When you hire a marketing agency to develop your SEO strategy, you assume that they are experts in the industry.
Never assume!
Think about this… Michael recently told me a story about him hiring a few contractors to redo the bathroom. He received a recommendation from a friend and felt pretty confident heading into the project.
Well, as the days progressed, Michael started to feel like something was wrong. Mind you, Michael is no expert in the world of construction, but he understands the basics.
Each day when the workers left in the evening, Michael would check to see how the bathroom was coming along. He immediately noticed some red flags with the wall tiles being crooked and a sloppy caulk job.
Now, Michael is concerned that if the contractors can’t complete a small task like laying tile, how will they finish the entire bathroom.
What’s the point of this story?
Understanding the basics of on-page SEO will help you spot potential red flags when working with an agency.
Basic on-page SEO includes optimizing Title Tags, H-Tags, and URL.
Learning the basics will not take too much time but will help protect you against getting ripped off by a marketing agency that doesn’t have the skills needed to develop an SEO strategy for your HVAC business.
So, let’s break down the basics of on-page SEO.
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Title Tags
Title tags are embedded within HTML and used to display the title of the web pages in search engine results, web browsers, and social media.
Your title tags should be around 60 characters in length. More importantly, check if this title includes Your-City Heating and Cooling or AC Repair Your-City. A common mistake we find with on-page SEO is using heating and cooling on the same page. For the best results, there should be separate pages, with one titled AC Repair Your-City and the other Heating Repair Your-City.
H-Tags
Header tags (H-Tags) are an important part of basic on-page SEO. Search engines use H-tags in part to determine if a website should be displayed on the results page.
There are different levels of H-tags, including H1 (title), H2 (subheadings), H3 (subsection for H2), H4 (lists & bullet points).
Since search engines use H-tags to determine the ranking of the page, make sure to check your headings for HVAC keywords, such as AC Repair Your-City or Your-City Ac Repair. If you don’t see these terms being used within the headings, it’s an indication that the SEO is not being implemented correctly.
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URL
If the page being optimized is not the homepage, it should include the main keyword in the URL. For a page with AC Repair as the main keyword, the URL should be yourdomain.com/ac-repair-city-st/.
The information here is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to SEO. Understanding and reviewing basic on-page SEO will help you stay involved with the process, and if you see mistakes, this is a strong indication that your entire SEO strategy is wrong.
At Proven Marketing Now, we can help determine the best marketing strategy to help your business grow. Contact us today to set up an SEO audit!