Google once again shocked the internet world by releasing its +1 button which features as a part of its paid and organic search results. Following in the footsteps of the Facebook Like button, Google’s +1 button is incorporates user sentiment into the search results, but many question the thinking and intent behind this addition to the search results.

How does the Google +1 Button Work?
The thinking is that people respect the opinion of friends and colleagues over and above strangers or marketers – hence word of mouth has worked well for decades. Now Google want to cash in on this trend by allowing your friends and contacts to recommend websites and content in the search results by adding a +1 to that site.  So, if you are signed into a Google account you will be able to see all the sites your contacts have +1’d and likewise they will be able to see those sites you +1.

Where does the button feature?
The Google +1 button features on both organic and paid search results. Google have also produced a +1 button that can be placed within your website’s pages which allows visitors to recommend your site without having to leave it. At Designer Websites we have already begun implementing this button into a number of website designs making it much easier for our client’s customers to share products, news and special offers.

How will this effect SEO?
The best indication we have so far as to how this new button effects search results comes from the following statement from Google, “We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.” Those sceptical about this new development cite the opportunity for the button to be manipulated through false Google accounts to distort rankings. No doubt Google have thought hard on this and will be monitoring such behaviour closely.

For additional information and details on Google’s +1 button visit Google’s Webmaster Blog.

Your title tag is one of the most important on page elements when it comes to website SEO. Correctly structuring you title tag can have an impact on where the search engines display your website in their search results which in turn has an impact on the number of people visiting your website. Getting it right the first time is therefore important. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Keywords
Make sure the title tag for each page includes the keywords you would like that page to appear for in the search engines. Having a title tag that simply reads ‘Home’ or ‘About’ is not going to make your page unique in the search engine’s eyes, just think about how many sites on the internet have the title ‘Home’. Instead use the keyword that your page talks about i.e. if the page is about ‘used laptop screens’ then call the page exactly that. Having the keyword in your title tag is important for website SEO but it can also help visitors to your site navigate easily between pages, therefore improving the overall usability of your site.

Length
When it comes to title tags size matters. Your title tag should be short and succinct ideally no more than 65 characters long (including spaces). Don’t be tempted to make your title tag 2 or 3 sentences long, anything longer than 65 characters will often be invisible to users as most search engines restrict the space available for the title tab. On the other hand, don’t go for single words either, really make best use of your space.
 
Spam
Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to simply list all the keywords you can think of or worse, just repeat a single keyword as many times as you can. Spamming the search engine via your title tags is a short term approach to website SEO. Search engines will quickly cotton onto what you have done and either penalise your site or remove it altogether from their index.

Follow the tips above and you should be able to mould title tags that will complement your website SEO and not restrain it.

Here are designer Website’s top 5 onsite conversion tips:

1.    Focus on your call to action – firstly, make sure you have a call to action; any webpage that leaves the customer thinking ‘now what?’ has failed and is costing you sales. Make sure every page has a crystal clear call to action, or even better, make sure the call to action is visible even as the visitor scrolls down your page. Test the wording of your call to action; would ‘send me information’ work better than ‘send query’? Use different call to actions based on the stage the visitor is at in their buying journey; someone who clicks ‘send me information’ will only just be starting out on their buying journey, whereas someone who clicks ‘request call-back’ is ready to buy.

2.    Un-clutter your message – is there too much noise on your page, is your message being drowned? Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this page and what do I want those who visit it to do? Now make it as easy and clear as possible for visitors to complete that action. If you place too much information or too many options in front of people they will freeze or get lost.

3.    Make use of images – images can be incredibly powerful for instantly conveying your message. Images can be highly emotive and help position your service or product in the visitor’s mind. Test where you place the image and what image you use. People connect with images of other people better than inanimate objects.

4.    Match intent with content – potential customers will have found your page for a reason; they want something and expect your page to provide it. If your marketing funnels are set up correctly, those people landing on your product page will expect to see information relating to that product, so ensure all content on that page speaks to the visitor’s need, if it doesn’t then remove it.

5.    Make no assumptions, test everything – this is the key to onsite conversions; whatever you decide to do test it first. Testing is the key to onsite conversions. Just as you would test new PPC ads against a control ad you must test one call to action against another to see which performs best. Once you have a winner come up with another version and try to beat it.

Improving your onsite conversions is an ongoing and timely process but if you are serious about making it big through the web, it’s an essential part of your online marketing package. Here at Designer-Websites.co.uk we can provide you with a head start as all our website designs take into account proven onsite conversions factors, ensuring your new website instantly outperforms the competition.

The South East Wales IPG tasked us with creating a new website for their group. The website had to be easy to update in terms on notices, announcements and meeting updates; we accomplished this with a simple brochure site with 3 separate integrated blogs, which makes the updates very simple and quick to manage.

The SEWIPG website can be viewed here.. South East Wales IPG.

Many individuals new to the world of online marketing have no idea that their website’s name can impact greatly on the results they can expect to achieve from search engine optimisation. For this reason, it is an excellent idea to consult professional online marketers before deciding on the domain for your website. This can make the whole website optimisation process a lot more effective.

As you may already be aware, links to a website are incredibly important to high search engine rankings. The text associated with these links – known as anchor text – is one of the main SEO factors when it comes to optimising a site. Getting this text just right is of the utmost importance.

If you have picked the website name badly, i.e. very few people use that name to find your products or services online, then the SEO impact of the links bearing your website name will be minimal. For example a link to “Designer Websites Ltd” contains our keywords “Websites Designer” or “Websites”.

Traditionally, the branding of a business was critical to its success. Whilst branding is still very important it is obvious that it has become more important to be found on the Internet than almost anything else. These days the most appealing or witty business name is of little use unless you have a particularly large advertising budget and people are using the search engines to search for your specific business name.

When deciding on the domain name for your website some compromises may have to be made. In the majority of cases, the perfect domain name for your business will already be owned by a competitor. For this reason, it is essential to carry out keyword research into your market to find out if you can identify a niche that has been missed by the other businesses in your market. A perfect keyword to base your business and domain name around would be one that has a large number of searches, but a low level of competition. This will make it far easier to appear high up in the search engines, as there will not be such a large number of businesses battling against you.

For more information on any element of domain name choice or website optimisation contact Designer Websites Ltd.