Search Engine Optimisation

Here’s the situation: you have a cool new website. You feel like it represents who you are and the services you offer, and it looks the biz too. All good so far! The issue is, it’s so far down the Google search results that unless it’s a direct referral, no one can find it.

This is a problem for your business, because when do you look further than page one for a product or service on Google?

Page two of the Google search results is basically the dark web. ‍

Never fear, I’m here to offer some tips on how to make your website a little more visible on Google.

What I’m talking about is probably a term you’ve heard of; Search Engine Optimisation (or “SEO” for short”.)  One time I called it “SEO optimisation” which was not correct and made me sound quite silly.

Here I’ve listed five things you can do to improve your SEO now:

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1. Tailor your website content and copy to your audience

Who is your audience? What do they do? Where do they live? If you know the answers to these questions, you can tailor the copy and content of your site to appeal directly to these people. For example; you own a plumbing business based in and operating around Stirling, Scotland. When people google “plumber in Stirling” you want your site to be one of the first to pop up, and when your potential customers read through it you want them to see themselves as your audience.

In both your site page content AND the SEO description box for each page of your site (found in the back-end), make sure to refer back to the location and service you offer. Ideally you want imagery that reflects your market also, so in this case pictures of you working in and around Stirling would be ideal.

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2. Change your sites title

Furthering on from the above, you want to change your sites title to what your audience will specifically search for. In this case, it’s likely going to be something along the lines of “Plumbing Services in Stirling, Scotland”. You’re making it toooooo easy now.

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3. Optimise the usability of your site

Firstly, make sure the images on your site aren’t huge. No one likes a site that takes ages to load. Secondly, no automatically playing videos/music. Not sure how this affects the usability, I just find it very annoying. Thirdly, always check how your site looks and works on mobile. Websites are mostly designed and built on a desktop computer and will therefore look fab when viewed on one - however, most website views are on a mobile device, so they have to work best here.

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4. Make use of alt-tags

There should be an option with whatever website builder you use to specify alt-tags for your images. In here you can describe your image using text. This again helps Google to categorise your site, and also will move you up the rankings for the subject matter your images relate to.

There we go. Now sit back and watch your website climb the google rankings. If your business offering is clear, this should then equate to an increase in interest and enquiries.

Did this help you out? Let me know!