Keep evolving:
About 10 years ago it was easy to get top ranking on Google, however, today this has all changed and it is alot more complicated than you think. The days of just choosing a domain, doing some keyword research, sorting out your meta tags, meta description and writing a couple of words on a page on your website are over. It is alot more complicated than that. Google is constantly changing its algorithms, forcing you to constantly change your content on your website.
Enter Search Engine Optimisation:
Now its all about buzz words, repeating buzz words, content on your website and most importantly, getting Google to like your website enough to put you on the 1st page of relevant keyword searches on the organic rankings. This all has suddenly become an extremely difficult process and months are spent trying to determine the right formula. So many times we are told what to do and how to do it, that the whole process becomes frustrating. The seo process takes months of hard word and dedication, yet nothing is guaranteed.
Create a user friendly responsive site:
Designing a website for a desktop is not enough today. Your website also needs to evolve with the times and you have to customise your website to work on all devices from a laptop to a tablet. Your job is never just done. There is always something new. Something better. You have to keep track of everthing going on around you.
When is your content over kill?
You also need to find that balance on your website, too much content can become very boring to the end user. Writing for the sake of writing is a DEFINATE NO GO. You need to take time to think about the content on your website, keep it interesting, give potential clients a reason to stay on your site and more importantly buy from you.
Get more social
No need to go out with friends to be social today. This type of social networking is done online via Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and so many more. More time needs to be spent on your computer than ever before. You need to post daily on all platforms to help with your seo. It is no longer just about your website. There are hundreds of factors that can influence your search engine optimisation. Once again you need to practice patience, lots of patience. Even trying to remember everything you have to do on a daily basis could make you throw in the towel. But the rewards are well worth the challenge.
These are but a few of the many ways to improve your ranking on Google.
Is their an easier way without practicing black hat techniques?
I have not found a way and generally tell my clients 6 months.
Is 6 months the norm?
Let me know
Charlene
Wednesday 28 August 2013
Tuesday 20 August 2013
Important questions to ask your website designer
What every business owner should ask their website designer
The most important questions to ask before you sign on the dotted line is:
1. Will my website have any on site search engine optimisation (SEO)?
This is the most critical of all and is placed as first because so many business owners make a the mistake and do not understand how huge this really is. Seach engine optimisation (SEO) is so important for any website. SEO makes your website user friendly to the search engines. In other words it allows the search engines to find you when someone types in a word, sentence or phrase. Without SEO on your site, your website will not get noticed by the search engines, which in turn means that your website will not be noticed by the millions of people searching the internet on a daily basis, resulting in loss of revenue.
2. Can you get to the top of Google within one month?
This is a good question to ask because if they say yes, you need to find someone else. It's obvious they either don't know what they are doing or they are misleading you. And you can't trust anybody providing the service you need who is misleading you. I would not want to do business with a dishonest person. However, if they tell you that the SEO process is a long one, that requires alot of effort, this is the honest reply.
3. Will my website be mobile friendly?
This is becoming the wave of the future. Most people today have cellular (mobile) phones and many have phones with internet access. You also need to consider that your phone is with you most of the time. So you definately need to ask your web designer to make the site mobile friendly.
4. Will I be able to edit my website?
You need to be able to edit your own website, constantly, as part of the SEO process. You also don't want your website to become outdated. Many web designers offer this service as part of a maintenance package. This needs to be managed well, and you need to consider that some web designers are extremely busy and might not be able to manage your website on a regular basis.
5. Will my website look the same on different web browsers?
Since there are so many browsers around and just as many people using them, it is important that your website looks the same on every browser. Ask your website designer about this.
6. Are you a web design company, a freelancer or a part-timer?
This can be a concern if you want a great deal of services and options, you may want to go with a web design company that will offer you different services and packages at different rates.
7. Is it worth getting a website or shall I just use Facebook?
Facebook and other social media websites are very important nowadays. Many people only use social media to communicate and advertise their business, however, you need to consider a website as this is also a great platform to get your business noticed.
8. Why are some websites more expensive than other?
You get what you pay for. Alot of web designers use templates, however, if you want to spend money and get a website custom made with all the bells and whistles, the web designer could charge you considerably more for the site, but this could be worth your while. Remember that a website is the window to your business and you have about 5 seconds to impress a potential client.
9. Who actually owns my website?
You are the owner of the site. The designer is just designing the site, they don't own it. Ask that all information and that the domain is registered in your name.
10. What happens when my site goes live?
When your site goes live it's time to do some effective online marketing to get your website noticed. The web designer may be able to add additional SEO promotions, write articles, or add some infographics to the site. Ask your designer about this.
I found that web designers, generally, do not want to be involved in the SEO of the website and refer you to a company that offers the service.
The most important questions to ask before you sign on the dotted line is:
1. Will my website have any on site search engine optimisation (SEO)?
This is the most critical of all and is placed as first because so many business owners make a the mistake and do not understand how huge this really is. Seach engine optimisation (SEO) is so important for any website. SEO makes your website user friendly to the search engines. In other words it allows the search engines to find you when someone types in a word, sentence or phrase. Without SEO on your site, your website will not get noticed by the search engines, which in turn means that your website will not be noticed by the millions of people searching the internet on a daily basis, resulting in loss of revenue.
2. Can you get to the top of Google within one month?
This is a good question to ask because if they say yes, you need to find someone else. It's obvious they either don't know what they are doing or they are misleading you. And you can't trust anybody providing the service you need who is misleading you. I would not want to do business with a dishonest person. However, if they tell you that the SEO process is a long one, that requires alot of effort, this is the honest reply.
3. Will my website be mobile friendly?
This is becoming the wave of the future. Most people today have cellular (mobile) phones and many have phones with internet access. You also need to consider that your phone is with you most of the time. So you definately need to ask your web designer to make the site mobile friendly.
4. Will I be able to edit my website?
You need to be able to edit your own website, constantly, as part of the SEO process. You also don't want your website to become outdated. Many web designers offer this service as part of a maintenance package. This needs to be managed well, and you need to consider that some web designers are extremely busy and might not be able to manage your website on a regular basis.
5. Will my website look the same on different web browsers?
Since there are so many browsers around and just as many people using them, it is important that your website looks the same on every browser. Ask your website designer about this.
6. Are you a web design company, a freelancer or a part-timer?
This can be a concern if you want a great deal of services and options, you may want to go with a web design company that will offer you different services and packages at different rates.
7. Is it worth getting a website or shall I just use Facebook?
Facebook and other social media websites are very important nowadays. Many people only use social media to communicate and advertise their business, however, you need to consider a website as this is also a great platform to get your business noticed.
8. Why are some websites more expensive than other?
You get what you pay for. Alot of web designers use templates, however, if you want to spend money and get a website custom made with all the bells and whistles, the web designer could charge you considerably more for the site, but this could be worth your while. Remember that a website is the window to your business and you have about 5 seconds to impress a potential client.
9. Who actually owns my website?
You are the owner of the site. The designer is just designing the site, they don't own it. Ask that all information and that the domain is registered in your name.
10. What happens when my site goes live?
When your site goes live it's time to do some effective online marketing to get your website noticed. The web designer may be able to add additional SEO promotions, write articles, or add some infographics to the site. Ask your designer about this.
I found that web designers, generally, do not want to be involved in the SEO of the website and refer you to a company that offers the service.
Wednesday 14 August 2013
The truth about SEO
There are so many factors to consider when doing Search Engine Optimisation on a website. The process is unfortunately a tedious one. You will need alot of patience and a hugh amount of effort. The SEO process requires constant maintenance to your website, and will always remain part of your ongoing marketing strategy.
If your website is less than 6 months old you probably don't rank on Google's search engine, and you might become desperate to find a way to rank faster. There are companies who try to sell you overnight success, remember that these companies are not interested in your companies success and the techniques used by these SEO companies will permanently harm your rankings on Google. So ask yourself is top ranking for 2 or 3 months worth it? Rather focus on healthy, recognised, SEO methods.
Here are a few basic SEO tactics to help you get better ranking:
1. Check for broken links.
2. Submit a sitemap using Google Webmaster Tools. - It is very quick and easy to do.
3. Monitor your sites load times. A fast site will increase user satisfaction and this will help
improve your ranking.
4. Rich content.
5. Create a website that clearly indicates to the end user what your core business is about.
6. Use words in your website your user will find when searching for you.
7. Make your site as user friendly as possible,
8. Organic link building.
These are just a few ways to improve your ranking.
Is there a way to, without using harmful techniques, speed up your site ranking on search engines?
The future looks great for digital marketing
Digital Marketing is the way forward
More and more people are active on the internet and this is presenting new great opportunities for marketers in the digital space relm. Digital trends are being monitored, the results are fascinating showing how consumers are discovering the web, online video posting and watching digital advertising. The usage of mobile phones has increased over the past 2 years and social media and e-commerce sites are defining the current landscape. We are seeing an extremely high sophistication in digital media consumption.
One thing consumers have in common is the time spent on the internet, with the average user spending 30 - 41 hours a month online. The online video industry continues to grow, with the British leading the market with the average user spending 25 hours a month watching videos.
The digital advertising market is growing year on year, with America, Canada and Europe leading the pack. In 2012 over 724 billion display ad impressions were displayed on the internet, which was a 17% increase. Social Media sites hold the largest share of impressions at 27% of the market, followed by the entertainment industry (17%), portals (14%), news and information (8%) and directories (5%). The good news for all businesses is that you don't need a hugh TV sized budget to gain great traction on the internet. Online advertising is cheap, direct and can be monitored.
The quick adoption of the market to Internet-Enabled cell phone devices is contributing hughly to the fragmented digital media landscape. The mobile market has grown since 2012 by 10%, adding approximately 2 million customers to the more than 22 million current users. Smartphones are the current leaders with 62% of the market, with a staggering increase of 17% increase since 2012. Google's Android phones have 40% of the Canadian and American smart phone market. Apple has 35% of the market, followed by Blackberry with 20% . Microsoft still has a long way to go with only 2% of the market share.
Social media agencies and digital marketing companies, like First Click, assist all companies, getting them the coverage they need to reach a wide range of potential customers.
More and more people are active on the internet and this is presenting new great opportunities for marketers in the digital space relm. Digital trends are being monitored, the results are fascinating showing how consumers are discovering the web, online video posting and watching digital advertising. The usage of mobile phones has increased over the past 2 years and social media and e-commerce sites are defining the current landscape. We are seeing an extremely high sophistication in digital media consumption.
One thing consumers have in common is the time spent on the internet, with the average user spending 30 - 41 hours a month online. The online video industry continues to grow, with the British leading the market with the average user spending 25 hours a month watching videos.
The digital advertising market is growing year on year, with America, Canada and Europe leading the pack. In 2012 over 724 billion display ad impressions were displayed on the internet, which was a 17% increase. Social Media sites hold the largest share of impressions at 27% of the market, followed by the entertainment industry (17%), portals (14%), news and information (8%) and directories (5%). The good news for all businesses is that you don't need a hugh TV sized budget to gain great traction on the internet. Online advertising is cheap, direct and can be monitored.
The quick adoption of the market to Internet-Enabled cell phone devices is contributing hughly to the fragmented digital media landscape. The mobile market has grown since 2012 by 10%, adding approximately 2 million customers to the more than 22 million current users. Smartphones are the current leaders with 62% of the market, with a staggering increase of 17% increase since 2012. Google's Android phones have 40% of the Canadian and American smart phone market. Apple has 35% of the market, followed by Blackberry with 20% . Microsoft still has a long way to go with only 2% of the market share.
Social media agencies and digital marketing companies, like First Click, assist all companies, getting them the coverage they need to reach a wide range of potential customers.
Friday 9 August 2013
Thursday 1 August 2013
Google launches "Views"
This photo sharing hub is unlike any other and allowes you to view a 360 degree panoramic view of photos from all over the world.
With this fantastic product you can explore world wide landmarks, visit museums, galleries, climb mount Everest. Ever wanted to dive to the bottom of the worlds greatest oceans? Now we all can.
At the click of a button you can transport yourself anywhere in the world. Views.
Happy travelling.
Thursday 4 July 2013
The 10 Worst SEO mistakes
The 10 Worst SEO mistakes !!!!!
If you want a top ranking website don't make these terrible mistakes.
1. Keyword stuffing
I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best
I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best
Website content that is repeated over and over again is a big no. Take the time to add good quality content into your website.
2. Use your own content
Write your own content and be original. Don't be a copy cat.
3. Broken links are very bad
There is nothing worse than going onto a website and clicking on a page and getting a 404 error. I immediately leave the website and I am sure other potential clients do the same. How are you going to be trusted if your website is broken? Take the time to fix these errors.
4. Never use duplicated content.
Once again take the time to make your content on your website original and unique. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Get it !!! The search engine crawler will not index pages with duplicate content.
5. Bad Links
People associate you with the company you keep. This is the same principle with website links. Rather have 1 good link than 10 bad links. Bad links can affect the ranking of your website.
6. Optimise the correct keywords
Use keywords relevant to your industry. It is pointless to rank on keywords that are not relevant to your business.
7. Meta Tag Description
The meta tag description explains the page to a browser. You need to write a good description or Google's algorithm might decide the content is so badly written and replace it with its own version of what is on the page.
8. Navigation
Make your website easy to navigate. Let the user get from point A to B easily. There is nothing worse than trying to find something and you end up going in circles.
9. Attractive website
Make your website interesting and attractive. You want to keep people on your website and if your website is boring or unattractive you will start to experience a high bounce rate. This is never good.
10. Cluttered pages
I hate going onto a page where there is so much going on, that your eye just never gets a chance to rest on a relevant topic. No one likes a busy shopping centre.
If you want a top ranking website don't make these terrible mistakes.
1. Keyword stuffing
I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best
I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best I am the best
Website content that is repeated over and over again is a big no. Take the time to add good quality content into your website.
2. Use your own content
Write your own content and be original. Don't be a copy cat.
3. Broken links are very bad
There is nothing worse than going onto a website and clicking on a page and getting a 404 error. I immediately leave the website and I am sure other potential clients do the same. How are you going to be trusted if your website is broken? Take the time to fix these errors.
4. Never use duplicated content.
Once again take the time to make your content on your website original and unique. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Duplicate copy is boring to the end user and nobody likes to read the same information over and over. Get it !!! The search engine crawler will not index pages with duplicate content.
5. Bad Links
People associate you with the company you keep. This is the same principle with website links. Rather have 1 good link than 10 bad links. Bad links can affect the ranking of your website.
6. Optimise the correct keywords
Use keywords relevant to your industry. It is pointless to rank on keywords that are not relevant to your business.
7. Meta Tag Description
The meta tag description explains the page to a browser. You need to write a good description or Google's algorithm might decide the content is so badly written and replace it with its own version of what is on the page.
8. Navigation
Make your website easy to navigate. Let the user get from point A to B easily. There is nothing worse than trying to find something and you end up going in circles.
9. Attractive website
Make your website interesting and attractive. You want to keep people on your website and if your website is boring or unattractive you will start to experience a high bounce rate. This is never good.
10. Cluttered pages
I hate going onto a page where there is so much going on, that your eye just never gets a chance to rest on a relevant topic. No one likes a busy shopping centre.
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