These days, search powers the internet and having a website that is search-engine friendly and capable of ranking high is essential if you’re to be found by potential clients or customers. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a site to rank higher in the search engine results pages. In truth, SEO is a highly detailed and involved process, but there are still some small changes you can make to your website and site content that could see you enjoying better results in a relatively short time. DIY SEO vs hiring a specialist digital marketing agency While there are some tricks you can employ that may help you achieve better rankings in the short-term, if you hope to achieve the best results you should really look at outsourcing to a third-party professional digital marketing company. Achieving high rankings can take a frustratingly long time if you don’t know what you’re doing – and, even if you manage to get good rankings, there’s also absolutely no guarantee of staying high up in the coveted result pages of Google and others. Also, if you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s an equal likelihood that you’ll harm rather than enhance your ranking. If you’re in any doubt, you should think about enlisting the help of a professional firm like Flyrise that will align your business’ website with its top keywords and execute a plan to get you ranking for them. Simple tactics you can do that will help your rankings All that said, there are still various things you can do yourself that should have a positive impact on your rankings – and will also make the job of a digital marketing company considerably easier should you decide to work with one. Develop a list of keywords and phrases likely to be used by your clients (potential and existing): You know your business and market better than anyone, so you should also have a pretty clear idea of what terms or phrases people might type in to find a firm like yours. Developing a list of possible keywords and phrases will help you populate your pages with words people are likely to use when they search – greatly increasing your chances of Google registering and delivering your content under these terms. Give prominence to your keywords: You will likely be using some form of Content Management System (CMS) so, when you’re titling your page and adding a header, think about the keywords that relate directly to that content and include them in both. Also, you should split your main page content into headers – again featuring these keywords liberally. Remember not to go over the top and start throwing words in repeatedly where they aren’t required or don’t make sense, which is considered spamming. Google’s spiders are now incredibly sophisticated and aim to ‘read’ a site’s content much as a human would. In fact, its bots are now so smart they can recognize poor grammar and structure – which, in turn, Google uses to prioritize pages in listings. Keep sentences short and split long paragraphs: As mentioned, Google now attempts to ‘read’ content and is increasingly frowning upon overly long sentences and paragraphs. Reading long reams of text is tiring on the eyes, and Google knows this. So keep your text concise and to the...

Creating an E-commerce website that positively appeals to customers is tricky. When potential customers click on your site, you want to lead them to the shopping basket rather than the x in the corner. To do this, your goal is to make it as user-friendly and professional-looking as possible, and here is how you can do just that. Stay Simple The key to a professional-looking, easy to use website is to keep it as simple as possible. When it comes to your business, you will most likely want to show off everything you have to offer as soon as possible, but it helps to strip it down. On the homepage, don’t overload users with content. When it comes to description, you should keep it short and succinct, letting users know your purpose without bombarding them with a large chunk of text. Think about when you click on a website. Are you more likely to stick around if the information is clear and easy to read, or if there is a messy mixture of words and images overloading your eyes? Keep your customers engaged by keeping your website as clean as possible. A Clear Contact Page Your customers need to be able to contact you easily. This means your contact page must be easy to find, and when clicked on, the contact numbers, email, and address should all be clear. Use Chat Bots Customer service is an important part of an E-commerce site, and one of the cheaper and easier ways to provide consistent communication is the use of chatbots. Using AI, chatbots allow quick interaction with customers on your site. It means that you don’t have to constantly check messages to provide excellent customer service to your website users. Find Outside Help Building a functional, professional-looking website isn’t as simple as you would think. It takes time, creativity, and decent background knowledge of web development. Not to mention the ability to create engaging content. An SEO agency will help give your website consistent content to bring more users in and engage the customers who are already there. If you sell clothing, for example, your talent might not lie in content creation and website building, but not having them will negatively impact your sales. Finding a professional to help you could make all the difference in bringing you more sales. Use the Right Colors  Color is a huge part of the overall image of your E-commerce website. Don’t simply choose your favorite colors, and avoid making your site look like multiple rainbows (unless it directly ties into your brand’s image). Think about what you are selling and who your customers are. If you are a kid’s clothing website, for example, bright, primary colors would work well. Generally, the rule of three is a useful rule to stick to. If you’re struggling with the aesthetic, then a web designer will help you find the colors that make your website pop. By creating a clear, easy-to-use, and aesthetically pleasing website, you ensure more of your site’s users turn into...