Key takeaways
- Word count targets are not a strategy. A tight 700 word service page can outperform a padded 2,000 word one.
- Keyword-stuffed headings help nobody. Headings should read like the questions customers ask.
- Changing the date without changing the content is not an update. It is a timestamp.
- Chasing green lights in an SEO tool optimizes for the tool, not the customer.
- FAQ sections stuffed with keyword variations add length without adding help.
- Search volume tells you demand exists. It does not tell you that you deserve to rank.
- Panic-reacting to every Google announcement causes more damage than the announcements do.
Hitting a word count
Somewhere along the way, “write more than your competitor” became SEO gospel.
It is not true, and it was never quite true. A 2,000 word page about drain cleaning is not automatically better than a 700 word one.
If those extra 1,300 words are throat clearing before the actual answer, they are actively making the page worse.
Length should be a result, not a target. Some topics genuinely need depth: a page about basement waterproofing may need to cover causes, options, costs, timelines, and warranties. Others need one clear answer and a phone number.
The test is not how long the page is. It is whether a customer finds what they came for without scrolling past filler.
Cramming keywords into headings
You have seen these headings. “Best Emergency Plumber London Ontario Plumbing Services Near Me.”
Nobody speaks like that. Nobody searches like that either, at least not in a way worth optimizing for.
Headings are signposts. Their job is to help a reader find the section they need, and to tell search and AI systems what that section covers. A heading assembled from every keyword variation a tool suggested does neither.
“How much does emergency plumbing cost after hours” is clearer, more useful, and more likely to match what someone actually typed.
Changing the date to look fresh
Updating “2025” to “2026” in a title is not maintenance.
Freshness matters, but it means the information has actually been reviewed and improved. New prices. Corrected hours. Updated service area. A photo that reflects the current version of the work. Removing a rebate that expired.
Changing a timestamp and hoping nobody notices is the cheapest possible version of this, and readers do notice when the content underneath is clearly out of date.
A useful question before republishing anything: is this page now more useful than it was before? If not, you did not update it. You touched it.
Optimizing for the tool's score
SEO plugins and content scoring tools give clear, satisfying feedback. Green lights feel like progress.
But the tool is not your customer. It does not have a leaking pipe. It does not care whether your pricing is clear or whether the phone number is easy to tap.
Tools are useful for catching genuine problems: missing titles, broken links, pages that are not indexed. They are much worse at judging whether content is any good, because that requires knowing your customer.
Use them to catch mistakes. Do not let them set the standard.
FAQ sections built from keyword variations
A good FAQ answers real questions. A bad one is a dumping ground for phrases someone wanted on the page.
You can usually tell the difference immediately. Real FAQ: “Do I need to be home during the installation?” Keyword FAQ: “What are the best furnace installation services in London Ontario?”
Nobody asks the second one. It exists to hold a keyword.
Every FAQ entry should pass one test. Would a real customer ask this, and does the answer help them decide something? If not, cut it. A short FAQ that answers five real questions beats a long one that answers none.
Publishing content because a tool found volume
Search volume tells you people are looking. It does not tell you that your version deserves to be found.
In crowded local categories, there are already hundreds of near-identical articles about choosing a contractor or preparing your home for winter. Publishing one more with different stock photos does not create an opportunity.
What does create one is content only you can write. Your actual prices. Jobs you have done in the area. The problem specific to houses built in a particular decade in your town. The thing you tell every customer that nobody else mentions.
That content is harder to produce and considerably harder to copy.
Panicking after every announcement
Every few weeks there is a new Google update, a new AI feature, or a screenshot in a Facebook group that makes it look like everything changed overnight.
Very little of it requires you to do anything.
Making sweeping changes to your site based on a rumour, one person’s traffic chart, or a headline is how sites get broken. The response to uncertainty is not a rebuild. It is better information: what does Search Console actually show, which pages actually dropped, and did anything on your site actually change.
Most of the time the answer is that your site is fine and the noise will pass.
What to do instead
The list of things that reliably work is short and boring.
Fix the pages that already get impressions. Answer the questions customers ask before they call. Publish your service area, hours, and price ranges in visible text. Keep your listings consistent. Ask for reviews and respond to them. Earn mentions in places your community actually reads.
None of that will trend on LinkedIn. All of it still works when the next acronym arrives.
If you would like a straight opinion on which of these your site actually needs, get in touch with Redding Designs. We will tell you what is worth doing and what you can ignore.