Many functional medicine practices and holistic healthcare offices think the best way to get their website at the top of Google searches is by flooding their home page content with keywords. Believe it or not, this can dramatically reduces your ability to rank and can even hurt your rankings. Rather, each page on your site should target a specific keyword that is relevant to the content. That’s why it is important to optimize all of the pages on your site, not just the homepage.
Here are a few things to consider:
1. Google Can’t Rank Your Homepage For Everything
For small businesses that only serve one or two products, trying to rank your homepage may work. However, as your business begins to grow, Google will have a more difficult time ranking your page for each service or product you offer. Your homepage was initially structured to rank for one product, so adding new products and services only serves to confuse Google.
Let’s say for example that you run a garage door repair company. Google should be able to handle your lone service, garage door repairs. But as you begin to add other services like garage door installations and garage door maintenance, Google won’t be able to keep up.
2. You Can Wreck Your Site Rankings With Keyword Stuffing
Trying to rank your homepage for every term you want to be found for can actually cause damage to the rest of your site. Keyword cannibalization happens when you try to rank two pages for the same terms and topics. For example, you try to rank your homepage for a functional medicine doctor as well as a functional medicine doctor about page.
Google will see that you have two pages that cover similar topics and use similar keywords. This will confuse search engines, leaving the unsure which one should actually rank. More often than not this leads to neither page being ranked.
3. Accessibility to Your Users
Your website should be as user friendly as possible. The more user friendly your site the more likely it is that users hang around for a while, boosting the chances of them purchasing a product or service. Using your homepage to focus on keywords instead of accessibility could lead to users leaving your site before they’ve even given it a chance.
You should use your homepage to give the user a basic understanding of the product or service you offer. Putting up a 2,000-word wall of text filled with keywords isn’t the best way to do it.
What to do Instead?
So what should you do instead of trying to rank your homepage for everything? Instead, focus on ranking your subpages with the other keywords you want to be found for. Make a subpage for each service you offer and every location you serve, ranking each of them.
Optimize your homepage for your brand and general category by explaining to users and Google what it is your business does and why people should choose you. It’s ok if other pages on your website end up ranking above the main page.
We Can Help Boost Rankings
If you’re looking to boost your functional medicine practice’s website, our team here at Functional Medicine SEO is here to help. We offer a free market strategy session to help you get the most out of your website. Fill out this form and we will get back to you within 48-72 hours.
