Hero photograph
Searching online
 

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Stuart Dillon-Roberts —

SEO covers a range of strategies, techniques and tactics used to obtain high-ranking placement in the search results pages of search engines, such as Google.

Why use SEO?

The use of SEO is like sending out invitations to view your website, without the invitations no-one knows to come and look. Users searching for a business online will often only look through the first few links on the first search engine results page. The higher ranked sites are displayed higher up the page and therefore the greater the chance of the site being visited. Ranking highly in search results for keywords that are relevant to your business can give you an edge over your competitors.

How to apply SEO

Talk to your web designer about their SEO skills. Alternatively, there are businesses that specialise solely in SEO.  

As SEO is very specialised skill it is best done by someone who is an expert (for example Google takes into consideration over 200 factors when ranking your website). 

However there are free steps you can take to improve your site’s performance. 

  • Review the content on your website to ensure it includes keywords and phrases that people are likely to search for when trying to find a business like yours.
  • Add fresh, new content to your website as often as possible. Frequent updating of content will lead to your site being indexed more regularly. Some easy ways to add new content are to post customer reviews or testimonials, and keep a regular blog or news feature.
  • Make sure your website is mobile-friendly - check out our guide on responsive web design.
  • Add a video to your website, not only will this engage your customers but increase your search ranking.  Check out our guide to create videos for your website. 
  • Get other relevant business to reference your website or link to your content.  
  • Improve your page loading speed - a slow loading speed will harm your ranking and ratings. 
  • Encourage sharing on social media. Your SEO will improve if people share links to your website from their social media.
  • Investigate online resources, such as Google Webmaster Tools and Moz, that can provide you with advice on search engine optimisation.

Try ticking-off some of the tips above before you speak to an expert, you might be surprised by the results!

Need help then get in touch.

If you have any questions or need advice, you can get in touch with the Digital Journey team at 📧 hello@digitaljourney.org