Search Engine Optimisation

How Content Marketing Works

Why do marketers focus on digital content so much? They all seem to agree that content marketing works — but how? What is “content marketing” anyway? How does it fit into online marketing strategies — and how can you get it working for your business?

Well, the short answer to most of those questions boils down to one long-established fact: content is king. Quality content attracts, convinces and converts visitors into customers. Weak content does not.

Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. So, let’s start with what’s so special about digital content?

Why Digital Marketing?

Well, did you know that the UK is the world’s fourth biggest advertising market?

Read the rest “How Content Marketing Works”

5 Signs You Need a Local SEO Expert

Most business owners know that SEO is important. An estimated 80-90% of consumers check online before buying a product. So if you aren’t doing SEO right, you’re leaving money on the table and it would pay to get some reliable, expert advice. If you have local customers though, what you really need is a local SEO expert.

That doesn’t just mean an SEO expert in your area. It means someone who knows how to optimise a site for search terms that include location information. Like “yoga Newport” for instance, or the even more competitive, “web design Newport“.

Why Local SEO?

For many businesses, local SEO can be more effective than general, or “national” SEO.… Read the rest “5 Signs You Need a Local SEO Expert”

5 Common SEO Mistakes Small Firms Make

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is vital for the success of small firms on the web. That has been an established fact of business life for years. There’s no point in having a wonderful small business website if no one can actually find it. Effective SEO draws visitors to your site, generates leads, and can ultimately be the difference between your company’s success and failure. Yet, despite the importance of getting this right, many small businesses still make these 5 common SEO mistakes.

Are any of them holding your business website back?

#1 — Not Taking SEO Seriously

Small business owners are often targeted by “Guaranteed Google Top Spot” email scams from self-proclaimed SEO “gurus” looking for gullible marks.… Read the rest “5 Common SEO Mistakes Small Firms Make”

It’s All About Trust – Increasing Sales With SSL Security

SSL security trust mark“Trust me.” That’s the most vital message any website can convey. Without trust, visitors just leave.

However, most folks expect to be trusted, even when they’re wary about trusting others. Whilst that’s fine for dealing with folks in person, websites need to plan to build trust. We do that by providing quality content, good service – and “trust marks” like testimonials, “About” pages, Privacy Policies and other reassurances.

Of course, search engines want to promote quality, trustworthy sites, so many of these reassurances can be good for SEO, too. So online, trust doesn’t just enable sales — it actively increases sales.

…and then Google changed the game.

Google’s Great SSL Plan

As you may know, Google uses hundreds of signals to assess the quality and trustworthiness of websites.… Read the rest “It’s All About Trust – Increasing Sales With SSL Security”

SEO – Details Matter

SEO Details MatterIn SEO, details matter. In fact, success with Search Engine Optimisation is largely built on two simple things — perseverance and attention to detail. The trick, of course, is to know which SEO details to pay attention to. A recent event reminded me of this, and happens to illustrate a couple of basic principles of SEO, so I thought I’d pass it on.

An Unavoidable Upset

First, a bit of background. As I’m a web designer based in Newport, Wales, you might expect me to get traffic from searches for “web design Newport” — and you’d be right. I like to be on Google’s front page for that search, and often am.

Still, you may also imagine that I’d be competing with web designers from every “Newport” in the world for that phrase, many of whom know a bit about SEO, too.… Read the rest “SEO – Details Matter”