For most, it seems that the first port of call for parents thinking about moving house or schools is a Google search. The good news: SEO for school websites doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some basics and a good place to start;
1) Ensure Google knows who you are and what geographical location the user should be in.
Home page (including contact details) - You have to say it in plain language, right on your homepage
School name and optionally how it should be searched
Town/area and county
Full address and postcode
Phone number and email
Consistency in format across the site is important. Local searches: To strengthen the relevance of your search engine results, e.g. Searching school in [town].
2) Build (or enhance) your doorways to local content pages
Parents often search for:
Admissions / How to apply
Catchment areas
Open day / School tour
Term dates
Confirm that each of these items is on its own page with a title, plain English, headings and accurate details. Do not hide crucial information in PDFs only, for example.
3) Page titles and headings that reflect real searches
A page called “Information” won’t rank well. Instead, use titles like;
Admissions – [School Name], [Town]
Term Dates – [School Name]
Uniform Information – [School Name]
Use the headings parents will recognise from the page itself (e.g., “How to apply”, “What you’ll need” and so on).
4) Make sure your site is fast and compatible with all popular mobile devices
Most parents browse on their phones. When pages take too long to load, visitors bounce. Simple wins include:
Compressing large photos
Keeping menus short and clear.
5) Keep it helpful (and local, without going too far with the latter )
Why not consider a small ’ News’ or ‘Updates’ section, especially if you answer common questions here. Examples: back-to-school reminders; details of an open event, advice on “starting school”. Keep it factual and parent-focused. For help with Websites for schools, contact a site like fsedesign.co.uk/websites-for-schools/
6) Test your links and keep pages fresh
Broken links, misinformation about the dates when staff are available, or else old admission info will definitely put off visitors. This will undoubtedly damage trust (and rankings). General maintenance of high-traffic pages must be regular (and then put a termly reminder in your calendar to do this).
Search Engine Optimisation is not only about “gaming Google”, it means making your website more easily understood by search engines, and to navigate for local families.
