When thinking about SEO for your business, it’s important to consider a number of factors including who your searchers are and how they search for information. For example, while many people still type queries in to search engines such as Google and Bing, the rise of voice commands while using devices such as Amazon’s echo should also be taken in to consideration.
So how do you start thinking about your SEO strategy? Here are some tips to get you started…
Run an SEO report
An SEO report will conduct an all-round look at your website’s SEO score. A good report should take in to consideration all areas of SEO including more technical fixes and content scores. Many reports will identify more pressing areas requiring improvement using a traffic light style system, while also showing you which areas are currently well optimised.
Understand on page and off page SEO
You may have heard the terms on page and off page SEO. On page SEO refers to SEO on your website and includes for example, meta descriptions, fixing broken links and arranging redirects, among many other things. Off page SEO involves a practice called ‘link building’ and getting referrals to your website. This is usually done by creating guest blog content for another website that ranks well or by offering online publications stories or content in return for a link crediting your company as the provider.
Don’t forget your images
It can be easy to think SEO is all about the written word, but this is not true. Any images or videos on your website should also be correctly optimised, taking in to consideration your keywords as these are used by search engines when providing search results.
Do keyword research
The likelihood is if you work in a specific industry you know what types of words your customers would use to find your products or services. Taking in to consideration how people search can help you think of the terms they may use – for example, if many of your customers are on mobile or have the latest gadgets, they may use voice search which often means using longer search terms. Searching for your competitors online or Googling (other search engines are available!) some basic terms and seeing what similar suggestions come up can help.
Create a content plan
Don’t overlook the importance of a blog or news section. This gives you a vessel for ensuring you have optimised keyword rich copy on your website. Make your content helpful to people visiting your website – this also makes for a good user experience.
Think about local search
If you’re a local company and want to encourage customers to visit your shop or premises, it’s important to consider local search. Get your business listed on Google and other search engines. Making sure your content includes your address and local phone number is also important for search engines to determine your location.
If you’d like to find out more about SEO, please contact us or call our experts on 01323 411044.
