It can be frustrating to see your daycare center competitors ranking on top of the search results.
Let us face it—ranking your website on page 1 is not easy, but here is the good news!
Cracking the SEO code can help you outrank your daycare center competitors and land your website on the first page of Google. If you haven’t figured it out yet, refer to this detailed guide and discover the key to dominating the search engine ranking game.
1. Conduct Keyword Research
Having an insight into what people are searching for can help improve your Google ranking. Conducting thorough keyword research is the first basic step in developing a high-performing content and SEO strategy.
Let us explore the basics of keyword research:
2. Identify the Right Target Keyword
Getting people to discover your brand in search engines is the whole idea of SEO. That is why you need to identify the most common search terms or keywords used by your ideal audience and create content around these targeted keywords.
Here are some factors that will help you identify the right keywords:
Search Volume: Keywords with higher search volumes mean that more people are searching for those terms. Ranking for relevant keywords can help you get good traffic. However, high search volumes can also mean stiff competition.
Keyword Difficulty: High competition and high volume usually conform with each other. To help your keywords rank easily on search engines, choose the ones with moderate volume and low competition.
Business Potential: Go for keywords that are relevant to your products and services. This enables you to incorporate them naturally within your content.
3. Assess Search Intent
Search intent refers to the main reason a user performs a Google search.. There are different categories where search queries fall:
Informational: Queries used by searchers usually start with questions like what, how, why, etc. A good example is “where to enroll for daycare in Newmarket, Ontario.”
Navigational: Users usually use brand names when searching for information.
Commercial Investigation: The user wants to see a comparison of different options, read reviews, etc.
Transactional: The user already knows what to buy and uses search queries, such as find an English tutor in Richmond Hill near me.
4. Research “People Also Ask” and Related Searches
When researching relevant keywords for your niche, refer to the additional suggestions found in People Also Ask (PAA) box and Related Searches. Both are goldmines of relevant keywords and topic ideas.
For example, when you search for simple website design ideas, Google will display more website design queries that are commonly searched by people.
Moreover, Google will provide an additional list of search queries when you click the questions in the PAA box.
5. Perform SEO Competitor Analysis
There is no immediate trick or shortcut when it comes to ranking your website on the first page of the SERPs. You need a proven effective SEO strategic plan to outrank long-established competitors with topical authority in the niche.
You need to evaluate their content and SEO tactics and uncover their strengths and weaknesses. Hiring a professional SEO company can help you get through this process.
6. Identify Keyword Gaps
Analyzing keyword gaps enables you to determine keywords targeted and used by your competitors. Be sure to include these keywords in your list and start developing fresh, quality content on these topics.
7. Evaluate Backlink Profile
Google considers backlinks as its top 3 ranking factors. This means that having high-authority sites linking to your page can help improve your search engine rankings.
That is why it is crucial to conduct an analysis of your competitors’ backlink profiles and check the following factors:
- Domains and web pages linking to them
- High-authority websites that link their sites but not to yours
- Anchor text to help you understand the
- Broken backlinks on their websites, etc
After obtaining all the necessary information, reach out to high-authority sites that link to your competitors and convince them to link to your content. To capitalize on broken backlinks, contact the webmaster and inform them that the page they have linked does not exist anymore. Offer them a relevant resource on your site to replace the broken link.
8. Assess the User Experience and Design
Google gives high value to user experience (UX) with every major update. That is why it is equally important to evaluate the UX and design of your competitors’ website that ranks consistently in search engine results:
Here are some of the factors you need to examine:
- Site structure and navigation
- Design elements
- Aesthetic appeal of the site
- Website loading speed and responsiveness
- Mobile-friendliness
9. Create Quality Content
In addition to keyword research and competitive analysis, you also need relevant, contextual, and quality content that will provide value to your target audience. Here are some tips to keep in mind that will outrank your competitors.
10. Provide Solutions and Answers
Understand your target audience’s problems and questions to provide solutions and answers. Identify the correct search intent and create content that revolves around the identified search intent.
For instance, if your target audience is looking for the best running shoes within their budget range, provide them with better content than what is already ranking.
11. Create Comprehensive Content
In-depth or comprehensive content does need to be extremely long. When writing comprehensive content, do not just focus on the word count. Consider word count as the by-product of content quality and the depth of the topic you cover.
For instance, a 1500-word article can be classified as more comprehensive than a 3000-word article. In-depth content tackles the essential aspects of the topic and integrates them with relevant information, narratives, visuals, narratives, and so on.
Here are the characteristics of a comprehensive content piece:
- Provides solutions and answers to user’s search query
- Demonstrate an idea with a unique angle
- Cover the depth of the topic and subtopics
- Answers the whats, hows and whys of both topic and subtopic
- Informs and educates the readers about the topic
12. Optimize On-Page SEO Elements
Before publishing your web content, be sure to optimize it for search engines to enable Googlebot to discover, index, and rank your content.
1. Title Tag
The first thing that your target audience notices in the search results is the title tag. It provides users with information about what the page is. When done right, it encourages your potential clients to click through your page. The higher your click-through rate (CTR) is, the higher your search engine ranking will be.
How to optimize:
- Be sure to provide a unique title tag on your website
- Insert the main keyword in the title
- Create content in a clear and concise way
- Keep the length of the title tag between 55-65 characters
2. Meta Description
It provides a short explanation to support the title tag. It can be found below the page
How to optimize:
- Keep the information short yet descriptive
- Provide readers with the benefits of reading the page
- Keep the length less than 160 characters
- Insert the main keyword
- Add a relevant CTA
3. Page URLs
In the context of on-page SEO, the slug is an essential part of a page URL.
How to optimize:
- Keep your page URL short
- Do not use special characters, numbers, or unnecessary information
- Incorporate the main keyword
- Write in lowercase
- Use hyphens to separate the words, not space
4. Header Tags
The headings and subheadings used in content should be written in a bigger font size than the other text in the body.
How to optimize:
- H1 tag for the main heading
- H2 to H6 tags for subheadings
- Insert primary keywords in headlines and subheadings
- Indicate the section covered by the heading
5. Images
When using visuals in your content, be sure to optimize them for better SEO performance. Do this before publishing your content.
How to optimize:
- Reduce the image size
- Put relevant image names and captions
- Provide descriptive alt text
- Use proper image format