SEO Tips To Strengthen Your Home-Care Business's Online Presence
The home-care services industry is set to grow by leaps and bounds. Statistics indicate that there will be a greatly increased need for home-care services within the next 30 years. In fact, it’s predicted that we’ll see a steep rise in the older population in the United States between 2010 and 2050. Projections indicate that around 86 million people living in the United States will be 65 or older by 2050 — more than double 2010’s over-65 population of 40.8 million.
The question that you should be asking yourself is: “Is my home-care business targeting the senior population in the right way?”
For home-care agencies, trust is the central theme that runs through every fiber of the business. A trusting relationship between two parties begins with your first interaction. Your clients receive their first impression of your company after viewing your website. With every subsequent connection, your online presence should accurately reflect the services that your home-care business provides.
As you build your online presence, it’s vital that you consider the fact that your clients depend on you to take care of their most personal needs. They’re looking for assurance that they can trust you to fulfill their needs in a variety of ways.
Because home-care assistance is an around-the-clock service, accessibility is one of the primary components of your business. This should be reflected in your online presence.
When you consider the essential qualities that potential clients are looking for in a home-care provider, such as reliability and trustworthiness, it’s important to take an objective look at your website and social media accounts to see if those qualities project loudly and clearly.
The following search engine optimization (SEO) tips can help strengthen your home-care business’s online presence, lead clients to your business, gain credibility and grow your business.
Create your personas.
I’ve found that it’s advantageous to create my personas before I begin mapping out keywords and strategies. The personas for this industry include:
• Seniors.
• Adult children who most often make decisions with or for seniors.
• Referral sources, such as social workers, doctors, and staff from hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, assisted living centers, etc.
The sales team is a valuable resource for getting information about previous clients, family members and other referral sources to help create personas.
Use the right keywords.
Don’t skimp on the time that you invest in doing keyword research. If you were looking for home-care services, what word or words would you be inclined to type into the search box? A potential client would most likely use phrases like “best in-home care” or “best home-care service.”
Once you identify the most common search terms, insert them into your content in the most natural way possible.
Optimize page-by-page SEO.
Do a page-by-page check to ensure that your keywords are optimized, but not overused. Google will reward you with a higher ranking when you strategically place keywords in your:
• URLs.
• Title tags.
• Body content.
• Image alt text.
• Meta descriptions.
Consider your website speed.
SEO optimization brings clients to your site, but if you can’t hold them there, it’s a wasted effort. Pages that take too long to load are a huge turnoff. Slow-loading sites can make 30 seconds seem like a lifetime. I like to use Google’s PageSpeed tools to check my sites. I make changes to pages that take over five seconds to load or aren’t user-friendly.
Grab users’ attention with a content strategy that’s shareworthy.
There are a lot of new things happening with home-care services today, especially with regard to technology. If you’re not up to date on the industry, your competitors will pass you by. Consider the following ways to inform:
• Videos.
• Interviews.
• Infographics.
• Guides.
• Podcasts.
• Case studies.
Bear in mind that new content will generate new questions. As I change content, I like to stay in the loop with the sales team to learn what new questions potential clients are asking so I can tweak my content marketing plan even further. I always recommend creating content in different formats, such as blogs, infographics and videos, so you can repurpose it as opportunities arise.
Beat the competition with a robust backlink strategy.
Backlinks heavily influence SEO. I like to put them to work by researching the backlink profiles of at least three competitors. From there, I can create a formula to get links from similar websites.
Use internal links as navigation tools.
Google seeks out your internal links to help it find, index and understand your content. Use them strategically to increase the ranking of your most important pages.
Feature positive reviews.
Under the home-care consumer lens, the statements of past clients speak volumes. Manage your reputation and incite trust by highlighting positive testimonials and answering negative comments.
Local SEO strategies bring traffic to your branches.
Even if your local branches don’t offer on-site services, local SEO optimization will increase those local calls and boost your SEO overall. Dedicate a separate page for every location on your website, and set up individual Google My Business pages for each.
Boost pillar pages with a topic cluster strategy.
Create pillar pages, and add an attractive offer, such as an e-book, as a means for collecting contact information. I’ve found it’s the best way to generate organic leads.
Let’s wrap it up.
The demand for home-care services is increasing. A good SEO strategy will help potential clients find your business within seconds, at any time, using a mobile or desktop device. As the home-care industry evolves, so should your SEO strategy. Consider that a high Google ranking is much like a full-page ad in the old yellow pages.
Blending a Strategic SEO & PPC Strategy for Great Results
Whether you are a part of an in-house marketing team or an agency, something is usually consistent in both as far as teams go. Now, I want you to do me a favor. Stand up and look around if you are either in an SEO or PPC department. Are your teams sitting together or separated? Chances are, it’s the latter of the two as this is common practice among digital marketing departments or agencies. This doesn’t mean you should be strategically separated, however. A well-blended SEO and PPC strategy can be vastly superior than running both separately without cross-team collaboration. So let’s dive in and see how we can achieve success for great results.
Capturing Clicks No Matter What Medium
Here’s an eye-opening statistic for you: approximately 90% of searchers don’t go past the first page of Google search results. 90%! So after reading this fact, it becomes apparent that getting searchers to click on your ad or blue organic link is important if you are already ranking on page 1. But capturing that searcher or position in the first place can be difficult. You could be ranking #11 for a search term in organic, but if searchers don’t scroll to the second page, you’ll be missing an opportunity to attract their business. This is why adding a PPC strategy on top of this is beneficial to split the difference in which you can easily rank #1 with a paid ad and spend the appropriate amount to stay at the top instead of waiting for organic to catch up, and there’s no guarantee it will. Practicing both mediums increases your chances of being seen!
Example: Home Depot has the top paid ad as well as the top organic position for the search term “exterior doors.”
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I’m talking about high level stuff here, friend! Think about all the classic combos of history. PB&J. A burger and fries. Bacon and eggs. SEO and PPC? I’m a firm believer in both of them serving their purpose on their own, but together, that’s really where the magic happens. A holistic approach creates a strong search engine presence – here’s how:
There are many ways to perform keyword research and a variety of tools to use in order to gather the data you need. One thing that I like to do when carrying out keyword research for our clients is to use Google Keyword Planner data. This probably isn’t new to you, as you probably do this yourself, but hear me out.
Maybe you are having success with organic keywords in certain keyword areas that are essential to your business. You are getting the traffic, but you aren’t getting the conversions! What can be done?
After implementing the blend, you can start reaping the benefits! Here are just some that you’ll be seeing:
In-Depth Keyword Cannibalization Analysis for 2020 and Beyond: Do You Have an Immediate Way Out?
Keyword Cannibalization
Needless to say, there are many SEO-centric misconceptions flooding the market but only a few marketers and experts actually realize the same and include remedial measures into the mix. While talking about the most common SEO mistakes is a topic for another day, we will now discuss a bit about the most overlooked SEO misconception that concerns keywords and their usage.
Understanding the Misconception surrounding Keyword Cannibalization
Marketers tend to feel that having more pages with the targeted keyword can help them rank better for the same. They feel that if Google gets to see different pages of the same brand with targeted keywords stuffed within, it becomes easier to trumpet the niche and get hold of elevated SERP rankings.
However, this is a misconception and here is why we must steer clear of the same:
Firstly, targeted the same term across different pages has an adverse effect on the overall SEO initiatives. This is because Google identifies each page as a competitor to the other and ascertain each for different ranking positions. Put simply, this would mean that the business, in a way, is competing with itself and not others.
Adding a Landing Page right before the Cannibalized pages can help mitigate the issues
Initial Cannibalization Impressions
Here is an SEO misstep that stands for lower CTR for each page besides leading to diminished domain authority. Most importantly, even the conversion rates suffer quite significantly as the attention is being distributed to different pages and the concerned firm isn’t getting the traction it deserves.
The Truth about Keyword Cannibalization
The term ‘Cannibalization’ is used if and when companies compete with their own pages which in turn split the CTR, link validity, and content results. Most importantly, the conversions are bound to get distributed if the issue of keyword cannibalization isn’t sorted at the earliest. However, this actually comes across as an issue only because it becomes hard for Google to get to the depth of the most relevant piece of content. This will now be demonstrated using a relevant use case study:
As visible, here are the three recently displayed results for someone searching for some good content on broken link building. While companies do offer decent posts regarding the same, none of them are as good as an industry resource. This is where keyword cannibalization is hurting companies as they are stuffing the same set of keywords across different pages which is then diluting the quality and isn’t yielding the desired set of results.
Most importantly, as the searches suffer, the mediocre posts, despite being in plenty, fail to generate the requisite number of backlinks. The best piece of advice which firms who have mistakenly stepped into the cannibalization territory can use is to pair all the pages into one which would then be hefty and offer the required amount of information to the concerned user.
However, there are certain instances when keyword cannibalization isn’t even an issue for the websites in general. That said, this is possible only if you are holding the highest possible SERP rankings for a particular keyword and that too for a longer period of time. Therefore, if you are planning to start blogging, precisely for building a brand identity or selling products, you need to steer clear of the threats posed by keyword cannibalization. However, if two of your blog pages are already at the top, like Bodybuilding.com, precisely for the given keyword, you can stop worrying for a fair bit.
As mentioned in the given screenshot, the firm doesn’t even look to fix this issue.
The reason is the fact that the website is looking to hold the topmost position which are yielding decent CTRs. However, in the process of staying at the top, two links as compared to one are minimizing the number of competitor clicks as according to tried and tested search patterns, individuals generally do not scroll beyond a few options.
This is a wrong strategy as mentioned in the given screenshot. At the metadata level, the first URL includes the Ankle and Chelsea boot premise which is already mentioned in the next links. The best idea to tackle this issue is to have a dedicated mother page for boots and then segregate the same as per ankle or Chelsea boosts, according to preferences.
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This looks like a more valid approach as the meta tag precisely concentrates on All Types of Winter Boosts rather than eating the credibility of other, more targeted pages.
Enlisting the Ill-Effects of Keyword Cannibalization
Now that we have seen practical use cases of this predominant threat to business performance, it is appropriate to take a closer look at the existing issues that can show up at any point of time:
• Diminishing Domain Authority
Every business looks to get hold of an authoritative page in order to look credible to the audience. However, keyword cannibalization doesn’t allow only one authoritative page to exist as the CTRs are divided moderately across all the relevant pages. While this might be good if the keywords aren’t competitive enough and the website already holds the top most position for the given search, there might still be an issue if a low quality page is placed higher than the more resourceful one.
• Dilution of Anchor text and Links
We all work for backlinks but cannibalization makes sure that only one source isn’t available as the info is now being split instead of being presented in a consolidated manner.
• Devaluation of Relevant Content
Individuals searching for content on Google would realize that keywords are the main search categories for users looking to get a query answered. Keyword cannibalization, however, kills of this practice as there are times when even Google is confused regarding search relevance. This is when certain overrated pages show up at the top whereas website pages with great quality content fall back in terms of SERP rankings.
• Ill-Usage of the Crawl Budget
It needs to be understood that crawl budget is the sum allocated to the search engine spider in regard to crawling the concerned website within a given timeframe. However, as the crawls are initiated on the basis of keywords, similar pages with same keywords added to them can adversely affect this initiative which eventually wastes the allocated budget.
• Degraded Page Quality
Although Google is quite intelligent and can still pinpoint relevant content for the user, keyword cannibalization might be an indicator that the existing page content, even on the relevant pages, are stretched thin. Moreover, in this case, the content might just not match with the keywords on display.
• Dwindling Conversion Rates
Needless to say, there will always be one page that will convert better as compared to others. However, if the brand would have been careful and consolidated the content, there would have been a cumulative increase in conversion rates.
Identifying the Loophole
The most probable technique for identifying keyword cannibalization is to create a spread sheet for enlisting the important website URLs followed by the associated keywords. Moreover, a keyword mapping resource can also be used. Once this process is initiated, it becomes easier to look for any kind of keyword-centric duplicate entry, especially in regard to the core pages. If and when identified, you have successfully detected the appearance of website keyword cannibalization.
Just for a tip: Even web page metatags need to be checked for duplicate keywords. Moreover, if you have any form of ranking tool at your disposal, it is necessary to double check for content and unexplained keyword addition to the wrong page.
Fixing Keyword Cannibalization
Once we have determined the root cause of the problem, it is appropriate to fix the same with a host of possible solution:
Start De-Optimizing
This might sound as a strange term but actually has a lot of potential, in regard to fixing keyword cannibalization. You can start by de-optimizing the web page that is silently killing off your authority by featuring as an unwanted entity at the top. However, de-optimization might take multiple forms as one can de-optimize the entire content steam by precisely removing the relevant keyword references.
Another approach could be to change internal links, precisely the anchors that are keyword-induced. Not just the internal links but the outbound links can also be changed for precise de-optimization. Any form of undesirable keyword linking should be immediately dealt with, using the Ahrefs’ anchor report.
Merge Pages
There might be two pages that have relevant bits of information. Moreover, with each offering a lot of knowledge, it isn’t prudent enough to delete either of them as a good page might have quite a few high quality inbound links. The best idea would therefore be to merge the existing pages in the form of a master resource. This step would preserve the entire link juice associated with both the pages.
Consolidation will make sure all the backlinks are preserved and redirected towards the master resource
Start using Canonicals
While the previously mentioned techniques were mostly remedial in nature, a great preventative measure would involve using canonical keyword representations instead of the same version. Keyword variations are necessary and can be linked back to the mother keyword sans any cannibalization issues. This way, even Google would be able to keep your willingness to add relevant ideas in mind. Google would then believe that you are willing to offer great content to the users instead of targeting the exact same keyword for gaining traction.
301 Redirects
In case time is a major constraint and you aren’t getting the required space for de-optimizing the pages, another piece of advice would be to use 301 redirects which work similarly to the call-forwarding mechanism. This is where all the link juice, website popularity, and other resources can be sent over to the best version of the keyword or the page with most relevant bits of information. This will make sure that the user looking for a concerned piece of content will automatically land onto the most appropriate version of the same.
Other forms of Cannibalization
Although we are currently discussing about keyword cannibalization in detail, we would also like to state the besides Internal cannibalization, there are other forms of the same, including Sematic Flux interference and even subdomain conflict. However, we would be addressing each one of them separately in the next discussions besides offering solutions for the same.That said, a certain degree of Cannibalization is encountered almost everywhere and this is what is hampering the growth of most online businesses. While we did mention a few strategies to combat the same, there are quite a few easy ideas like No-indexing the hampering page or Deleting the page, in case it doesn’t have any inbound link added to the same.
Final Words
Needless to say, keyword cannibalization is one detrimental aspect that might be negatively impacting your existing SEO and other digital marketing strategies. However, the best way to be sure is to conduct a side-wide search besides making a copy in the form of a usable template. That said, we will soon put forth a post regarding the more technical side of keyword cannibalization where we can discuss the more potent techniques for identifying the same with precision.
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