Google’s spiders are constantly crawling and indexing trillions of individual webpages. With such a vast array of websites out there, how do you make sure yours is getting noticed by search engines? One of the most important things is to make sure you’re first getting noticed by people, which in turn can then help you climb up the rankings. However, to do this, you have to market yourself in a way that allows you to stand out from the competition.
There’s no set of rules to follow when it comes to being found online. However, there are plenty of tips and tricks that will help you be seen more prominently. By applying some of these tactics within your digital marketing strategy, you’re sure to reap the long-term benefits.
Know Your Keywords and How to Use Them
Websites tend to get their traffic from search engines, which is why using relevant keywords is necessary. But there’s so much more to just finding phrases and terms that suit your business. It’s all about using them correctly; getting the balance right and putting them where they need to go is essential.
The first place to start is with research. You may think you know your business inside and out, but you’ll also need to think about what your audience thinks you do. There’s the Google Adwords Keyword Planning Tool that can help you discover more about what people are searching for. Remember, if people aren’t searching for it, you may be wasting your time. For organic search, the most important things for you to consider are average monthly searches and the competition.
It’ll take longer than five minutes for you to figure out the keywords you’re going to lead with. But the time and effort put into this stage are an investment worth making. You’ll then have to know how to use them once you’ve selected the keywords most suitable. Where applicable, they should be in:
- The webpage’s copy
- Headings
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- The URL
- Alt tags
Top tip: remember that Google picks up on keyword variations, so don’t keep repeating yourself with the same term or phrase. Find out more about keyword research in this blog post: https://www.colewood.net/blog/seo/top-tips-for-keyword-research/
Get the Technical Things Right
Having a website that gets noticed by search engines comes down to having something that works well on a technical level. Even if you’ve designed something beautiful and written everything perfectly, if what’s going on behind the scenes isn’t working, then the chances of you bagging a spot on the first page will dramatically decrease.
Without doing any technical SEO, you are reducing the chances of your business being found online. There are plenty of areas to consider here, so you may need to prioritise tasks. Starting with the quick wins first is a good place to start, but these will vary depending on the current state of your website. It’s worth using something like Screaming Frog to run an audit, allowing you to determine what areas of technical SEO you should be looking at first.
Design Something Eye Catching
First impressions are everything. Search engine users tend to make their minds up pretty quickly and can bounce off a webpage within seconds if they don’t like what they see. If your website hasn’t been updated in years or it’s hard to navigate, people won’t stay. Especially if the website below you in search engines looks more aesthetically pleasing and users can find what they want straight away.
You’ll more than likely want to pick something that reflects your brand and be consistent with styling. If you don’t fancy carrying out a full rebrand, here are some conversion rate optimisation tips: https://www.colewood.net/blog/cro/20-tips-to-increase-your-websites-conversion-rate/
Content Marketing is Your Friend
Investing in content marketing is a great way to spread the word about you and your business. There are various methods for getting yourself recognised, but the main aim is to create and share material online. The work can be anything from visual videos and infographics to engaging posts on blogs and social media.
This should be a strategic approach, with work being done in an attempt to attract an audience. Whatever you do should be relevant and valuable to you as a business.
Gain Valuable Backlinks
Having plenty of high-quality backlinks from trustworthy sources is a good sign of your reputation. Google will always want to show users the most relevant results first. So if you have plenty of backlinks coming in from other relevant sources, this is a good indication that what you’re offering is something good. They help to boost your credibility as a business and also drive traffic to your website.
What you need to avoid is gaining backlinks from every possible place on the web. Say, for example, you run an online business that sells car mats and batteries. You’re going to want to try and obtain backlinks from automotive blogs or forums. Don’t attempt to gain links from health and beauty bloggers as this will just appear unnatural – something Google will pick up on.
Put Yourself on the Map
If your online business also has a physical location, like a shop or a work yard people can visit, add yourself to local directories. This will provide you with additional exposure, as well as those all-important backlinks we’ve just talked about. You can discover more about the advantages of using directory listings in this blog post: https://www.colewood.net/blog/seo/why-you-should-take-advantage-of-directory-listings/
We could talk about ways of being found online for hours. And with all websites being different, it can be difficult to give a definitive answer. However, the tips above should help and are a good starting point. If you want more expert advice, take a look at our blog or get in touch.
