So many people ask Chichester Design’s Managing Director, Ben Davis, questions like:
“How do I get my website to the top of Google?”
“How can I get more traffic to my website?”
“Is it worth me starting up a business for this, that or the other?”
And we thought as a special treat we would give you a few hot tips that will get you well on your way to a prosperous 2010 and stop Ben sounding like a monotonous old broken record all at the same time.
“How do I get my website to the top of Google?”
This is the age old query (well, digital age anyway) to which there is no one simple answer I’m afraid. But there are several things that everyone can do to improve their Search Engine Optimisation and therefore improve their rankings in the search results, here’s just a few of Ben’s favourites:
Search Engine Optimised webcopy – The first place to start with regard to Search Engine Optimisation is top-notch content. You need content on your website that is relevant, interesting, informative, easy to read, easy to navigate and fresh.
One of the most important elements of webcopy is that it contains the keywords that people will be searching for in relation to your product or service. For example, with the Chichester Design website we make sure that words like “Chichester”, “web design”, “web development”, “copywriting” etc are prominent (and of course choosing a nifty company name such as ours tends to help a little). But be careful not to just use keywords for the sake of it, they should fit naturally into the flow of your copy so that people actually gain something from the content, and we don’t mean a headache!
As people and search engines scan read online it’s important that your content is organised in such a way to aid this. Consider using subtitles and bullet points to break up the copy and improve readability. Linking to other relevant pages within your website also help the readers and the search engines to find what they are looking for effortlessly.
No one likes stale content and with the Internet being such an evolving and interactive place there really is no excuse for the boring and clichéd. Make sure that your content stays up-to-date so that your readers stay interested and the search engines keep coming back to crawl.
Google AdWords – Using Google AdWords to promote your services can work hand-in-hand with Search Engine Optimisation. AdWords also use keywords as a point of relevance and you will notice that the sponsored ads always appear alongside natural search results (on the right-hand side and at the top) for whatever keywords or terms you are searching for on Google.
The difference between sponsored ads and organic search is that sponsored ads are likely to be far more specific and more useful when searching for specialist products or services and when comparing prices and expertise. For example, if you search for “bike maintenance Chichester” you may see a sponsored ad from Bike-Master and if you click on that ad you will be taken directly to the Bike-Master website so that you can contact them and find out more about their services. On the other hand, if you were to click on an organic search result it could be an article about the Council maintaining cycle routes – not really very helpful if you need to fix your bike – you see the difference?
It is a good idea to have specially designed landing pages for each product or service that you are advertising through AdWords, which should also be Search Engine Optimised. The main reason for this is that if a person has to make more than one click after clicking through from your Ad to your website, they will get bored and leave.
Social Media – Using Social Media such as Twitter and Facebook has been increasingly popular over the last year and 2010 is heralded to be “The Year of Social Media” so it seems there’s much more excitement to come.
Google has been indexing blog posts for a while and this indexing is usually as quick as the posts are frequent, which has seen blog pages coming up trumps in the organic search results. For example, if you search for “Google AdWords Chichester” the Chichester Design blog takes places number one and two in the search results.
The mighty search engine has now turned its attention to indexing social media posts, which are showing up in search results far more regularly. For example, Google recently launched its real time search feature which uses social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to provide live commentary, links and reportage related to a user’s search. Not only that, but Google’s fusion of blog, news and social networking content has produced a search results page which focuses on synergy more than ever before. That means your Twitter or Facebook profile page can now be as important as your website itself.
“How can I get more traffic to my website?”
This is what everyone wants but some seem to believe that it will just happen as a result of a flick of a switch overnight; it takes considerably more effort than this. First of all, people need to know that you’ve got a website and then they need to know what it is and how to find it.
Marketing Strategy – Kate’s always reminding us that any business needs to have a good, solid marketing plan in place to survive but this does not necessarily need to cost the earth. The purpose of a marketing strategy might be to raise brand awareness, attract new customers and retain existing customers. But, whatever mode of communication you choose, your key call to action would usually be to get people to visit your website and find out more about you. Thus, you should use other media to drive visitors to your main marketing vehicle (your website) and from there it will create new leads and conversions.
Digital media is a much more cost-friendly and accessible option for many and the likes of e-newsletters, PPC and distributing press releases online seem to be taking over where direct mail, print advertising and snail mail press releases left off.
Chichester Design offers a full marketing consultancy service, which includes a proposal to help you take all sides of marketing into consideration to achieve the best mix for your brand. There are so many options available now and newer mediums like social media cost more in time management than hard cash so are a more viable option for start-up businesses.
Search Engine Ranking – as long as your website is ranking well in the search engines for keywords relating to your business service or product you should acquire a good share of traffic. For example, our clients Ski Floralie wished to rank for terms such as “ski chalet”, “luxury chalet” and “Luxury chalets Saint Martin”. As a result, we have re-written their webcopy as well as their page titles and meta descriptions for their web pages to include these terms.
Since we published this new and improved Search Engine Optimised copy online just after Christmas there has already been a 60% increase in web traffic to Ski Floralie’s website. With time, the website should also rank higher in search engine results for these specific terms and encourage those people searching for those terms to visit the website and hopefully make a booking.
“Is it worth me starting up a business for this, that or the other?”
Traditionally, when considering starting a business, conducting market research is perhaps the most vital step. After all, without such consideration, the endeavour is merely a shot in the dark – which is really a rather irrational and foolish way to go! When it comes to the web the story’s the same, with the identification and targeting of a niche being make-or-break for your business.
Google Trends – It’s exciting (exciting for us, at least!) that such a large volume of web traffic is directed through the major search engines. Such a high percentage of the population search the web that usage data is an invaluable resource for identifying what’s being searched for and whether/how well that search is being catered for. Even more invaluably, Google publishes this data for free at Google Trends.
Not only is Trends an interesting way to identify niches, but it’s also an excellent way to find the optimum keywords for a website, depending on the present popularity of certain topics. Entering multiple keywords returns a graph comparing the popularity of each keyword over a selected time span. Not only do correlations emerge, but a clear winner when it comes to which keyword to focus on.
Hitwise – Similarly to Google Trends, Hitwise can help to identify online marketing opportunities for clients based on how their online presence compares to competitive websites and, in turn, maximize the return on their investments.
Hitwise offer a range of services for this purpose. For example, Hitwise Rankings are updated daily and provide a comprehensive overview of top performing websites across more than 160 industries. With over 1 million websites categorised, this tool gives marketers a complete view of their industry and specific online competitors.
Chichester Design offer clients free access to Hitwise analysis reports (which can cost up to £1000) through their premium AdWords Management service, Jumpstart. Read more about how Chichester Design can Jumpstart your AdWords.
Google Analytics – We recommend Google Analytics to all Chichester Design customers and will set up this free service as standard whenever we build a website.
This is because Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. With the help of Analytics data you will be able to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver return on investment, and improve content on your site to convert more visitors’ enquiries into sales and commissions.
Google Analytics has the enterprise level capabilities you would expect from a high-end web analytics offering and provides timesaving integration with Google AdWords as well as non-AdWords initiatives.
In summary…
You now know the resources you need to work out whether it’s worth going forward with your business concept, how you can get your website to the top of the Google search rankings and how you can generate more traffic to your website.
Well there’s not a lot left to say apart from, what on earth are you waiting for?!
And remember if you need any help with Search Engine Optimisation, web copywriting, Social Media Optimisation, Google AdWords, marketing strategies or any of the other services that Chichester Design specialises in, we’re only an email away. Contact us now and start 2010 off the right way.
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