IS YOUR WEBSITE SEO FRIENDLY?
SEO has always had a little mystic about it and yes it’s true it can be complex, especially when delving into the realms of technical optimisation. However, leaving aside the technical complexities it is possible that there are a few basic things you can do to help your website get higher in search rankings.
If your site is regularly on the first page in search, then visibility is maximised. Think of when you’re doing a search, very often none of us clicks past the first results. Now we’re not going to say it’s easy to get on the first page and if you’re going down the organic route, this is especially made difficult because most often Paid Ads are given preference. Also, local searches will produce different results and rankings. So if your rankings are looking pretty gloomy, then its time to think about doing something about it!
Regular SEO Audits
Get into the habit of doing regular SEO audits to weed out and fix any problems that might be affecting search visibility. Make sure you keep your website updated, current and in line with your own business objectives and the needs of your target audience.
Keeping Up-To-Date
Traditionally a website would be launched and that’s it, quite often it would be forgotten. A more effective website and one that will provide better returns is a project that’s constantly evolving and is flexible enough to align with your company and prospective customer needs as they emerge. SEO is the same, its constantly changing, Google will inform the public of large implementations such as HTTPS or ‘mobile-first indexing’ but on an ongoing basis, there are many micro-changes, the effects of which will only come to light through doing regular auditing.
SEO That’s Data Driven
Data driven SEO is important, it is the basis for understanding what is working and what needs to be improved. Data can provide information on the following:
- page-level factors including user engagement
- content factors – length, backlinks, page links, keywords etc
- find duplicate content & missing metadata such as snippets and image tags
- site credibility & trustworthiness
- sitemaps & domain factors
A word of caution, improving ranking doesn’t happen overnight in fact, only a small percentage of web traffic makes it to page 1. Even with some SEO tweaks, it can take time to pull through and show the results, so even with the best will in the world, don’t expect an immediate effect from some of the changes you make.
Quick Fix Seo!
If you are new to SEO and want to do a little yourself then the best place to start is ‘on-page’ SEO and improvements to the basic site structure. Forget the technical stuff for now because it can get really complex, plus the changing nature of what crawler bots are looking for and algorithm updates can result in knowledge being out-dated very quickly.
Mobile First Indexing
Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a website for indexing purposes, whereas previously it would crawl the desktop. This change directly reflects current browsing habits and the fact that browsing from mobile devices has superseded that of the desktop. Therefore it is the mobile experience that Google is more interested in, so make sure your mobile site is fully optimised. Read our blog on mobile-first indexing.
Some Key Features of SEO Friendly Websites
Logical Structure
SEO friendly websites should be structured logically so that it’s easy for the user to navigate. If a user can navigate easily and have a clear understanding of what the site and its pages are about, then so can a Google Bot when it crawls your site in order to match it to a search query.
Mobile Responsiveness
Not to be confused with mobile-first indexing websites should be mobile-friendly and provide a positive user experience. Google prefers websites with a responsive design, which will render the display differently based on the screen size.
Optimised Content
SEO friendly websites have search engine optimised content. Google takes a whole host of factors into account when it crawls to index your web pages. These include but are by no means limited to:
- Length of text – the days of short content with little context is no longer applicable. Google rates content on quality and therefore tends to rate higher longer more informative content, that has a clear context and keywords geared to user intent.
- Frequency of posting – Producing regular new content is an important SEO feature. This is why the news/blog section of a website is so important.
- Well researched keywords – they need to be strategically placed within the content so that Google can quickly identify what the page is all about. This will increase the chances of that page being shown in relation to a search query.
- Images – use alt text where appropriate.
- Quality links – include both inbound and outbound.
- Readability– don’t be too clever with the text, make it so that it’s easy to read and structured.
More quick tips on how to write good web content
There is a mountain of information on the internet about how to make your website SEO friendly, but for most business owners, investing time and energy in researching and implementing the advice (not to mention keeping up with any changes) is just not practical. This is why many business owners are choosing to outsource their SEO to specialist digital marketing companies.
If you would like more information about anything you’ve read in this article or would like some general advice about SEO and any other marketing areas, then please get in touch our details are here or take a look at our SEO Services
Social Media Branding – Important! If so why?
What is the name of this company and what do they do?
I really didn’t need to ask, we all know the logo and what it stands for, and it isn’t a greengrocer! The image doesn’t even relate to computers or mobile technology in any way, it can be any colour or size it doesn’t matter, because Apple have created a visual image that is immediately recognisable and unique to them. As soon as we see it we know what it stands for.
So why is it important to visually market your company?
To be recognised and stand out from the crowd! You may have a good business name but that alone will not make you stand out on a social networking platform such as Twitter.
Your logo will be seen before anyone reads your article or post. Therefore make it noticeable, enabling immediate identification. It ideally should be simple, distinctive and if possible appropriate.
Create consistency -it’s a visual representation of your company, and as with Apple or Twitter it will become synonymous with your brand. Make sure it is on everything you do from business cards, banners your web site, all promotional material and not forgetting your social media platforms.
In the current fast paced world of social media marketing branding becomes even more important, think of your twitter feed, most people will rapidly scan the feed and pick up on one or two items. Clearly their eye is going to pick up on designs that stand out. Too often we see companies who have spent a great deal of time and thought on their branding yet throw something together when it comes to social media. Yet in reality the way you show your brand on social media is arguably even more important than any other area of your business.
Remember each social media platform is different and has its own unique design and look, which means that a banner designed for LinkedIn won’t be the right fit for Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.
These images show how our banners are specifically designed for each individual platform, they are also designed to work on different devices, whether it be for example a mobile phone, computer or tablet.
We would love to know what you think about social media branding have you got your social media branded if not why not?
Comment and let us know what you think, or feel free to contact us direct, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Business Productivity and the Cloud
High Speed Broadband is now an integral part of the UK’s push to become a leading knowledge economy, how could your business benefit from the use of high speed broadband and Cloud computing?
So what do we mean by the Cloud?
In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive. Examples of this may be Google Drive, Microsoft 365 or Apple I Cloud.
In the UK Broadband Study of 2013 improved productivity was one of the areas outlined as one which could help business. How could cloud computing help make your staff more productive? The UK Broadband study found that nationally a 2% reduction in commuting would lead to a reduction of some 2.3 billion kilometers per annum this in turn would make essential journeys quicker and more productive.
Do you need to attend every meeting in person? Using webinar and meeting tools could see a 9% reduction in business travel reducing business mileage by 5.3 billion kms per annum.
Above we have provided you with just a few interesting statistics as to the beneficial effects of using Cloud there are many others, so let’s summarize the main benefits:
Flexibility
You can work from anywhere as long as you have access to the internet , which for example can be through your phone, tablet ,computer or Chrome Book and is what we ‘call off premises IT.’ Telecommuting means that your office can be anywhere you want it to be!
Enables real time information and shared access.
You can work with others on a document at the same time. You can even see what the other person is doing as it happens. There is no longer the need to keep passing information backwards and forwards.
Low cost
There is normally no initial start up cost and the majority are pay as you go. There is also no need to invest in expensive in-house servers and software, all is provided for by the service provider
Suppliers responsible for the infrastructure
Management such as security and updates are provided for at no extra cost by the suppliers who invest heavily in an experienced and knowledgeable workforce, in order to enable them to be key players in what is a growing competitive market. For example if you are using Google Apps everything is provided by Google and hosted on their powerful and secure servers.
Disaster management and protection of data
If in the case for example of a fire, flood or theft, data will not be lost and still accessible. Therefore causing less disruption to business and the peace of mind in knowing that data will be safe. Cloud also eliminates the need to have to back up files or download to a server.
Let us know how Cloud computing has impacted on your business?
In such a complex area it is always good to know an expert we would suggest Phil Oakley at Outserve http://www.outserveweb.co.uk/
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7 LinkedIn Tips -to boost sales