Welcome to the very first edition of our themed newsletters that we’ll be bringing you throughout the year.
In our recent feedback survey, many of you expressed an interest in learning more about specific topics, so every few months we’ll be dedicating an entire newsletter to one key area of website know-how and digital marketing to help you get the most out of your online presence.
To kick things off, we’re starting with one of the most important areas of online marketing – search engine optimisation, or SEO.
Read on to learn what you could be doing to help your website reach a wider audience in Google’s search results…
Learn the lingo
It can sometimes be a struggle to get started with search engine optimisation when there are so many technical terms being thrown around.
We break down exactly what each buzzword means in our SEO glossary.
Once you know which keywords to optimise your website for, your metadata is one of the best places to use them.
In our metadata guide, we’ll show you have to create great page titles and meta descriptions for your website to help you stand out in the search results.
Headings are another important part of your website to get right for SEO.
We’ve put together a detailed guide that explains how and when to use headings to make sure your website is easy for search engines and visitors to understand.
As a small business, there’s plenty you can do to optimise your website and achieve a higher ranking in the search results on Google or Bing, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a definitive checklist of all the local SEO tactics you can use to give your website a boost.
You may remember that last year Google doubled the character limit for meta descriptions, allowing you to write up to 300 characters to describe each page on your website.
Now it seems that Google has reverted back to much shorter descriptions in search results. You can test this for yourself – run a search for your chosen keyword and you’ll see that many of the results feature cut-off descriptions ending in ‘…’.
To avoid your website meta descriptions appearing cut off in search results, we recommend that you write a description for each page on your website of no more than 155 characters.
Remember to keep it natural, punchy, and engaging, as the description is there to attract visitors to your website and will not be used by search engines to rank your website.
Q: Which online directories should I list my business on?
A: If you’re a local business, it makes sense to list your business in as many local directories as possible to improve your chances of reaching potential customers in your target area. You should also look for industry-specific directories related to your business.
The key thing to remember is that the directories you are submitting your business to should be relevant and reputable. You also want to make sure that your business information is displayed correctly everywhere you are listed.
In addition to local directories and industry-specific directories, there are also several larger business directories that we’d recommend you add your business to:
Q: How can I improve my Google My Business listing?
A: Getting your business listed on Google My Business is another key factor in ranking well for local searches, and there are a few ways you can boost your profile to make sure you really benefit.
As above, it’s imperative that the business information on your Google My Business listing is up to date and consistent with the contact details that are listed for your business in other places on the web.
It’s also important that you’re listed in the correct categories for your business, and that you have a description of your business which includes your target keywords. You can also include photos of your business, your staff, and your products on your listing to improve its appearance.
Another key area to consider is your reviews. New data suggests that an average rating of 4.4 stars means your business is more likely to appear on the first page of Google, so make sure you encourage your customers to leave Google reviews for your business.
Other ways to improve your Google My Business listing include setting up a Q&A section for frequently asked questions, and sharing the intro to your latest blog post and a link back to your website as a Google post.
Have a question about SEO that you’d like us to answer?
Send us your queries and we’ll cover these in our next newsletter Q&A.
Adam Thomlinson
Welcome to the very first edition of our themed newsletters that we’ll be bringing you throughout the year.
In our recent feedback survey, many of you expressed an interest in learning more about specific topics, so every few months we’ll be dedicating an entire newsletter to one key area of website know-how and digital marketing to help you get the most out of your online presence.
To kick things off, we’re starting with one of the most important areas of online marketing – search engine optimisation, or SEO.
Read on to learn what you could be doing to help your website reach a wider audience in Google’s search results…
Learn the lingo
It can sometimes be a struggle to get started with search engine optimisation when there are so many technical terms being thrown around.
We break down exactly what each buzzword means in our SEO glossary.
> Go to the SEO glossary <
Everything you need to know about keywords
If you really want to succeed at SEO, you have to know which keywords to use on your website.
Read our guide to find out how to choose the best possible keywords, and where exactly on your website you should be using them.
> Go to the keyword guide <
Everything you need to know about metadata
Once you know which keywords to optimise your website for, your metadata is one of the best places to use them.
In our metadata guide, we’ll show you have to create great page titles and meta descriptions for your website to help you stand out in the search results.
> Go to the metadata guide <
Everything you need to know about headings
Headings are another important part of your website to get right for SEO.
We’ve put together a detailed guide that explains how and when to use headings to make sure your website is easy for search engines and visitors to understand.
> Go to the headings guide <
The ultimate local SEO checklist
As a small business, there’s plenty you can do to optimise your website and achieve a higher ranking in the search results on Google or Bing, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start.
To help you out, we’ve compiled a definitive checklist of all the local SEO tactics you can use to give your website a boost.
> Go to the SEO checklist <
Changes to the meta description length
You may remember that last year Google doubled the character limit for meta descriptions, allowing you to write up to 300 characters to describe each page on your website.
Now it seems that Google has reverted back to much shorter descriptions in search results. You can test this for yourself – run a search for your chosen keyword and you’ll see that many of the results feature cut-off descriptions ending in ‘…’.
To avoid your website meta descriptions appearing cut off in search results, we recommend that you write a description for each page on your website of no more than 155 characters.
Remember to keep it natural, punchy, and engaging, as the description is there to attract visitors to your website and will not be used by search engines to rank your website.
> Learn more about updating meta descriptions <
Your Questions Answered
Q: Which online directories should I list my business on?
A: If you’re a local business, it makes sense to list your business in as many local directories as possible to improve your chances of reaching potential customers in your target area. You should also look for industry-specific directories related to your business.
The key thing to remember is that the directories you are submitting your business to should be relevant and reputable. You also want to make sure that your business information is displayed correctly everywhere you are listed.
In addition to local directories and industry-specific directories, there are also several larger business directories that we’d recommend you add your business to:
Q: How can I improve my Google My Business listing?
A: Getting your business listed on Google My Business is another key factor in ranking well for local searches, and there are a few ways you can boost your profile to make sure you really benefit.
As above, it’s imperative that the business information on your Google My Business listing is up to date and consistent with the contact details that are listed for your business in other places on the web.
It’s also important that you’re listed in the correct categories for your business, and that you have a description of your business which includes your target keywords. You can also include photos of your business, your staff, and your products on your listing to improve its appearance.
Another key area to consider is your reviews. New data suggests that an average rating of 4.4 stars means your business is more likely to appear on the first page of Google, so make sure you encourage your customers to leave Google reviews for your business.
Other ways to improve your Google My Business listing include setting up a Q&A section for frequently asked questions, and sharing the intro to your latest blog post and a link back to your website as a Google post.
Have a question about SEO that you’d like us to answer?
Send us your queries and we’ll cover these in our next newsletter Q&A.
> Send a question <
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