The Internet changes fast. Sometimes it seems that there’s a new web fad every year. Chances are you’re moving too fast just trying to keep up with your business. Updating an old website can seem like a daunting task, especially if you don’t have a lot of extra time.
But to stay on top of the competition and attract new customers, you must keep things fresh. At times SEO can come across as an esoteric science that only those who understand Google’s endless algorithm updates can practice, but in reality effective SEO is simple. It begins with great content.
The SEO experts at Mavidea have highlighted five easy do-it-yourself ways that will keep your website feeling up-to-date and ranking higher in search engine results. The changes require little time and might even help the rest of your business plan.
Tip 1: Content is Your Concrete
Build a firm foundation for your site by ensuring that the text on your site is inviting, interesting, and informative. Everything else – from cool pictures or helpful tools – only can keep people on your site if your content is relevant. If you’ve had the same company blurb for the last ten years, it’s time to dust off the cobwebs and replace what you have with some fresh copy.
Three things to keep in mind:
- Make it interesting. Write things that you would actually want to read. Imagine yourself without the background you have in your industry. Does your content have enough clarity that someone without your experience could understand what you’re writing about?
- Make it snappy. You can tell a lot about your company and what you do without writing a book. Take a moment to look at some of the most famous brands. Check out their websites. Do they have copious amounts of text on their pages? They tell their story and explain what they do in a brief, interesting manner. You may not have their web department, but you can copy their model by keeping things simple.
- But not too snappy. Though the world may be hooked on Twitter, you cannot possibly say everything you should about your business in 140 characters or less. A good rule of thumb is three short paragraphs of information per webpage. The home page of your site should have less copy than other pages.
Tip 2: Write With a Purpose
One of the most common SEO pitfalls is that companies want to get found on search engines for things that they say nothing about on their website. While Google and Bing have highly advanced technology that can “crawl” or read your website, they don’t have the ability to read minds (yet) and guess what you actually want.
If you don’t mention what you do or what people want to find you for on your website, chances are Google won’t list you as an answer for a search query. To give an example, let’s imagine a baker and his website. If that baker never mentions on his site he is from Peoria, IL or if he does not have text explaining his wedding cake baking and decorating services, Google won’t have him rank for “wedding cake bakers in Peoria, IL”. He could miss out on dozens of customers a year.
Another common mistake is that many business owners let the pictures on their website do all of the talking. It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, but to search engines a picture is just an un-crawlable file – it offers very little in terms of SEO. To return to our baker, that baker could have dozens of photos of his wedding cakes, but if he doesn’t say one thing about wedding cakes elsewhere on his website, either in paragraphs, page titles, links, picture titles, or in the advanced feature of alt tags, Google won’t know. It’s a good SEO technique to balance out your pictures with text. Make sure that you have the main tenets of what you do, where you’re located, and who you serve written in text somewhere on your site.
Tip 3: Keep Things Fresh
What a lot of bloggers won’t tell you is that they get creativity droughts. You can see this easily by visiting a company whose website has a blog. More than likely, there’s a month or two gap in between the posts. Even more likely, it’s probably been almost a year since someone last wrote something for their website.
Blogging is like getting a haircut. You can’t just do it once and expect the results to last forever. Smart companies that understand SEO know that blogging can be a great tool to keep your website ranking well – if only you blog consistently. If you’re refreshing your site or thinking about getting a new site developed, make sure you can commit to blogging. A sparse blog can make a company look unorganized, out of date, or lacking authority in its field.
But if you can commit to a blog post only twice a month, you’ve got a great chance to improve your company’s ranking in search engine results. Here’s why: search engines love freshness and you can put things you want to be found for (keywords) into your blog!
By writing a blog post, you can highlight what your company does or what its market is. Blogs can turn words into new customers. Giving tips, explaining what you do, or simply commenting on news or advancements in your market will attract visitors to your site and for them to read more. A landscaper, for example, could offer lawn care tips, do a step-by-step photolog of her progress on a project, or give her take on new styles in landscape design.
Blogs don’t have to be long to be effective. One tip to keep things fresh – break up an idea into several posts. You don’t need to write a book to start booking customers.
Tip 4: Give the people what they want!
People take to the Internet first to research, then to purchase. Whether your business offers services or products, you can use your website to describe in detail what it is you offer. Follow these three guidelines to ensure that people buy from you:
- Don’t just use the manufacturer’s product description. Website visitors can find that anywhere. Differentiate your business by giving real-life details about the products you sell.
- Be realistic. Think like a customer. Everyday we are inundated with thousands of advertisements and we’ve adjusted to filter out superfluous or superlative-laden ads. Write what people are actually looking for. “The World’s Best Cup of Coffee” will probably mean less than “Nutty, dark roast coffee that compliments pancakes deliciously” to your customer.
- Be accurate. If you offer services, describe what they are thoroughly. Of course, such a close look at what you really offer your customers might have you adjust how you do business. Don’t just say “Sparkle Car Wash” when you could list that your car wash has a coat of wax, tire detailing, and underbody rinse. Your customers will thank you for the extra information.
Tip 5: Lead your customers where you want them to go.
Sometimes websites can feel like just that – a web. Sites with chaotic links or little to no information can confuse and confound potential buyers. Take a moment and identify what it is you want someone to do when he or she gets to your site. Ultimately, you want the visitor to browse and then contact you or, if available, give you their payment information right there and make a purchase.
We’ve compiled four easy steps you can do to increase your conversions, or people contacting you for a product or service:
- Make sure you have a contact page. This could include address, phone number, fax number, other web addresses for your company, and, best of all, a contact form.
- Create a button or link to your contact page from your landing, or home page. If you want people to call or email you, help them access that information fast. Put that button in the upper third of the page and make it appealing.
- Have your contact information consistently displayed on every page. Having your address and phone number works well at the bottom of the page (footer) or the top of the page (header). For best results, don’t make it flashy and different from the rest of your site. Make it appear seamless with a similar font as the rest of your page. If you cannot edit your header or footer you should contact your web developer, but in the meantime, make a link in your regular text.
- Check your information for accuracy. This sounds easy, right? It’s surprising how often companies don’t do their homework and check their addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. If you have your address listed four different ways on your site, you’re only hurting yourself. Consistency is key.
These tips are a great place to begin getting your SEO in shape! For a full solution to grow your business and find more customers, contact us! 888-898-8960 or email advisor@mavidea.com
