When you’re responsible for school open days and admissions, having a high-quality website is a fantastic starting point.
You can use it to showcase your state-of-the-art facilities, talk about your exceptional exam results, and highlight glowing reviews from students and parents.
However, how do you get people to visit your website?
That’s where a comprehensive approach to SEO for schools comes into play. Let’s get started with our SEO guide for independent schools.
What is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the science and art of increasing your position in search engines like Google, for specific keywords and phrases. This increases the amount of organic traffic you get to your website, increasing the probability of enquiries from parents.
So if you’re dreaming of ranking higher in search, it’s crucial to invest in SEO!
As SEO specialists for schools in the UK, we’ve put together five simple ways your independent school can rank higher in the search engines with the help of search engine optimisation.
1. Look at the keywords people are using
The first step when it comes to ranking higher in search is to look at the keywords and phrases people use on search engines like Google.
When you optimise your website for these keywords and phrases, you increase the chances of appearing on the first page of the search engine results.
An excellent place to begin is to consider keywords from people searching locally. For example, let’s say you run a school for the performing arts in London.
Your target audience could use keywords like ‘performing arts school in London’, ‘music and drama schools in London’ or ‘best performing arts school in North London’.
We’ve put together a great guide to carrying out keyword research to get you started.
2. Tidy up your existing content
When you think of tidying up your school, you might think of mowing the sports field, dusting down the trophy cabinet, or cleaning out the hamster cages. When it comes to ranking higher in search, it’s important to give your web pages a spring clean too!
Carrying out a website content audit is an effective way to give your pages a boost in the search engine rankings. Review your pages one by one and ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the page have a low bounce rate and a high average time on page? You can find this information out using Google Analytics
- Does your page focus on a specific keyword or phrase?
- Are your page title and description short and punchy? You can check using a Google SERP simulator
- Are all the images on the page relevant, of a small file size, and have appropriate alt text?
- Is your page easy to read and understand, and does it contain formatting like headings and bullet points?
- Does your page contain any external (i.e. links to other websites) and internal (i.e. links to other pages on your website) links?
- How many words does the page have? If it has less than 300, you might want to add some more
(And remember, if you’ve not got the time to do a website audit, we can help you out!)
3. Make your website mobile friendly
Whether we’re out and about or scrolling through Twitter as we watch TV in the evening, pretty much everyone has a mobile phone! In fact, about 70% of all website traffic now comes from people using mobile devices.
Mobile friendliness is a positive ranking factor in Google. This means sites that are optimised for mobile rank higher in the search engine results, while those that don’t get left behind.
We’ve put together a guide to carrying out a mobile SEO audit. You’ll need your web developer’s help to make your site more responsive, but there are still many things you can do yourself, like ensuring your content is clear and concise.
4. Get high-quality backlinks
Getting backlinks from trusted websites is a significant part of SEO. Think of a backlink as an endorsement of your site. The more endorsements, the more likely Google is to recommend you to its users.
The good news?
You’re in an enviable position as an independent school, as many websites will want to link to you. For example, local councils will want to feature you on their websites, and a backlink from a gov.uk website is a powerful endorsement indeed.
It’s essential to put the work in though, instead of sitting and waiting for the links to roll in. For example, you can connect with educational magazines and see if you can publish a guest article, or send a press release to local newspapers in your area.
5. Create listings for your independent school
Our final piece of advice when it comes to ranking higher in search?
Take advantage of listings and directories. By doing this, you not only build brand awareness and get valuable backlinks, but you can get what is known as NAP citations.
A NAP citation is when your name, address, and phone number appear consistently across websites and directories, which is a positive ranking signal, helping you to rank higher for local searches.
Another great way to rank higher in the search engines is to create a Google Business Profile. This provides Google with additional information about your independent school, making you more likely to appear in localised searches.
Looking to improve your rank in the search engines? Bubblegum Search is here to help
Did you find our SEO guide for independent schools useful? We can do even more for your school!
We specialise in helping independent schools across the UK rank higher in Google, meaning they get more organic traffic and enquiries.
Our team of SEO specialists helped Moulsford Prep School overhaul their SEO with a bespoke strategy and extensive keyword research. This led to a 35% increase in search engine traffic, and a 421% increase in high-ranking keywords compared to its competitors.
If ranking higher in search is a priority for the academic year ahead, we’ve got you covered. Find out more about our SEO consultancy services, or alternatively, claim your free SEO audit.