Local SEO

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Be relevant to improve website optimisation

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Lockdown has pushed many businesses to take a good close look at their online presence. With so much business being conducted online, understanding how to get the most out of your website could prove a gamechanger in 2021. 

One of the key things to think about is relevant keywords for your website. Creating a list of specific keywords and phrases for your business is essential and it’s as simple as thinking about what phrase or words you would like to be found for when people search online.

If you think about the products and services you offer then you can start to create a list from that.

Then, the more content you produce using these relevant keywords, the more your website is recognised by search engines and this helps improve search engine optimisation (SEO). 

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Review your website content

So, why not conduct a review of your website and check that what you are saying on your website is relevant to what your target audience will search for. If your content doesn’t explain what you offer in a concise and simple way, then how can a search engine find your business?

How can you get noticed by search engines?

Once you have updated your web pages then you need to keep on adding content to your website. Search engines look for fresh content to return the most relevant pages in search results.  

A great way to add new content is in the form of a blog or news page. This allows you to add timely articles that answer questions that your target audience will be looking for when they ‘Google’ (or use other search engines of course!). Then think about those keywords you’ve listed and make sure that you mention relevant phrases in your blog.

Can video help with page SEO?

Videos can also help optimise your website. We’d recommend having accounts on channels such as Vidyard, Vimeo and YouTube. This all helps with your rankings in search.

Think about the name of your video file and its title when you upload to the video channels as it should contain keywords. On YouTube you can add an SRT file to enable you to add subtitles and closed captions rather than burn them onto the video file. This can help with long term SEO within the YouTube channel. Don’t forget that Youtube is another search engine.  

But don’t forget that it still needs to be relevant content for your brand to help with optimisation. When creating your video, it’s useful to write a script so that you incorporate your keywords. Memorise it as best you can and then speak naturally to the camera offering your clients and prospects tips and advice.

SEO company Croydon

As a digital marketing agency in Croydon, we’re well placed to offer local businesses digital marketing services and online marketing advice on relevant Local SEO Services and content marketing to help increase presence in search engine results pages (SERPs). Get in touch to chat about your business goals and how a tailored SEO campaign can help.

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Word in dictionary illustrating keywords

How to improve onsite SEO with keywords

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Keywords are essential for website optimisation and key to your onsite SEO strategy as well as Pay Per Click campaigns. But so often they seem to be veiled in mystery. In this blog we want to dispel any myths and give you a summary about what keywords are, why you should think about them and how they can help your website be seen in search engine results pages (SERPs).

When we refer to onsite SEO we mean Search Engine Optimisation. This is all about getting your website seen in the search engine results when someone searches for a product or service. It is about getting your business in the mix. While there’s a lot to think about with a complete holistic SEO strategy, here we’ll focus on keywords as this is something that you can work on yourself and you’ll soon find that your website benefits. 

Quick website audit

Before you start thinking of key phrases conduct a quick review of your website to see where some gaps can be filled quickly. This will also help SEO campaigns. This will also act as a reminder of anything that is missing and needs changing.

So, firstly, we recommend you review all your website content to ensure that:

  1. Your website is up to date for example, contact details, your team, images etc.
  2. There are no broken links and you start link building. Add internal links to other pages on your website where you can. This all helps with ease of navigation and keeping people on your website as long as possible
  3. Then consider adding a blog or news feed if you don’t already
Get in touch with us for a free website review.

The reason for a blog is that once you have done your review of your website, even though you might be updating content with keywords on your services pages, about us or homepage, these webpages generally remain static. The reason for creating your list of keywords is that you add them to regular ongoing content that enables you to add fresh content to your website with relevant information for your target audience. Search engines are looking for regular, relevant content.

If you already have a blog, then check back to see when you last added any content and how often you do this. The frequency of adding content is just as important as those keywords. The more you use the keywords in fresh content, the more chance you have of being found by search engines and this will help you improve your organic search ranking.

Keywords – be specific

With keywords it’s all about being specific to your business. Think about what your target audience would type in the search engine function to find what they are looking for. This is a great place to start to help you create a list of the keywords for your audience.

Let’s take an accountancy practice as an example. If you are an accountancy firm based in Croydon then make sure that you regularly say this on your website. But also think of variations of the phrase and what else people may search for in relation to your accounting services for example, tax advice, self-assessment, payroll, corporate tax.

Then start to delve a little deeper. Business owners want to work with companies that offer knowledge and expertise, so you can’t just add words to a webpage without any substance. Search engines don’t look favourably when you ‘stuff keywords’ on a page so you need to make sure you have high quality content on your website and that inclusion of a good range of keywords enhances what you have written. Not only should the keywords be relevant to your business it is vital that content is relevant to the blog in question. If people click on your link in search it needs to ‘do what it says on the tin’ to avoid visitors leaving too soon.

So, if you’re an accountancy firm wanting to promote your payroll services in a blog you need to be giving tips and advice to your prospects and include further keywords to help search engines, and that will interest prospects further, for example:

  • online payroll
  • payroll system
  • real time information
  • chartered accountants
  • data security
  • HR solutions
  • pensions auto enrolment

Keywords with a few phrases are sometimes referred to as long-tail keywords. They may not produce the volume of searches but they are usually more relevant. Quality over quantity is good to remember.

Whatever your business, keep an eye on your competition. As part of your keyword research see what they are writing about and telling their customers. If you look at their meta descriptions, that paragraph that you can see when a company appears in a google search, this will give a good indication of keywords.

Header tags, meta descriptions  

Here’s a few more quick actions you can implement that will help organic rankings.

When you write blogs you should also consider adding keywords in the headings and subheadings or H1 or H2 tags (you can ask your web developer about these H1/H2 tags, in a WordPress site it is usually easy to see how to change these but sometimes a nudge in the right direction can help).

Remember to complete your meta description with relevant keywords with what’s on that particular page of your website.

Digital Marketing agency Croydon

We can work with you on your digital marketing strategy including a mix of tactics such as SEO services, social media management, Pay Per Click (PPC), email marketing and CRM – read more about our marketing services.  

Further resources

Creating a Google My Business Page

Creating a Google My Business page

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Our Smart Cow ‘Marketing Minute’ videos are here to provide you with quick marketing tips for successful online lead generation for your business.   

In our previous video we talked about the benefit of Google My Business. Our advice is that you make sure you have set up your business on this directory before you even think about setting up your social media accounts or creating a website.

This is because Google is one of the most popular search engines so it is essential that you are on it as it’s another way to help prospects find you. It also helps with your ongoing search engine optimisation strategy and improving your online presence.

Watch our latest video where Simon Cripps gives you an overview of how to get started on setting you your Google My Business page.

Create a Google My Business Page

Google My Business set up

  • Log into your Google account that you associate with your business or create an account if you do not already have one.
  • Then go to google.com/business/
  • If you are not already registered, then enter your business name, and follow the steps to enter your business category, your location, areas you serve and then contact telephone and website URL if you have one
  • Select a method to verify your listing and away you go.

That’s your Google My Business page set up in a nutshell.

Watch out for our next set of Marketing Minute videos as we delve into a little more detail as to how you can best optimise your newly set up page.

SEO agency Croydon 

If you need help then give us a call at Smart Cow on 020 3137 1826 or book a free consultation to discuss our SEO services and other digital marketing tools such as social media management, Pay Per Click (PPC), email marketing and CRM – read more about our marketing services.   

 

SEO

Boost your SEO

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Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a long-term strategy but if you can get into the routine of doing a few simple tasks whenever you upload content to your website then this will support your ongoing SEO strategy well into the future. Here’s our four tips.

Internal links  

As with signage in a shop, your website layout needs to be easy to navigate. This is not just for your website visitors but it’s also for the search engine web crawlers. Always remember that these are part of your core audience. If search engines can simply find their way around your website, then this will help you rise in organic search engine rankings. 

So, how can you help people and search engines move with ease around your site? Well this is where adding internal links is essential. Always have at least three internal links from one web page to elsewhere on your website. Think of it as a signpost and remember to point people in the right direction. Adding a link to the homepage also helps.  

Keywords 

Include your keywords in your web page URL as well as an H1 or H2 header tags – these form part of your technical SEO that you’ll add when you upload your content to content management system (CMS) like WordPress. Again, these act as a guide to search engines about what the content on your web page is about so that your website can appear in search results for an appropriate enquiry.

Keep it simple and people will find you.  

Content marketing keep it fresh  

Unique content is a crucial part of your content marketing strategy. It’s about being informative and knowledgeable providing advice for your target audience.

Remember to add keywords in your website content that are relevant to your products and services. Basically you need to think about what people will search for in search engines and therefore you need to write about it and include these words in your blog post, services pages and homepage.   

Title tag and meta description  

Always complete your title tags. These show on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is what your audience will click on to your website. So, make sure you have your keyword in the title tag but keep within 50-60 characters.  

You can then give more detail for your meta description so that potential website visitors can see more about what’s on offer. Rally think about what will make them click your web page link over your competitors and have that information in you meta description but restrict this to 50-160 characters.  

SEO Croydon   

We’re an SEO company based in Croydon and London with a specialism in helping businesses gain quality leads. We work with a range of businesses including professional services such as accounting firms. We can help with setting up an SEO campaign including SEO audit.

We can also work with you on your digital marketing strategy including a mix of tactics such as social media management, Pay Per Click (PPC), email marketing and CRM – read more about our marketing services.  

Further reading  

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