Chelmsford SEO agency talks Google rankings
Does it feel like you are fighting an uphill battle to ensure your site receives visits and clients? You aren’t alone! Google and other search engines are getting cleverer by the day and are more effective than ever at analysing and understanding websites, what they do, and how good they are.
Why? Because the more relevant the results are that they provide, the more likely you are to keep using them, simply put they make more money if they provide a search engine user with the results that they need and want.
The downside for you and I is that this makes securing a top spot more difficult, which is an unmitigated disaster if you are relying on Google for your lead generation strategy.
When you Google anything there are a few main things that will appear as a result:
- Paid for adverts
- Local pack results
- Images
- Videos
- Organic search results.
(You can click on the above points for an more in-depth explanation on how you can use these to better your SEO strategy)
This isn’t it, there are actually 16 in total but the above 5 are the most common and the ones we tend to worry about. Today, our Chelmsford SEO agency are going to discuss how you can help your website rise to the top of the rankings.
What are you doing now?
If the foundations aren’t in place, you’re going to struggle. Before we start talking about how you can improve your site, we need to make sure that the platform it’s relying on is effective. You need to have a sitemap in place and your load speed needs to be great. Have you filled in the metatags and do your images have alt tag attributes? The simple stuff needs to be right!
How are you ranking at the moment and are the keywords you are showing up for the right ones? There are an abundance of tools you can use to do this smallseotools and semrush are just two you can trial for free.
It stands to reason that the whole reason you are on this blog is because you need a higher SEO ranking. A higher search position means more organic traffic, which converts into enquires; if of course you can show you sell the product the customer needs; or hold the expertise of the service that that client is looking for. A great SEO position means a better ROI.
Sound like the ideal position (pardon the pun) to be in doesn’t it? If you are feeling disheartened, don’t. Below are a few tips and tricks you can use to help your site dominate the Google rankings in 2020. All it takes is some patience and admittedly, quite a bit of time. If you don’t have the time required, don’t worry! You can contact our Chelmsford SEO agency and we can do it for you! If you do have the time… read on.
User experience is key.
Google uses an amalgamation of factors to determine where you should be ranking. One of them is user experience. This refers to the experience people have when they visit your site. One example is page layout; do you have heaps of text and no images? Not good. Equally as bad is the opposite scenario where you have tons of images and no content. Make sure you are offering valuable advice whilst making your content easy to read with headings, images, and bullet points. People are lazy and are unlikely to read a big bulk of text.
Additionally, if your site looks visually untrustworthy, people are likely to land on your page and hop straight back off. Although Google has never actually said it, evidence suggests that is your site has a low bounce rate (people tend to stay on there and look around) they push you further up the search rankings. As such, it’s in your interest to make sure it’s easy to read, visually appealing, and easy to navigate.
The rationale behind this is, quite rightly, if you stay on a page for a while then the content must be helpful and informative. If that is the case you must know what you are talking about and it’s only right you have a high search ranking as a result.
When you are writing a blog, ensure you do so in the inverted pyramid style of writing. Start off with the point, what is this article going to be about? Then get to the main story with all the meaty facts. Conclude with a call to action and any supporting evidence that may be relevant. Someone who lands on a page rarely reads it all so this style is important.
Keywords are, well, key.
We touch on keywords above; if you are going to create a blog that ranks you need to have the right keywords worked into it. If you are new to SEO, we would suggest long tail to be a great place to start. Consider them to be the low hanging fruit of the SEO world, keywords that contain three of more words.
The concept behind them is the user intent. Let’s imagine I am selling sofas, for example. IF I rank for that single word ‘sofa’ the intent is poor. Am I looking for photos? An old DFS advert? OR do I want to buy a three-piece suite? IT’s way to vague and in addition to being chronically difficult to rank for; the chances of a sale are nil to none.
Now imagine I type in ‘grey suede sofa’. I could still be looking for an image admittedly, but the chances are I am interested in making a purchase. The same principle applies the more involved my search becomes. By the time I hit ‘grey suede sofa with cushions free delivery’ my chances of a sale, should some land on my page, have dramatically increased.
Furthermore, you need to find a number of semantically related keywords, for example, ‘Essex sofa shop’ and work that into the surrounding text to really show people what the point of the page they are landing on is. When you are writing this would be a natural progression anyway, but it certainly helps to identify ranking factors.
Keywords work as an indicator to Google spiders, so are well worth researching and investing time into. Make sure you track them either on a programme, or spreadsheet, to ensure you can see clear progression.
Length of content.
We have all heard the phrase ‘content is king’. It’s an oldie but it’s certainly a goodie. Recent studies show that the longer your text is, the more backlinks it will accumulate (more of that later.) This usually results in more traffic and a higher search ranking position.
The ideal is 2,000 words per post, but that’s really not for everyone. Long content is time consuming and you really have to know what you are talking about. IF you are struggling to create those long posts, there are a few ways to meet those targets on the days and weeks that time is a bit tight.
Refresh your content. Why not revisit an only blog? Rather than writing a new Chelmsford SEO agency blog, for example, I could have gone back to an old article I created a year ago and updated the points so that they are relevant to 2020 search rankings. Existing content already has some authority, so sometimes it can be easier to just update whatever you have already. Of course, this can only be done a finite number of times but if you’re in a fix, it will do!
Why not use video content? If you have some great visuals, YouTube can be your friend. Many people forget this platform when the consider SEO, but it can and does drive traffic. Admittedly video marketing isn’t for everyone but if you have content to hand make sure that you use it! YouTube allows you to create an optimised video title and add tags, so be strategic with it!
Make sure you link!
In 2020, backlinks are just as important as ever before. The way that Google views them however, has changed dramatically. Rolling back in time, people used to simply find as many online directories as possible and add their URL on there. Google very quickly caught wise to this and it is certainly NOT a link building strategy you should be implementing today. For more information on link building, click here.
However, links that are earnt are very valuable. The key really is in quality here. If you can get links to your website from those of high authority, such as online publications, you’ll be onto an absolute winner.
This is where PR comes in. Our team, for example, have a bank of high value media contacts that they utilise for our clients. Not only does their company message and brand reach a wider audience but the resulting link is extremely valuable, adding amazing SEO value to the site.
Your link profile needs to be diverse. You need follow links, no follow links, a couple of mentions… the key is in it being natural. You’ll naturally pick up some lower quality links across the way but that’s actually a good thing because again, its organic, it’s real, in a nutshell – it’s what Google wants.
Conclusion
If you still feel out of your depth, click here to get in touch! Our Chelmsford SEO agency work as both a consultancy and a full service operation, so can help as little or as much as you need. From PR to Social media, SEO to design, we’ve got the capabilities to increase both your brand exposure and your bottom line.
Why Use Our Chelmsford SEO Agency?
VerriBerri can help you climb the rankings in search engines like Google to get ahead of your competitors. Potential customers are looking for your service or product every day and it’s imperative that you get to the top. Why? So you are the first person that they see in their search! An experienced SEO agency will devise a strategy that will not only mean that more people find your website on Google, and other search engines, but will also optimise pages on your site in order to increase conversions and generate more sales; thereby increasing your income.
Why Do You Need An Agency?
Technically you don’t. If you have the available time on your hands, or the skillset within your team, you can manage your own SEO. In fact, we have clients that have an inhouse marketing manager or SEO specialist, for example. When this is the case, we offer a consultancy service rather than acting as a full-service agency. This means that you can simply purchase a block of hours each month and use them as best fits your business. This is usually either filling the gaps where someone lacks expertise; or being a second pair of hands when time restrictions limit the regularity your team can work on your website. As we all know, consistency is vital when you are working alongside Google!
However, there are a multitude of people who lack the time, skill set, or just inclination to work on their own SEO. This is where we come into the fore. We can manage the whole process for you in a cost-effective manner; where you allocate your own monthly budget and we work as much as we can up to, but never exceeding, this limit.
Our team have years of experience both in the technical aspects of SEO, and the copywriting element. This means we will provide you with a well-rounded service that will see your brand make significant progress in a relatively short period of time. After all, in terms of sales, every day you are not working on your SEO is a day wasted!
How Do I Choose A Great SEO Agency?
When looking for SEO in Chelmsford, or further afield, we would insist you spend some time carrying out some background research on the company you are intending to partner with.
This should include looking at their reviews online. (Click here to see ours!) Additionally, make sure that you ask them for a client or two that you can chat to. If the company are at the standard that they are selling you; they won’t mind handing over a phone number or two so you can check that they really are doing a fantastic job.
Furthermore, take a look at their own website. Is it up to date and are they following Google’s recommended practices themselves?
If you are intending to work with a company, they have no doubt sold you the dream. You need to make sure this is achievable and not a pie in the sky concept that will cost you your hard-earned profit. As such, look at what they are carrying out themselves.
How To Tell If An Agency Is Proficient In SEO In Chelmsford.
Are They Being Featured?
Google the company and click on the ‘news’ tab on Google. Are they being featured in the press? If not, that’s an immediate problem. A fantastic way to increase your Google rankings and online credibility is to earn links and mentions from reputable sources. I cannot stress enough how valuable this is to a solid SEO strategy. If they are not, then they are not capable of doing this for you either. After all, if they are telling you their SEO is effective, they would be doing the same in order to make more money too! If you want to find out more about link building, just click here.
Are They Knowledgeable?
Next, take a look at the blog or news tab of the website. Are they regularly posting informative information? The key here is twofold. First you need to identify regular. The jury is out on the frequency of content production. Our SEO agency in Chelmsford post daily. We understand the importance of regular posting. However, you should not dismiss someone who is posting less frequently; providing you can see a minimum of 4 blogs a month and they are evenly spaced out. Not only is this a green light to Google, but it shows that they have implemented an SEO strategy and are not treating it as an afterthought.
Additionally, take a look at the content and length of the blogs themselves. Each one should be a minimum of 1,000 words and they should be well structured.
As far as Google are concerned; to rank your website you should show E-A-T; Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. This means every blog or page created should show that they know what they are taking about, so much so that it will be a piece that they can talk about for a significant period.
Do People Like Them?
Now look at their social media channels. Although they are not an entirely direct SEO attribute, they do count. If search engines like Google can see that you are popular; the assumption has to be made that they have something to say that is of interest to the masses. This would not be the case if they did not have expertise, the cornerstone of the aforementioned E-A-T. Avoid a company with an Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook pagethat have followers in the hundreds rather than thousands. Even worse, avoid a page with thousands of followers and very few likes, as this shows that they have bought their popularity on an unscrupulous website!
Additionally, take a look at LinkedIn. It’s really easy to tell if someone is legitimate by the followers and engagement they have, the strength of their profile, and if they are sharing relevant content. It’s important to note here, that LinkedIn is a different beast, so don’t expect thousands of followers on this platform. This statement is relevant to company pages not personal profiles!.
Contact Us.
We know it can be tiresome researching a company, but we promise you it’s worth it! Just a ten-minute Google search can tell you if the person or company you are contacting are is going to be capable of doing a good job for you, or just taking your money.
Please do not even phone or email anyone without carrying out your due diligence. If you are looking for SEO in Chelmsford; have carried out your research, and would like some help; then get in touch with our expert team here at VerriBerri. We would love to help you grow your business no matter where you are in Essex. JUST CLICK HERE.
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