This type of SEO focuses on:

• Keyword research: Finding the best keywords to target on a page of content
• Content creation: Publishing high-quality content focused on target keywords
• Keyword optimization: Using the target keyword in all the right places and using good meta tag SEO.

View SEO Playbook

Where to begin?

On-site quick wins: Focus on inherited content and simple improvements for immediate impact.

• URL & Page Title/Headers
  • By default, the URL of your page is derived from your title. We also automatically make it semantically correct and remove the junk words that search engines don’t care about, like articles and conjunctions. Note that searchers often prefer shorter URLs, so if you’re looking for click-throughs, keep it short. Search engines also do not understand how to separate words in URLs when they run together without a separator (some can’t interpret underscores, plus signs, spaces), use a hyphen between words (automatically done on pages in Drupal)
  • Each page should have a unique H1 that describes the main topic of the page. As the main descriptive title of the page, the H1 should contain that page’s primary keyword or phrase. You should avoid using header tags to mark up non-heading elements. It’s an outline. Use header tags to introduce what the following content will discuss.
• Other Heading Tags (H Tags)
  • H tags (or heading tags) are HTML elements used to structure your content into a clear hierarchy, making it easier for both users and search engines to understand your page. They range from H1 to H6, with each level representing a decreasing level of importance.
    • H2: Subheadings that divide the content into major sections. Use H2s to introduce key topics or themes.
    • H3–H6: Sub-subheadings that further break down content within sections. Use these sparingly to add depth where needed.
  • Why H Tags Matter
    • For Users: Headings improve readability and help visitors quickly find the information they need.
    • For Search Engines: H tags provide context about your content’s structure and priority, helping search engines understand the relevance of your page.
  • Best Practices for H Tags
    • Use descriptive, keyword-rich headings to signal what each section covers.
    • Maintain a logical structure (e.g., don’t skip from H1 to H4).
    • Avoid overloading keywords in headings; focus on clarity and relevance.
    • By using H tags effectively, you enhance the user experience and improve your site’s search engine rankings.
• Body
  • In the first 100 words so that when Google crawls your page, they’ll see that the keyword you’re highlighting is an actual topic on the page. It may also help that keyword show again on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Then seed it another one or two times throughout the page. You want it to read naturally and not like you’re keyword stuffing.
• Keywords
  • Google Uses RankBrain, which reads the content on your page and links together related words, so for the search engine, it may not matter to them if you say “college” or ”school”, however keyword usage on the page is still important to the user.
  • To find the words that user’s are looking for we can use Google Keyword Planner.
  • You can either start with a keyword in mind and get related keywords, or plug in your website and see what they suggest for keywords.
  • Once you have your keywords, you can run a comparison on them using a tool like Google Trends. So if Nursing School and Nursing College are the top keyword recommendations for a page, they’re pretty similar, and you may want to just choose one. 
• Meta Tags
  • All the way back in 2009, Google announced that meta descriptions (and meta keywords) have no bearing on search rankings. That’s not to say that these descriptions aren’t important for SEO, though. What displays on the SERP can entice someone to click through, and those click-through rates affect your SEO.
• Images
  • Drupal inserts hyphens for words, but we don’t on uploaded images, so please be sure to save with hyphens before you upload. Also, if your keywords are applicable to your image, why not include it in your filename and alt text so that you show up in GIS?
• Links
  • Part of a website’s crawlability lies in its internal linking structure. The more links, the less equity your link has, so don’t stuff a link to everything on your site on your homepage, and also keep your user experience in mind. If they click and see a page of links without quality content, they may back out and increase the page’s bounce rate, which will then affect the ranking.

Optimizing your page

Intermediate Wins: Target more advanced strategies and new content creation.

• Optimize existing content with keyword research
• Enhance metadata for improved click-through rates
• Structure content to align with search intent
• Use analytics to identify and refine underperforming pages
• Improve content depth and quality