Not to be dramatic, but a good SEO landing page can literally make all the difference for your business. A website that’s primed for SEO doesn’t just attract more visitors; it effectively communicates what you do, how you’re different, and why you should be chosen above the competition. It also establishes your identity and showcases your expertise, incentivizing visitors to become enthusiastic customers. Creating a solid SEO landing page is both an art and a science. It’s also one of our favorite things (yes, we’re very aware of how insanely nerdy that sounds). Today, we’re living our best geeky lives and walking through a step-by-step look at how to elevate a landing page from “just OK” to “lowkey SEO masterpiece.” Let’s get into it.
Choose a Focus Keyword
Your focus keyword is your landing page’s SEO anchor. It represents the central topic that is being covered in the landing page, and it corresponds to the search term for which your landing page is most likely to turn up as a result on Google. Choosing focus keywords wisely is a hallmark of good SEO. If you’re looking to revamp your website for search engines, this is where to start. For example: if you’re a–hmm, let’s rack our brains for a good example here–really talented, ultra cool, and totally humble digital marketing agency in St. Pete, a great focus keyword for your landing page might be “marketing agency in St. Pete” or “full-service marketing agency in St. Pete.” You know. Hypothetically.
Once you’ve pinpointed your focus keyword, you’ll want to incorporate it into your landing page copy in strategic ways. That includes the page title, once or twice in your page’s body copy, and in the alt descriptions for any images you include throughout the page. Do not go overboard on the focus keyword, even if you’re tempted to. Including it too much in your copy will actually do more harm than good; search engines do not like overkill.
Write Clear, Engaging, and Varied Copy
Speaking of copy: make sure yours is strong. Search engines love readability. That means, on landing pages, it’s a good idea to stay away from huge blocks of text. You’ll want to break up your paragraphs, vary your sentence structure, and embrace things that boost your readability when used appropriately, including:
- Bullet points
- Numbered lists
- Quotes
Also: do your readers and your search engine bots a favor and proofread your copy. Then proofread it again. Then ask a well-meaning but nitpicky colleague to proofread it for you. Readability means that reading the page feels natural and intuitive. Nothing, ruins that quicker than, a freakin’ comma splice (see?).
Use Beautiful Images
Beautiful images don’t just make visitors more likely to stay on your website longer (which they do, btdubs). They also absolutely delight search engine bots that scour your landing pages for SEO points. When we say “beautiful” images, we don’t mean jaw-dropping scenery or stunning models (although, if that fits your brand, totally go for it). We mean high-quality, high-resolution, well-edited professional images. Invest in professional photography for your website as soon as you can. Well-done photos make a statement about your brand, showcase your professionalism, and bolster your SEO. What more could you want?
Video, Video, Video
Video. Video is what more you could want. If images increase the time that visitors spend on your pages, then video does it twofold. We’re not just saying that; we’re just referencing the outrageous amount of statistics that tell us how effective video is at capturing the attention of audiences (and keeping it). For example, did you know that more than half of consumers actually want to see more video from the brands they love? Or that a whopping 72% of consumers would rather learn about a new company or product via video over any other medium? In 2022, to not have video on your website (and social media) is to miss out on an incredible opportunity to captivate and relate to your audience.
Call Your Viewers to Action
Every page on your website should incentivize viewers to take an action. It doesn’t always have to be the same action. Maybe you’re directing them to another page. Maybe you’re taking them to a contact form. Maybe you’re ready to bite the bullet and ask them to make a purchase. The point of Calls to Action (or CTAs) is to keep viewers on your website longer. The longer you’re able to retain your visitors, the bigger the heart eyes that search engine bots get for your website. That’s because the longer a person spends getting to know you, the more likely they are to:
- Remember you
- Seek you out on other platforms, like Google My Business or social media
- Trust your content
- Become a paying customer
Calls to action make it easy–intuitive, even–for audiences to do all of the above. Always, always use them.
Writing a good SEO landing page may not be easy, but it’s also not complicated. By keeping these five golden ticket recommendations in mind, you’ll be poised to create web pages that appeal to your viewers and the search engines they love. If you want to create beautiful, effective landing pages, all we have to say is that you’ve come to the right place. Let’s grab coffee and talk about how we’re going to make that magic happen for you.
