How to create a website supercar for your business
Are you losing the online race to your competitors, and finding your company ranks lower than your competitors on Google? An effective SEO strategy can pimp your business’ ride.
Being relatively new the concept of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), I decided to pick the brains of the experts at Algorithm, the SEO performance agency to help me understand how writing for SEO would help companies be seen first by prospective customers.
I am sure it’s obvious by now that every business should be visible to their customers via a website and a social media presence. However just simply having these two vehicles in place does not mean you’re going to win the race. Incorporating good SEO methods, is like pimping your ride to the max, ensuring you at least make it onto the first page and the customers consideration set.
70% of browsers on Google are more likely to trust and click on SEO/natural/organic searches than on paid adverts. That means your website should be ranking really well organically in order to be in the first few options in the search list. But what determines where and how your site ranks? Graeme Stiles of Algorithm Agency puts it down to three simple things; visibility, relevance and importance.
Rank higher on Google in three ways
“Visibility, relevance and importance are the key ways of assessing your website to ascertain if it’s going to be ‘rank-worthy’ or not” adds Graeme.
Relevance
Relevance is content. Ask yourself is my content authoritative? Is it informative? Is it fresh? And is it written using the right pointers like heading tags?
Importance
This relates to off-site data. Do I have inbound links? What is their volume and quality like?
Visibility
Visibility pertains to onsite information. What is the site structure like? Is it mobile optimized? What is the domain quality like?
Focussing on relevant content, what do I need to do?
“There are a couple of ways in which you can really can make an impact when it comes to your content on your website, “says Stiles.
Keep the Page Title simple
The page title should clearly tell the browsers what this site is all about. It shouldn’t be longer than 50 characters and should be in the structure of Keyword 1/Keyword 2/ Brand Name. For example, Contact Beyond Copywriting/ Beyond Copywriting Contact Details/ Beyond Copywriting
How user-friendly is my URL?
Your URL should always be in lower case and separated by hyphens and not spaces. A maximum of 76 characters apply here and again keywords are important. For example, www.beyondcopywriting.co.za/services/social-media
Does my Heading look good in this?
A good heading is good thing when it comes to browsers looking for what they want. Always ensure you use Main Headings (H1), Sub-headings (H2) and section headings (H3, H4, H5) where possible in your text.
Tidy up your Shop Window
Finally, check your meta descriptions. Graeme explains that this is your shop window. “If your shop window is not enticing enough to catch my interest, why would I want to come inside?” . The meta description is your page summary when listed in the search results. It shouldn’t be longer than 130 characters and needs to explain enticingly what your website is all about.
It’s obvious that content is more than just about a few words on a page explaining what you or your company offers. Effective planning and consideration should go into it. It could mean the difference between first and fifty-first place.
