A quick rundown: A User’s guide to SEO metrics

• Understanding the SEO game
• Setting and smashing those goals
• Not just about ranking at the top
• Going beyond Google – other factors to consider
• The power of the right tools, like Google Analytics
• Getting that moolah – focusing on conversion rates
• The dreaded bounce rate

Bounce Rate

If your visitors to your company website, leave say the homepage to go to a competitor’s website then this could mean that you have a very high bounce rate!

A high bounce rate’s like spilling your tea – it’s just heartbreaking. Time to spruce things up a bit!
Our SEO consultants, can work with your business to reduce your company’s bounce rate, not just on the home page but also across your main pages.

Understanding how SEO works

Sometimes, some businesses believe that all SEO it’s is getting a business onto the first page of Google, however there is much more to it than just that. Often the marketing agency has to work hard to reduce bounce rates, as well as increasing time spent on-site by your customers.

While ranking high on Google makes you feel like the belle of the ball, it’s not the only game in town. Diversify, my friend! After all, there’s more to the British Isles than just Big Ben and fish and chips.

Mastering Your Tools: Google Analytics & More-you really do need to invest in quality SEO tools
Getting a grip on Google Analytics is like finally understanding the rules of rugby – initially confusing but something that business owners need to understand. With it, you’ll know who’s just window shopping and who’s actually buying. So for example, sure, you might have 1000 visitors a week, but how many are actually buying products?

Organic Traffic

When someone upon visits your company website site without your business paying for any paid ads, that’s what is called and organic visitor. And we can help your business to obtain many more organic visitors.
We have worked with businesses here in Wales, that have had no organic visitors per month, when they first started working with us.
Yet fast forward seven months later, or sometimes even less, we have managed to obtain some of our clients thousands of organic visitors.

Converting like a pro

Imagine SEO as the world’s most complex tea-making process. The end goal? A smashing cup of tea. In this analogy, your conversions are that perfect sip. Whether it’s a sale, a sign-up, or an inquiry, that’s your golden brew right there.

So what we simply mean by this is, it’s most definitely worth asking your marketing within Cardiff to stay within the SEO report, how many people purchase the product, how many people signed up to a newsletter, how many people went on to request a callback from the company because they are interested in the services that the business offers.

Continuous Monitoring: keep that SEO ship sailing smooth

Much like how the River Thames never stops flowing, your organic SEO efforts should be ever-evolving. Regular checks and tweaks will keep you sailing smoothly. This is why, we have businesses which have worked with us for a very long period of time, the reason it’s simple, that’s because SEO is an ongoing process.
In regards to SEO it never really comes to an end, that’s because as soon as you pause or completely stop, often after a short amount of time, your business might be overtaken by your direct competitors.
This is why so many businesses across the UK, call us, because they want us to improve their organic and also then local SEO every single month. We have helped put a large number of businesses onto the first page of Google.

F.A.Q

Can I just set my SEO and forget it?

Would you leave your fish & chips out in the rain? SEO requires regular improvements if you want to keep moving forwards and closer to page 1 of Google.

What tool should I primarily use for tracking?

Google Analytics is a great tool we would highly recommend using this.

How often should I revisit my SEO strategy?

As often as you fancy a cuppa! Regular checks and also improvements can help to improve your businesses SEO.

Hold tight, and let us explain exactly what schema markup is, plus why our digital marketing agency simply thinks it’s the bee’s knees when it comes to improving a businesses e-commerce SEO.

So what is Schema Markup anyway?

Schema markup ain’t just a fancy term. It’s a collaborative masterpiece by top dogs like Google and Microsoft to help improve your businesses content marketing, for example it can be used to markup NAP information on a page. It’s like giving the internet a Rosetta Stone, translating your website’s language into something search engines can easily understand.

So for example, a page might have 1000 words, but you might want the star rating of a product to standout, and appear in the serps for example, you might sell, dishwashers online, and you might want your Bosch dishwashers which is your best seller, to mark up the star rating, because this will highlight in the Serps, that this is a very popular product. Therefore schema can be used to markup the star rating the product.

Why we would recommend that your business adds Schema Markup to your website:

All in All, Give Your eShop the Schema Glow-Up

If you’ve got an an online shop, schema markup can be used to help your businesses stand out in the Serps –

Click through rate

Let’s say that you are shopping for a pair of running trainers, you know the brand that you want, and is therefore you are just simply looking for online retailers that sell that brand of running trainer.

Then you are presented with 10 businesses which sell this particular brand of running trainer, but there’s one nearer the top which shows a star rating, it shows a picture of the running trainer that you want to buy and next to it is the star rating for that product. Let’s say that it has a star rating of 4.7, you think wow that must be a brilliant product, so you click on the business and you by your running trainers from that company.

Therefore because that company has added schema markup, perhaps the digital marketing agency has added schema markup to every single product on the website, this has help to improve your businesses click through rate.

What does click through rate mean?

Well it doesn’t matter if you sell gutter clearing services, or perhaps you are a solicitor, you are going to want your business to be ranked on the first page of Google, then you’re obviously going to want as many shoppers as possible, to click on your business rather than your direct competitors. Therefore even when your business is ranked on the first page, it still has to compete with all those other companies, in terms of getting shoppers to click on your business.

So if you can get your business to standout, and get more shoppers clicking on your website, then you’re more likely to make more sales.

In order to get your business to standout, a lot of companies you schema, for example you might run a leading solicitors practice, and you might specialise in divorce, let’s say that you have an average star rating of five out of five, if this star rating shows up in the Serps, then shoppers can think that solicitors practice has excellent reviews.

Therefore there are more likely to click on your business because your business has schema added to the website. And because of the schema markup, your customers star rating now shows up in the Serps.

Even though your business might not be right at the top of Google, it might be ranked let’s say for, yet because your business has schema, and it shows the star rating in the Serps, your business might actually get clicked on more than the business which is ranked right at the top of the organic results.

F.A.Q – All You Fancy to Know

    What is schema markup in plain English?

    Think of it like a translator for your website. It helps search engines understand your content better. So for example, your marketing agency, might use it to mark up the NAP information on the footer of your website.

    Where can I learn more about the types of schema?

    Head over to Schema.org. It’s like the Hogwarts for schema markup.

    Any other benefits I should know?

    Ever heard of rich snippets? Schema helps with that. Plus, it makes your business more locatable for the local crowd.

    Sounds complicated. Can I get help with this?

    Absolutely! Many SEO agencies can help. Our agency can help to add schema, sometimes it just takes a matter of a few minutes to add schema to your homepage.

A Guide to Internal Linking to help improve your businesses organic seo

Introduction:

Whether you’re a seasoned seo wizard or just kick-starting your online adventure, this guide is chock-full of suggestions on how you can improve your businesses internal linking. Buckle up and let’s go on this thrilling ride through the world of internal linking. ?️

1. Internal Links:

    A Quick Rundown: Internal links are those hyperlinks that hop from one page to another within the same site. So for example, let’s say that your business sells running trainers, you might also sell socks as well, so just before the person purchases a new set of running trainers, you might prompt them to buy some socks on special offer through using an internal link to that page which sells socks. Imagine they’re like little breadcrumbs guiding you from the entrance to the exit of the maze.

3. Tips for nailing your internal link game

    A Wealth of Content marketing: often businesses will publish, sometimes hundreds of blog posts, which they may have written over a very long period of time. Yet some of the topics will overlap, for example you might be a architect, and on your website might be talking about how to build an environmentally friendly home. Then the following week you might be talking about a new product, that is insulation, yet this ties nicely into a previous blog post that you have written about building environmentally friendly homes.

Therefore you know the reader who’s reading about insulation, is likely to be interested about reading  an article on how they can make their homes more energy-efficient, and how they can make their home environmentally friendly by purchasing this insulation.

Therefore you might add an internal link, which keeps the reader on your website for longer, which is very good for your organic seo. In matter of fact, at our digital marketing agency, our seo consultants, work very hard to create well written content marketing, with the aim of reducing your businesses bounce rate and keeping a reader on your website for much longer.

Therefore internal links, can help to improve your seo in many different ways, for example they can reduce your businesses bounce rate. They can also improve time on-site, that’s how long a shopper spends on your website. Digital marketing agencies spend a huge amount of time improving their businesses bounce rate, to do this you need to lower the bounce rate.

 Authority Plays a Role: Linking from your rockstar pages to the new blog posts boost their confidence (and their ranking!). So for example, let’s say that you run a business which sells tennis rackets, and there’s a brand of tennis racquet which is one of your bestselling products. You might therefore link that page directly to a blog post, where you are talking about a brand-new tennis racket that that brand has just manufactured.

This will send link equity from the main page, to your new blog posts to help improve weather blog post ranks.

 Anchor Text

Whichever online marketing agency you do hire within the city of Cardiff, South Wales, do make sure that the right wall of the anchor text in a white hat way.

Quality Over Quantity

No one wants a chat with someone who’s all over the place. So for example, don’t just add say a huge amount of internal links to each blog post or page, thinking that this is going to improve your seo as this approach to seo and writing internal links, including the anchor text will not work.

So instead of adding too many internal links, just simply place them within the paragraphs way you think it will help the reader most. For example you might be selling items such as oil filter, pollen filters and engine oil. You might be writing very detailed blog posts on how to change the oil and service a particular model of Mercedes-Benz.

Let’s say that you are writing an article on how to service a 2017 C class Mercedes-Benz car. You might wish to add internal links, to the page which sells engine oil, another to the page which sells the pollen filter, and another internal link to the page which sells the oil filter.

What this will do, is help the person reading the article, to select the right products that they need. Therefore you have correctly placed the internal links, because you are helping your customers, and by helping your customers you will also be helping to improve your seo.

For example, somebody who wants to service their Mercedes-Benz, 2017 C class car, are likely to spend a great deal of time reading through the blog post, to make sure that they can correctly change the oil themselves.

Then they are likely to click on the internal links, and spend a great deal of time reading about the various products. Therefore you will have correctly placed the internal links, because you will have helped the customer to find the products that they want, plus the bounce rate is likely to be low, because the person will be reading about the products for a long period of time which will help to improve your businesses organic seo.

Alright, you ready? Here we go. Now, imagine you’re at a bustling high street, hankering for a hot cup of tea. You step into a café, but the barista takes an eternity to serve you. Not a good look, right? In the blink of an eye, you’d probably be outta there, heading to the café next door.

Now, hold that thought and swap the café for your website and that steaming cup of tea for the information or services you offer. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The online world isn’t much different, really. If your website takes its sweet time to load, your visitors are likely to hit the road, Jack! Not just that, mate, they might not return, no more, no more, no more, no more…

But that’s not all, you see, even the bigwigs sitting at Google‘s headquarters are keeping a sharp eye on how fast your website loads. Why, you ask? Well, they’ve got a reputation to uphold! They want to offer their users the best possible results, and a website that takes longer to load than it takes to boil an egg ain’t exactly top-tier stuff, is it?

So, if your website is slow as a lazy Sunday afternoon, you’re not just disappointing your dear visitors, but also ruffling the feathers of the mighty Google gods. And trust me, that’s not a group you want to cross!

Now, you must be thinking, “Alright, I got it, speed is important. But, what’s the real damage?” Well, hold onto your bowler hat because the stats are wilder than a ride on the London Eye. Studies say that more than half of your potential visitors might scarper if your webpage takes more than three seconds to load. That’s less time than it takes to say ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’!

And the blow doesn’t end there. Even a one-second delay could lead to a 7% drop in conversions. Imagine that, your profits trickling away, second by precious second.

So, my friend, in this rapid digital landscape, it’s high time we start treating speed like the precious commodity it is, not just for keeping your users chirpy, but also to keep your online visibility soaring higher than a double-decker bus.

So there you have it – a swift intro into the world of webpage speed optimisation, where every second truly counts, and not just for your morning toast! Let’s dive a bit deeper now, shall we?

• Page load speed plays a crucial role in both user satisfaction and search engine rankings.
  Slow-loading pages can lead to decreased user engagement and higher bounce rates.
  Search engines reward faster-loading websites with higher positions in search results.
  More than half of mobile users abandon a webpage if it takes more than three seconds to load.
  A one-second delay in page load time can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.
  Page load speed is a significant factor in the user experience and can impact your website’s visibility in search results.
  Mobile optimisation, especially page load speed, is vital due to the increasing use of mobile devices for internet browsing.
  Improving your page load speed can increase user engagement, reduce bounce rates, and enhance mobile user experience.
  Fast-loading pages signal to search engines that your website offers a positive user experience, improving your search rankings.
  Optimising your website’s load speed ensures that search engine bots can efficiently crawl and index your web pages, leading to better visibility in search results.

Alright then, buckle up, here’s a breakdown on why and how increasing your webpage’s loading speed could potentially skyrocket both your user satisfaction and search engine rankings! So, why wait? Let’s dive into it.

Life in the digital fast lane is a bit like trying to catch a tube during rush hour – if you’re not quick enough, you might just miss it. Think about it: you’re competing with billions of other webpages for users’ attention. If your site’s loading speed is as slow as a snail hitching a ride on a tortoise, you’re in for some trouble, mate. And it’s not just about user satisfaction, mind you, even search engine rankings get affected by this. So, if you’re looking to stay ahead in the race, optimising page load speed is one trick you simply can’t ignore!

Why does page load speed matter?

User Satisfaction – Nobody likes waiting, right? Especially when it comes to information access. Studies show that more than half of your potential visitors might skedaddle if your webpage takes more than three seconds to load. That’s right, three measly seconds could make or break user satisfaction.

Conversion Rates – It’s not just about losing visitors, slow page loading times can hit where it hurts the most – your pocket. Research indicates that even a one-second delay could lead to a 7% reduction in conversions. Talk about making every second count!

Competitive Edge – In the digital universe, speed equals efficiency. And in an environment where user expectations are soaring higher than the Shard, maintaining a high load speed is essential to outpace your competition.
Page Load Speed and its Impact on Search Rankings

Your website’s loading speed is like the secret ingredient in your ranking recipe. Just like a mouth-watering Sunday roast isn’t complete without a dash of gravy, your website isn’t fully optimised without a speedy loading time.

User Satisfaction – Search engines, much like people, prefer fast and efficient pages that provide a positive user experience. So if your page loads quickly, you’re on their good list!

Mobile Optimisation – With the rise in mobile usage, optimising your website’s load speed for mobile users is of the essence. Think about it, they’re on the go, they don’t have time to wait!

Crawl Budget – Search engines allot a “crawl budget” to each website. If your site takes an eternity to load, it could result in fewer pages being indexed, affecting your search visibility.

So, how can Speed Optimisation benefit you?

Enhanced User Satisfaction – Speedy loading times result in a seamless user experience. Faster pages equal less frustration, improved usability, and a positive impression of your brand.
Improved Engagement – Users are more likely to explore your site when it loads quickly. After all, who doesn’t like an effortless browse?

Mobile-Friendly Experience – With more and more users accessing the internet on their mobiles, ensuring your site loads quickly on mobile devices is key.

Improved Search Rankings – When your website loads quickly, it enhances user satisfaction, reduces bounce rates, and signals to search engines that your website provides a positive user experience, thereby improving your search engine rankings.

F.A.Q section:

What is page load speed?

Page load speed is the time it takes for a webpage to fully display the content on a specific page.

Why is page load speed important? Page load speed is critical for two reasons: it directly impacts user satisfaction and search engine rankings.

How does page load speed affect user satisfaction? Faster page load speeds provide a seamless browsing experience, reduce frustration, and enhance usability.

How does page load speed affect search rankings? Google and other search engines use page load speed as a factor when ranking websites. Faster-loading pages provide a better user experience, which can improve search rankings.

What is the impact of page load speed on mobile browsing? Given the rise in mobile internet usage, page load speed is especially important for mobile browsing. Mobile users often have limited bandwidth, making fast page load times essential.

Conclusion: The Need for Speed

As the famous poet, William Shakespeare, once said, “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late”. And while he might not have been talking about page load speed, the concept still applies. In the end, whether it’s keeping your users happy or improving your search rankings, remember this: in the digital world, speed is king.

Sure thing! Picture this: you’re running a business in the lively city of Cardiff, right? And you’ve read this article, laughed a few times (you’re welcome), and now you’re wondering how this speed-boosting knowledge can help your SEO game. Well, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty, shall we?

First things first, let’s talk about user satisfaction, your customers, the people who make the world go round, or in this case, Cardiff. Speed is the name of the game here, because if your website is slower than a queue for the loos at a rugby match, you’ll have users clicking the ‘back’ button faster than you can say “SEO”. And, mate, that’s not good news for your business.

Faster page load speeds mean less waiting around, leading to happier customers who are more likely to hang around your website. Think of it like serving up a hot welsh cake, fresh from the griddle – customers won’t wait around if you’re slow off the mark. When users stick around, they’re more likely to engage with your content, check out your products or services, and perhaps even make a purchase or two. This not only boosts your revenue but also sends positive signals to search engines about your site’s quality.

But wait, there’s more! See, Google has these little things called “web crawlers” or “spiders”. These cheeky critters are like digital explorers, scouring your website to understand what you’re all about. But if your website loads slowly, these crawlers get bored, can’t explore as many pages, and can’t show off your fantastic content to the world of searchers out there. By optimising your page load speed, you’re giving these crawlers more time to peruse your site, leading to more of your content being indexed. That’s more chances for your Cardiff business to show up in search results.

Now, let’s talk mobile. These days, people are glued to their smartphones like seagulls to a discarded chip. And this trend is reflected in how people browse the web. More and more searches are happening on mobile devices. If your website doesn’t load quickly on mobile, you’re likely to lose a sizeable chunk of potential customers. So, by optimising your page load speed for mobile, you’re making sure you don’t miss out on this vast audience. Plus, Google has gone mobile-first in indexing, which means they look at your mobile site before the desktop version when determining your rankings.

But, hold up, there’s still the cherry on top! Improved load speed can also enhance your site’s user experience. If visitors can find what they need quickly and easily, they’ll likely think highly of your business. This can lead to positive reviews, word-of-mouth recommendations, and repeat business – all of which can boost your SEO in the long run.

So, dear Cardiff business, by following the advice in this blog post and optimising your page load speed, you’re not just giving your site a turbo boost. You’re also improving your user experience, enhancing your mobile performance, and making Google’s web crawlers happy – all of which can help your site climb the ranks of the search results. And that, my friend, is how you improve your SEO game in the wonderful world of Cardiff business. Now, get out there and make your website faster than a quick sip at a local pub during half time!

How to improve your businesses technical SEO

 In this comprehensive guide, we talk about how a business can go about improving its technical seo, of course, if you want us to  this work for you, we would be more than happy to. Our monthly SEO retainers start from £500 squid a month, and that offers fantastic value for money.

So first things first, what does On-Page SEO mean?

The stuff you can actually see on your website – content marketing (blog posts, evergreen content marketing, product descriptions)  images, meta descriptions, headers, URLs, and links – that’s your on-page SEO.

Technical SEO

Here’s where it gets technical! This is how you make your website ‘crawlable’, like laying out the red carpet for search engines. If your website is hard to crawl, it won’t matter how good your on-page SEO is, it won’t get indexed by Google.

What on Earth is Crawling?

Before your site is placed in Google’s results, it needs to be crawled and indexed. . You can track how this is going using Google Search Console’s Index Status report or URL inspection tool.

Indexing – It’s Important, Trust Me!

Once your site’s been crawled, Google, or any other search engine, they will index the pages they find. If you don’t get indexed, your website won’t appear on Google or Bing.

The Intricate Web of Internal Links

Internal links are like a map for search engines, helping them navigate your website. Say you’ve got a brilliant blog post and linked other pages to it. Search engines will see this and give that page a boost.

Schema Markup  

You can add this stuff called microdata from Schema.org to a page, and it helps search engines understand your content marketing. Let’s say you’ve got a page about ‘cats’. Without Schema Markup, search engines may not know if you’re talking about furry pets, cool clothing brands, or excavators.

Broken Links

These are links on your website that lead to a dead-end, like inviting your mates to a party but forgetting to give them the address. So this can lead to website having a massive bounce rate.

Chapter Three: Nailing Your Technical SEO Strategy

Getting your technical SEO strategy right is like finding the perfect pint at the pub – it takes time and patience. Tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you identify the issues.

Once you’ve done that, it’s just a matter of chipping away at the problems, starting with the big ones and working your way down. Of course, if you’d rather spend your time doing something more exciting, like watching paint dry, you can always call on the SEO experts. That’s what we’re here for, were an established Welsh SEO agency.

Get in touch today, and we’ll help you sort your technical SEO out. Faster than you can say, “Bob’s your uncle!”

7 Snappy Highlights of This SEO Guide:

• The SEO triad: On-page, off-page, and technical SEO.
• We explain what ‘Crawling’ and ‘Indexing’ means
• The power of internal links: They can boost the prominence of your page like a glowing neon sign.
• The enigma of Schema Markup: It helps search engines get the context, like knowing if your ‘cat’ is an adorable pet, a trendy brand, or a beast of a machine.
• Page Experience Signals: These are the green lights for your site’s user-friendliness.
• Broken links & Redirect Chains: Like a pie in the face, they’re a real party pooper for your SEO game.
• Importance of a technical SEO strategy: Like a treasure map, it directs you towards higher rankings.

Right, pull up a chair and lend an ear. We’re about to delve into the dizzying depths of something called Technical SEO. You may be thinking this sounds like something really confusing, only SEO experts understand. Fear not, we’re here to explain everything use plain English.

Backlink References:

1. “Crawling and Indexing”: Google Search Central
2. “Internal Links”: MOZ
3. “Schema Markup”: Schema.org
4. “Page Experience Signals”: Google Page Experience Update
5. “Google Search Console”: Google’s SEO tool
6. “SEMrush”: SEO tool
7. “Ahrefs”: SEO tool

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is Technical SEO?  This is the bit of SEO that focuses on making your site easily ‘crawlable’ and ‘indexable’ by search engines. It’s like laying out a welcome mat for Google.
2. Why should I care about Crawling and Indexing? Without crawling and indexing, your site is like an invisible pub. It might be the best pub in town, but if no one knows about it, no one’s going to turn up for a pint.
3. What’s this Schema Markup all about? Schema Markup is like your site’s translator for search engines, helping them understand the context of your content.
4. How crucial are Page Experience Signals? Think of them as your site’s health check-up. They ensure your site is user-friendly, secure, and ad-free.