Do you want to rank above your competitors on Google?

With Google’s search algorithms constantly evolving, navigating the complexities of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be difficult. Nonetheless, SEO has never been more crucial when it comes to online success.

Ranking No.1 on Google will not only hugely increase the traffic to your website (which our awesome websites will then help you convert) but helps you take traffic and business from your competitors, as people who may be searching for them, may come across your website instead!

How does ranking on Google work?

A lot like speed reading, Google (other search engines do exist, just don’t ask us to name them) sends out its spiders to crawl through your website and index it, cataloguing key information from your website which can then help Google know how to rate and rank your site. When someone searches for what you want to be found for, your site has a chance of showing up for that search result. 

There are currently approximately a gazillion factors that influence your SEO ranking (actually closer to 200+ factors) including things like site speed, security, domain authority, referring links, keywords in URL and so on. Each ranking factor carries a different weight so not all ranking factors are made equal. So, how can you achieve a top spot in the search engine results?

Here are some do’s and don’ts to boosting your local Google search rankings:

Do use related keywords

Having a principal target keyword is vital to any SEO strategy. Use it within your titles and in the meta description as well as throughout your content. It is also important to adopt the use of related keywords so that you can attract extra traffic and consequently improve ranking. All content should be written for humans but with SEO principles in mind.

Regularly Update Content

New content will not necessarily give you a higher ranking, however, the more frequently you update your website with new content and web pages, the more regularly a search engine will scan your website.  When search engines look at your site more frequently, you have the opportunity to rank higher based on what they find on your website. 

Have a social media presence

Although social media is not publicly outlined as an element which determines Google’s ranking algorithm, many businesses have noted that there appears to be a correlation between ranking and an increased presence on social media. More and more people are online and so it would be beneficial to focus on your social media channels as part of your campaign.

Do optimise images with Alt text

Images play a big part in promoting your website, encouraging people to read and supporting the message you are trying to get across. It is crucial that your images are labelled using Alt text. Alt text enhances the message of your pages and accessibility, as a result, to ultimately increase visibility on Google, so go beyond just using the primary keyword by being descriptive and specific. Consider the example below of an image of an Apple iPhone advertisement.

Bad Alt Text Example: untitled 5

Average Alt Text Example: iPhone apple billboard 

Good Alt Text Example: Billboard that advertises a blue iPhone 12 Pro with 5G

Don’t Overuse keywords

Overusing keywords can put customers off your content and diminish conversions. Google will penalise websites that are written solely with SEO spiders in mind and not for humans. Keyword stuffing involving overloading content with keywords and repetitive content can lead to a poor user experience and your ranking score being penalised.

Most SEO experts recommend that an ideal keyword density is around 1-2%. In other words, the target keywords appear about 1 or 2 times for every 100 words.

Don’t overuse back-links

Using both a combination of internal and external links (linking your webpage to other pages on your site or other websites) is helpful for increasing your Google ranking however using too many external links negatively affects the website quality. This leads to a higher bounce rate as your content becomes harder to read, subsequently diluting the Google ranking.

Don’t ignore user search intent 

It is important to consider what your target audience/market are hoping to find when they carry out searches on the google search engine. Intent can be split into three areas:

• Informational intent- trying to learn more about something (e.g. good family cars)

• Commercial intent- individual is looking to buy something (e.g a specific family car)

• Navigational- individual wants to find a certain page (e.g used cars website)

So, for instance, in regards to commercial intent, it is important to direct your potential customers to a products/services page. Therefore, ensure your content is relevant to user intent for your target keyword.

Don’t have slow page speeds

A good website will take 1-3 seconds to load and in fact, 83% of users expect a website to load within this time otherwise they will likely return to the search engine to find another webpage. As a result, bounce rates increase and Google will lower your page ranking as it considers your content to be irrelevant. In order to rank higher, there are different ways in which you can speed up your webpage loading time. These include:

• Reduce redirects
• Compress images 
• Streamline your HTML code
• Tidy up your media library and database

The world of SEO is not simple and making significant changes to your Google ranking can often take months if not years. Every website we launch is optimised for SEO and will help you rank well locally.  But if you are serious about stealing your competition’s traffic - get in touch and we can discuss your options.