Website optimisation is one part of your internet marketing strategy which can never stand still. Constant tweaks and alterations to the algorithms used by the most popular search engines ensure website optimisation specialists like the team here at Designer Websites are constantly having to adapt and learn in order to offer the highest calibre service.

On-site SEO
Website optimisation is a far more complicated process than simply placing keywords in the correct places on your website copy. For the process to truly perform, it is essential your website is built from the ground up with website optimisation in mind. From the earliest stages of website development, it is important every element is geared towards the same goal. This will ensure your site has every chance of appearing at the top of the search engine rankings for your chosen keywords.

The answer to the question ‘how to SEO’ is a staged process involving many different website optimisation techniques as well as a technical approach to website design at the earliest instance.

Keyword analysis – this process lays down the very foundations of your website optimisation strategy. Many companies can make or break their entire online strategy by choosing keywords which do not attract a significant search volume. Time should be taken to conduct thorough research to establish the exact search traffic and competition figures.

Keyword inclusion – once the keywords are chosen they need to be strategically placed in the right areas. This includes the title tag, meta description, page heading, body copy and internal links. Placement is not the only consideration at this stage, it is also important the density of keywords falls within the appropriate bands.

URL rewriting – a key feature of website optimisation is a readable and relevant URL. Length is important and a guideline of about three to five words should be followed as the weighting of each word beyond this limit is reduced. Recent research has shown short URLs within Google are clicked twice as often as longer URLs. Short URLs will help towards improved rankings and clickthrough rate.

Coding – it may be called on-site SEO but its what is on the inside they counts too. Standards compliant coding ensures the search engine bots are able to index your website quickly and easily, it will also ensure that your website will be cross-browser compatible. Getting your code right is important too, because messy or outdated coding can cause websites to load slowly which will result in poor rankings.

Link building – building up trust within the search engines can be done by securing relevant, good quality links from related websites. This shows your website is one respected by the industry in which you operate, helping you to climb further up the rankings.

SEO copywriting – creating text which appeals to customers as well as the search engines is a careful balancing act between keyword inclusion and readability. The copy on web pages, blog posts, news pieces and articles will all contribute to your search engine rankings as long as the correct keywords are used at an appropriate density.

Optimised website hosting – providing very fast and reliable website hosting is absolutely essential to a well optimised website, otherwise all of your other SEO efforts will have been in vain. Correct error handling procedures and redirecting are also really important. You either need a dedicated web server or at least a host who has a dedicated server and holds fewer than 50 websites on it themselves.

When considering how to SEO the above is simply a pointer. Website optimisation is a varied and constantly evolving process which requires the expertise of knowledgeable SEO practitioners. Here at Designer Websites, the wealth of experience we have built up ensures we understand the technical aspects of website optimisation better than anyone else.

For further information about on-site SEO, please do not hesitate to call our friendly team on 0845 272 6813. 

The first and most important stage of any website SEO campaign is the keyword research. If your keyword research is flawed and you identify words which are either too competitive for your budget, or which don’t attract a high enough search volume, you will effectively be fighting a losing battle from the start. Some companies will make the mistake of determining their keywords without carrying out any research. Considering how quickly keyword research can be carried out, this can prove to be an incredibly costly mistake. You may think you know your industry inside and out, but it is likely you will not think of the products and services you offer in the same way as your customers. It is possible to spend thousands on website SEO which targets keywords that there is absolutely no market for, and in so doing miss out on those little niches which can bring you some easy gains.

Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are usually those which represent niches in the market. So where as the most obvious keywords which will be the most searched for but also the most competitive, a good long-tail keyword will still attract a good search volume, but with far less competition to battle against. If you operate as a florist then if your website SEO targets highly competitive keywords like ‘florist’, or ‘buy flowers online’, then you will find yourself competing against some of the biggest names in your industry, and may not feature until around page 20 of Google, even after a long-term website SEO campaign. Alternatively, as a smaller retailer it would make much more sense to target a niche with a long-tail keyword, which may not have quite the same search volume, but will make you show up on page one rather than page 15 and will consequently experience far greater traffic.

Identifying niches
Niches can often be identified by long-tail keywords i.e. those including two or more words. These usually identify users who are already knowledgeable about a particular product or service and are further through the decision making process. By targeting these words you are far more likely to find consumers who are ready to make a purchase. Broader keywords are used by searchers at the very beginning of the decision making process and are more likely to be carrying out a bit of research rather than being ready to make a purchase. In the case of our florist, a long-tail keyword like ‘mother’s day flower bouquet’ is likely to be far more profitable in the early days of a website SEO campaign than a broad keyword like ‘florist’.

But remember – there’s more than one way to skin a cat!
A good SEO website campaign will have a mixture of broad keywords as long-term aims with long tail keywords providing the quick wins along the way.

For further information on long-tail keywords and other website SEO techniques, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly website SEO team here at Designer Websites.

When you’ve got a new business idea or are determined to lead your existing business into the digital age, it is all too easy to be carried away with the excitement of it all. However, it is so important to take stock when choosing your team of website developers. It is these decisions early on which will make or break your business further down the line.

The best websites are often the most simple in nature. They provide all the information needed, but no more or less. Such websites will usually have a higher conversion rate as there are fewer distractions present for the consumer. The key to a successful team of website developers is creating a site with the right amount of content, is visually appealing and simple to navigate.

Let’s have a look at a few common mistakes website developers often make:

Too much content

A grave error indeed. High quality copy is essential as it helps to build a trusting relationship with your customer base. It is worth paying for the services of a good copywriter and fully briefing them on the ins and outs of your business, helping them to craft the words which carry the sentiment of your business directly to the end user. It is certainly worth paying for a specialist copywriter rather than doing it yourself. No more than 500-600 words should be on any one page; if possible even less. Say what needs to be said and not a word more. Web consumers scroll through pages looking for the information they need, so writing a thesis will be entirely counter-productive.

Confusing navigation

Stick with what works and don’t try to be fancy. Sometimes as website developers it is nice to be able to show off a little and really show what you can do, but website navigation is not the place. Web users are trained to expect dropdown menus at the top of the site which make it simple to manoeuvre through the site. Anything else will likely lead to confusion. Internal links are also important wherever another page is referenced. You should also ensure a Homepage link is always within reach.


TMI lead forms

Nobody wants to spend their time filling out forms; at least we hope not. Too much information (TMI) lead forms should be avoided at all costs. If a customer is filling out a lead form then they are already interested in the services or products your business offers. The last thing your website developers should be doing is reversing this decision with a clunky lead form which takes forever to fill in. This will reverse the trust your great copy, visual appeal and simple navigation managed to create.

All these points are important but ultimately you will need to strike a balance between design, SEO effectiveness and the user experience for whilst too much information can be off-putting, not enough can be detrimental, so a good balance and clear message is required.

To speak to website developers with the knowledge and experience to know exactly what makes your website sell, call Designer Websites. Our website developers have the technical know-how and intricate understanding of search engine optimisation to bring you the traffic and conversion rates your site needs.

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.