SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is a fantastic way to get your website in front of your audience. Google, is the go to resource for any query, whether that be where to buy a certain product, who the best plumber around town is, or simply to order a takeaway. Although there are competing Search Engines, such as Bing and Yahoo, Google is the primary resource for just about anything, with more than 40,000 search queries processed every second with Google.
Here at an SEO/Digital Marketing Agency, this is the paradox I live – the love of Google’s ability to track, provide indisputable data and hone-in on my target audience for marketing, and, am I, personally, comfortable with being watched and tracked to an excessive level, being someone else’s target (audience).
In most of my articles I go on about data, and how this is an absolute must for driving your business forward in today’s digital world, and it is. However, deep down I think I may be a bit of a closet conspiracy theorist.
1. Simplicity above the fold line
Two of my favorite sites, when it comes to UX and clean design are John Lewis and Macy’s. You will get to whatever you want to purchase in 3-clicks or less. There is no confusion and with John Lewis you can see that everything above the fold is the cornerstone of their business – clothing, electronics and homeware. Both are also outstanding for mobile as well. They are a masterful blend of traditional marketing concepts coupled with digital commerce.
Most of you will probably recognise the reference to the classic 1960’s comedy. The plot revolved around a manic treasure hunt for buried cash marked with a giant “W”, with the starring characters stumbling into various unexpected obstacles as they raced and schemed their way to the prize. I’m reminded of this for a couple of reasons; first, your riches are buried under a giant “M” for mobile, the other is the madcap adventure it takes most to get there.
SEO is ever changing and it is important to keep up and stay on top of new algorithm releases and changes to search engine systems. From the huge local SEO change to the Penguin 4.0 update – 2016 has been a huge year for SEO compared to previous years. But the question is, have you changed with these updates?
Well here we go, on September 23rd the long awaited 4.0 update from the infamous Penguin was rolled out or more precisely, rolled in to the core algorithm. On our side not much to report for impact but we all know that it can creep up over time. I do however think that for the most part agencies are wise to these updates, and as such have integrated good practice into their structure. This should ensure that Penguin and Panda are doing what they are meant to do – namely assisting those of us doing good work and leaving the rest wanting.
Unsure what rich answers are? I am certain that you have come across this feature! Take a look at the pictures below, these little snippets of information have been created to give you a direct response to your query. It means that you don’t have to go trawling through site after site to find the piece of information you are looking for. As you can see below, I typed in a pretty basic question of ‘when is new year’s day’, instead of having to go into a Wikipedia page or another site to find out – the Google feature simply gave me the answer straight away. This is a brilliant way to provide direct, easy access to what I was looking for.
We all know that keywords are essential in order to climb through the ranks and make yourself know on Google, Bing and other search engines. So, why is it that some websites, that employ the use of keywords, simply do not work?
When it comes to choosing or creating a URL it is important for both search engines and user to be able to navigate to your website with ease. This simple visual below from the website Search Engine Land (see original) clearly explains what you need to look out for in order to create an SEO Friendly URL!
We often get clients that come to us seeking management or advice on a single digital stream; Social media management, SEO strategy, PPC management, Content marketing or Email marketing – looking for the single golden ticket that will bring the mass of qualified leads or conversion to their website.