HOTH Optimization Training

Revised 12/10/2019

Intro
Welcome to the HOTH Optimization Training.

HOTH Optimization is a product that helps customers optimize the pages of their website so
they can be found in Google.

For some customers, we’ll just perform the research and provide suggestions in a report. We
also offer the option to implement the changes directly to the site.

Here you’ll learn everything you need to know to perform basic On-Page SEO.

What Is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing the content of a website to rank in search engines.

This includes optimizing HTML elements like title tags, meta descriptions, the content, internal
links, and more to make it easy for search engines to understand your website.

As opposed to On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO refers to optimizing factors external to your
website (like backlinks from other websites, brand mentions, and social signals).

Some times, we’ll be optimizing a page that already exists on a customer’s site, and other times
we’ll be starting from scratch and creating a new page.

There are a few key elements that we’ll be optimizing:

The Title Tag

Title tags are pieces of HTML code on a webpage that tell search engines what the page is
about.

This is often the text that appears in search engine results pages, and looks like this:
Meta Description

The meta description is a piece of HTML code on each page of your site that describes what the
pages is about. It’s often displayed right below the title tag in search engine results pages.

Header Tags

Header tags are pieces of HTML code that help structure the headings and the subheadings of
a page. These can tell search engines what the most important elements of the page are.

As an example, the h1 tag is generally the main header of a page. You’ll want to include your
keyword here.

Image Optimization

Images on your page can also give clues to search engines as to what the page is about.

Before uploading your images, use descriptive filenames. For instance, you can name a file
“tampa-fl-roof-repair-exmple.jpg” as opposed to “image1.jpg”

Alt text is a piece of HTML code that tells browsers and search engines the contents of an
image. Similar to the file names, you can use this to describe the image.
Why Is It Important?
On-Page SEO is important because this shows search engines what your website and your
pages are about.

Without proper on-page optimization, it will be difficult to rank for your targeted keywords and
generate traffic.

By understanding how to optimize your site, your chances of ranking will be greatly increased!

The Process

The general On-Page optimization process looks like this:

1. Keyword Research
a. We start by researching and validating “keywords” or key phrases. We’re looking
for phrases that people are searching for, that match the intent of the page.
2. On-Page SEO Planning
a. We’ll create new Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, H1 tags, and Alt descriptions for
images.
3. On-Page Implementation
a. We’ll log into the site and actually update the information.

HOTH Optimization Training

Now that you know a bit more about OnPage SEO, here are the steps to complete a HOTH
Optimization order.

Before You Begin

Tools You’ll Use:

Keyword Research:
● Ahrefs
● Ahrefs Site Explorer
 ● You can use this to see what keywords a site or page is currently ranking for
● Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
● Keyword research tool to search and validate keyword.

OnPage Optimization
● SEO Meta in 1 Click
○ This free google extension quickly displays Title, Header, and more for pages.
Just submit the page URL for a report.

Optimization Report Templates

● Optimization Report Template

● Template For Additional Pages

(You can make copies of these templates for your Optimization Reports.)

1. Order Setup

After you are assigned an order, you’ll need to get your templates set up and ready.

Video Demonstration

Here’s how to set up your order:

1. Copy paste the Optimization Report template into a fresh Google Doc.
a. Optimization Report Template
b. Template For Additional Pages
2. Open your Optimization order from this page.
3. View the inputs provided.

Visual:
2. Determine Current Ranking Keywords
If you are optimizing a page that already exists, then we’ll record if this is already ranking for any
keywords in Google somewhere.

This can give us ideas on keywords that we can optimize for.

Here’s how to research this step:

1. Navigate to the client site and assess the page listed in the order.
2. Open a second tab and navigate to site explorer in Ahrefs.
3. Input the client URL
a. Use the setting “exact URL” in the drop down menu in Ahrefs.
b. You’ll see an overview of the client’s site:

4. Click on the number under Organic keywords

 5. Record 5 keywords that the client currently ranks for.
● Search volume
● Cost Per Click (CPC)
● Position

Example Visual:

If the website ranks for less than five keywords, record the number that it does rank for.
If the website doesn’t rank for any keywords, record N/A.
If the website ranks for more than five keywords, record the top five keywords listed.

3. Determine Your Target Keyword

Video Demonstration

1. Evaluate the client page

○ Example: https://digitalenvy.ca/seo-services/
■ I can see this page is clearly about selling SEO
2. Google search for: “SEO services”
○ I’ve searched for a term relevant to the page
3. Grab top results for like-pages
○ Hint: look at the URLs to determine if it’s a similar page

On the Ahrefs Site explorer -- select “Content gap” on the left sidebar.
 ○ Put some top results from page 1 at the top

○ Click show keywords

4. Choose the most appropriate keyword with the best volume & Cost Per Click (CPC)
combination
○ Keyword chosen: SEO services
■ Note: your choice may not always be the top result
 ■ Plugin your keyword into Google to double check it’s relevant.
■ If not relevant: Do some ideation on the keyword selection - what word(s)
can you add or take away from your keyword and what results appear on
Google’s first page?
■ For example: keyword “social media marketing” results in mostly content
on Google’s 1st page. I want to rank a service page. So I changed the
keyword selection to “social media services” and several like-pages
appear on Google for this term.
● Google is ranking competitors for the term “social media services”
so it must be the optimal keyword choice.
■ Note: Search volume for the targeted keyword should be at least 100+. If
not, follow the below step.

5. Click the “SERP” button for relevant keyword and see top keyword and search volume at
the far right.
○ Click on the desired keyword (with 100+ search volume) to see volume and Cost
Per Click (CPC) in the keyword explorer page.

6. Once you have a keyword you can click the “also rank for” button on the left sidebar
under keyword explorer. A list will appear where you can select related keywords.
7. Select 5 related keywords for the report.

4. Add The Keyword Difficulty To “Keyword Note”

Once we have the target keyword we’re going to add a note that gives the client some more
insight into how many backlinks the average page has to rank on page 1 for the target keyword.

You’ll see a graph for Keyword Difficulty on the Keyword Explorer page when searching for a
term.
Just add the number from the paragraph below the keyword score for the approximate number
of backlinks needed.

Here’s how we add this note to our report:

Example Visual:
You should have 5 related keywords in the Related Keywords table for all reports.

Related keywords should be similar terms, but should not be variations of the same term.

The following examples do not count as relevant keywords: seo services atlanta, seo services in
atlanta, atlanta seo services

If the order includes web copy, you will include each of the related keywords at least once within
the page copy.

5. Record Current Titles, Meta, H1

Video Demonstration

Quick Option: You can use SEO Meta in 1 Click.

This free google extension quickly displays Title, Meta, Header, and more for pages. Just go to
the page and click the extension button.

○ Visual:
6. Find Top Competitor Titles for Targeted Keyword on Google
Video Demonstration

1. Type in the target keyword for client industry/niche

○ Ex: SEO services

Visual:

2. Use the above examples as inspiration to craft a quality title and meta description for the
Optimization Report.

We’re looking at the ads at the top of the search results because these have been specifically
crafted for conversions. So this means, these titles and metas work!
7. Create Recommended Title, Meta, H1, Alt Text

Formula for Title (Between 50-60 characters):

● Keyword First + Click Through Rate Element (benefit) + Brand

○ Ex: Metal & Steel Buildings For Sale in Florida - Victory Buildings
○ Ex: Garage Door Repair, Service, and Installation St Petersburg, FL - Genie

Formula for Meta (between 140-155 characters):

● Sentence 1: What you get (Call To Action) unique benefit

■ Ex: Get the best on-page optimization services.
■ Ex: Check out our readily available high-quality equipment at a great
price!
● Sentence 2: Why this site is the best / Features
■ Ex: Over 1000+ clients worldwide.
■ Ex: Over 20+ years of experience.
● Sentence 3: Additional Benefit / Features
■ Ex: Increase your rankings and beat your competitors.
■ Ex: Great financing options.
● Sentence 4: CTA
■ Ex: Click here to get started.
■ Ex: Click here to learn more.

Formula for H1 (between 50-60 characters):

Include Target Keyword and Benefit Driven

● Ex: Metal & Steel Buildings For Sale
Formula For Alt Text

These will be descriptive of the main image on the client web page. The top/most prominent
image on the page.

Example:

Alt Text: Stack of blueberry pancakes with powdered sugar and syrup

Here are some great resources that spell out how to create alt texts:

https://moz.com/learn/seo/alt-text
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/image-alt-text

When applicable, include the keyword -- but only when appropriate.

Example: https://pinchofyum.com/fluffiest-blueberry-pancakes
Alt text: blueberry pancakes with syrup and butter

Notes:
● Record an “n/a” in the following scenarios:
○ Video content
 ○ Scrolling images
○ Multiple images
○ No image

8. Add General Recommendations Section

All reports will include general Optimization recommendations at the bottom. You can add them
from this doc. You can make a copy of this as well.

Once you’ve added the General Recommendations information you’re done!

Optimizing Home Pages

The process for optimizing home pages is going to work differently than the process for
optimizing service pages because you don’t want to rank a home page for a keyword or several
keywords. It just won’t work.

Here’s the solution:

We’re going to optimize home pages for General Term + Brand.

This means the Title Tag Recommendations we create on Optimization Reports will look like the
below.

~Examples ~

SEMrush

Moz:
Best Buy:

Why is this their title and meta?

Because it’s important to speak naturally about what the brand does.

What is the client’s main identifier?

Some examples include:

Insurance
Auto Repair
Contractor
Brokerage
Family Law
Personal Injury Law
Financial Advisor
Web Design
WordPress Management

We’ll focus on creating quality optimizations for the subpages when we’re looking to target more
specific terms:

Some examples of what this would look like are below. The home page is the top term, the sub-
pages would be optimized for bulleted terms below.

● Insurance
○ Car Insurance
○ Home Insurance
○ Flood Insurance
○ Life Insurance
○ Condo Insurance
○ Motorcycle Insurance
 ● Financial Advisor
○ Wealth Management
○ Sustainable Investing
○ Research
○ Sales and Training
○ Sustainable Investing

● Contractor
○ Kitchen Remodeling
○ Bathroom Remodeling
○ Room Additions
○ Exterior Remodeling

Please read this resource to learn more about this concept:

Does homepage SEO exist at all?

Optimizing About Us Pages

An About Us Page is going to focus on the Company or Brand.

Formula:

Title Tag Formula: About + Company

Meta: (Brand) is a leader in x industry offering great solutions in a, b, and c for our clients. Learn
more about (brand) here. You’ll want to use some quality keywords relevant within the meta tag.

Examples:

State Farm

Goldman Sachs
Marion

We’ll optimize About Us Pages to be about the brand itself.

This will help build brand authority.

Optimizing Product Pages

Optimizing a product name is a little bit different than optimizing a service page.

We’ll want to create a quality title with this formula:

Title Tag Formula: Product Name + Benefit + Brand

Meta Tag Formula: Adds additional CTA material in sentence format

Examples:
Please read this resource to learn more about this concept:

Product page SEO

Optimization Report Examples

● Optimization Report: Flower Shop Homepage

● Optimization Report: Services Pages for a Flooring Client
● Optimization Report: Meditation Center Services

Here is where you’ll pick up orders

● OnPage Orders in Production
● Here is a video explaining how the process works!