On-page SEO for Functional Mushrooms

Cartoon image of a team working together

Image courtesy of Freepik

As the health and wellness industry continues to grow, so too does the interest in functional mushrooms.

These powerful little fungi have been used for centuries in traditional medicine and are now being rediscovered for their numerous health benefits. With this renewed interest, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your website is optimized for search engines so that you can reach a wider audience and increase sales.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the basics of on-page SEO for functional mushrooms and explain how to do on-page SEO for your functional mushroom website.

Getting Started With On-page SEO

What is on-page SEO

On-page search engine optimization refers to everything that can be done directly on the page itself to boost its rankings. The goal is to make your content easier to understand and read for both Google and your target audience.

Why is on-page SEO important?

On-page Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website and its content so that search engines can determine if your site is relevant to a user’s search query.

Google’s algorithm is continually being tweaked to improve its ability to identify a user’s intended meaning from a query and deliver results that are relevant to that purpose.

As Google’s algorithm develops, so should your website.

Need help? Get a Free Website Traffic Projection

A Guide to On-Page SEO for Functional Mushroom Websites

Although keyword usage is something Google takes into account, keyword repetition is not on-page SEO. If you do this too frequently, it will hurt your search engine rankings. Let’s go over some practical tweaks that will make a difference, shall we?

Titles should be formatted as H1 tags

According to Search Engine Journal, one of the most important elements of on-page SEO for functional mushrooms is the use of an H1 tag for your page title.

The H1 tag is the main heading of a web page, and it’s often used by search engines to understand the main topic of the page.

It’s also the first thing that visitors to your website will see when they land on a page, so it’s important to make sure that it’s clear and concise.

When it comes to functional mushrooms, it’s important to include relevant keywords in your H1 tag. For example, if you’re selling lion’s mane mushrooms, your H1 tag could be “Buy Lion’s Mane Mushrooms – The Ultimate Brain Booster“.

This title not only includes the main keyword “lion’s mane mushrooms” but also includes the benefit of the product, “brain booster”.

Another example of a good H1 tag for a page about Chaga mushrooms could be “Discover the Immune-Boosting Benefits of Chaga Mushrooms” which not only includes the main keyword “Chaga mushrooms” but also the benefit of the product.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the H1 tag should be used only once per page and should be at the top of the page, above any other headings.

To find pages with missing or empty H1 tags, crawl your site with Ahrefs’ Site Audit and go to the Content report. You can do this for free with an Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) account.

example of H1 tags and headings from SEMrush

Image courtesy of SEMrush

Use H2-H6 tags for subheadings

Another important aspect of on-page SEO for functional mushrooms is the use of H2-H6 tags for subheadings.

These tags help to organize the content of your page and make it easier for both visitors and search engines to understand the structure of your content.

They also provide an opportunity to include additional relevant keywords and phrases.

When it comes to functional mushrooms, it’s important to use H2-H6 tags to break up the content and provide headings for different sections of the page.

For example, on a page about lion’s mane mushrooms, you could use H2 tags for “What are Lion’s Mane Mushrooms” and “Health Benefits of Lion’s Mane Mushrooms”, and H3 tags for subheadings within those sections such as “Cognitive Benefits” and “Gastrointestinal Benefits”.

Another example of good use of H2-H6 tags would be for a page about Chaga mushrooms, you could use H2 tags for “What are Chaga mushrooms” and “Immune-Boosting Benefits of Chaga mushrooms” and H3 tags for “How Chaga helps to boost the Immune System” and “Chaga as an Anti-inflammatory”.

Using subheadings will improve readability and engagement

Image courtesy of Ahrefs

Write a compelling title tag

The title tag is the text that appears in the browser tab or window when someone visits your website.

It is also the text that appears in the search engine results when someone searches for your website.

It’s crucial to make sure that your title tag is both relevant and compelling, as it’s one of the first things that people will see when they come across your website.

When writing a title tag for a functional mushroom website, it’s important to include relevant keywords and phrases.

For example, if you’re selling lion’s mane mushrooms, your title tag could be “Buy Lion’s Mane Mushrooms – Improve Brain Function and Memory”.

This title not only includes the main keyword “lion’s mane mushrooms” but also includes the benefit of the product, “improve brain function and memory”.

Here are a few tips:

  • Keep them short. Under 70 characters is best to avoid truncation.
  • Match search intent. Tell searchers you have what they want.
  • Be descriptive. Don’t be vague or generic.
  • Don’t clickbait. Make sure they align with your content.
  • Include the keyword. Use a close variation if it makes more sense.
  • Include the year. For topics that demand freshness
Example of a compelling title tag including popular search terms

Image from Google Search

Create an engaging meta description

The meta description is the short summary of your webpage that appears in the search engine results.

It’s used by search engines to understand the content of your page and to give a summary of the page to users.

A well-written meta description can help to increase the click-through rate of your website, which can ultimately lead to more traffic and more sales.

When it comes to functional mushrooms, it’s important to use the meta description to highlight the key benefits of your product.

For example, a meta description for a page selling lion’s mane mushrooms could be:

“Improve brain function, memory, and focus with our high-quality lion’s mane mushroom supplements”.

This meta description not only includes the main keyword “lion’s mane mushroom” but also highlights the benefits of the product.

Here are a few tips for writing them:

  • Keep them short. Under 160 characters is best to avoid truncation.
  • Expand on the title tag. Include USPs that you couldn’t fit there.
  • Match search intent. Double down on what searchers want.
  • Use an active voice. Address the searcher directly.
  • Include your keyword. Google often bolds this in the result
Give your audience a preview into what they can expect on the page. Include popular search queries

Image from Google Search

Set SEO-friendly URLs

The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address of your page, and it’s used by both visitors and search engines to understand the content of your page.

A well-structured and SEO-friendly URL can help to improve the visibility of your page in search engine results, which can ultimately lead to more traffic and more sales.

When it comes to functional mushrooms, it’s important to include relevant keywords in your URL. For example, a URL for a page selling lion’s mane mushrooms could be:

“www.yourwebsite.com/lions-mane-mushrooms”. This URL includes the main keyword “lion’s mane mushrooms” and is easy to read and understand.

It’s also important to keep in mind that URLs should be concise and avoid using special characters or unnecessary words.

Optimize your images

Images can be an important part of your webpage, but they can also slow down the loading time of your page.

Slow load time will make it difficult for search engines to understand the content of your page.

By optimizing your images, you can improve the loading time of your page and make it easier for search engines to understand the content of your page.

What is a good page load time?

According to a 2019 study by Portent, a 0-4 second load time is best for conversion rates, and the first five seconds of page-load time have the highest impact on conversion rates.

Always try get your website to be fully loaded within 3 seconds to meet the latest Google Page Speed and Core Web Vitals performance metrics.

In fact, the highest ecommerce conversion rates occur on pages with load times between 0-2 seconds.

With each additional second of load time, website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42%, the study says.

When optimizing images for functional mushrooms, it’s important to use relevant and descriptive file names.

For example, instead of using a file name like “IMG1234.jpg”, use a file name like “lions-mane-mushroom.jpg” which includes the main keyword.

Additionally, you should also use alt tags that include relevant keywords and a brief description of the image.

For example, the alt tag for an image of a lion’s mane mushrooms could be “lion’s mane mushrooms on a plate”.

Additionally, it’s important to compress your images to reduce the file size and improve the loading time of your page.

You can use image optimization tools like TinyPNG, Compressor.io, etc. to compress your images while maintaining the quality of the image.

Optimizing images is important for SEO because search engines use images to understand the content of the page.

By using relevant file names and alt tags, you can help search engines understand the content of your images and rank them accordingly.

Compressing images, will improve load time of your page, which can help to improve the user experience and ultimately lead to more traffic and more sales.

Use external links

External links refer to links that point to other websites from your website.

By including relevant and authoritative external links within your content, you can demonstrate to search engines that your website is a valuable resource for information about functional mushrooms.

When using external links for functional mushrooms, it’s important to include links to authoritative websites and reputable sources.

For example, you could include a link to a scientific study on the health benefits of lion’s mane mushrooms on a page about lion’s mane mushrooms, or a link to the official website of a research institution that has done research on Chaga mushrooms.

Additionally, you can also link to other websites that sell similar products, this way you will be helping the users to find more options and it will show the search engines that your website is a reliable source of information.

It’s important to note that when including external links, you should ensure that they open in a new tab or window so that visitors don’t leave your website.

Get rich snippets with structured data

Rich snippets are the additional pieces of information that appear in the search engine results, such as ratings, prices, and reviews.

Structured data is a type of code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content of your page and display it as a rich snippet.

When it comes to functional mushrooms, it’s important to use structured data to provide additional information about your product.

For example, you could use the Product schema type to provide information about the price, availability, and reviews of your lion’s mane mushrooms supplement.

Additionally, you could use the Review schema type to provide information about the rating and number of reviews for your Chaga mushroom supplement.

Using structured data can help to increase the visibility of your website in search engine results and make it more likely that users will click on your website.

It also makes your search engine result more attractive and informative, which can increase your chances of getting more traffic and sales. Discover if your page supports rich results with Google’s Rich Results Testing tool.

Use Google rich snippets testing tool to validate schema markup

Final Thoughts

From optimizing your page title and meta description to setting SEO-friendly URLs and using structured data, there are many different strategies that you can use to improve the visibility and credibility of your website.

By implementing these strategies and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices, you’ll be well on your way to boosting your online presence and reaching more customers who are looking for high-quality functional mushrooms.

Remember, that SEO is a continuous process and you need to keep monitoring and adapting to the changes in the search algorithms and trends.

So, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things, and before you know it, you’ll be reaping the rewards of your hard work in the form of increased traffic, sales, and customer loyalty.

So, start optimizing your website and let the magic of functional mushrooms work its way to reach a larger audience.

What return can you expect from SEO?