Good Karma Socials

SEO can sound like something you need an expensive agency, a complicated dashboard and a degree in Google to understand. But there are plenty of simple things you can do yourself to give your website a better chance of being found.

Here are five things to get right.

1. Start with the words your customers actually search for

Think about what someone would type into Google if they were looking for what you offer. A sustainable architect in Bath, for example, might want to be found for “sustainable architect Bath” rather than simply “architect”.

Use relevant search terms naturally throughout your page, including your page title, main heading and copy where appropriate. Don’t obsess over hitting a certain number of mentions. If you’re forcing a keyword into every other sentence, you’ve gone too far. Google considers unnatural repetition to be keyword stuffing.

2. Give every page a clear purpose

Every important page should answer a question, solve a problem or help someone take the next step.

We’ve all landed on websites with big, fancy moving graphics and impressive animations, only to spend a few minutes trying to work out what the business actually does. A website can look beautiful, but if visitors can’t quickly understand what you offer, it isn’t doing its job.

Good design should support your message, not get in the way of it.

3. Make your pages easy to understand

Use a clear page title, one main heading and logical subheadings to break up your content. Your title and headings should describe what the page is actually about, rather than trying to be clever.

Google’s guidance recommends making pages understandable for both people and search engines, including using descriptive titles and clear page organisation.

4. Link thoughtfully

Internal links help visitors discover other useful pages on your website, so link to relevant services, blogs or other content where it makes sense. You can also link to trustworthy external sources when they genuinely add value.

There is no magic number of links you need on every page. The important thing is that they’re useful, relevant and natural.

5. Write for people first

This is perhaps the most important one. Don’t create content simply because you think Google wants you to. Answer the questions your customers are asking, share your expertise and make your content genuinely useful.

Google’s current guidance puts a strong emphasis on helpful, people-first content, while its spam policies warn against creating content primarily to manipulate search rankings.

Still confused?

Before publishing a page, ask yourself:

☐ Is there a clear primary keyword or topic?

☐ Is the keyword used naturally in the title, heading and copy?

☐ Is the page title descriptive?

☐ Does the page have clear headings?

☐ Have I added relevant internal links?

☐ Have I linked to any useful external sources?

☐ Are images descriptive and accessible?

☐ Does the page work well on mobile?

☐ Is this genuinely useful to the person reading it?

SEO isn’t about stuffing keywords into every available space. It’s about making your website clear, useful and easy to understand — for both Google and, more importantly, the people you’re trying to reach.

Good Karma Socials is a digital marketing agency based in Bath. We help businesses write smart, thoughtful content that attracts the right crowd. We’re always happy to receive mail from like-minded businesses. Get in touch here.