But what happens when you’ve created what you thought to be a perfect landing page, yet somehow it’s not ranking nearly as high as you thought it would?

To most SEO’s, the answer is obvious: it needs more links.

…Or does it?

Today I’m going to explain how I moved a city page from the second page of Google, all the way to the top 5 results without links (hint: it has to do with content).

How I Moved A City Page From Page 2 to The ‘Top 5’ Without Links

The Situation

Before I spill the beans, let me quickly explain the situation, and what my goal was.

One day, I was looking through All American Locksmith’s Search Console property for “opportunity keywords:” high-value, 2nd page terms with lots of impressions. I quickly set my sights on “locksmith norwalk ct.”

The Norwalk city page was ranking at the top of page 2 for that term, and it was generating tons of impressions, so I quickly knew that I had found the perfect candidate to try my experiment on.

What I Did

For reference, the Norwalk page used to be very similar to the other city pages. Check out the North Branford page: https://www.allamericanlocksmiths.net/coverage/new-haven-county/north-branford/

Something had to change. But what? Here’s what I did…

• Removed all redundant instances of “Norwalk” from the H2’s
• Revamped the “more about Norwalk” section. I’ve heard a lot of SEO’s talk about mentioning specific landmarks in the copy, so I decided to give it a try:

Now most people might view this as spammy, and I agree to an extent; however, in a world where clients rarely give us original, local imagery or content, we have to do what we can to improve their rankings.

We recognized that this irrelevant block of text about popular Norwalk attractions is not ideal for the user; that’s why we added some padding around it. This way users know to scroll past.

The result?

So there you have it. Sometimes fresh content can do the trick, even if it’s not super useful to the user.

If you would like to know more about how we can improve your site’s local SEO, then contact us today!

The post How to Improve the SEO of City Pages Without Links appeared first on Staging for New Website Development - 7/7/2026.

Today we will be outlining 4 steps you can take to improve your restaurant’s visibility in the search engines.

1. Optimize Your Google My Business (GMB) Page

When it comes to local SEO, nothing is more important than Google My Business. Think of your GMB as your secondary homepage: it’s the first page that users usually see; therefore, it should be your mission to make it so enticing that they want to click through to learn more.

Be Thorough With The Basics: If Google Asks For It, Fill It Out

Start by filling out everything that’s available to you on the backend: your restaurant’s name, address, and phone number; the type of restaurant you are (Chinese, fast food, pizza), a link to your menu, and a short description of what you offer.

We’re located in Wallingford, CT, so I searched “pizza near me.” The top result is Main Street Pizza in Wallingford. Notice that they labeled themselves a “Pizza restaurant,” and they offer a link to their menu, as well as places where users can order from.

This example also shows us areas that can be improved. Notice “Columbus day might affect these hours?” Setting holiday hours can separate you from the pack.

Boost Click-Through With Images, Videos, & Posts

At its core, SEO is about creating content that searchers want. What do people want from restaurants? Pictures of the food they serve. Upload a gallery of rich images: showcase mouthwatering entrees and appetizers.

While your cuisine should be top of mind, be sure to take pictures of your establishment, and upload them to the “atmosphere” section:

Pictures like this let me know that this isn’t strictly a place for pick-up. These images answer questions like: can I sit down and eat? Is it just a grab-and-go? Is it nice enough for a romantic dinner? Define who you want to be, and state it with pictures like this.

In April 2018, Google added a section for videos. These videos can only be 30 seconds long, so pick a delicious-looking dish and promote it. If people come to your establishment for the atmosphere, then showcase that instead.

In addition to images and videos, be sure to utilize Google posts. Posts allow you to promote events and specials: they can be a max of 300 words, and they allow you to link back to your site with “reserve,” “sign up,” “buy,” and “get offer.” For more information about how to set up and utilize Google posts, check out our step-by-step guide.

2. Build Citations & Maintain a Consistent NAP

According to Bright Local’s recent study, local businesses who rank on the first page of Google have an average of 81 citations. It’s true that citations are an important component of local SEO, but do you really need 81 citations? In our experience, no: Keyword Performance does build citations, but we focus more on relevancy than volume. That being said, we do agree with Bright Local’s ‘top 10’ list:

● Facebook
● Yelp
● Mapquest
● Yellowpages
● Local.yahoo
● Superpages
● Whitepages
● Dexknows
● Bizstanding

In addition, we recommend all social platforms, like Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram. Once you’ve created these key listings, you should hone in on relevant sites, like Foursquare.

The Best Citations For Restaurants

Aside from Facebook, the only place on the above-mentioned list that you may get customers from is Yelp. The other citations are purely for the search engines. If you’re looking to actually generate leads, then you should focus on:

● Yelp
● Foursquare
● Trip Advisor
● Grub Hub

Like GMB, you should take the time to flesh these profiles out with rich content.

To appease the search engines, it is important to make sure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) is consistent across the board. Search engines are like easily confused customers. If one part of your menu says the steak is $29.95, but another part lists it as $15.95, your customer will start asking questions. Similarly, if I was interested in visiting a burger joint and one person told me it was on Main St., but another person told me it was on South St., then I would be less likely to know where the place is actually located. Search engines think the same way; therefore, it’s best to ensure that your name, address, and phone number is identical across all citations

Be Mindful of Duplicate Listings

Search engines frown on duplicate listings because it makes it harder for them to decide which is the “true” version. To find duplicates, you should perform a NAP audit. Set up a spreadsheet like this:

Use search operators to quickly search for duplicates. For example, here’s what comes up when I search inurl:yelp “keyword performance”

Using the “inurl” operator searches only that domain. Take our advice and pay close attention to Manta and Yellow Pages because duplicates pop up there all the time.

So, what do you do if you find a duplicate listing? Reach out to the webmaster and ask to have it removed. Even if you don’t get a response, some sites, like Google and Yellowpages, offer a “suggest an edit” feature that allows users to submit feedback.

3. On-Page SEO: Write Compelling Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

Titles will forever be the most important written element for customer acquisition. Walk down the check-out aisle in your local grocery store, and study those magazine covers. Forbes and Rolling Stone weren’t always industry giants. They developed clout by delivering quality content, and a lot of that success can be attributed to the enticing titles that they’ve crafted over the years.

Writing titles for the Internet isn’t much different; on the contrary, since you can actually use the search engines to help you, it can be easier. Use Google Suggest to conduct your keyword research and pay attention to the top results for your target queries. In addition to organic results, don’t rule out the winning PPC titles. An ad that receives more clicks will beat an ad that costs more.

In addition to Google Suggest, try SEM Rush’s free “keyword magic tool.” The magic tool pulls all these “suggested” phrases, and even gives you some search volume to help you prioritize the words you should be using:

As you can see, words like “best,” “deliver,” and “great” are all heavily searched together with “Chinese restaurant,” so incorporating these into your titles and descriptions should help to improve click-through.

Brian Dean’s extensive copywriting guide is also worth a read. Like all great copywriters, Brian advocates the use of power words, like:
● Today
● Right now
● Fast
● Works quickly
● Step-by-step
● Easy
● Best
● Quick
● Definitive
● Simple

If you offer pizza delivery, then the word “fast” should be top of mind.

Avoid Lengthy Titles & Descriptions

If your title tag or meta description is too long, then search engines will truncate it with ellipses. To avoid this issue, use a free SERP simulating tool, like this one from SEOMofo. It’s much easier to write when you can actually see what it will look like in the SERPS

4. Use Schema Markup

Schema essentially tells search engines what content actually means, rather than just what it says. While not technically a ranking factor yet, schema is becoming more and more prevalent. SEO’s everywhere have been talking about how important schema is to voice search, so why not include it?

A lot of people hit a wall with schema because they find writing code to be intimidating. Luckily, there are many great tools that generate the code for you. My favorite is Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator:

All you have to do here is select “local business” at the top.

Next, select “FoodEstablishment” and “Restaurant”

Fill in the fields, “validate” it with the structured data testing tool, and you’re good to go!

To install, copy and paste the code into the <head> section of your website. If you have a WordPress site, then go to your dashboard, hover over “Appearance,” and click “editor.”

Look at the sidebar on the right and click “header.php”

You will get a message from WordPress warning you that you will be making direct edits. Click “I understand”

Hit Control F, and type “/head” in the search box.

This will bring you to the end of the <head> tag, “</head>”

Place your cursor at the end of the line above “</head>” and hit return

Paste your schema code here, hit “update file” at the bottom, and then test your site with the structured data testing tool. Plug the URL of your homepage into the tool and hit “run test”

If done successfully, you’ll see LocalBusiness on the right-hand side

If you have any SEO tips for restaurants, then feel free to leave a comment.

If you’re a restaurant owner in Connecticut, then drop us a line: we’re always eager to help businesses that are in our own backyard!

The post 4 Powerful SEO Tips For Restaurants appeared first on Staging for New Website Development - 7/7/2026.

“Understanding the intent behind the keywords you target simplifies the entire SEO process,” wrote Search Engine Land contributor Marcus Miller. “Trying to rank content where the intent of your message is different to the intent of the search term is doomed to failure.”

Instead he advises, “Creating content that ranks well and converts users requires a crystal-clear understanding of what the searcher is looking for. By simply searching for the terms we want to target and reviewing what content ranks well, we can identify what type of content we should be creating.”

The Three Categories of Search Intent

In general, there are three types of search intent: informational, navigational and transactional. Let’s take a closer look at those:

Informational intent. This is simply web surfers looking for information about a subject, whether it’s the weather, advice about child-rearing, recipe suggestions or what’s involved in ripping up and replacing old kitchen tiles. Informational searchers are looking to educate themselves on a topic before they take any concrete actions.

Navigational intent. Web surfers with navigational intent are trying to get to a specific website for whatever reason. They might be looking for a specific social media site or seeking information on a store’s hours, for example.

Transactional intent. The third major type of search intent is transactional intent. This is a web searcher looking to do something specific: make a purchase, submit an application or pay a bill. These individuals may also browse a little between sites to find the best deal, but the end goal is to complete a transaction.

The Intent May Lie in the Keywords

So how do you customize your SEO by determining search intent? The clues lie in the words people use in their searches. If browsers are using words like “buy,” “deal” or “discount,” or naming specific products, they are probably transactional searchers. Searchers using words like “information,” “how to” and “best way to” probably have informational intent. Navigational searchers will search by website name.

Optimizing the Content for Search Intent

The next step is to make sure your landing pages fit search intent. If web surfers are doing research and searching for information, you don’t want to put them off by flashing them a product page (not yet, anyway). You might scare them away. On the flip side, if searchers want are looking to buy your product, you don’t want to bore them with hypotheticals and long articles. Instead, your goal should be to present your products and services in an accessible way.

If you’re having trouble determining searcher intent, you should consider asking your audience a short pop-up survey. Keep it short and simple, though…your searchers will become annoyed with anything that takes more than a few clicks.

SEO continues to change along with market shifts. As more and more web surfers use their voice to conduct search, it’s also changing the way keywords and targeting works.

In need of SEO Consulting? Keyword Performance offers expert services that take into account the specific needs of each client. We work closely with clients to learn what it makes their business unique, and what is needed to be successful on the Internet, and show you how to get there.

Contact us today!

The post For Better SEO, Gain An Understanding of Searcher Intent appeared first on Staging for New Website Development - 7/7/2026.

It may be the fact that Americans are increasingly using their mobile devices to interact with companies, but those companies are still designing Web pages that are optimized for viewing on a desktop computer.

If your site isn’t mobile friendly and doesn’t load within seconds, potential customers are going to move on.

Three Seconds. Seriously. Three Seconds

A study conducted by Google entitled “The Need for Mobile Speed” found that 53 percent of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than three seconds to load. Unfortunately, average page view loading time is closer to 19 seconds. That’s a lot of would-be customers logging off and looking for something speedier.

The same study found that mobile sites that load in five seconds earn up to twice as much mobile ad revenue than those sites that took the average of 19 seconds to load. Another study by Aberdeen Group found that even a one-second delay in page-load time causes a drop in page views (11 percent), conversions (7 percent), and customer satisfaction (16 percent).

Simply put, a speedy mobile website leads to more revenue.

It’s Not Just About Speed, It’s About SEO Ranking

We’ve known that faster-loading pages rank higher on Google since 2010. The issue is about to become more urgent, however. Back in January, Google announced a new SEO ranking algorithm designed for mobile search. This “Speed Update,” which will significantly penalize slow-loading pages in SEO rankings, will go live in July 2018. Google has recommended that companies make use of its user experience tools to test their existing websites and apps for mobile usability.

A Single Test May Not Be Giving You the Full Picture

So you tested your website or your app, and it loaded in six seconds. No sweat, right? In reality, according to Google’s Philip Walton, your speed may not be your site’s real speed.

“Load times vary dramatically from user to user, depending on their device capabilities and network conditions,” he wrote. “Presenting load times as a single number ignores the users who experienced much longer loads. In reality, your app’s load time is the collection of all load times from every individual user.”

For this reason, you need a variety of metrics to measure the real performance of your mobile experience when it comes to SEO. You also need the expertise to interpret them and take action on them. Also, the hosting provider and technology you choose can have a significant effect on your page load times.

Responsive Web Design

Responsive design means creating an experience for optimal viewing of your site on any platform, including mobile phones, tablets and PCs. This formatting allows for proper display, easier reading and short loading times for the end user.

Keyword Performance can build you a new site – or fix the one you already have – to ensure that your website is an optimal tool for developing your brand.

Visit our website or call (203) 284-1929 for a consultation.

The post Speeding Up the Mobile User Experience appeared first on Staging for New Website Development - 7/7/2026.