How to add keywords to your website for Google search
Where to put the words customers search for: page title, first heading, first paragraph, URL, images and links. A plain guide for small business sites.
Short answer
There is no keywords box on a website that Google reads. You add keywords by using the customer's words in the places Google looks first: the page title, the main heading, the first paragraph, the subheadings, the page address, image descriptions and the links between your pages. One main keyword per page.
Step 1: pick the words customers really type
Write down how customers describe the job on the phone, then check Google autocomplete and your Google Business Profile search terms. Four free ways to find them. For a local business, the best keyword is usually the service plus the city, such as "water heater repair Tampa".
Step 2: give each keyword its own page
One page for drain cleaning, another for water heaters. A page that tries to rank for ten services ranks for none of them. What goes on a services page.
Step 3: put it in the page title
The title is the blue line people click in Google. Start it with the keyword and end with your business name, and keep it under about 60 characters so it is not cut off. Example: "Water Heater Repair in Tampa | Ramirez Plumbing".
Step 4: the main heading and the first paragraph
Use the keyword in the big heading at the top of the page, then again in the first two sentences, written the way you would say it to a customer. Google and the visitor both decide in those first lines whether the page answers the search.
Step 5: subheadings as questions
Turn the questions customers ask into subheadings: "How much does water heater repair cost?", "How fast can you come out?". Each one is a second way to match a search, and the answers keep visitors on the page.
Step 6: the page address
Keep the address short and readable, with the keyword in it: yourbusiness.com/water-heater-repair/ is better than yourbusiness.com/page?id=12. Do not change addresses that already rank without setting up a redirect.
Step 7: images and their descriptions
Name photo files after what they show (water-heater-install-tampa.jpg) and fill in the alt text with a plain description. It helps image search and people using screen readers.
Step 8: the meta description
This is the grey text under the title in Google. It does not move your ranking, but a clear one with the keyword and a reason to call gets more clicks. Keep it under about 155 characters.
Step 9: link your pages to each other
From your home page and related pages, link to the service page using the keyword as the link text, for example "water heater repair" instead of "click here". It tells Google what the page is about.
What not to do
Do not repeat the keyword in every sentence, hide text in the same color as the background, or copy the same page for 20 cities with only the city name changed. Google treats these as spam and they can push the whole site down.
How to check it worked
Connect your site to Google Search Console (it is free). After a few weeks, the Performance report shows which searches your pages appear for and in what position. Pages on page two are the ones worth improving first.
Want it done for you?
Kingpin Sites builds six pages (home, 3 service pages, about and contact) around your real keywords for $399 one time. See a free preview first.
Free preview within one business day. $399 once if you like it.