Oct 26, 2023 | SEO Tips
When it comes to SEO, understanding the significance of H1 tags is crucial. H1 tags are an integral part of HTML that helps to give structure to web content. They play a pivotal role in optimizing a website for search engines and enhancing the user experience. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into what H1 tags are, their importance in SEO, and how you can use them effectively.
What Are H1 Tags?
H1 tags are HTML elements used to define the main heading of a page. They are the largest and most significant heading on a page, usually appearing at the top. The ‘H’ in H1 stands for ‘heading,’ and the ‘1’ signifies its level of importance. In HTML, headings range from H1 to H6, with H1 being the highest and H6 the lowest.
Here’s a screenshot of this article’s H1 tag
The Role of H1 Tags in HTML Structure
The primary purpose of H1 tags is to provide a clear and concise summary of the page’s content. They help to organize and structure the content, making it easier for users to read and navigate. H1 tags also play a crucial role in assisting screen readers, aiding visually impaired users in understanding the structure of a webpage.
Why Are H1 Tags Important for SEO?
Search engines use H1 tags to understand the main topic of a page. They are a critical factor in on-page SEO, as they help to signal to search engines what the page is about. Properly optimized H1 tags can contribute significantly to a website’s visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs).
The Impact of H1 Tags on SERPs
When a user performs a search, search engines crawl through webpages to find relevant content. H1 tags serve as a guide, helping search engines to quickly identify the main topic of a page. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of the page ranking higher in SERPs for relevant queries.
H1 Tags and User Experience
Apart from their role in SEO, H1 tags also contribute to a better user experience. A clear and descriptive H1 tag helps users to quickly understand what the page is about, reducing bounce rates and encouraging longer page visits.
Best Practices for Using H1 Tags
Optimizing H1 tags is not just about pleasing search engines; it’s also about enhancing the user experience. Here are some best practices to follow:
Keep It Short and Sweet
Aim for brevity and clarity in your H1 tags. Keep them short, concise, and to the point, ensuring they accurately reflect the content of the page.
Include Relevant Keywords
Incorporate relevant keywords into your H1 tags. This helps to boost your SEO and ensures that your content is easily discoverable by users searching for related topics.
Use Only One H1 Tag Per Page
While it’s technically possible to use multiple H1 tags on a page, it’s best practice to use just one. This helps to maintain a clear and hierarchical structure, ensuring that your main topic stands out.
How to Effectively Use H1 Tags
Using H1 tags effectively is about striking the right balance between SEO optimization and user readability. Here’s how you can do it:
Align H1 Tags with the Page Title
Ensure that your H1 tag aligns closely with the page title. This consistency helps to reinforce the topic and provides a clear and coherent experience for the user.
Be Descriptive and Engaging
Your H1 tag should be descriptive and engaging, compelling users to read on. Use active language and consider the user’s intent when crafting your H1 tag.
Ensure Mobile-Friendliness
With the increasing prevalence of mobile browsing, ensuring that your H1 tags are mobile-friendly is essential. They should be easily readable on smaller screens, contributing to a seamless mobile experience.
Conclusion
Understanding and utilizing H1 tags effectively is a crucial aspect of SEO. They play a significant role in helping search engines understand the main topic of a page, contributing to higher rankings in SERPs. Additionally, well-optimized H1 tags enhance the user experience, encouraging longer visits and reducing bounce rates. By following best practices and ensuring your H1 tags are descriptive, engaging, and SEO-friendly, you are setting the stage for SEO success.
FAQs
Q1: Can I use multiple H1 tags on a single page? While it’s possible to use multiple H1 tags on a page, it’s generally recommended to use just one to maintain a clear and hierarchical structure.
Q2: Do H1 tags directly impact my website’s SEO? Yes, H1 tags play a crucial role in SEO. They help search engines understand the main topic of a page, contributing to higher rankings in SERPs.
Q3: Should I include keywords in my H1 tags? Absolutely, incorporating relevant keywords into your H1 tags can significantly boost your SEO and make your content more discoverable.
Q4: How long should my H1 tag be? Aim to keep your H1 tag short, concise, and to the point, ensuring it accurately reflects the content of the page.
Q5: How do H1 tags contribute to the user experience? H1 tags enhance the user experience by providing a clear and concise summary of the page’s content, making it easier for users to read and navigate.
Unlock the Full Potential of Your Online Presence: Exceptional SEO Services in San Diego Await!
If you’re aiming to make your website super popular and fill it with loads of visitors, you’ve got to check out our amazing SEO services in San Diego! We’re really good at turning websites into total traffic magnets, ensuring that more people can find and visit your site. Give us a call or send a text to (619) 719-1315, and let’s get started on boosting your site’s visibility together! Trust us, when it comes to being an SEO expert in San Diego, we totally rock at it. So, don’t miss out! If you want more people visiting your website, reach out and hire us today. You can call or text us at (619) 719-1315. Let’s make your website the cool place to be online!
Oct 23, 2023 | SEO Tips
Why is SEO So Expensive? – Jen Ruhman, San Diego’s SEO Expert
If you’ve received an SEO proposal and wondered, “Why does SEO cost so much?”, I understand the question.
From the outside, SEO can look deceptively simple.
Change a few keywords. Write some blog posts. Update a Google Business Profile. Build a few links. Watch the rankings go up.
That’s not what a serious SEO campaign actually involves.
I’ve worked in SEO for more than 20 years, and one of the biggest misconceptions I see is that businesses are paying an SEO professional simply to “put keywords on a website.”
You’re really paying for the research, strategy, technical knowledge, content decisions, website improvements, competitive analysis, authority building, measurement, and experience required to determine what should be done, what shouldn’t be done, and what deserves priority.
And that last part matters.
A lot of expensive SEO isn’t expensive because the individual tasks are difficult to perform.
It’s expensive because knowing which tasks will actually move the business forward requires expertise.
Why Does Professional SEO Cost So Much?
Professional SEO can be expensive because it combines several specialized areas of digital marketing into one ongoing strategy.
Depending on the business, an SEO campaign may require:
- Keyword and competitor research
- Search intent analysis
- Website architecture
- Technical SEO
- Service-page optimization
- Content strategy
- Content creation and editing
- Internal linking
- Local SEO
- Google Business Profile optimization
- Backlink and authority building
- Analytics and conversion tracking
- Search performance analysis
- Competitor monitoring
- Ongoing strategy adjustments
You’re rarely paying for one isolated task.
You’re paying for someone to understand how all of these pieces work together—and which ones matter most for your particular website.
You’re Paying for Expertise, Not Just Hours
This is probably the biggest factor people overlook when comparing SEO prices.
Two people can spend five hours working on the same website and create dramatically different outcomes.
An inexperienced SEO might spend those five hours publishing articles that target keywords the website already has pages for.
An experienced SEO might recognize that the website doesn’t need more content at all.
It may need three competing pages consolidated, stronger internal links, a service page improved, an indexing problem fixed, and a handful of high-value keywords mapped correctly.
Both people worked five hours.
But those five hours were not equally valuable.
After more than 20 years working in SEO, much of what clients are paying me for isn’t simply my ability to perform an SEO task.
They’re paying me to recognize which task deserves attention first.
That’s a big distinction.
Keyword Research Is More Complicated Than Finding High-Volume Keywords
Modern keyword research isn’t simply opening a keyword tool and sorting a spreadsheet by search volume.
I want to understand:
What does the person searching this phrase actually want?
Is the keyword informational or commercial?
Could this search realistically produce a customer?
Which page should rank for it?
Does the website already have a page targeting the same intent?
Would creating another page cause cannibalization?
How competitive is the search result?
What would a new customer from this keyword potentially be worth?
That’s why I focus heavily on identifying money keywords rather than chasing search volume for its own sake.
A keyword with 100 searches and strong commercial intent may be considerably more valuable to a business than a keyword receiving 10,000 searches from people who will never become customers.
SEO Requires Strategy Before Execution
One reason cheap SEO can become expensive is that activity without strategy creates problems.
Publishing more pages isn’t automatically better.
Publishing more blog posts isn’t automatically better.
Adding more keywords isn’t automatically better.
Building more backlinks isn’t automatically better.
I’ve seen websites with dozens of pages competing against each other because content was created without a clear keyword map.
I’ve also seen businesses publishing article after article while their most important service pages remained weak.
A good SEO strategy should determine:
Which searches matter?
Which pages should rank for them?
What is preventing those pages from performing better?
What should we work on next?
That’s why I consider keyword mapping and search intent such important parts of SEO.
The goal isn’t to create the largest website.
It’s to create the clearest, strongest website for the searches that matter to the business.
Technical SEO Takes Specialized Knowledge
Some SEO problems aren’t visible when you casually look at a website.
A website can look beautiful and still have problems with:
- Crawling
- Indexing
- Canonicalization
- Redirects
- Duplicate pages
- Internal linking
- Site architecture
- Page speed
- Mobile usability
- Structured data
- XML sitemaps
- Broken links
- JavaScript
- URL structure
Technical SEO is partly about helping search engines access and understand the website correctly.
But it’s also about preventing mistakes.
A bad redirect can remove a valuable page.
An incorrect canonical can tell Google to favor a different URL.
Poor site architecture can leave important pages buried.
Duplicate pages can create unnecessary competition within your own website.
This is one reason professional SEO isn’t simply content writing.
Sometimes the most valuable SEO work happens behind the scenes.
Good SEO Content Takes Research and Strategy
Content is another major SEO expense.
But I don’t believe businesses should publish content simply because an SEO package says they need four blog posts every month.
Before I recommend creating a new page, I want to know:
Why should this page exist?
What search intent will it serve?
What keyword opportunity does it support?
Does another page already answer the same question?
Will it strengthen an important service or topic?
Can we create something genuinely more useful than what’s already there?
Sometimes the right answer is to publish something new.
Other times, the better SEO decision is to improve an existing page.
And sometimes the smartest decision is to delete, merge, or redirect content.
That’s why I’ve written about why publishing more blog posts doesn’t automatically improve SEO.
More content isn’t always more SEO.
Local SEO Adds Another Layer of Work
For local businesses, SEO often extends well beyond the website.
A Local SEO strategy can involve:
- Google Business Profile optimization
- Local keyword research
- Google Maps visibility
- Reviews
- Business information consistency
- Local landing pages
- Local backlinks
- Geographic relevance
- Service-area optimization
- Local competitor analysis
A business trying to rank in San Diego is competing within a specific local search environment.
That means I need to understand not only the website but also how that business appears across Google’s local ecosystem.
My Local SEO guide for San Diego businesses explains this process in more detail.
Backlinks and Authority Take Time to Build
Another reason SEO can cost more than expected is that your website doesn’t exist in isolation.
Google can evaluate signals beyond the words appearing on your pages.
Links and mentions from other relevant websites can help strengthen the authority and discoverability of a business online.
But good backlinks aren’t something I want to manufacture by purchasing thousands of low-quality links.
Authority building can involve research, outreach, digital PR, local citations, partnerships, useful resources, guest contributions, and other legitimate opportunities.
That takes time.
And in competitive industries, authority can be one of the biggest differences between a website that has good content and a website that actually competes.
Professional SEO Tools Cost Money—But Tools Aren’t the Strategy
SEO professionals often use paid software for keyword research, competitive analysis, crawling, backlink research, rank tracking, analytics, and technical auditing.
These tools can be expensive.
But I wouldn’t hire an SEO company simply because it has an expensive software subscription.
Tools provide data.
The SEO professional still has to know what to do with that data.
A keyword tool can tell me that a phrase has search volume.
It can’t fully understand your margins, priorities, customer value, sales process, or business goals.
A crawler can identify thousands of technical items.
It doesn’t necessarily tell me which five deserve attention first.
That’s where experience becomes valuable.
SEO Requires Ongoing Analysis
SEO isn’t a project where I optimize a website once and never look at it again.
Competitors change.
Websites change.
Search behavior changes.
New pages are added.
Old content becomes outdated.
Technical problems appear.
Google’s search results evolve.
AI-powered search experiences continue developing.
And new opportunities appear as websites gain visibility.
That’s why I don’t believe an SEO campaign should follow the exact same checklist every month.
One month I may discover that technical issues are holding a site back.
The next month, the biggest opportunity may be a service page sitting near page one.
Later, authority or Local SEO may deserve more attention.
Good SEO requires continuously asking:
What is the highest-value thing we can improve next?
You’re Also Paying for What an Experienced SEO Knows NOT to Do
This is one of the least discussed reasons experience matters.
Sometimes the best SEO recommendation is:
Don’t do that.
Don’t redesign the entire website when the existing one can be improved.
Don’t create another page targeting the same keyword.
Don’t delete a URL that’s earning valuable backlinks.
Don’t change the page that’s already ranking well.
Don’t publish 100 AI-generated city pages.
Don’t buy thousands of cheap backlinks.
Don’t rewrite your entire website because one keyword moved down two positions.
Don’t chase every SEO trend you see on social media.
Avoiding unnecessary or harmful work can be just as valuable as knowing what to implement.
I’ve spent years seeing what happens when websites accumulate SEO decisions without an overall strategy.
Sometimes a significant portion of my work is simply cleaning those decisions up.
Why Do SEO Prices Vary So Much?
SEO pricing can vary dramatically because “SEO” can describe very different services.
One company may provide automated reports and minor on-page changes.
Another may be actively working on technical SEO, content strategy, Local SEO, service pages, backlinks, conversion improvements, and competitive analysis.
The competitive environment matters too.
A small business targeting one relatively low-competition city may require a very different level of work than a law firm trying to compete for extremely valuable searches across a major metropolitan area.
Pricing can also vary according to:
- Website size
- Website condition
- Competition
- Number of locations
- Number of services
- Current rankings
- Existing authority
- Content requirements
- Geographic reach
- Business goals
That’s why it’s difficult to answer “How much should SEO cost?” without understanding the business first.
Is Cheap SEO Bad?
Not automatically.
A lower-priced SEO service may be completely appropriate for a small website in a low-competition market.
And an expensive SEO company isn’t automatically a good SEO company.
Price isn’t proof of quality.
The question is what you’re actually receiving.
I would be cautious about extremely inexpensive SEO when it relies on mass-produced content, automated work, low-quality backlinks, meaningless reports, or the same strategy for every client.
Cheap SEO becomes expensive when you later have to pay someone else to undo it.
The goal shouldn’t be to find the cheapest SEO.
It should be to find an appropriate level of SEO investment for the opportunity.
Why Does SEO Take So Long If It’s Expensive?
This is another fair question.
Paying more for SEO doesn’t mean you can purchase instant organic rankings.
SEO companies don’t control Google’s rankings.
An experienced SEO can improve the website, strategy, content, technical foundation, relevance, authority, and local presence.
But nobody can responsibly guarantee that Google will place a website #1 by a particular date.
How quickly results develop can depend on competition, website history, current authority, technical condition, content, backlinks, target keywords, geographic market, and the strength of competing websites.
I’ve written a separate guide explaining how long SEO takes to start showing results.
Higher SEO fees should buy you better expertise and more appropriate work.
They shouldn’t buy you fake guarantees.
Is Expensive SEO Worth It?
Sometimes.
But that’s a different question from why SEO costs what it costs.
A $2,000 monthly SEO investment could be an excellent business decision for one company and a terrible investment for another.
It depends on the opportunity.
If one new customer is extremely valuable and there is substantial search demand, strong organic visibility can potentially produce significant business value.
If almost nobody searches for the service or customer value is extremely low, the economics may be completely different.
That’s why I don’t think businesses should judge SEO by price alone.
They should judge it by the opportunity, strategy, quality of work, and eventual business value.
I’ve written a complete guide answering whether monthly SEO is worth the cost for a small business if that’s the question you’re trying to answer.
What Should You Expect From an SEO Company?
If you’re investing meaningful money into SEO, you should expect more than a ranking report.
You should understand:
- What the SEO company is working on
- Why those priorities were selected
- Which pages matter most
- Which searches you’re trying to improve
- What has changed
- What opportunities have been identified
- What the next priorities are
- Whether qualified organic visibility is improving
You don’t need to understand every technical detail.
But your SEO provider should be able to explain the strategy in plain English.
If someone can’t explain what they’re doing without hiding behind jargon, I’d be cautious.
So, Why Is SEO So Expensive?
Because good SEO isn’t one task.
It combines strategy, research, technical knowledge, content, Local SEO, authority building, analytics, competitive analysis, website improvements, and ongoing decision-making.
But there’s another part that’s harder to put on an invoice:
Experience helps determine what deserves attention—and what doesn’t.
That’s what I believe businesses should be paying for.
Not activity for activity’s sake.
Not a predetermined number of blog posts.
Not a giant spreadsheet of meaningless keywords.
Not an automated report.
A strategy designed around the searches, pages, customers, and opportunities that actually matter to the business.
Looking for an SEO Company in San Diego?
I’m Jen Ruhman, founder of Jen Ruhman SEO.
I’ve worked in SEO for more than 20 years, and I work directly with businesses rather than handing their campaigns to a large account-management team.
Before recommending SEO, I want to understand what you sell, where your customers are, what searches matter, how competitive your market is, and where your website has the strongest opportunities.
You can review my SEO pricing and monthly service options or request a free SEO analysis.
Call or text: (619) 719-1315
Thanks for reading,
Jen Ruhman
SEO Expert & Founder of Jen Ruhman SEO
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO Costs
Why Is SEO So Expensive?
SEO can be expensive because professional campaigns often require strategy, research, technical SEO, content, Local SEO, authority building, analytics, website improvements, and ongoing competitive analysis. The cost also reflects the expertise required to determine which work should be prioritized.
Why Do SEO Companies Charge Monthly?
SEO is often ongoing because websites, competitors, search behavior, content, and search results continue changing. Monthly SEO allows the strategy to adapt and address new problems and opportunities instead of relying entirely on a one-time optimization.
Why Do SEO Prices Vary So Much?
SEO prices vary because websites and competitive markets require different amounts and types of work. Website size, condition, competition, geographic targeting, services, authority, content needs, and business goals can all affect the resources required.
Is Cheap SEO Worth It?
Sometimes a lower-cost SEO service is appropriate for a small or low-competition website. Price alone doesn’t determine quality. Businesses should evaluate the actual work, strategy, experience, transparency, and whether the service matches their competitive environment.
Is Expensive SEO Always Better?
No. A high price doesn’t guarantee good SEO. Businesses should evaluate the strategy, experience, quality of execution, communication, transparency, and whether the SEO investment makes financial sense.
Can I Do SEO Myself to Save Money?
Yes. Business owners can learn and perform many SEO tasks themselves. The tradeoff is usually time, expertise, and opportunity cost. In competitive markets, professional assistance may make sense when the owner’s time is better spent elsewhere.
How Long Does SEO Take?
There is no universal SEO timeline. Results can depend on competition, website history, authority, technical health, content, backlinks, target keywords, geographic market, and the amount and quality of work being completed.
How Do I Know Whether SEO Is Worth the Cost?
Evaluate whether SEO is improving visibility for commercially valuable searches and whether that visibility is contributing to qualified traffic, leads, appointments, customers, or revenue. The ultimate question is whether the business value being created justifies the investment.
Oct 11, 2023 | SEO Tips
If you’re trying to improve your visibility on Google, you’ve probably heard the terms SEO and Local SEO used almost interchangeably.
They’re closely related, but they’re not exactly the same.
I’ve worked in SEO for more than 20 years, and one of the things I often explain to business owners is that Local SEO is a specialized part of SEO.
Traditional SEO focuses primarily on improving a website’s visibility in organic search results.
Local SEO adds another layer: location.
For a San Diego business, that might mean trying to appear when someone searches:
- SEO company San Diego
- financial advisor near me
- personal trainer San Diego
- plumber in Santee
- spray tan La Jolla
And for many local businesses, the answer isn’t choosing SEO or Local SEO.
You need the two working together.
Quick Answer: SEO vs Local SEO
The biggest difference between SEO and Local SEO is geographic intent.
SEO focuses on improving website visibility for relevant organic searches.
Local SEO focuses on improving visibility when the search is connected to a particular location, service area or nearby business.
Local SEO can therefore involve traditional website SEO plus elements such as:
Google Business Profile
Google Maps
proximity
reviews
business categories
accurate business information
location and service-area pages
and other information that helps search engines understand where the business operates.
If you want the complete process, read my Local SEO guide for San Diego businesses.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
It’s the process of improving a website and its content so search engines can better crawl, understand and connect its pages with relevant searches.
SEO can include:
keyword research
search intent
technical SEO
website architecture
content optimization
internal linking
backlinks
structured data
page experience
and content development.
Not every SEO strategy needs to focus on a particular city.
For example, an e-commerce company selling products nationwide might want customers from anywhere in the United States.
A software company may serve customers around the world.
A publisher may want readers regardless of where they live.
Those businesses still need SEO, but geography may not be a major factor in determining who can become a customer.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO focuses on searches where location matters.
It’s particularly relevant for businesses serving customers at physical locations or within defined geographic areas.
Examples include:
dentists
attorneys
financial advisors
restaurants
gyms
med spas
hair-restoration clinics
plumbers
electricians
roofers
contractors
and many other local service businesses.
For these businesses, being visible to the right person in the right geographic market can be much more valuable than generating traffic from people across the country.
SEO vs Local SEO: The Main Difference
Here’s the simplest way I explain it.
Traditional SEO asks:
Is this page a relevant and useful result for this search?
Local SEO introduces additional questions, including:
Is this business relevant to someone searching in this particular location?
Consider these two searches:
How to choose an SEO company
and:
SEO company San Diego
They’re clearly related.
But they don’t have exactly the same intent.
Someone searching the first phrase could be looking for educational information.
Someone searching the second phrase is much more likely to be looking for an SEO company serving San Diego.
Understanding that difference is part of search intent, and it’s one of the first things I consider when deciding which page on a website should target a particular search.
1. Local SEO Has a Geographic Component
Location is the most obvious difference.
Traditional SEO can target searches that have no geographic component at all.
Local SEO frequently involves searches containing a city, neighborhood, county or region.
For example:
financial advisor San Diego
personal trainer La Jolla
plumber Santee
But someone doesn’t necessarily have to type the location.
A search such as:
personal trainer near me
also has obvious local intent.
Search engines can use location and other contextual information to provide locally relevant results.
2. Local SEO Can Include Google Maps
Another major difference is the search-result experience.
Traditional SEO is generally associated with organic website listings.
Local searches can also trigger map-based results featuring nearby or relevant businesses.
That gives a local business potentially more than one opportunity to appear.
It might appear through its website in the organic results while also appearing through its Google Business Profile in local results.
I don’t treat those as completely separate strategies.
The website and Google Business Profile should accurately support the same real business.
3. Google Business Profile Is Much More Important to Local SEO
A Google Business Profile isn’t necessary for every traditional SEO strategy.
For an eligible local business, however, it can be an important part of local search visibility.
The profile can communicate information such as:
business name
categories
location or service area
phone number
website
hours
services
photos
and reviews.
But I don’t recommend treating Google Business Profile as a substitute for website SEO.
The profile can help someone discover the business.
The website can provide much deeper information about its services, expertise, process and value.
For many businesses, I want both working together.
4. Keyword Research Is Different
Traditional keyword research might uncover searches such as:
retirement planning
how does hair restoration work
how to choose an SEO company
Local keyword research might reveal:
financial advisor San Diego
hair restoration Los Angeles
SEO expert San Diego
The solution isn’t simply attaching a city name to every keyword.
I want to understand what the person is actually looking for and which page should satisfy that intent.
That’s also why I don’t recommend creating separate pages for every tiny keyword variation.
5. Reviews Matter More in Local Search
Reviews are especially visible when someone is evaluating local businesses.
A potential customer might compare several businesses directly in Google before ever visiting a website.
Reviews can help that person evaluate things such as reputation, customer experience and whether the company appears trustworthy enough to contact.
Google also explains that review count and review scores can factor into local ranking.
That doesn’t mean you should tell customers which keywords to put in their reviews.
I prefer a straightforward process for requesting genuine feedback from real customers.
6. Local SEO Has to Consider Proximity
This is a major difference that business owners sometimes overlook.
You can’t completely control where the searcher is located.
A business located close to someone searching for a nearby service may face a different local search environment than a business farther away.
That doesn’t mean proximity is the only thing that matters.
But it does mean local SEO has a geographic variable that many traditional organic SEO campaigns don’t have to consider in the same way.
7. Local SEO Uses Location and Service-Area Information
Some businesses operate from one physical location.
Others have several offices.
Some travel to customers across a service area.
Those differences affect how I structure a local website.
A company with several legitimate locations may need separate location pages.
A service-area business may need content explaining where its services are actually available.
But I don’t recommend producing dozens of nearly identical pages simply by swapping city names.
Each page should have a legitimate purpose for the customer.
8. Traditional SEO and Local SEO Both Need Strong Websites
One misconception I see is that Local SEO is basically Google Business Profile optimization.
It’s not.
A local business still benefits from a strong website.
The website can help explain:
what the business does
which services it provides
who it serves
where it operates
why someone should trust it
and how a potential customer can take the next step.
Technical SEO, useful content, internal links and strong service pages still matter.
That’s why Local SEO isn’t separate from SEO.
It builds on many of the same fundamentals.
9. Authority Matters to Both
Traditional and local businesses can benefit from being mentioned and linked to by legitimate websites.
The opportunities may look different depending on the business.
For a local company, relevant mentions might come from:
local publications
professional organizations
community organizations
industry associations
partnerships
events
or other legitimate sources.
I care much more about whether a link or mention makes sense than whether it came from a website with “San Diego” in its domain name.
That’s part of why I prefer digital PR and meaningful link building over accumulating random directory links.
Who Needs Local SEO?
Local SEO makes the most sense when geography affects whether someone can realistically become your customer.
That includes many:
local professional services
healthcare providers
restaurants
retail businesses
home-service companies
beauty businesses
fitness businesses
law firms
financial professionals
and service-area businesses.
If customers commonly search for your service with:
a city
a neighborhood
“near me”
a county
or another geographic modifier, Local SEO is probably relevant to your business.
Who Needs Traditional SEO?
Traditional organic SEO is particularly important when customers aren’t restricted to one geographic area.
Examples can include:
e-commerce companies
software businesses
national service providers
publishers
online education businesses
national consultants
and companies serving customers across multiple states or countries.
Those businesses can still have local SEO needs, but location may play a smaller role in their overall search strategy.
Can You Need Both SEO and Local SEO?
Absolutely.
In fact, this is common for the businesses I work with.
Imagine a San Diego business that wants to appear in Google Maps when someone nearby searches for its service.
That’s Local SEO.
The same business may also want its service pages appearing in organic Google results.
That’s traditional website SEO with local intent.
It might also publish educational resources answering questions potential customers ask before they’re ready to hire someone.
That’s organic SEO too.
Those strategies can support each other.
I don’t want the Google Business Profile telling one story while the website tells another.
I want the company’s:
website
Google Business Profile
services
location information
reviews
content
and broader presence across the web
to accurately represent the same business.
What About AI Search?
People now discover businesses through more than traditional Google results.
They may also research companies using AI-powered search features and assistants.
I don’t think that requires throwing away traditional SEO or Local SEO.
The fundamentals are still useful:
Make it clear who the business is.
Clearly explain what it does.
Make accurate location and service-area information available.
Publish genuinely useful information.
Build a recognizable reputation.
Earn legitimate third-party mentions.
And make the website easy for people and search systems to understand.
I’ve written separately about how AI search is changing Local SEO if you want to explore that subject more deeply.
SEO vs Local SEO: Which One Should You Use?
It depends on how your business gets customers.
If your customers can come from almost anywhere, traditional SEO may deserve most of your attention.
If customers need to be located within a particular geographic market, Local SEO becomes much more important.
For many local businesses, though, I don’t think the useful question is:
Should I do SEO or Local SEO?
The better question is:
How should my website SEO and local presence work together?
That’s the strategy I prefer.
A Simple Example
Let’s say you own a plumbing company serving San Diego.
You might want:
your Google Business Profile appearing for relevant nearby searches
your plumbing service pages ranking organically
useful pages explaining the areas you serve
reviews from legitimate customers
accurate business information across important platforms
and educational content answering common plumbing questions.
That’s not two completely separate marketing strategies.
It’s a coordinated search strategy with a strong local component.
SEO vs Local SEO FAQs
What is the main difference between SEO and Local SEO?
SEO broadly focuses on improving website visibility in organic search results. Local SEO adds geographic considerations and local search elements that help businesses become visible for searches connected to a particular area.
Is Local SEO part of SEO?
Yes. Local SEO is a specialized area of SEO. It uses many of the same fundamentals while placing additional emphasis on location and local search.
Does Local SEO only affect Google Maps?
No. A local business can appear in map-based results as well as traditional organic website results.
Do I need a Google Business Profile for Local SEO?
For businesses eligible for Google Business Profile, it can be an important part of local search visibility. Your website should still support and expand on the information presented in the profile.
Can a service-area business use Local SEO?
Yes. Businesses that travel to customers can use Local SEO even when customers don’t visit a storefront. The strategy should accurately reflect the real business and areas it serves.
Do I need both SEO and Local SEO?
Many local businesses benefit from both. Website SEO can improve organic visibility while Local SEO addresses the geographic elements involved in finding a nearby or locally relevant business.
Are location pages good for Local SEO?
They can be. Location pages should provide genuinely useful information for people in that market rather than duplicating the same page and replacing one city name with another.
Want Help With SEO or Local SEO in San Diego?
If you’re not sure whether your business needs traditional SEO, Local SEO or a combination of both, I can help you identify where the biggest opportunities are.
I’ve worked in SEO for more than 20 years, and I work directly with businesses on organic rankings, Google Business Profile optimization, website structure, content, authority and local search visibility.
For a deeper look at Local SEO specifically, read my complete Local SEO guide for San Diego businesses.
Or learn more about working directly with my San Diego SEO company.
Get found. Get trusted. Get chosen.
— Jen Ruhman
San Diego SEO Expert
Oct 9, 2023 | SEO Tips
What Holds People Back from Doing SEO?
If you’ve been considering doing SEO for your business but haven’t taken the plunge yet, you’re not alone. Many businesses shy away from SEO because they don’t understand it or are intimidated by the process. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the common reasons why people avoid doing SEO and how to overcome them.
Reason 1: Overwhelmed by Technical Knowledge
SEO can be a daunting task for someone who doesn’t have a lot of technical knowledge, so a common reason why people avoid doing SEO is because they don’t know where to start. While there are many complexities involved in SEO, the good news is that it doesn’t require an expert to do basic SEO work. Taking courses on platforms such as Udemy can give you an overview of what needs to be done and help you get started with basic SEO tasks. Additionally, there are many online resources that can provide helpful tips and tricks on getting started with SEO.
Reason 2: Poor Results in Previous Experiences
Another common reason why people avoid doing SEO is that they had poor results in previous experiences with it. The truth is that if you don’t have a solid understanding of how to properly use keywords and other elements of search engine optimization, your efforts won’t yield much fruit. That said, it’s essential to invest time into researching best practices around keyword usage and content optimization before attempting any sort of major projects related to SEO.
Reason 3: Fear of Failing or Making Mistakes
Finally, another big reason why people avoid doing SEO is that they fear making mistakes or failing at it all together. It can be scary to put in all of this effort only for nothing to come from it. But here’s the thing—instead of avoiding the challenge altogether out of fear, embrace it! Every mistake has the potential to teach us something new about our business or industry, so view them as learning opportunities rather than failures. Additionally, trial and error may be necessary when testing out different strategies in order to determine what works best for your business – so just take things one step at a time!
As intimidating as search engine optimization may seem at first glance, there are plenty of ways that businesses can get started with basic tasks without feeling overwhelmed by technical knowledge or fearful of failure, or making mistakes along the way. By investing some time into researching best practices around keyword usage and content optimization before attempting any sort of major projects related to SEO will pay off immensely in terms of successful outcomes down the line! For those who need additional help navigating through their own unique challenges with regard to their own respective online presence, hiring an experienced professional like me may be worth considering for further assistance!
Are you looking for more traffic to your website?
SEO is the best way to get more traffic to your website. Our monthly services will help you rank higher in Google searches, so you can get more leads and sales from your website.
At Jen Ruhman SEO, we want to help you grow your business online. We know that with the right SEO strategy, you can see a big increase in traffic and revenue. We’re a top SEO company in San Diego, CA. If you’d like our help, we’re one phone call away.
Sign up for a free consultation today!
Oct 4, 2023 | SEO Tips
You have a keyword you want your business to rank for.
Maybe it’s your most important service.
Maybe a competitor is sitting above you.
Or maybe you’ve been publishing content for months but still can’t get the keyword onto page one.
So how do you actually improve your chances of ranking for one specific keyword?
After more than 20 years working in SEO, one of the biggest mistakes I see is starting with the keyword and immediately adding it everywhere on the website.
That’s not where I start.
Before optimizing anything, I want to know:
Is this the right keyword?
What does someone searching it actually want?
Which page on your website should rank for it?
What is Google currently showing for the search?
And is your page competitive enough to deserve a place alongside those results?
Getting those decisions right matters much more than repeating a keyword another five times.
Here’s how I approach it.
Quick Answer: How Do You Rank for a Specific Keyword?
If you want to rank on page one of Google for a particular keyword, start by identifying the search intent behind the query and choosing one primary page on your website to target that intent.
Then compare that page with the results already ranking.
Improve its relevance, usefulness, on-page optimization, internal links and supporting authority. Make sure Google can crawl and index it correctly, and track its performance in Google Search Console.
Most importantly:
Don’t create multiple pages targeting essentially the same keyword just because the first page isn’t ranking yet.
That can create a completely different SEO problem.
Step 1: Make Sure It’s a Keyword Worth Ranking For
Before trying to reach page one, I ask a more important question:
Why do we want to rank for this keyword?
High search volume isn’t enough.
I care about whether the search can bring the right person to the website.
For a business, a lower-volume keyword with strong commercial intent can sometimes be far more valuable than a broad keyword attracting thousands of people who aren’t looking to buy anything.
Think About Business Intent
Let’s say you own an SEO company.
Compare these searches:
“what is SEO”
and:
“SEO company San Diego”
The first query may have considerably broader search demand, but many people searching it simply want information.
The second search indicates a very different need.
Someone searching for an SEO company in a specific city may be actively evaluating providers.
That’s why I identify what I call money keywords: searches that have a realistic connection to the services, products or customers a business actually wants.
Before chasing a keyword, ask:
Would ranking for this search help my business?
If the answer isn’t clear, I wouldn’t make it a major SEO priority just because a keyword tool shows impressive volume.
Step 2: Understand the Search Intent
Once I’ve decided a keyword is worth pursuing, I search it.
This is one of the most important steps.
I want to see what Google currently believes people searching that phrase are looking for.
This is called search intent.
Broadly, a search might indicate that someone wants:
Information.
A product.
A service.
A local business.
A comparison.
A specific website.
Instructions for completing something.
But I don’t rely only on labels like “informational” or “commercial.”
I actually inspect the search results.
Look at the Pages Already Ranking
Are the top results:
Service pages?
Blog posts?
Product pages?
Category pages?
Homepages?
Directories?
Videos?
Local businesses?
Comparison articles?
Something else?
That tells me a lot.
For example, if Google is overwhelmingly showing service pages for your target query and you’re trying to rank a general blog post, you may be trying to rank the wrong type of page.
Likewise, if Google is showing detailed informational guides and you’re trying to rank a thin sales page, there may be an intent mismatch.
You can read my complete guide to search intent for a deeper explanation.
Before optimizing a page for a keyword, make sure it’s the right kind of page.
Step 3: Choose ONE Primary Page to Rank
This is where many websites get into trouble.
They want to rank for a keyword, so they:
Create a service page.
Write a blog about it.
Write another blog about it.
Create a location page.
Write a “complete guide.”
Publish another variation six months later.
Eventually, five URLs are targeting essentially the same search intent.
More pages don’t necessarily give you five chances to rank.
Sometimes they simply make the site’s strategy less clear.
Give the Keyword a Home
I use keyword mapping to decide which page should primarily own an important search intent.
My basic principle is:
One primary search intent = one primary page.
That doesn’t mean a page can rank for only one keyword.
Quite the opposite.
A strong page can rank for many closely related searches.
The goal is to avoid unnecessarily creating several pages that all have the same job.
Check Whether You Already Have the Right Page
Before creating anything new, search your own website.
Do you already have:
A service page?
An article?
A location page?
A category page?
A homepage?
that should logically rank for the keyword?
If so, improving the existing page may make much more sense than publishing another one.
I’ve been doing this extensively on my own website—consolidating overlapping content so each important page has a clearer purpose.
Step 4: Study the Current Page-One Results
Now I want to understand the competition.
Search your target keyword and study what’s actually ranking.
I’m not looking to copy competitors.
I’m trying to understand what the current search results tell us about the query.
I look at things like:
The types of pages ranking.
How specifically they address the query.
The subjects they cover.
Whether the results are primarily local or national.
Whether established brands dominate.
Whether Google Maps appears.
Whether videos or other search features occupy significant space.
Whether the results suggest informational or commercial intent.
Whether your proposed page belongs in that group at all.
Page One Is Relative
A page doesn’t need to be “perfect” in some abstract sense.
It needs to compete in the actual search environment for that query.
Ranking for a niche service in a small geographic market can be very different from competing for a national financial or legal term.
This is why I don’t give every client the same SEO checklist.
The SERP tells us what competition actually looks like.
Step 5: Make Sure the Page Clearly Addresses the Search
Once we’ve selected the correct page, I review its relevance.
If someone lands on the page after searching the target keyword, is it immediately obvious that they’ve reached the right place?
That doesn’t mean stuffing the exact phrase into every heading.
It means making the topic unmistakably clear.
Places I Review
Depending on the page, I may look at:
The SEO title.
H1.
Opening paragraphs.
H2 and H3 headings.
Main body content.
Images and supporting media.
Internal links.
Calls to action.
FAQ content, when genuinely useful.
The goal isn’t a particular keyword density.
I don’t use a formula like:
“The keyword must appear 14 times.”
Google’s systems are much more sophisticated than simple keyword counting.
Use the language naturally and make the page clearly about the subject.
Step 6: Make the Page Better for the Searcher
This is where SEO becomes more than on-page keyword placement.
Ask:
What would make this page genuinely more useful to the person who searched this query?
Maybe the page needs:
A clearer explanation.
Pricing information.
A comparison.
Original photographs.
Examples.
Case studies.
Frequently asked questions.
A step-by-step process.
Specific service details.
Qualifications.
Original data.
A demonstration.
Better organization.
Firsthand experience.
A clearer next step.
The answer depends on the query.
Don’t Add Words Just to Make the Page Longer
There is no universal word count required to reach page one.
A 700-word page can be the right result for one query while a much more detailed guide may make sense for another.
I don’t add another 1,000 words just because competitors have long pages.
I ask:
What’s missing that would make this page more useful or complete?
That’s a much better content strategy.
For more detail, read my guide on how to create SEO content that actually helps your rankings.
Step 7: Strengthen the Page With Internal Links
Once I know which page should rank, I look at how the rest of the website supports it.
Internal links help users move between related content and help search engines understand relationships among pages.
Suppose you have an important service page.
You may also have articles answering related questions.
Those articles can naturally link back to the service page where appropriate.
That creates a logical relationship:
Supporting information → primary page
rather than leaving your most important page isolated.
Use Descriptive Anchor Text Naturally
I like anchor text that helps someone understand where the link leads.
But I don’t need every internal link to use the exact same keyword.
Natural variations are fine—and usually better for readers.
For example, on my own website, different articles might naturally refer to:
SEO company in San Diego
San Diego SEO services
my SEO services
Jen Ruhman SEO
or:
working with an SEO expert
depending on the context.
The purpose is to create useful connections, not force an exact-match phrase into every article.
I explain this more fully in my guide to internal links for SEO.
Step 8: Determine Whether the Page Needs More External Authority
Sometimes a page is well optimized and useful, but the websites ranking above it have significantly stronger authority.
That’s when I start looking beyond the page itself.
Backlinks can be part of that equation.
But I don’t approach backlinks as:
“We need 100 links.”
I care about whether legitimate, relevant websites have a real reason to reference the business or its content.
Strong links might come from:
Industry publications.
News coverage.
Local organizations.
Professional associations.
Useful directories.
Business partnerships.
Original research.
Resources other websites genuinely want to reference.
Quality and context matter much more to me than hitting an arbitrary backlink number.
For ideas, see my guide on how to get other websites to link to yours.
Step 9: Check the Technical Basics
Before blaming content or authority, make sure Google can properly access the page.
I check things such as:
Is the URL indexable?
Is Google indexing the correct version?
Does it have an unexpected canonical?
Is it accidentally noindexed?
Does it redirect?
Is it included appropriately in the site’s structure?
Can users and search engines reach it through internal links?
Is there another duplicate version?
Did a redesign or migration create a technical problem?
You can have excellent content on a page, but if Google can’t properly access or index it, adding more keywords won’t solve the problem.
Step 10: Use Google Search Console to See How Close You Are
This is one of my favorite parts of SEO because it replaces guessing with actual data.
In Google Search Console, I can look at the page and see:
Which queries are generating impressions.
Average positions.
Clicks.
Changes over time.
Related searches the page is already appearing for.
Sometimes I discover that the page is already close.
Maybe the target keyword is averaging position 11.
Or 8.
Or 5.
That creates a very different strategy from a page Google barely shows at all.
Pages Already Close to Page One Can Be Great Opportunities
If a page is already appearing around the bottom of page one or top of page two, I investigate what may be holding it back.
Maybe it needs:
Better alignment with intent.
Stronger internal links.
More useful content.
A clearer title.
More external authority.
Better supporting content.
Consolidation with an overlapping page.
Or perhaps it simply needs time after recent improvements.
I don’t automatically create another page.
I work with the asset Google is already showing.
Step 11: Don’t Obsess Over One Exact Keyword
This sounds strange in an article about ranking for a specific keyword, but it’s important.
A good page often ranks for many related queries.
That’s a good thing.
For example, a page targeting a primary service might also appear for:
Close variations.
Long-tail questions.
Location variations.
Related service terms.
Different ways customers describe the same problem.
So I don’t judge a page exclusively by whether one exact phrase moved from #7 to #4.
I look at the broader query set.
Is visibility increasing?
Are impressions growing?
Are clicks increasing?
Are valuable related terms appearing?
Are leads coming from organic search?
That’s a much healthier way to evaluate SEO progress.
Step 12: Give the Work Enough Time to Produce Useful Data
SEO changes aren’t always reflected immediately.
Google has to discover changes, recrawl pages and process what changed.
Competition continues changing too.
That means I don’t make a substantial improvement on Monday and declare it a failure on Friday because the ranking didn’t move.
At the same time, I don’t blindly wait forever.
I monitor what happens.
If the page continues to struggle, I reassess:
Search intent.
The page we’re targeting.
Competitors.
Content.
Internal links.
External authority.
Technical health.
SERP changes.
That’s how SEO becomes an iterative process rather than a one-time optimization.
If you’re wondering what a realistic timeline looks like, read How Long Does It Take to Start Seeing Results With SEO?.
What If You’re Stuck on Page Two?
This is a common situation.
A page ranking somewhere around positions 11–20 may already have several things going for it.
Google understands the page.
It’s relevant enough to appear.
But it isn’t currently strong enough to consistently earn a page-one position.
That’s when I dig deeper.
I compare the page with what’s ranking above it.
I look at Search Console.
I review internal links.
I look for competing URLs on the site.
I examine the SERP.
I assess content gaps.
I look at authority.
And I check whether we’re trying to rank the correct page.
Page two isn’t necessarily a reason to start over.
It can be evidence that you’ve already built something Google considers relevant.
What If Another Page on Your Website Keeps Ranking Instead?
Pay attention to this.
Suppose you want Page A to rank for a keyword, but Google consistently shows Page B.
That may indicate:
Page B currently appears more relevant.
Your internal linking favors Page B.
The two pages overlap.
Page A doesn’t clearly satisfy the intent.
Your website architecture sends mixed signals.
This is where keyword mapping becomes especially useful.
Don’t simply stuff more keywords into Page A.
Figure out why Google appears to prefer Page B.
Sometimes I improve Page A.
Sometimes I reposition Page B.
Sometimes the pages serve different intents and simply need clearer differentiation.
And sometimes two pages genuinely should be consolidated.
Should You Create Supporting Blog Posts?
Sometimes.
But supporting content should have its own purpose.
If your main page targets:
“commercial landscaping San Diego”
a useful supporting article might answer:
“How much does commercial landscaping cost?”
That’s a distinct informational question that can naturally support the broader service.
What I don’t want is:
Commercial Landscaping San Diego
Best Commercial Landscaping San Diego
San Diego Commercial Landscaping Guide
Why Choose Commercial Landscaping San Diego
Top Commercial Landscaping Services San Diego
Those pages may start competing for essentially the same intent.
This is why I’ve become much more selective about publishing content.
More URLs aren’t automatically more SEO.
Do You Need Backlinks to Reach Page One?
Not every query requires the same level of external authority.
For some searches, backlinks can be very important.
For others, relevance, local factors, existing site authority, content quality and competition may create a different picture.
I don’t believe in universal statements like:
“You need 25 backlinks to reach page one.”
SEO doesn’t work that neatly.
Look at the actual search results and the strength of the pages you’re competing against.
Then decide where your biggest gap appears to be.
Do You Need to Use the Exact Keyword Everywhere?
No.
Your primary phrase can be useful in prominent places when it reads naturally, but I don’t try to hit a specific keyword-density percentage.
Use clear language.
Include relevant terminology.
Answer the subject thoroughly.
Write for someone who actually searched the query.
Don’t make the page sound unnatural just to repeat a phrase.
The goal is not to prove how many times you can type the keyword.
The goal is to create the right page for the search.
Can You Guarantee a Page-One Ranking?
No legitimate SEO professional can guarantee that Google will rank a particular website #1—or even guarantee a particular page-one position.
Google controls its search results, not SEO companies.
What SEO can do is improve the factors within our control:
Page targeting.
Search-intent alignment.
Content.
Website structure.
Technical SEO.
Internal linking.
Authority development.
Local optimization where relevant.
Measurement.
Continuous improvement.
That’s very different from guaranteeing a ranking.
What About Google Maps?
If your keyword has strong local intent, traditional organic results may not be the only opportunity.
Google may also show a local pack or Maps results.
Website SEO and Google Maps visibility overlap in some ways, but they’re not identical systems.
A business can rank well in Maps and less strongly in traditional organic results—or vice versa.
I’ve written a separate guide explaining why you may rank in Google Maps but not organic search.
If Maps is an important part of your search results, it deserves its own local SEO strategy rather than treating it as another organic position.
What About AI Overviews?
Google’s search results continue to evolve, and some searches may display AI-generated experiences in addition to traditional listings.
That makes it even more important not to define SEO success as:
“I need the blue link in position #1 for exactly one keyword.”
Search visibility can take multiple forms.
But I still come back to the same fundamentals:
Create clear pages.
Answer real searches.
Demonstrate legitimate experience.
Build a coherent website.
Make your information easy to understand.
Develop real authority.
And measure whether the visibility is producing useful business outcomes.
I don’t use a secret formula or schema trick that supposedly guarantees inclusion in an AI-generated result.
My Process for Targeting a Keyword
If a client tells me:
“Jen, I want to rank for this keyword.”
I don’t start editing the page immediately.
I first determine:
Is this keyword valuable to the business?
Then:
What does Google currently show for it?
Then:
Which page on the website should own that intent?
Then:
How strong is that page compared with the current competition?
Only then do I decide what needs to change.
Sometimes the answer is content.
Sometimes it’s internal linking.
Sometimes it’s technical.
Sometimes it’s authority.
Sometimes we’re targeting the wrong page.
Sometimes the keyword itself isn’t worth the effort.
And sometimes the page is already doing better than the business owner realizes because it’s generating visibility across dozens of valuable related searches.
That’s why strategy comes before optimization.
Final Thoughts: Give Every Important Keyword the Right Page
If you want to rank on page one of Google for a specific keyword, don’t begin by asking:
“Where can I add this keyword?”
Ask:
“What page should be the best result on my website for the person making this search?”
Then make that page as strong as you reasonably can.
Match the intent.
Cover the subject properly.
Make the page technically accessible.
Support it with internal links.
Build legitimate authority.
Monitor it in Search Console.
And improve it based on evidence rather than guesses.
If it doesn’t rank immediately, don’t create three more pages targeting the same thing.
Figure out what’s missing.
That’s the approach I use for my own website and for my SEO clients.
If you’d like help figuring out which keywords and pages deserve priority, I’m Jen Ruhman, a San Diego SEO expert with more than 20 years of experience helping businesses improve their organic search visibility.
Request a free SEO analysis or call/text me at (619) 719-1315.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I rank on page one of Google for a specific keyword?
Start by making sure the keyword is valuable and understanding its search intent. Choose one primary page to target that intent, compare it with the pages currently ranking, improve its relevance and usefulness, strengthen internal links and authority where needed, verify technical accessibility, and monitor performance in Google Search Console.
How long does it take to rank on page one of Google?
There is no universal timeline. It depends on your starting position, competition, website authority, page quality, technical health and the search itself. A page already ranking around positions 8–15 is in a very different situation from a new page on a new website.
How many times should I use my target keyword?
There is no keyword-density percentage I recommend. Use the phrase naturally where it helps clarify the page, and use related language where appropriate. Focus on satisfying the search rather than hitting a repetition count.
Should I create multiple pages for the same keyword?
Usually, you should first identify one primary page to own the search intent. Multiple pages can make sense when they serve genuinely different intents, but creating several near-duplicate pages simply to target variations of the same keyword can create unnecessary overlap.
Do I need backlinks to reach page one?
It depends on the query and competitive landscape. Backlinks can be important, but there is no universal number of links required for page one. Evaluate the pages already ranking and determine whether authority is actually one of your biggest gaps.
Can I pay Google to rank my website organically?
Google Ads can place advertisements in sponsored areas of Google’s results, but paying for Google Ads does not buy higher organic rankings.
Can an old page be improved to reach page one?
Absolutely. In many cases I prefer improving an existing relevant URL—especially one already receiving impressions or rankings—rather than creating another page targeting the same intent.
Why is the wrong page ranking for my keyword?
Google may currently consider another page on your website more relevant to the search. Review the two pages’ intent, content, titles, internal links and overlap. Sometimes clearer differentiation is enough; in other cases, consolidation may be appropriate.
Does schema help a page rank on page one?
Structured data can help Google understand certain types of information and can make eligible pages available for supported search features, but adding schema does not guarantee a page-one ranking.
Can an SEO company guarantee page-one rankings?
No SEO company controls Google’s organic results. Be cautious of anyone guaranteeing a specific organic position. SEO can improve your website’s competitiveness and visibility, but it cannot legitimately guarantee where Google will rank a page.
Oct 2, 2023 | SEO Tips
2023 is around the corner. Here are some important SEO trends to prepare for:
Voice search will continue to grow in popularity, so make sure your content is optimized for voice search
SEO is always changing and evolving, and one of the latest trends is optimizing content for voice search. With the rise of digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, more and more people are using their voices to search for information online.
And since Voice search is often used for local searches, it’s important to make sure your content includes relevant keywords and location information. In addition, since people often speak in full sentences when using voice search, be sure to use natural language in your content rather than keyword stuffing. If you keep these tips in mind, you can make sure your content is ready for the future of voice search.
Mobile optimization will be more important than ever – make sure your website is mobile-friendly
Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular, and it is estimated that by 2025, over 75% of internet users will be accessing the internet via mobile. This means that mobile optimization will be more important than ever. responsive web design is one way to make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
This involves creating a website that can be accessed easily on any device, regardless of screen size or resolution. responsive web design is essential for ensuring a positive user experience on your website, and it can also help to improve your search engine ranking. If you want to make sure your website is ready for the future, responsive web design is a must.
Content marketing will become even more important, so make sure you’re creating high-quality content that people want to read
As a business owner, you’ve likely heard of content marketing. Content marketing is the process of creating and sharing online material (such as blog posts, videos, and infographics) in order to attract and retain customers. And it’s an important part of any digital marketing strategy. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly 60% of marketers say content marketing is their top priority.
With that in mind, it’s clear that content marketing is only going to become more important in the years to come. So if you’re not already creating high-quality content that helps your target audience solve their problems, now is the time to start.
Not sure where to begin? Start by writing more blog articles. Blogging is a great way to position yourself as an authority in your industry and to attract new leads and customers. Plus, it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to get started. Simply decide on a topic to write about, and then start creating helpful, informative content that your target audience will appreciate.
Social media will still be a major factor in SEO, so make sure you’re using social media to promote your content
SEO is more important that Social media. SEO is the set of methods and technicalities used to optimize a website so that it can rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). The aim of SEO is to improve visibility and organic traffic from Google, Bing, and other search engines.
The benefits of SEO are many: higher brand awareness, more website visitors, improved engagement with target audiences, and increased ROI for businesses.
However, SEO is not a one-time effort; it is an ongoing process that should be incorporated into your marketing strategy. One way to do this is by using social media to promote your content.
By sharing your content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can reach a larger audience and get your content in front of potential customers and clients. In addition, you can use social media to build relationships with influencers and thought leaders in your industry, which can ultimately lead to more exposure for your brand. So make sure you’re using social media to promote your content and help improve your SEO efforts.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a bigger role in SEO, so make sure you’re using these technologies to improve your website’s performance
The ever-changing landscape of SEO is always keeping businesses on their toes. It can be difficult to keep up with all the latest trends and algorithm changes, but it’s essential to maintain a good ranking in search results. One area that is constantly evolving is the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in SEO.
Both of these technologies are becoming more and more sophisticated, and they’re starting to play a bigger role in how websites are ranked. As a result, it’s important to make sure you’re using AI and machine learning to improve your website’s performance. There are a number of ways you can do this, such as using AI to research keywords, optimize content, and track your website’s progress. By harnessing the power of these technologies, you can stay ahead of the curve and ensure your website is performing at its best.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your website is ranking high in Google search, then you need to make sure you’re keeping up with the latest SEO trends. Voice search, mobile optimization, content marketing, social media, and artificial intelligence are all going to be major factors in SEO in 2023. Jen Ruhman SEO can help you make sure your website is optimized for all of these trends so that you can rank higher in Google and get more traffic to your website. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your website’s performance in 2023.
Are you looking for a way to improve your website’s ranking on Google?
Jen Ruhman SEO can help. I’m a San Diego SEO expert – (and yes I actually live here in San Diego) in the field of search engine optimization, and I know what it takes to get your website ranked higher than your competition.
Higher rankings mean more traffic to your website – and more traffic means more business for you. Let Jen Ruhman SEO take care of your SEO needs and watch your business grow.
Contact us today for a free consultation!
