Introduction

Let’s be fair, most businesses now want to be ranked at the top of Google. Yet, with that said, only the businesses that invest their time and money in the best quality SEO will succeed.

That’s to say there’s simply tons of misinformation out there, and also seo agencies that will just grab your money, and the underdeliver.

So, what is the solution? Well its actually quite simple, your businesses needs to invest in white hat SEO.

Yet to be able to beat your competitors, your going to need a marketing strategy. Now depending on how strong your competitors are, will dictate how long it takes to get your business onto page one of Google.

So, do be aware that if your competitors have super strong seo, well it might take a long time to catch-up.

You got it, you won’t see SEO success in the organic rankings or local rankings in a flash. Things simply take a lot longer.

So, with that in mind, lets have a look at what our agency deems as seven important facts that your business should know when investing in local SEO.

#1 Obtain your Google My Business account  

First things first, your business will need to claim or sign-up to Google My Business. Now this really essential that your business does this, as if you don’t your business will not be shown in the Google My Business results.

And also, don’t rush creating your businesses Google My Business account. Instead make sure you offer as much detail as possible.

And you should especially take the time to fill these parts in correctly:

·        Make sure that the businesses address phone number and name match exactly with what is stated on your website (NAP information)

·        Make sure you write a descriptive description of your business

·        Add pictures of your business, so for example if you run a shop take pictures of the outside of the shop and the inside of the shop

·        Make sure there is a backlink to your business

·        Add the opening hours for your business

#2 Obtain real customer reviews on Google My Business

Sometimes some businesses hand all SEO tasks over to an seo agency, and after all that’s what were paid for, right?

Well yes, that is true. However, there are loads of things that a business can do help improve the businesses SEO as well.

For example, if you have a customer that’s really happy with customer service they have received, well you could ask that customer to leave your business a review.

But don’t leave it to chance as to where that customer leaves their review, instead ask them if they can leave the review on your businesses Google Business account.

The reason being is this can help your businesses local seo. Yet, do not be tempted to leave a ton of fake reviews about your business yourself.

The reason being is Google’s algorithm is super clever, the algorithm will know that the business reviews are fake. The algorithm will then stop your business from being displayed in the Google My Business listings.

So only obtain genuine reviews from real customers.

#3 Schema

Most business websites have tons of information, for example you may well run a dental practice, and its normal to have loads of blog posts giving away free advice on how to look after your teeth.

After all, good quality blog posts can help to improve your businesses SEO. Yet, when we look at these blog posts you will see that normally there is just loads of writing, and that’s because they have been written for us humans to read.

Yet, its Googlebot that has the job of finding work that has been added to a website, and reporting this back to Google’s algorithm. And this mass of text then has to used by Google’s algorithm to work out what that page is about.

Now its likely that most of the blog posts were talking about how to look after your teeth, yet there may also be other blog posts, such as welcoming a new member of staff, or an awards ceremony the business has attended.

So Googlebot and the algorithm may have a hard time working out what all this text means. This is why Schema was created.

Schema is a structured language that can be used to mark-up certain bits of text so that Googlebot and the algorithm knows exactly what that information is.

So, for example, most seo agencies mark-up the businesses name, address and phone number using schema.

 #4 Add quality content marketing such as blog posts

If your business wants to improve its local seo, it’s important that the business invests in good quality content marketing.

So this doesn’t mean just writing a few hundred words every now and then for the companies blog. Instead the business must invest in quality content marketing, which means answering questions your customers are likely to have, but answering them the best you can.

You really do have to make sure the content marketing is of a good standard, as low quality seo will mean your website could incur a penalty. For example, a Google Panda penalty can result from adding low quality seo to your businesses website.

#5 Technical SEO

Your digital marketing agency should make sure your websites technical seo is up to scratch, this means making sure the following are optimised in a white hat way:

·        Meta titles and meta descriptions

·        Alt tags

·        Making sure that each page has enough written content and is not “content thin”

·        Anchor text is used

·        And loads more seo factors need to be considered

#6 (NAP) Business citations

Your seo business should create business citations. The means that the NAP information, which stands for name, address and phone number for your business should be on your website.

Then the NAP information should be copied exactly onto quality citations.

 #7 Make sure that you refresh your knowledge on regular basis

Sometimes some people learn about seo, but then ever bother to keep their knowledge up to date.

However, Google’s algorithm regularly has tweaks and improvements that are made to it, so if you don’t keep your knowledge up to date, well it can quickly become somewhat obsolete.

This is why so many businesses pay an online marketing agency like us to manage their SEO, reason being is we can keep our fingers on the pulse as to changes that occur.

Introduction

When we order something for our business, its normal that we want the item we’ve purchased to be delivered by a set date.

That’s to say if we are kitting out the office with brand new desks, well we would expect that all the items are delivered by an agreed date.

So, you can see why business owners believe that when they invest in seo, they then expect the company website to be on page one of Google by a set date.

However, when ringing around all the various seo agencies, you may quickly find that not many agencies guarantee results.

And the reason that SEO businesses don’t guarantee results is with very good reason, and we shall explain why that is so now:

Your competitors may have been investing for a lot longer than your business

The websites that are at the top of Google will often be investing in white hat SEO.

This means that your business may face competitors that have been investing for a very long time.

For example, you may run a construction business, and you may have three very strong competitors.

These competitors may well be investing in seo, that’s in order to obtain more customers. So the marketing business may well be tasked with making sure the business ranks at the top for:

·        Loft conversions

·        Property extensions

·        Builders

This means that the companies which are established, well they have been investing in organic seo for many years. This means that they may have been invested many tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds into seo.

This is why a new business that just starts investing in seo would have unrealistic ambitions to want to reach the top of Google in a matter of a few months.

Every business sector is different, so how fast your business can reach the top, this is dependent on the level of competition.

And as your competitors will be investing in seo on an ongoing basis, this is often we marketing agencies are reluctant to say when your business will be at the top.

Black hat and grey hat seo

Sometimes some marketing agencies offer really cheap prices, yet sometimes there is a good reason for such low prices.

And that reason is the marketing business may well be cutting corners, that’s to say they may well be using low-quality seo methods, which are called “black hat” and “grey hat” seo.

Basically, such methods look to fool the algorithm into thinking your company website has better SEO than it really has got.

This can sometimes move a website onto the first page of Google, but only for a very short period of time. Those businesses that invest in grey hat or black hat seo will incur a penalty.

This is why this form of search engine optimisation is a total waste of time.

Once the website incurs a penalty, it will drop in terms of where it ranks. Also, the money that is spent trying to rectify the penalty, for some businesses can often be a substantial amount of money.

Really low quality seo, well that can result in the website being removed altogether.

Google’s algorithm is now very sophisticated at detecting spam, or low quality seo. With algorithm updates such as the Google Panda, and Google Penguin updates, its really not worth investing in cheap low quality seo.

Organic seo takes time

If the marketing agency that you appoint is stating that they can get your business to the top of Google in no time, and the seo is really cheap, then you really do have to check that the agency isn’t using black hat seo.

The reason being is this, if seo is implemented correctly then it does take a lot of time. So if the company is saying that they can get results really quickly, well there may well be a reason for that, and that is the business is using black hat methods.

Invest in quality

Every year Google improves it’s algorithm with loads and loads of changes, which means that websites that use rubbish seo will often receive a penalty.

So, this means that just because some low quality seo methods may work today, well in all likelihood they won’t in the future.

This is why its best to stick to a quality company, and choose an agency that’s committed to using the best methods, these methods are called “white hat seo”.

Organic SEO never stops

You’re always going to have those businesses that cold call your business, or e-mail you offering fantastic offers, and sometimes these offers claim to improve your businesses seo for a one-off fee.

This means that a lot of companies pay an seo agency a monthly fee, and this monthly fee means that the businesses marketing agencies are always aiming to get their client to the top. This is why seo never comes to a stop.

White hat

You’ve probably heard this phrase used quite a bit within this article, yet its worth going over one last time. That is if your business requires online marketing, well its only white hat that you should invest in.

However, some unscrupulous marketing agencies will know that most businesses are aware of the Google penalties that could be placed on their website, that’s if they choose the wrong agency.

So, you guessed it, sometimes even the businesses that use rubbish seo call themselves white hat, just so they can pretend that they are a white hat agency.

So, you really do have to pick the agency that a rock-solid reputation, and do make sure that the work they are implementing every month is white hat.

Can we help?

If your business requires help with its digital marketing, then why not give us a ring?

Introduction

When shopping around to find an SEO agency, it’s very easy to get confused by all of the marketing jargon that is often used.

For example, you may e-mail around various seo companies for a quote. The business may then get back to you with a quote that is full of complicated seo jargon.

Sometimes businesses will state that your website has a number of 404 pages, and that a business should implement 301-redirects.

This just sounds confusing, and sometimes a business owner will be put off from investing.

However here at our agency we do things differently, we do this by explaining things clearly.

So, within this blog post, we are going to explain what a 301 redirect is, and how it may be useful for your business.

What exactly is a 301 redirect?

Have you ever been looking for an item to buy online, clicked the link, yet you landed on a 404 page?

Some people will get annoyed with a business when they can’t get to the product they want. This can result in a visitor simply choosing another business.

So, some business implements 301 redirects, this means that when that page on a company website is removed, a redirect is put in place to send the visitor to another page.

For example, you may well be looking for a kitchen for your home, and you find a link that describes your perfect kitchen.

Yet, that style of kitchen is no longer stocked by the business, so instead you may well be redirect to the main kitchen page.

This way you can narrow down which item you want, even though you have been redirected away from the kitchen you have originally clicked on.

What are 404 pages?

404 pages are simply broken links. This can happen a lot when a business adds loads of new products to a website.

That’s to say these new products may well be added, yet the old products are simply deleted.

Yet, Google’s algorithm may not have indexed these new products your business is selling. Instead Googlebot will have indexed the old products, and may well be sending visitors to your old products.

Resulting in visitors landing on a 404 page, the websites bounce rate most likely increasing and this is not good for your companies seo.

So, your digital marketing agency, or your website designer should implement 301 redirects where needed.

Is a 301 redirect a permanent redirect?

A lot of seo business consider 301 redirects as permanent redirects, and this is important if you want to redirect link equity.

For those that do not know, link equity simply means all the equity that is sent through backlinks to that page.

Now this is important, because most online marketing agencies will tell you that backlinks are important to seo.

In matter of fact, some agencies believe that backlinks are the most important ranking signal that there is.

This means that if your business severs these backlinks, so that they do not get redirected and pass link equity, then sometimes a business can see its rankings drop.

Google Search Console

Your business can use its Google Search Console account to find out which URL’s turn up with a 404 error.

If you run a business that is regularly adding new pages, and changing the products that you stock, your seo agency should be ensuring that they resolving any 404 pages.

Regardless of if your business has one 404 page or hundreds, you should consult with your marketing agency whether you should use 301 redirects.

Can our online marketing agency help your business?

Whether you run a small business and require help with your local seo, or you run a global business, and you require online marketing help to sell your products globally, simply put we can help.

We only ever implement the best quality white hat SEO work. We offer affordable prices, so why not give us a ring?

Introduction

For some businesses, the more established marketing methods no longer cut the mustard.  

And this is where a lot of businesses then make the decision to switch their attention to online marketing instead. Yet investing in digital marketing and finding the right agency for your business, well that can be quite tricky for some businesses.

So, in order to provide you with some more insight into how seo works, and some facts we think you should know, we’ve written this rather helpful article.

#1 Organic SEO can be a slow process

Okay, you’re always going to have those marketing agencies that tell you what you want to hear.

That’s to say, they will want you to sign on the dotted line, so they may say they will get your business onto page one of Google in practically no time at all.

Now not to dampen your enthusiasm, or to sound defeatist, but often when a business first invests in seo it takes a lot of time and effort. That’s before the website gets to the point where its generating sales.

The reason being is this, Google, and all the other search engines rank websites according to their own algorithm.

So, let’s concentrate on Google for just a second here, Google ranks websites according to the strength of the websites “ranking signals”. There are thought to be over 200 ranking signals in total.

This means you have to be aware that some businesses will have super strong ranking signals. To catch up, well that often takes a great deal of time. So its worth keeping in mind that organic seo could be branded a slow process in some cases.

#2 Quality white hat seo is an absolute must!

Some businesses choose their digital marketing agency on price point alone. This can sometimes mean that instead of picking a quality agency, instead some business owners are persuaded by low prices that some agencies offer.

Yet, if the seo work is low quality, well this could mean that the algorithms then place a penalty onto the website.

#3 SEO is continuous process

There might be some occasions where a business requires organic seo to be applied on a one-off basis.

Yet, the vast majority of businesses pay an agency on a monthly basis. The reason is that seo is a continuous process is because your competitors will also want their business to ranked at the top.

#4 Not all agencies offer the same work

Sometimes if you get a quote from various agencies, they will list the work that they offer, yet the work will normally not be the same when compared with another agency.

For example, seven hours spent link building by one agency may mean that more links are built than if you had gone with another agency.

So, it does boil down to how good the seo consultant is, or the team of seo consultants that are working on your business’s website.

#5 Your websites rankings can go up, and they can also go back down

Sometimes a business owner will believe that once their businesses rankings go up, well they cannot go back down.

Yet, if you invest in organic seo your rankings can also go back down as well. The reason is Google’s algorithm is constantly looking for the strongest business websites, so if a competitor invests more, or simply has better seo, then a website can drop to make way for that business.

#6 You need to partner with a marketing agency that has their finger on the pulse

Sometimes some marketing agencies offer everything from logo design, through to organic seo services.

Now that is all well and good, that’s if the business has enough staff to offer a wide range of services.

#7 Affordable

Sometimes some businesses will go with the largest agency within their local area, which is all well and good.

So, what can sometimes happen is some businesses simply run out of funds to keep paying a well-known agency to implement work.

Instead work with a white hat agency, yet one which has set their pricing level at an affordable level  

If your business requires help with its online marketing, then why not give us a ring?

Introduction

We hate to get off on the wrong foot, but if your only marketing strategy is to keep adding loads of blog posts to your website, well we hate to break it to you, it’s a flawed strategy.

Yet, it’s an approach that countless businesses take, and even some seo companies take also. But to be frank, choosing quantity over quality, well it’s a doomed approach.

Okay, so were clear on that part, now your thinking okay Mr clever-clogs, how do you use content marketing to improve a websites seo then?

Now your talking. Think quality, and you can’t go far wrong, but what does quality mean?

Quality is a rather vague term these days, your cereal packaging in the morning will no doubt state it has quality and tasty ingredients in the box, and so will those new shoes state that they are “quality” as well! So, what does quality mean when it comes to content marketing?

Well, grab yourself a coffee, this article going to be a long one.

You have to make your content marketing “valuable”

Have a think about this just for a second, most businesses want to get to the top of Google.

That’s a no brainer, when you do most businesses will have increased sales, if there is demand for the service or product of course.

Yet, with that said, a lot of businesses don’t want to go through the long SEO process, they think they can outwit Google’s algorithm.

Well this often results in the website incurring a penalty. And for those that don’t know, this means the website can drop out of the rankings altogether.

So, the days where seo companies would continuously write over, and over again the phrases they wanted the website to rank high for, well they are finished.

Now its all about making your content marketing efforts “valuable”- and no we don’t mean talking about diamond rings, or 24-carrot gold necklaces.

Valuable in the sense it is useful. So for instance, say your kitchen tap started to spring a leak, now water is hitting your face, soaking the bread and the dogs barking his head off.

So what you rather read, an article which has written “emergency plumbers” over and over again, or a website that offers really good advice on how to stop the leak, how to fix the tap?

Well obviously the second one, your kitchens getting flooded as we speak!

But, now as a business owner you start to think, why should we be giving away free advice?

Surely fixing a tap is a plumbers bread and butter? Why would they want to spend the time writing an article that offers free advice?

Well, it’s like this, if you offer free advice, in the form of content marketing then your business could obtain more backlinks and more people that visit your businesses website. This is all good for SEO.

Keep your readers interested

It’s important to keep your visitors interested, the reason is if your website obtains a high bounce rate, then this is not good for seo.

What are bounce rates?

A high bounce rate is caused by people visiting your website, yet then leaving straightaway.

So, for example, they may well be looking to purchase a new pair of brown shoes, and the meta title and meta description seem to describe what they are looking for.

Yet, for some reason people leave the website straightaway, this means the website has a high bounce rate.

What is Google Analytics?

It’s important that you set up a Google Analytics account for your website. The reason being is you will obtain loads of super important information on how well your website is doing.

So for example, you will learn about your websites bounce rates, how many visitors are landing on your website, and whether they are coming via organic listings, or PPC (paid) or social traffic for example.

What is Google’s Knowledge Graph?

If your thinking about writing content marketing for your website, then before you do it would well worth your well to read about Google’s Knowledge Graph.

The reason being is it will allow you more of an understanding of how Google’s algorithm works.

So for instance, if you were to write an article about SEO, then Google would know that related topics are backlinks, content marketing, offsite and onsite seo for instance.

This knowledge is useful when you start writing content marketing articles, as you may wish to also add information about related topics. But always remember all work should be white hat.

Google Panda

Whether your seo company, or yourself is taking care of writing your content marketing, you must ensure its white hat.

The reason for this is simple, if you don’t follow the white hat rules, your website could incur a penalty.

So for instance, if you were to say steal someone else’s content marketing, say from their company blog, well your more than likely to incur a penalty. The penalty for duplication is called the Google Panda penalty.

But you could get the penalty for many other reasons, such as writing the keywords that you wish to rank for, over and over again within the text.

So if your unsure, we would always recommend leaving the content marketing to a digital marketing agency that is white hat.

Keep it to the point

Even if your writing a rather long article, its important to keep things to the point. So, split up the text with titles.

This wont just help the reader to get to the part they want to read, but it will also help your seo.

Remember, that if you just write a massive block of text, well your likely to bore your readers.

500 words now rarely cuts the mustard

It used to be the case that so many seo agencies only wrote articles to a 500 word count. But now, many digital marketing agencies simply think this is not enough, and some state that the articles that work the best, in terms of seo, are the articles that are around 2000 words.

And this kind of makes sense, as often if you want to find an answer to a rather complex question, like how did Google’s Hummingbird update change seo, well you got it, often the articles that are ranked at the top, will be those articles that are bit more detailed.

Why not give us a call?

Whether your business wishes to invest in local seo, or you want to sell your products or services to the entire world, why not give us a ring?