Not sure what keywords to target for your homepage, About page and landing pages? Check out This cheatsheet!

HEADS UP!

This is an excerpt from my upcoming course SERP Slayer which takes you through every skillset you need to nail in order to become a confident SEO copywriter (the type who never has to second guess themselves again).

Many copywriters get stressed when they take on website copy projects because they aren’t sure what keywords to target for each webpage. They’re chained to their desk for hours on end asking themselves…

What should I target for the homepage vs the about page?

Should keywords go into a sales page?

How am I supposed to build out services pages for SEO? 

We cover all of this in this blog so you won’t be stuck second guessing yourself over your keyword choices.

You’ll also be able to explain to your clients why you’ve chosen the keywords you have for each page and more confidently defend your choices.

What Keywords to target for a Homepage 

Note: %SEP% just means a separator (for instance mine is a straight line – you can see how I’ve used it to separate my brand name and my primary keyword for that page below). This is how it’s denoted with the SEO plugin RankMath, but it may differ with another like Yoast.

When it comes to the keyword on your homepage try and make it as “bottom-of-funnel” as possible. What would someone search for when they know EXACTLY what they’re looking for?

Here are some ideas:

• What they do and who for %SEP% brand name
  • PR for Entrepreneurs 
  • Internet Marketing Agency for Healthcare Providers 
• What they do + location %SEP% Brand
  • Pet Photographer, Brixton 
• What they help people do %SEP% Brand
  • Learn Languages Online: Start for Free – Busuu (nice little inclusion of a benefit and CTA here)

What Keywords to target for an About Page 

• You can target a variation of a keyword that could also be applied to the homepage, but About pages generally just rank for the brand name
  • Example: “In-Person Dog Training, NJ – BRAND NAME” might be targeted for a homepage and “Professional Dog Trainer, NJ” might be targeted for an about page 
• But the URL slug should be “about” or similar 
• You can use a keyword in H1 (“I’m Lane, a Professional Dog Trainer based here in Short Hills, New Jersey”), but don’t use it in the title tag
• In the title tag it should be clear that it’s an about page: “About %SEP% Kala’s K9s” 

What Keywords to target for a Contact Page 

Not necessary. Title tag,  URL etc should just be “contact”. Let’s not complicate our lives here. PS the same goes for blog.

 What Keywords to target for a services page 

• Each service should be on its own individual page with a main, overarching page used for navigation 
• You can choose to “silo” your services pages (nest the URL under a main services page)
  • Example: seo-copywriting-services/seo-website-copywriting 
• For main services page
  • Can target a keyword in H1 & Title tag but generally speaking you can just have the URL of the main services page be /services (I find this easier on the eye, especially if you silo the pages)
  • Don’t write too much copy on this page as it is mainly for navigation
• If your client offers 5 services I would suggest writing 5 different services pages to get the most out of their SEO efforts 

 What Keywords to target for a sales page 

Bit of a doozy, most of the time when we are working with course creators the likelihood of people finding their course and converting from organic traffic isn’t too high (unless they are using branded search terms and are specifically looking for that course). 

This is why I don’t usually bother too much with SEO for course sales pages. The SERP is also dominated by aggregate sites like Udemy and ads so it’s hard to stand out. 

Generally speaking, if launches are closed it’s best to avoid SEO ( you don’t want to send people to a sales page that isn’t actually there) 

Check and see if any keywords could fit, but don’t stress – sales from higher ticket courses usually come in the form of launches, email and paid ads rather than SEO 

Related content: Top Sales Page Mistakes Course Creators Make (and how to fix ’em)

• But a good place to start re potential keywords that might be in with a shot are:
  • Learn [keyword]
  • [keyword] course 
  • You can also create an article on “Best [keyword] courses” and put your own option as number 1 

What Keywords to target for landing pages for email building 

• Depends on the type of lead magnet but “[keyword] + PDF” is a great idea for a lead magnet (my own “Free SEO tools PDF” did quite well using this) 
• Other keyword terms include
  • [Keyword] + Checklist 
  • [Keyword] + Guide 
  • [Keyword] + Excel 
• Remember – this is COLD traffic, you may need to write a longer landing page than you’d expect to get an email, especially if there are other, non-committal options on the SERP 
• If it’s a landing page just for a course waitlist, I’m not sure I’d spend a whole lot of time on SEO here. Again, this person has no idea who you are so it’s a hard sell to get them to sign up for a waitlist without knowing anything about you.

there’s plenty more where that came from

I’ve created a free, 5-day email keyword research course. You’ll get one email a day with a new lesson to help you overcome your keyword research blocks (and stop you going down those rabbit holes).

Sign-up today!