Summarising all of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in one blog post is near impossible, so instead I am going to tell you 3 things that I have learned over the last 2 years working with Red Graphic. Whether you’re a business owner looking to better your site ranking or a young web dev hoping to expand your skill set, I hope that this post will be of use.
A bit about me first… my name is Joe, I am currently the Web Developer for Red Graphic. Because of the small nature of the company this means that as well as developing various client sites across industries, I also have to dabble in the world of SEO. It’s fair to say that this subject is not my strong point so if you’re looking for the algorithm secrets of Google this probably isn’t the post for you, sorry! But feel free to stick around, you never know you might pick something useful up.
Just a word of warning before we start, there are no guarantees! You can work tireless hours trying improve the ranking of your site, but sometimes it just wont budge. It would be great if there was a step-by-step guide to the glorious throne that is number 1 on Google, but from my experience, it’s just not that simple. I should also mention that things take time propagate, don’t panic if you have made a tweak to your site and you haven’t moved, changes can take weeks, even months to take effect.
So in no particular order… lets kick things off!
Mobile Friendly
‘Responsive Web Design’ has been the talk of the town within the web community over the past few years. It is a term used to describe adjustable websites that scale suited to their viewing device. In other words, it means that the site will look good on any device, be it a mobile, tablet or desktop computer. Having a ‘Mobile-Friendly’ site in essence means that your site is adjusted to suit a mobile device when necessary. If you are still unsure of what mobile-friendly sites are, Google have an excellent explanation here.
During April 2015, Google released a big update for its ranking algorithm which saw mobile-friendly pages get a boost on Google’s mobile search results. With mobile users only ever increasing, I think it’s safe to say that having a mobile-friendly website is a must have in 2016. Google have even developed their own project called AMP, its main objective is to render web pages faster on mobile devices. If you want to find out more you can visit the website – https://www.ampproject.org/.
Want to know whether your website is mobile friendly? Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test here – https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
Google My Business
If a client came to me and said… ‘Joe, I’ve got 10 minutes to improve my online presence, what do I do?’… First, I would tell to manage they’re time more appropriately! Then I would point them to Google My Business. This free business listing is by far the most beneficial business directory on the web. Want to learn more about Google My Business? Check it out here – https://www.google.co.uk/business/
Its really quite simple to setup, you just need to enter in a few details like your address, business name, website, telephone and opening hours. Then to verify that the address is correct you will get sent a postcard with a verification code on it.
Social Media
The popularity of social media has been significant for a number of years now and the link between SEO and social media is becoming stronger and stronger. Here’s a couple of things to think about:
Growing your Following
It’s proven that a company with say 100 followers on Facebook and Twitter will receive less of a ranking boost than a company with 100,000 and the boost can be significant. Although I should mention that Google can pick up on false followers, so if you were to buy a few thousand followers on Twitter, it’s more than likely it won’t do anything to your rankings. Instead try and build your following organically with legitimate followers.
Social Media Profiles on Search Engine Results Pages
Social Media Profiles are becoming more and more common among the top search results. Give it a go, try Googling a business and see if one of their social media profiles pops up on page 1.
Social Media’s Search Engine
It’s quite surreal to say that a lot of people are using social media to search for what they want, but it’s true, in fact it’s really common. A lot of people will use Facebook’s search feature to lookup a business and get their info that way.
Summary
These are just 3 things that I believe are important in todays SEO. Below is a fantastic infographic that I use regularly, it really puts into perspective the magnitude and hierarchy of SEO. Courtesy of Search Engine Land. Click on the image below to view the full PDF version.
