Google’s SEO guidelines play a vital role in the optimisation of your website. SEO specialists and website developers use these guidelines as a code of conduct and adhere to these areas in order to achieve good rankings. Google makes frequent changes to their guidelines in order to enhance the overall user experience. Google’s most recent guideline update includes three core focus areas which website owners must adhere to in order to achieve good rankings. In 2021, Google will enforce three core web vitals including Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Following these three metrics will help site owners create the ultimate user experience and assist Google in ranking the best pages. So, what are Google’s core web vitals and how can they improve your website? LARGEST CONTENTFUL PAINT (LCP) Google’s core web vitals are all created with the main objective of enhancing the user experience. LCP refers to the loading speed of your website. If your page is taking too long to load, users will become frustrated and you could be faced with a high number of bounce rates. How Google determines this is by how long it takes for the most important or largest piece of content on your page to load, this could be an image or long piece of text. The goal is to have your page loading within 2.5 seconds, this will keep you in the clear and ensure you are providing a good user experience. Anything over 4 seconds is not ideal and will impact your rankings. Remember to always optimise images and large content which could slow your page down. FIRST INPUT DELAY (FID) The first input delay refers to the amount of time it takes for your website to become interactive. When a user clicks on a tab or link, how long your website takes to respond and take action. Essentially FID refers to anything involving user interaction with the HTML components of your website. Google ideally wants websites to have fast website loading and quick responsiveness. If your website is taking too long to respond to users demands, this could again lead to more bounce rates. To have Google’s approval for FID, your website needs to respond under 100 milliseconds, anything over this begins to tamper with your website’s user experience. CUMULATIVE LAYOUT SHIFT (CLS) The final element of Google’s core web vitals to be enforced in 2021 is cumulative layout shift. This new metric relates to the visual stability of your site and how frequently the layout of your website changes. This could occur when you are visiting a website and pop ups, or ads frequently appear on screen. Having too much movement on your page, too frequently could be deemed as frustrating for users and impact their user experience. Referring to Google’s metrics of CLS, your website should score under 0.1 to promote a good page experience. Core web vitals will change from time to time and are never permanent. This is why it’s important to always stay updated with Google’s guidelines and be informed on any upcoming changes. As site owners, it’s vital to keep track of these metrics and still incorporate other key aspects of SEO, such as creating good quality content. Consider all aspects with an emphasis on creating an enjoyable user experience. This will help Google rank the best pages which are not only relevant for searches but are also easy to navigate. Google has not set a specific enforcement date for the new core web vitals however we will be notified at least six months beforehand so we can prepare for the changes.
Australians are spending almost 6 hours a day on the internet, with almost two hours spent on social media. As marketers and business owners, it’s important to take this into account and adapt your business accordingly. Utilise social media and invest time into developing the perfect strategy which will target your ideal audience. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Snapchat or Pinterest, there is great marketing potential in every social media platform. If your aim is to develop your business and boost your brand awareness, the best possible way you can do this is by using social media. Interested to know how? Read our 7 ways to increase brand awareness using social media. 1. Research your target audience This is the most crucial step in any marketing strategy and an area which you must invest enough time into, is to define your audience. Without a target audience, you are investing time and money into marketing which might not be beneficial for your business. Think about who your ideal clientele would be and write down as many characteristics as you can which they would fall into. Whether it be age, gender, occupation, interests etc, having a defined target audience will help you when you create content and determine who views it. 2. Create appealing visual content By creating appealing, visual content for your audience, you will be able to keep them engaged and interacting with your profiles. Think back to your target audience and think about the types of content they would like to see. Get creative and plan your content ahead so you have time to create quality posts. Content ideas may include video tutorials, infographics, before and after photos, team introduction posts, client/customer testimonials, etc. Creating engaging content frequently will build your reputation and attract more followers to your page. 3. Utilise influencers Social media influencers are an ideal way to gain brand exposure and promote your business. Find influencers who reflect the target audience in your niche and use them to grow your business. Whether you pay a fee or provide free services/products exchange for a promotion, it’s quite a small price to pay for a significant amount of brand exposure. Always ensure to create an agreement with your influencer to ensure both parties obtain the best end result. 4. Aim to go viral Some of the most successful businesses have made it to where they are as a result of a viral post. If you are able to create content which is viewed and shared by thousands, if not millions, across the globe, this is the ultimate goal for brand exposure. Of course it’s not easy for content to go viral, otherwise everyone would be doing it. Start small and share your content across various social platforms, encourage your family and friends to share and try submitting to other credible websites. Remember to try to create content which is unique! 5. Make use of hashtags & location tags Hashtags and location tags are another great way of spreading brand awareness. Use hashtags and location tags which are relevant to the content you are sharing and your target audience. Utilise a combination of hashtags with both high and low followings. This will provide you with a greater chance of ending up in explore pages and having more people see your brand. If you are a global business, mix up your location tags to gain exposure in different cities throughout the world. 6. Interact on your social accounts Sometimes business owners focus so much time on other aspects of their work and tend to neglect one of the most important factors of social media, BEING SOCIAL. You must spend time interacting with your followers, commenting back to posts, responding to enquiries, and showing support to those who support you. This builds your online presence and will guarantee greater brand exposure. 7. Run competitions/giveaways A great way to create brand awareness fast is to run competitions or giveaways for your followers. This is a great way to encourage your followers to share your content, tag their friends in your posts and boost your brand awareness. Start a competition and watch your following grow significantly! One of the core fundamentals of any marketing strategy is to create brand awareness. Once people learn about your brand, they will learn to invest their trust in it and will be more willing to use your products or services. Social media is predominantly one of the best ways for any business to promote their brand and reach their target audience.
In 2020, businesses have had to rethink their marketing strategy as a result of COVID-19 and take their products or services online. Search engines play a vital role in how much traffic is directed to a website. For consumers, search engines are an incredible tool which provides users with the ability to research any chosen topic and obtain valuable information instantly. With the implementation of search engine optimisation, this provides business owners with a great advantage to be able to market their product or service to any desired audience. Local SEO is a more targeted strategy of marketing which greatly benefits small business owners who work within a specific location and have a physical office or shop front. By implementing local SEO, businesses will have increased visibility under local search results and are able to target potential local prospects who may require your products or services. This provides small businesses in particular with an added advantage towards their marketing strategy and will benefit you greatly as we overcome the wrath of COVID-19. How can local SEO benefit your small business? Businesses now have the potential to target the entire globe however, depending on where you actually provide majority of your services, this won’t actually be of much use for you. If you own a restaurant or café, in Sydney, it won’t benefit your business greatly if you target search engine users on the other side of the world. Whilst it may be beneficial for brand exposure, in some circumstances local SEO is much more beneficial. The main objective of search engines is clear; to provide people with what they want and need. So, if you require a service within a specific location, Google and other search engines will provide you with the top-ranking websites within that location. Search engines rely heavily on local content, social profile pages, backlinks and citations to provide the most useful local results for search engine users. 4 out of 5 consumers use search engines to find local information. If you are not utilising local search, you could be missing out on a massive portion of potential clients or customers. How can I utilise local SEO for my business? Content is a major element of local SEO. When you create content, make an effort to frequently include phrases or key words relevant to your area. If you are a landscaper in Melbourne and you wish to target potential clients within your city, you should make an effort to incorporate keywords like ‘Melbourne landscaper’ as frequently as possible throughout the content of your website.It’s also important to incorporate the below: Add location tags and pages to your website Optimise your website for mobile Ensure your contact details are current and up to date (contact number, email, address etc.) Utilise local directories Frequently engage with local prospects and other local businesses on social media Ensure your website has an optimised URL, meta tags and meta descriptions Optimise your website for Google my Business (a local business verification tool) Try to obtain as many positive reviews as possible on Google Almost every industry has had to adapt to the unforeseen events which have taken place in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Building an online presence has been the key to keeping businesses alive. In order to stay up to date in a highly competitive digital age, you must consider optimising your website for local search. Approximately 46% of online searches have a local intent, which means it’s crucial for you to optimise your website for local SEO to ensure it’s visible for locals within your area of operation. By utilising local SEO, you will notice a significant increase in targeted traffic to your website and prospects who are genuinely interested in your product or service. If you want to see a maximum increase in targeted leads to your website, talk to the team at DGreat Solutions today to find out how we can optimise your website for local SEO.
Local SEO is quickly becoming paramount to sustaining and growing your brick and mortar store. If you want people in your area to know you exist, or just make it that bit easier to find you when they need to, optimizing your website should be top priority.When it comes to outranking your local competitors your need to focus on local SEO keywords, this will drive your search ranking up and bring you more customers in! Local Directory Listings When it comes to increasing your website visibility, business directories do a fantastic job of putting your business in front of your potential customers. They also give you quite a significant boost in your Google rankings, which generally equals more customers! Most business listing directories even give you a small section for you to talk about your business and what exactly it is that you do.There many many directories out there, you want to try to be in as many of them as you can! It is definitely time consuming, but if it brings you in more customers, its small price to pay.Oh and did I mention that the majority of them are free.One tip that I want to give you if you are going to go down this road is; make sure you keep all your contact info consistent across all the directories. This boosts your SEO as Google will see all this information. We recommend that you keep a spreadsheet with all your necessary information, like; business name, address, phone number, email, logo and opening hours. This way if anything changes you have a record of it all and know which directories need to be updated. Get on Google My Business We don’t have to tell you that Google is the largest search engine in the world. So it makes sense that you should have a Google My Business listing! It’s the first thing people will see when searching for a product or service in their local area, this is where you want to be.There is a bit or a process when getting your business on ‘Google My Business’, but they make it pretty easy and straightforward for you. Once you are verified, you can start adding photos, video, store hours and other business information. Make sure this is done properly and professionally. This will most likely be your most viewed listing by far! Optimize for local keywords Local keywords will definitely help you get found, but that doesn’t mean you should sacrifice content quality. Google likes high quality, valuable content on websites. Sites with this type of content get ranked higher than sites that don’t.Local keywords will most certainly help customers find you, but make sure your content is high quality. Google LOVES high quality and valuable content, if you can provide people with value, Google will rank your websites higher than ones that don’t.So when you are writing blogs, make sure you use relevant keywords when possible. Keep in mind that you can also add location based keywords, so think of what people might search for when looking for your business in your area. If you are a plumber in norwood. People will probably be searching for “plumbers in norwood Mobile optimisation Recently Google announced they they are now indexing for mobile first. This is a whole topic in itself, which we have covered previously. So if you want to read up more on this, be sure to check out our blog here Google’s Mobile First Indexing – How Does This Affect Your Business? Get reviews There are three big places for reviews that you need to be using. Google, Facebook and Yelp. You should be pointing your customers towards either one of these sites for all your reviews. Research has shown that over 90% of potential buyers read online reviews before choosing which company to do their business with.So dont make the mistake of brushing reviews off, if someone is happy with your product or service, just kindly ask them to leave a review. Most people are more than happy to as they know it helps. Optimizing for voice search Up until just a few years ago, the only way for users to enter information into search engines was to type. Those days ended when Google introduced their voice capabilities for searching.Today, more and more people are using their voice to search for the things they want. The catch is that the way people talk is usually different from the way they type. This could mean some revamping, or at least the addition of, more voice friendly keywords. You will have to stop thinking in textual terms and more in natural speaking patterns. Answer the Public is a good place to startThis is another topic that we have covered quite recently and its definitely something you should check out! Up until recently, the only way for people to find out something on a certain topic, was by typing it in to a search engine. Now that nearly everyone either owns a Google home, Amazon Alexa, or atleast a smartphone that is capable of doing voice search, those days are over.More and more people are begining to use voice search instead of typing in their questions. Summary So to sum it all up, to keep up with the digital times and make sure you don’t become a failing brick and mortar store, you need to be utilising local SEO. It is a bit of work and can be very time consuming, but the results are short of amazing. We have helped dozens of clients turn their businesses around in a relatively short time frame, just from the SEO we have done for them. If this sounds like something you would like to hear more about, get in touch with us! 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The late tennis legend, Arthur Ashe once said and i quote “Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can. This wisdom should also be applied to local businesses in Adelaide. Growing a local business require a local support, and the best support are the ones that you can physically see around you. Adelaide SEO companies has been helping South Australia’s businesses since the inception of search engine optimisation. One of the greatest mistakes any local business can make is by contracting their local SEO work to an international search engine optimisation agency. The more we support our own the better we can grow our South Australia economy. In this article, we want to explore some advantages of using Adelaide SEO for your Adelaide businesses. Buy Local to Grow Local Small businesses are the backbone of any strong economy. The more SMEs thrive in any community the better the rate of job and quality of living in such community. Although many might argue that small businesses does not generate big revenue that large cooperations generate. The truth however is, small businesses create more jobs than those large cooperations. The united states today enjoys a great middle class income due to the very well nourished and great governmental support small businesses get. An article published by chron.com on small businesses shows how important SMEs are to the well being on any community. This logic applies to all businesses looking to hire SEO company to work with them for the improvement of their website visibility online. Working with a local Adelaide SEOs will not only help you get the support your business need to thrive but also help Adelaide community thrive economy wise. Local Strategies from Local SEO Companies Working with a local team means your business get to enjoy strong implementation of local strategies that actually works. The fact that google has become more granular and more local-centric simply means more priority would be given to businesses that prove local dominance. Your business can get relevant implementations such has local google my business, local directories, local content marketing ads on prominent content websites, etc. Locally focused SEO implementations such as this has proven to be highly effective in Google organic rankings and other search engines. With the proliferation of search engine optimisation specialists, every businesses’s best chance of running a successful campaign is predominantly depends on the specialist they work with. My advice is that businesses should opt for search engine optimisation agency they can meet with face to face and have a good discussion with. For a one on one discuss about your local Adelaide SEO, please click on this link. A few other things you might want to be aware of is the contract you sign with an oversea agency. Most of which promise you heaven only to deliver hell. We once took over from a very well known SEO agency in the Unite States. This company has been working with a local business here in Adelaide who now uses our service after a failing relationship with the oversea company. The owner’s experience was alarming, he was given a six month contract and absolutely nothing got done on his website. When we first audit his website, we were forced to ask that “as there been any optimisation work done on this website”? And of course we were curious because we didn’t know he has been dealing with an oversea company. And he said yes, a company has been looking after it for the past a year plus. I was shocked. To us, nothing has been done on the website, no good backlinks, no content and definitely no local search engine optimisation strategies were deployed on the website. Why it Matters As a locally owned and operated business we understand first hand how important it is to have that local support. From building your team around your business culture to making sure every department function perfectly just as you envisioned it. We know what goes on in the mind of business owners. And that’s one of the major reasons why we are a big advocate of supporting local businesses by using local services and purchasing locally made materials. Not only that this help local businesses thrive, it also help the local economy of the on a state level. We have shown above how this can have a positive impact on the big picture of a community. Also we have shown how it could affect individuals based on job availability. This stage is a very crucial perspective as we can think deeply on how it directly affect families who’s job are being diverted to oversea. Finally, the effect on business organic ranking is boundless. Knowing fully well that attention will not be given to your business by oversea agency is a strong point for any business owners to make a local SEO agency their preferred choice. In conclusion, getting a local partner to work with you simply affirm your commitment to helping other local businesses and your community thrive. Australia’s economy depends on small businesses, we owe it to them to support their hard work and relentless effort of entrepreneurship spirit. For more information on search engine optimisation and how we can help grow your business online visibility, you can contact us via our telephone number (08) 8263 7338 to speak with one of our highly trained search engine optimisation experts. Or simply submit a free quote form on our website for us to contact you and speak to you on how we can help your business growth.