Climbing up the search engine rankings is a fantastic achievement, one that yields so much potential for bringing your brand to the masses. As Google’s ability to detect useful content has increased, web users are more sure than ever that those websites displayed on the first page of its search engine results pages (SERPs) have substance behind them.
However, no-one claims supremacy without thinking two steps ahead, and you don’t want to take your eye off the SEO ball if you can help it. The following tips are priceless for tweaking your SEO strategy and pulling in the widest audience you can:
Play with Links, Moderately
Backlinks from relevant, high quality websites to various pages within your site, whilst maintaining a solid internal linking structure between the pages of your website will help Google crawlers and website visitors navigate your products and services, and see what other sources your content draws from. Google’s algorithms can detect appropriate levels of linkage – too few and your website may not be user-friendly, but too many can raise suspicions about the quality of your link profile.
To avoid a Google penalty and boost your online visibility, only reach out for backlinks from relevant sites and avoid using solely keyword rich anchor text in the hyperlink. For internal links, don't overdo it. Link wisely and only link to other pages or articles within your site if it's relevant and provides worthwhile information which benefits the user experience.
Fresh, Original Content
Blogging is a fantastic way to build links, as well as engaging your audience on the hot topics and industry news that matter to them. By updating your site on a regular basis with content such as blog posts, you can maintain and improve your search engine ranking as you create various long and short tail keyword variations, along with and link-rich content - perfect for sharing.
By posting regular, fresh, unique content to your blog, you will be indicating to Google that your website is active and can be regarded as a relevant source of quality information.
It Pays to Be Social
Writing a blog is all well and good, but how you market it is half the battle for gluing an audience to your wittering. Social media is a valuable way to drive traffic to your website; dominant platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have a powerful sway on the search engine rankings - not so much in the way of the signals they give to Google but in the traffic they can drive to your website. If you can drive increased traffic volumes to your site by sharing the content posted to your website's blog and hold them on your site - encouraging them to click through various pages, this increase in site visitors coupled with a decrease in bounce rate will have an overall positive effect on your Google SERP positioning.
It’s crucial to make it easy for people to see your social media activity and indulge in it themselves. Share buttons, comment threads and a cross-platform brand identity (using Facebook and Instagram, for instance) will garner a stream of hits for your website.
A Speedy Suggestion
When millions upon millions of sites are at our disposal, no-one wants to wait for pages with a substantial load time. Fancy graphics, flash players, and large images can slow things down which, even for a few seconds, can turn people off from seeing what you have to offer.
Creating something that’s mobile-responsive is another ingredient for a happy user; if they find it laborious to scroll through what makes you special, your search engine ranking will be plagued by high bounce-rates.
In Conclusion
Search engine optimisation shouldn’t be a one-off consideration. Maintaining a strong online presence requires continual thought and attention, putting the needs and experience of your audience first when interacting with your brand.
The Christian Michaels Agency has a firm grip on SEO, and the know-how you need to please Google’s stringent algorithms. For expert advice on SEO, web design and marketing, call 0161 312 8521 or email info@christianmichaels.net today.