I am often asked by clients ‘How do I get my website on page one of Google?’.
This question translated really means ‘how will people find my website on Google and buy from me?‘.
Well, all marketing efforts must direct people back to your website and when visitors land on your website, your web pages should be designed in such a way that they know exactly what they need to do next, be it complete a form, call you or buy something.
A point to note – simply having a good looking website with well written copy does not mean it will be listed on page one of Google. This takes time, especially with a brand new website. So without wasting any more time check out my list of tasks for promoting your business online so that you can be found on Google.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
Every website should have good SEO if you want it to be found. There are 2 types of SEO marketing techniques that will help your website be listed in the organic listings. Organic listing are the search results listed in a Google search result based on merit. What determines the merit of a site is broken down into two types of SEO approach:
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO techniques are tasks we can carry out on our own websites to improve their rank on Google. The tasks listed below should be carried out on a regular basis. FYI we should really use the acronym SERP instead of rank. SERP stands for Search Engine Result Page. This basically means, the position where your website is listed on Google for specific keyword phrases.
- Browser Page Titles – can they be improved?
- Written Content – Update, improve and change the word count on static pages. Write unique content.
- Metadata Descriptions – These are web page summary descriptions Google reads to understand what your website is about.
- Internal Link Building – Help visitors to your website by highlighting keyword phrases and linking to relevant pages.
- New Content – Add new articles to your website on a regular basis via a blog.
- Web Page URL’s – Submit your web page URL’s to Google via Google Web Master Tools.
- Sitemap – Submit a sitemap to Google. Sitemaps list the pages, posts and images used on your site.
- SEO Friendly URL’s – Ensure your URL’s contain keyword phrases you want to be found for.
- Page Loading Speed – Optimise your website to load quickly.
- Web Page Design – Design your pages so people understand what you want them to do.
- Mobile First – Ensure your pages are optimised to look good and load quickly on mobiles.
- Keywords – Use the correct keyword phrases in your written content and headings.
- Structure – Use H1, H2, H3 headings and paragraphs.
- Image Descriptions – Apply alt tags / descriptions to images so Google knows what they are.
- Information – Provide informative PDF downloads.
- Updates – Keep your website plugins and operating system up to date.
Off-page SEO Tasks
Off page SEO techniques are actions applied on other websites that link to yours. These can be other business websites, social media accounts and business directories.
- Backlinks – These are links from other websites pointing to your website. These are usually bought.
- Business Directories – List your business on free and paid business directories.
- Advertising Campaigns – Run a Google AdWords or Facebook advertising campaign driving traffic back to your site.
- Commenting – Post answers on other Facebook groups, blogs and forums. Try and link back to your website.
- Facebook Groups – Join related Facebook groups and become an authority in your field.
- Newsletter – Install a newsletter subscription form on your site and keep in touch with your customers.
- Social Media – Choose the social media platforms which work well for your business type.
- Quora – Answer questions on https://www.quora.com/ and link back to your website.
- Hows It Going? – Contact existing customers to see if you can help them in any way.
- Reviews – Ask customers to post reviews on Google, Yelp, TrustPilot and more…
- Presentations – Organise an event for local businesses where you talk about the services you provide.