Google & SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Learn about how to help your website climb in Google.
We are web designers so we do a certain amount of SEO work when we build your website, but the rest is up to you, a marketing agency, or an SEO agency.
Summary = Google likes good, trustworthy websites. Have lots of good, relevant text on your website, update your site regularly, improve your presence everywhere on the web, choose the right keywords, and you should see results.
What exactly is SEO?
SEO means Search Engine Optimisation. It refers to the process of doing things to a website to show Google you're trustworthy.
Think about this from Google's point of view. They are a service provider. When a user searches for "plumber in St Neots', they want to make sure the best, most relevant websites come up. That's the only way people will continue using Google in the future.
Google run through a variety of tests to check your website and overall business will be the right website to give the user for the words they've searched.
The process of SEO is making sure your website and general online presence meets the criteria for their tests.
Think about it like this:
- A user searches for 'Plumber in St Neots'
- You are 1 of 30 plumbing companies in St Neots, plus every website in the whole world that happens to mention the word 'Plumber in St Neots'
- How will they decide which websites to present to the searcher?
So how do we make them trust us?
It takes time and effort.
Google looks for genuine websites that aren't trying to trick the system, and a general online presence that makes you look trustworthy. It's not just about your website.
Google can link together your entire business online, meaning your social media, reviews, probably even your tax returns. So you need to look trustworthy throughout the web.
Here are a few ways to encourage Google to view you as a reliable, trustworthy source of information:
Blogging - Google loves new, relevant content. Ask us to put a blog on your site, and write a good, long, informative post relevant to your services at least once a month. Try reviews, recent projects, industry news, or insights. Read more here.
Social Media Feeds - We know people are going off Facebook (we get it!) but it's gold dust for Google. You should really use it, even if just for your SEO. Instagram as well.
Send us new content to update your site with regularly.
Link to your website from all your social media, listing pages, and other sources. The more places on the web link to a website, the more Google will see it's a trustworthy and established site. This is traditionally known as Backlinks.
Keep your website online for as long as possible. The longer you're online, the more reliable you are. A bit like being registered at the same property on the Electoral Roll helps your credit score.
Get a good Google Business page going. Read more here.
Make sure you have good reviews coming in around the web. Think about Facebook, Google Business page, Trustpilot, Yell, etc.
Consider tweaking your website content. It needs to be what we call 'keyword rich.' So, if you're a plumber in St Neots, make sure the phrase 'plumber in St Neots' is dropped into your content on your website. Take a look at your website now. Are your keywords in your content? If not, we-write it and send it over to us ASAP!
Expand your 'About page.' Make sure it tells your story with lots of keywords. If it doesn't, re-write it and send the new content over to us.
Write an FAQs page. This is gold dust for SEO. For example Q: Why pick a local plumber in St Neots over a national company? A: We know St Neots, we know our customers, and you are supporting a local, family-run business. We are more flexible, and more tidy. We are a trustworthy plumbing company!
When will I see results?
Sorry, but the real answer is that no-one knows. Google has its own agenda and you can't force them to rank you higher. Do the things above and you will have the best possible chance of climbing the rankings.
For a realistic timescale, a plumber in St Neots may find themselves listing well for 'Plumbing in St Neots' in around 6 months, if they are doing a good job of the above steps.
A UK wide plumbing company just trying to list for 'Plumbing Services' will never get there unless they're willing to pay an SEO agency millions of pounds. The more websites are trying to rank for the same keywords, the harder it will be to beat them. The more niche your keywords are, or the more tied to a specific area, the more chance you have.
What if I desperately need results?
Hire an Adwords company, which will get you adverts in the 'Sponsored' section of the Google results. We recommend Dave Thomas at Prime Position Marketing, another local St Neots company.
If you want organic results (not in the sponsored section), try our monthly SEO service. We run software over your website which will tick all the boxes Google needs, and keep it fresh for you. We have proven results of significantly bumping clients up the rankings using this service.
So what do you do for me when building the site?
When we're designing your website, there are various things we do to give you a good starting point. We will embed meta titles and descriptions, as well as actually submitting your website to Google in the first place so it knows to start looking at you.
After that, it's up to you!
How do I find my keywords?
Keywords are the words you want to appear in the search for.
For example, if you're a plumber in St Neots, you might want to appear when people search 'plumbers in St Neots'. This makes 'plumbers in St Neots' your keyword phrase.
You can have several phrases.
You can research the best keywords here: https://www.wordtracker.com/