What is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. According to Moz, SEO is “the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.” If you want to get more traffic to your child care website, SEO should be a part of your marketing strategy. It’s important that you understand the misconceptions surrounding the topic of SEO so that you can avoid making those common SEO mistakes in your center’s digital content.
Common SEO Mistakes
Inaccurate Keyword Use
Keywords are a vital aspect of SEO. It’s important that search engines and web crawlers understand your content, and failure to use proper keywords would deter that. We recommend using tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Keywords Everywhere to find relevant keywords and phrases parents are using before creating content for your website.
Another common SEO mistake concerning keyword use is “keyword stuffing.” This refers to overusing keywords in an attempt to have your page rank higher in Google’s results. This technique, based on a misconception, will actually hurt your SEO because search engines will register this content as spam. To avoid this common SEO mistake, use keywords naturally throughout your daycare’s web content.
Poor On-Site SEO
Making your web content searchable and recognizable to visitors on a search engine requires a few extra steps. Each page on your website should include a meta description and title tag with the keyword that your content spotlights to tell search engines what it’s about. Internal links within your website content and image alt descriptions also help search engines understand and index your content.
Having too Broad an Audience
Having a defined audience for your daycare is essential in developing an online marketing strategy. The internet is a huge database, and in order to reach the right people, you must target them specifically. Find out exactly which parents you are trying to reach and in what general area. Then target those individuals intentionally with the appropriate language and message.
Lack of High-Quality Content
It’s important that your daycare’s website content is valuable to its visitors. Having excellent content will build trust and credibility with parents visiting your site and set your daycare center apart from your competitors. Your content must attract search engine crawlers to rank in search engine results. If the content your daycare develops creates an impact on its readers, then it is likely to rank well in search engine results and drive traffic to your website.
No Social Media Presence
While social media is not a direct SEO ranking factor for all search engines, it is a tool that will build authority for your website and drive unpaid traffic. By sharing your daycare’s website content on your social media, your website gains visibility and visitors. In the same way, adding social shares to your website will allow visitors to share your content with other parents. Additionally, search engines do include social media profiles and content in their databases.
No Mobile Optimization
Most millennial parents are using their mobile phones for internet use, rather than their desktop computers. Optimizing your content for mobile is crucial for reaching this audience. Make sure that your website is user-friendly on a smartphone. This is more important than ever because Google’s index is now mobile-first. You can test your daycare’s website for mobile-friendliness using Google’s testing tool.
