What is Childcare SEO and Why is it Important?
SEO, keywords, backlinks, sitemaps, blogs —these terms come up time and time again. But what do they actually mean, and why are they important for your childcare centre?
SEO is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the “process of maximising the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring the site appears highest on the list of results returned by a search engine.” SEO is a valuable tool for brand awareness, building relationships with prospects, and positioning yourself as an authoritative and trustworthy expert in your field.
SEO is about implementing simple elements on your website to ensure high online visibility. This means more traffic to your website and more opportunities to convert prospective families into enrolled families.
SEO comprises multiple elements, and understanding what they are and how they work is key to online search success. It’s a vital component of any digital marketing strategy. Before diving in, it’s essential to understand how search engines like Google work to maximise their capabilities effectively.
Download our Childcare SEO checklist here and let’s get started!
How does Google work for childcare SEO?
Google, holding 93.2% of the online search market share, uses complex algorithms to organise and rank content, aiming to provide the most relevant information to a user’s search. The primary goal of an SEO strategy is typically to rank highly on Google.
According to SEMrush, Google operates the following stages to find and rank content:
- Crawling: Google uses “bots” to crawl the web and find new or updated pages. For Google to find a page, it must have links pointing to it. Generally, the more links a page has, the easier it is for Google to locate that page.
- Indexing: Google analyses the URLs discovered and tries to understand what each page is about by looking at the content, images, and other media files. It then stores this information in its Google Index.
- Serving: After assessing URLs, Google determines which pages are most relevant to users’ search queries and organises them by relevance in the search engine results page.
The Childcare SEO programs you need
Before starting your SEO overhaul with our Childcare SEO checklist, we recommend setting up four essential programs to simplify the process and extract the most value from your SEO efforts.
Google My Business account
This tool enables you to manage your Google Business listing, making it easier for families to find your childcare centre on Google Maps.
Google Search Console
This free tool helps you track your site’s performance in Google search, identify keywords that bring traffic, submit your sitemap, and fix website errors.
Here is a great step by step guide to help you get started with Google Search Console.
Google Analytics
The best way to see how people find and use your website. It helps you track traffic, understand which pages drive the most traffic, and identify sources of your traffic.
You can also connect your Google Console with Google Analytics. Here is a guide from Google on how to create a Google Analytics account and set it up on your website.
Yoast SEO (if you have a WordPress site)
This popular SEO plugin simplifies SEO tasks. Once downloaded and activated, it integrates into every website page.
The Childcare SEO Checklist
We’ve created a comprehensive Childcare SEO Checklist to help you optimise your website for SEO success.
Download the Childcare SEO Checklist here.
Before you start, ensure you have the programs mentioned above and have conducted thorough keyword research. Keywords are the foundation of SEO, so it’s crucial to research, review, and create a robust list of keywords to use in your content.
Here are some great resources to get you started:
- Beginners Guide to Keyword research
- Google Keyword planner and how to use it
- Identify low competition keywords with KWFinder
- Identify question keywords with Answer The Public
Don’t be overwhelmed by SEO or its jargon. By following our Childcare SEO Checklist, you’ll be an SEO master in no time. Here is also a great glossary of terms if you get stuck.
Enrolment Hub – Your Partner
Enrolment Hub offers a comprehensive range of services, including childcare administration, childcare management solutions, childcare centre enrolment, childcare marketing solutions, childcare debt support, new child care centre support, childcare software management, childcare centre resources, vacation care management, childcare enquiry support, and child care consultants
If you need a little helping hand, or just someone to speak with to wrap your head around it – our Marketing Team are here to help. So don’t be afraid to reach out here.
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