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Content – the foundation of search

08/19/202209/14/2021 by scmarketing

Just like a bricks and mortar shop you need to build a website on good foundations. There are numerous frameworks that allow website owners to maintain and add content. These are called Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress. The beauty of a CMS website is that it allows the user to easily update content especially blogs.

Hubspot says that: “Text will always be the foundation of search so making sure the text around your website’s assets is descriptive will help them rank well in search.”

In a nutshell, this means that the content you add to your website is a key element in generating leads via search engines. This is because if you have relevant content in relation to what someone types into search to find you’re making the search engines job in finding your business and returning you in the results page a lot easier. With this in mind, here’s some tips to consider to help improve the content on your website for search engine optimisation (SEO).

Great content

To get your message across to your target audience, and Google, keep content relevant and to the point. This is essential to help you be found in search engine results pages and it helps to position you as a thought leader in your field of expertise.

Potential clients and search engines need to see you as an expert. This is where a blog helps as you can add fresh content regularly. Your blog should have tips and advice that answer your target audience’s pain points and issues.

If you are writing the blog posts yourself and struggle to think of new content every week it’s worth noting that 51% of companies say that updating their old content has proven a great tactic for creating blogs (Source: SEMrush, 2019 via Hubspot).

There are more tips about writing engaging content in our recent blog which covers creating offers, developing case studies and topics of interest.

Keywords

When you embark on writing a blog or creating a new website it’s worth thinking about what you want to be found for in search. This will help define what is on your list of keywords or phrases to include in your content moving forward.

Working with a digital marketing agency or using a tool such as Semrush can help you identify the volume of searches associated with a particular keyword as well as its difficulty to get ranked for. This can help you hone the list of keywords further so that you have a good balance of words and phrases.

Understanding that 49% of users say they use Google to discover or find a new item or product, being found in search engine results pages should be a key part of your SEO strategy. (Source: Think with Google, 2019 via Hubspot )

A picture tells a great story

Don’t just think of content as the written word. Sometimes less on a webpage is more and breaking a page up with relevant images will help make the page easier to read, builds your brand and helps visitors get a feel for who you are.

Make sure your images are optimised for use on websites. You may need to resize them before you upload as large images can impact site speed. The first five seconds of page-load time is crucial as it can impact on conversion rates. Website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time (Source: Portent, 2019). Also remember to complete your image alt tag on the backend. This is good for SEO.

Can website visitors easily move from webpage to webpage?

Make sure your website menu is easy to read and navigate. Ideally a webpage should be no more than 2 clicks – preferably 1 click – from the homepage.

Create bold and clear call to actions with directional text so visitors know what to do. Make it easy for them. Add a call to action near the top of a blog as well as the end to help with engagement. Phrases to encourage action include:

Download our ebook
Book a meeting
Contact us for more information, email us on…
Get involved by registering at….
If you want to attend the networking session, contact…
Free website review

Internal links throughout content especially in blogs also helps guide visitors back to services and products where you mention them on the site.

Digital marketing Croydon

We are a Croydon based digital marketing agency offering SEO services including blog writing, keyword research, local SEO, Google Ad campaigns to help improve your online presence and visibility online as your SEO experts.

Does a website need a sitemap?

08/19/202202/24/2021 by scmarketing

A sitemap is created for a website to provide an overview of the website and what can be found on it. Think of it as a road map with sign posts to help search engines find it and therefore help to attract web visitors.

An sitemap is an important factor for ranking your website in the search engine results pages (SERPs) such as Google. This list of all your webpages helps to give access to web crawlers. Ultimately, a sitemap helps navigation around your website for both visitors and search engines.

Sitemaps allow web developers to list links from the website so that both search engines and people can find a website. A sitemap means that pages such as forms or login pages can also be listed therefore helping search engine crawlers find the pages.

Why easy web navigation helps with SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a key success factor in creating a website. In order to optimise your website, you need to start with the foundations of your website including your sitemap.

The two different sitemaps are XML files (for search engine crawlers) and HTML (for people to improve navigation for visitors).

A search engine optimised sitemap provides easy navigation capability. It means visitors (both search engine and human) should be able to find what they need without having to access multiple web pages.

If a website user can access website information easily, then there is more chance that they will revisit, share the website details and recommend your products or services. This sitemap helps to create this user-friendly experience to attract more web traffic.

When should you develop a sitemap

Ideally, a sitemap should be developed at design stage in collaboration with your web developer. A proposal for a website should reference website optimisation and a sitemap should form part of this.

Our blog on web design guidelines can help you create an attractive website, it covers:

What functionality the website should have
Website design considerations
SEO
Website security

Website design Croydon

We’re a web developer and designer based in Croydon. We work with local businesses to develop websites that are optimised. We provide a professional web design service to your specification or we can update your current website. We create CMS platform (content management system) websites as this provides an easy option to upload future content and make changes going forward. Book a consultation.

Why not take advantage of our FREE website review so you can look at ways to optimise your website.

Website design and development is part of our overall digital marketing agency services to help businesses improve online presence. Our services include:- SEO audits, SEO strategy, local SEO, social media, email marketing and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising.

Why create specific landing pages?

12/03/2020 by scmarketing

In this blog, we give you an overview of why you should consider creating specific landing pages when you set up a Pay Per Click (PPC) ad campaign.

What is a landing page?

Firstly, let’s clarify what a landing page is. A specific landing page is about helping to get you more leads. These pages usually contain forms where you can collate contact information as a result of the visitor completing an action on your page – this is usually an offer or a download. Whatever you choose for your landing page the offer has to be good and provide a reason for people to hand over information.

How a specific landing page can help your PPC campaign

For a PPC campaign to be successful it’s about having the right copy in your advert in the first instance so that prospects click the link to your website. Then once on your website it’s about keeping that potential customer there for as long as possible.

This is where a specific landing page can help your campaign. The page is a place where your prospects will learn to trust your brand and be inclined to read more. So, be relevant to the advert that has just been clicks on that leads to your website. This way you are more likely to keep them on your website for longer. Your content should be insightful, offer tips and advice.

What your landing page should look like

Here’s our advice on what you should look to include on your landing page to help create a great marketing campaign.

Content

To keep visitors on your website as long as possible, your landing page needs a headline that tells the visitor what to expect.

Once you’ve sorted the headline, the content needs to be to the point, clear and engaging. And, provide a clear call to action.

Be image led

An image helps to convey your brand and help to illustrate what the content of your landing page is about.

If you have video content then this is great for engagement but only if it’s relevant to the content of the ad. If it is, then place this towards the top of the page.

Lead form

The ‘contact us’ form or rather the ‘lead’ form should be near the top of the page – above the fold. A name and email address should be enough information for a new lead.

Call to action

Make a bold and colourful call to action with clear instructions about what you want the visitor to do. Depending on the purpose of your ad and its call to action will be dependent on what you offer on that page. It may be useful to add a relevant download, ebook or discount to help build that trust further.

Remove menu navigation

With a specific landing page, we advise to remove the main menu from sight so that the visitors focus is purely on the action you want them to complete on that page.

Mobile optimised

Remember to optimise your specific landing page for mobile. The last thing you want is less leads because it isn’t suitable for viewing on mobiles.

Landing page layout

The following layout is best practice to follow:

Headline
Image
Lead capture form
Call to action
Relevant content

PPC agency Croydon

We’re a digital marketing agency in Croydon. With many marketing tactics whether organic or PPC advertising, we can provide a tailored marketing package to help you generate leads for your business. Book a free consultation.

Website design and development key steps

06/16/202111/10/2020 by scmarketing

With the second lockdown in place across England, now is an ideal time to review your website for necessary updates to help potential customers navigate it easily and remind people of your any new services.

We find that most of our clients looking for web design and development already have a website but it’s somewhat out of date, perhaps on an old WordPress website version that could do with some new plugins or complete overhaul. With that in mind, we thought we’d run through the key steps to website design and development so that you know what to ask for from your developer. Even if you are just refreshing your website it will provide you with important tips to consider.

1. Website purpose

Before you embark on creating your website you need to have its main purpose at the back of your mind so that the website can be developed to your requirements and business goals.

Do you just want a brochure website with an overview of services or do you need e-commerce functionality for people to purchase products? Either way, know what you want from the outset to prevent any additional costs at later stages to add functionality.

If you haven’t already established your target audience then now is a good time as this could greatly impact the look and feel of your website. Follow our tips to create an online persona for your business.

2. CMS website

We tend to design websites on a Content Managed System (CMS). This gives you, the business owner, the ability to update content yourself once the website is created.

3. Security

Ensure you have established security at early stages include an SSL certificate as well as an updated privacy policy. A captcha is another security measure to determine whether users are human which you can add to forms or logins. Captcha helps to prevent bots from accessing these areas.

4. Develop your sitemap

Work with your web developer to create a sitemap. Sometimes a suggested map can be included in a proposal if you have already had in depth discussions. However, once you instruct a developer to create your website then the site map will be the first task to agree as the whole structure of the website will be based on this. Your web developer can offer advice on making your website easy to navigate which helps with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

5. Website design

If you’ve followed step one of this process then you will already have established your website purpose. This needs to be communicated with your web designer along with providing an understanding of your company values and branding. This helps a web designer to get a good understanding of your business. Allowing them to create a mock design for you – usually a wire frame. This allows you to see the homepage and perhaps one or two core pages so you can understand how the other pages will look too.

6. Content marketing

It’s not called a Content Managed System (CMS) for the fun of it. Your website needs content. You will need to establish up front with your web designer what content you already have, whether you need content edited or written from scratch. This can impact on the overall cost. Usually content is transferred from the old website or provided. If you need help with this, then make sure you get a quote initially for content including imagery so that you are aware of any additional costs.

7. SEO

Check with your developer that the website will be optimised and mobile friendly. SEO includes activity such as completing the meta descriptions. alt tags and H1 headings.

As SEO is a long-term strategy, you will need to keep up with adding fresh content to your website with keywords to help it rise in search engine rankings.

Just because you will have a new website, you still need to provide signposts to it to help people searching for services to find you. These include adding links into social posts, completing your Google My Business page, communicating with customers via email with website links. This all adds to your awareness. So, if your website is new you might want to consider a PPC campaign to give it a boost in search engine results pages (SERPS).

8. Review your website

You usually get a couple rounds of amends included in a web design quote. So, make sure you spend time reviewing it and flagging anything you think needs amending. Once you approve your website then you may find that any other changes cost money. It all depends what agreement you have in place, so check this up front.

9. Ongoing, maintenance and backups

Once everything is approved and your web developer has tested the functionality then you can go live.

When you get a quote for your website ask about ongoing costs for hosting and technical support. Most web developers will include a fee for weekly backups and updates to plugins. However, you may feel you want more support. So ask what is offered, whether that’s onsite SEO, blog writing or a complete digital marketing package.

Website design Croydon

Remember that the website is the centre of your digital world. Anything you share on social media, through email marketing or in a Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign should all link back to your website. Therefore, all digital marketing activity should have a consistent look and feel to help brand awareness and encourage loyalty.

We are a web design company in Croydon. Out digital marketing services include creating bespoke websites for accountants and other businesses, SEO, link building, social media marketing and PPC.

Read more about our web design services and get in touch for a consultation or a free website review.