SEO croydon

What SEO agencies should offer London firms

For many professional services firms in London, having a marketing strategy in place will be key to growth. But, what’s one of the core digital marketing tactics that’s vital to stand out in this crowded marketplace?

Three simple letters – SEO! That’s Search Engine Optimisation. SEO is about implementing certain processes that make it better for a website to be found through search engines so that you rank higher in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

So, if you’re looking to grow your business then partnering with an SEO agency could be the answer. But what are some of the main points to consider when choosing your agency? Here’s some of key things that an SEO agency should be offering.

Optimise your content with keywords

Know who your website is targeted at: Before you start optimising, you need to understand your target audience. Your content should be tailored so that you are answering questions for that stereotypical client. The SEO agency should help you develop an online persona which incorporates goals and challenges of your target audience.

Create pillar pages: An important starting point for optimising your website is understanding what your pillar pages are. Know what your keywords are (usually phrases or longtail keywords, not just one word!), then ensure that you have relevant pages on your website. What we’ve found working with clients existing websites is that with small tweaks to the heading you already have the start of a pillar page. However, what’s key is that the URL is also the same as the heading so this may mean you have to change that which may lead to broken links. So, watch out for that.

Create a blog page: If you haven’t got a blog already then create one. Most people expect to see a blog on a website these days for interesting industry insight. For each blog post it is important to perform keyword research to ensure your accountant business is recognised in SEO. This is especially important for professional services such as an accounting firm as there’s always plenty of new updates to be shared with changes from HMRC for example. The reason it’s so good for optimisation is that by posting regularly each month you’re providing fresh content, which includes keywords, and this helps the search engine find you.

Don’t stuff it: But don’t cram your blog full of keywords. Search engines are very sophisticated and can decipher synonyms and longtail phrases. Ultimately the content needs to be quality, insightful and relevant to the reader.

Internal links: Adding relevant links within pages or blogs to other relevant pages on your website really helps navigation and engagement with visitors. Basically, you’re giving visitors tips on useful resources and similar topics.

Technical know how

A key part of optimising your accountant website is ensuring that you’ve completed as much as you can on the backend. This also has an impact on how search engines find you. Here’s some of our top pointers to implement that can really help kick start your technical SEO campaign:

Meta descriptions: This is the short paragraph that sits beneath the company name when you conduct a search online. By completing the meta description when you upload a post or page, you can create a short descriptive paragraph which includes keywords to help search engines and potential visitors. Meta descriptions are a website’s way of telling Google and other search engines exactly what each of your pages are about, what to display and how to display it in the results.

Alt tags: Complete the description of your image in the ‘Alt Tag’ box when you upload it to your website. You can be descriptive about what’s in the image but also relate back to a relevant keyword if you can.

Headings: Keywords should be incorporated into your pillar pages which talk about your services. But, can you add keywords to your blog title? If you can, then absolutely add keywords to your headings and subheadings. The h1 tag should contain information about the content of the page. Search engines check the keyword consistency between the header tag and the content on the rest of the page.

Is your website mobile friendly? Your website should already be built on CMS (Content Managed System), but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically mobile friendly. You may need to make some tweaks which an SEO agency should be able to action for you by installing plugins.

Site speed: This is another key area because people are likely to leave a website within 3-5 seconds if they can’t find what they’re looking for. Or, if the page doesn’t load fast enough. Again, an SEO agency can help you with this.

Link building

What you’re doing with your website design is building your domain authority by gaining trust and being a thought leader. As part of the ranking process, search engines consider the quality of links, awarding scores based on relevance. Less links will have an impact upon where you return in a search result for a given term.

Links can be from social media posts, or articles linking back to your website. Having information on a third-party directory with a link back to your website can also really boost your SEO campaign – think Yell, Bing, 192.com or Yelp.

But perhaps the finest example of a directory is Google My Business. So, if an agency has just created your website or you’re looking to improve your SEO on your current website, ask your SEO agency about creating this for you.

Populate Google My Business: This is a free tool to use and well worth the time and effort to complete. Google is one of the most popular search engines, so fill out as much about your company as you can. The very basics to complete are your website URL, opening times, address, contact number and email as well as a short paragraph about your company.

Google analytics: Setting up Google analytics will allow you to understand the demographics of visitors to your site and how long they stay. You can set this up yourself or work with an SEO digital marketing agency to help you.

Looking to grow your business?

Optimising your website will help create stand out and help you be found for your services. We are looking to improve SEO for accountants in London and provide SEO services for companies in Croydon. If you feel you need some support in getting your website Search Engine Optimised, then get in touch with us today and book a free consultation.

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SEO croydon

8 tips on setting up and maintaining SEO

To help your business grow, you need to tell people that you exist. These days your shop window is a virtual one – it’s your website. However, just like a bricks and mortar premises your website needs to be found, it’s just that these days that means via a search engine. Just as you would have a sign on your window advertising your products and services you need to let people know where you are.

So, this is when you may hear about the term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). In a nutshell, SEO is a marketing strategy about a set of processes that make it better for a website to be found through search engines and build your online presence so that you rank higher in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Here’s our top tips on setting up and maintaining SEO to help your business rise in organic search.

  1. Know your audience that you’re marketing to: For this you need to create an online persona. Think about the goals or challenges of your target audience. Start with their job role, imagine their personal goals such as business growth, saving the business money or a future promotion. Then imagine what challenges they face and start to note solutions for these and how your product or service can help them. Already you can start to see a personality form in front of you.
  2. Draw up a list of your keywords and phrases: Website optimisation involves looking at how your website is built, the keywords within any content creation, on your website as well as understanding your target audience and their search behaviour. Armed with this background you can build a strategy to improve your rankings in the organic (non-ads based, natural) search results. Most online searches start with a few words relevant to what you’re looking for. So, if you’re an ‘accountancy’ practice in ‘Brighton’ then you would likely be interested in your company showing up on page one of a search relevant to these keywords.
  3. Longtail keywords: Think about being very specific on keywords, which are sometimes given the term ‘long tail keywords’. For example, if you are searching for an accountant you may search for “Accountants in Croydon”“Accountant for business start-up”“Chartered accountant in Surrey,” or “Accountant for SME Tax Return”. It’s likely to be a lot easier to rank for this as there will be less competition, but, while you may see less traffic to your website as not many people will search such a specific phrase, it will help it to be targeted.
  4. Meta descriptions: This is the short paragraph that sits beneath the company name when you conduct a search online. By completing the meta description when you upload content to your website, you can create a succinct paragraph which includes keywords to helpfully direct prospects to your website. Meta descriptions are a website’s way of telling Google and other search engines exactly what each of your pages are about, what to display and how to display it in the results.
  5. Alt tags: Complete the description of your image in the ‘Alt Tag’ box when you upload it to your website. You can be descriptive about what’s in the image but also relate back to a relevant keyword if you can.
  6. Headings: Think about whether you can add keywords to your blog title. Or at least in your subheadings. The h1 tag is also key and should not be missed on any page as it should contain information about the content of the page. Search engines check the keyword consistency between the header tag and the content on the rest of the page.
  7. Try local search: Decide on the geographical areas you want to target to find new clients and use that for your future digital marketing campaigns. Think about your content on your website, is it specific for the location you’re targeting? Have you mentioned that you are offering a service for people in a specific area anywhere on your website?
  8. Populate Google My Business: This is a free tool to use and well worth the time and effort to complete. Google is one of the most popular search engines after all, so you may as well let them know about you by filling out as much about your company as you can. The very basics to complete are your website URL, opening times, address, contact number and email as well as a short paragraph about your company. But it is worth exploring what else you can complete as this will all help Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and your company being seen in search, further optimising your website.

Get in touch with us at Smart Cow today for you Free Consultation on improve SEO in Croydon and beyond.

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SEO Agency

Why website optimisation is key to business growth

Why website optimisation is key to business growth

Your website in the online world is the equivalent to a business premises in the real world. What it looks like, where it is found, how up to date it is and how easy it is to navigate are all crucial factors to its success. A tailored Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign will help your business be seen.

What is SEO?

SEO is a collection of processes that make it better for a website to be found through the search engines. Most online searches do not start with the company name being typed into the search engine, it’s usually a few words relevant to what you’re looking for. So, if you’re an ‘accountancy’ practice in ‘Guildford’ then you would likely be interested in your company showing up on page one of a search relevant to these keywords.

Website optimisation involves looking at how your website is built, the keywords within content on your website as well as understanding your target audience and their search behaviour. Armed with this background you can build a strategy to improve your rankings in the organic (non-ads based, natural) search results.

Target audience

You’ll already have worked out your online target audience persona to create the content for your website. But if not, it’s not too late. Look at our blog to help you create a persona. Then think about what tweaks you may need to make to your website content or call to actions to make it engaging to this audience and worth their time visiting your website. Think quality over quantity when it comes to content on your website. This will stand you in good stead for optimising your website.

Outbound, internal inbound links

As part of the ranking process, search engines consider the quality of links, awarding scores based on the usefulness and relevance of those links. Internal links can ease navigation within the website itself, this includes making sure it is mobile friendly. While, incoming links to your website provides an indication of how useful your content is to others as people share posts on social media. Less links will have an impact upon where you return in a search result for a given term.

Meta descriptions

Think about when you’ve recently searched online for something. You see a return of results where companies have great headlines and a paragraph of well written copy that entices you to click the link instead of others. Behind the scenes you can create these paragraphs or meta descriptions on pages on your website – these are really good when it comes to blogs you may upload. Meta descriptions are a website’s way of telling Google and other search engines exactly what each of your pages are about, what to display and how to display it in the results.

Tip: Google My Business

Check out our blog on completing a Google My Business page. One of the first things to do when your website is live, and to help it be seen in search, is to fill out as much as you can on this page – it’s Free to do!

In a nutshell the benefits of SEO are:

  • Enhanced brand perception and online presence through better ranking
  • Better rate of enquiries due to improved visibility
  • Prime and prominent visibility across Google Maps
  • Attraction of closely related audiences through better use of popular search terms

Book a Practice Growth Session

Smart Cow assists in website design in London and Surrey. If you feel you need some support in getting your website Search Engine Optimised, then get in touch with our web design team today to create you a bespoke website.

We also run Practice Growth Sessions which are tailored for businesses keen to grow and ready to invest in a digital marketing campaign to achieve their goals. You can book a session with us for £95.