Hey hey heyyyyy Reader,
This week I wanna chat about something that came up on a call with a member inside of Search Club.β
She was feeling pretty frustrated because her services page wasn't ranking anywhere in Google search results.
Not on page 1, or 2, or even page 10.
She had her target keyword planned out. And made sure to use the keyword in her page's SEO title, AND as the page's URL.
Her page was also pretty in-depth, and honestly helpful as fuck.
She had:
- FAQ section
- Visual examples from past clients
- Testimonials
- Good messaging/positioning
So what the heck was the problem?!?!?
She wasn't giving enough context clues to the search engine bots about what the actual KEYWORD was, that she wanted to rank for.
Aka she wasn't USING the keyword in enough STRATEGIC places.
Because if the search bots don't have context clues, then they lack clarity on where to put you in the index.
Lack of clarity = no rankings.
This is the step-by-step breakdown of what I told her to do:
π₯ Put her target keyword in the H1 heading at the top of the page:
Search engines put a lot of weight on the H1 heading when it comes to understanding the context of the page.
Think of the H1 heading like the title of a chapter in a book.
Each chapter has 1 title. This title gives context & is a good reference point.
π₯ Repeat the keyword AGAIN somewhere @ the beginning of the page:
Although she HAS the target keyword in her copy 6x (which is great!), it wasn't anywhere in the first 1/3 of the page.
The first time she mentions it is in the 3rd section, already 150+ words in. Not great. We wanna see this keyword sooner than that.
π₯ Infuse the keyword into the page's meta description:
She already had it in the SEO title, but not in the meta description.
Not having the keyword in the description isn't a ranking factor, but it IS a piece of metadata that search engines read to get more CONTEXT on your page, even if Google chooses to rewrite it (which happens quite often!)
π₯ Pull the FAQ's *out* of an accordion:
Her accordion wasn't working properly when clicked, which is a UX issue for search & AI bots, annnnnd website visitors.
And FAQ's are too helpful to not be read.
(Note: I have a love/hate with accordions. Most of the time I won't use them and will just put the content on the page, other times I think they're helpful to organize info. Kinda depends on the design of the page & how your website platform renders them in the code)
π₯ Add MORE FAQ's:
Right now I think she only had 1 or 2 of them.
Adding more will not only help bulk up the page and make it even MORE helpful, but it's also a great opportunity to reinforce the keyword AND give potential leads the sales info they're looking for.
π₯ Add more links TO this page, from other pages on the site:
Interlinking your pages together is SEO gold.
If I wanted a specific page to rank better, I would go back into my homepage & other pages that are already ranking and add LINKS to this priority page, if & when it makes sense.
After she makes those changes, to the page & her website, I would then suggest that she...
π Submit the updated page to Google via Google Search Console
(Here's a quicky tutorial on how to do that if you're curious!)
And if you haven't set up Google Search Console yet, DO THIS NOW (I'm yelling bc it's important LOL)
π Share this priority page on social media + with email list.
Driving traffic to a page can make Google pay attention to it more.
Pinterest is also really good with helping with this. If you can get Pinterest to pick up a pin that's connected to this priority page, Google EATS IT UP. It's like Pinterest + Google algo's feed of each other. It's weird LOL but I've seen it quite a few times.
π Try to get backlinks to this priority page.
Domain authority is a thing, but so is PAGE authority. And if you want a page to increase rankings, getting other people to link to it can really beef it up w/ off-page SEO juice.
This can be pretty tricky because you don't really have control over what pages people link to on your website most of the time, BUT I've found podcast guesting to be incredible for this.
Why?
Because podcast hosts usually create show notes on their website, and they'll ask you (the guest) what links you want to include. If you give them the link to this priority page because it makes sense with the convo you had with them it's a win-win.
Their audience gets a direct link to a helpful service + you get the backlink to your services page for SEO juice!
Wanna see an example of how all of this can come together, WITHOUT sounding like an SEO-obsessed robot?
- This previous client of mine is ranking on page #1 for "boston film wedding photographer" in her area. It's her homepage that's ranking for that keyword, and if you see it, it's beautiful & branded & lovely, while also being VERY strategic with intentional keyword placement.
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- My DIY SEO Course sales page ranks #1 for "DIY SEO Course" -- you can see here that I'm using that keyword a BUNCH of times on the page, but the copy is long & strategic, so it doesn't sound spammy.
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- This previous client of mine has her local services page ranking on page #1 for "hydrafacial boulder" -- notice we say the location + the keyword "hydrafacial" a TON on this page, but it's so well designed that you barely even notice!
SEO doesn't have be a snooze fest or robotic sounding.
It just has to be strategically giving CONTEXT CLUES about what you're trying to rank for...
Aka what KEYWORD is this page the BEST solution for???
(NEWSLETTER SPONSOR) This newsletter is sponsored by Holly Marie Haynes, creator of Anti-Social Schoolβ’β the signature system for scaling your business without social media.
Craving a December marketing reset???
Ditch the Social Drama is a free private podcast + workshop that walks you through Hollyβs exact off-social formula for growing your email list and attracting aligned clients, without creating reels/TikToks, dancing & pointing, or the algorithm.
December is the perfect time to reset your strategy before the new year hits π₯
Listen on your own time!
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π Action step for this week:
Pick ONE services page, product page, or sales page on your site and clean up the keyword clarity.
Hereβs what I want you to do (10β15 minutes, tops):
1οΈβ£ Put your target keyword in the H1β
Make it literal. Make it obvious. Make it CLEAR AF what this page is about.
2οΈβ£ Use the keyword again in the first 150 wordsβ
Donβt bury it halfway down the page β search bots AND users need the context early.
3οΈβ£ Add your keyword to the page's SEO title + meta descriptionβ
Google might rewrite them (lol, they love doing that), but YOU still give the bots an extra signal about what the page covers.
4οΈβ£ Add 1β2 internal links pointing TO this pageβ
Go into your homepage, about page, or related blog posts and add a link where it naturally makes sense.
Interlinking = SEO gold.
Thenβ¦
π Submit the updated page to Google Search Console.β
It's like a lil' tap on Google's shoulder to go back & recrawl it so it can see the changes you've made.
Thatβs it.
One page.
4 tiny tweaks.
HUGE impact on how clearly Google (and AI bots) understand what youβre trying to rank for.
Want more support with implementing SEO?
Join Search Club; the SEO membership πβ€οΈβπ₯π
Search Club = where we prioritize taking action, even if you only have ONE hour a week. Implementation support & strategic guidance to help you stop guessing & start ranking.
Doors opening to join in Q1 2026!
β>> Join the waitlist here to be the first to know & get dibs on available spotsβ
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