city pages like Littleton, Aurora, Lakewood, Centennial, etc. The wording and layout of each page can be almost identical, with unique copy specific to each city. This will expand your ability to target your service area, and boost your local rankings as well.
Service Pages
While the use of keywords and building out city-specific pages fortify your own website, it is important to also build unique pages for each of the services or products your company provides. Google likes big websites, and the more pages your site has the more opportunity to cast a wider net to your audience by targeting additional keywords. Each page should have unique content specific to that product or service.
General Page Design
Another item to keep in mind when designing a new website is format. As each page gets developed, ensure they content H1 tag and other HTML markup, at least one image, and 300 words per page. Additionally, we highly recommend avoiding page builders in developing your site. Page builders can drastically slow down a site’s speed – something to be particularly aware of in light of core vitals.
With these tips in mind, you can be well on your way to designing an SEO-friendly website!
