Our Blog - Covering the Latest Trending News From the World of SEO & Online Marketing

With consumers increasingly opting to connect with brands and retailers online in recent years, it has become essential for businesses to build a strong online presence. Search engine optimisation (SEO) allows businesses to develop online marketing strategies they can use to boost their online presence, visibility, leads, and sales. Many of the SEO tactics can be undertaken by even a novice to online marketing. Some numerous helpful guides and tools are freely available online. However, when you already have a core business to focus on, it can be difficult to give sufficient attention to these efforts. Not to mention that with changing algorithms and other trends, you may not have the expertise or time to keep up. Engaging a new SEO agency is a great way to achieve your marketing goals without distracting you from your core business. Most agencies offer affordable services which will allow you to leverage their experience and knowledge to build the online presence you desire and boost ranking. Before you can however derive these benefits, you need to consider how to select the best SEO agency for your business. You will find that this field is heavily populated and you need some criteria to identify the best options.

Reputation

Many of the best agencies grow their client list based on referrals. It can be difficult to make a judgement based on online reviews alone. Especially if the reviews come from unknown or anonymous reviewers. This is where networking can be of good help. Reach out to other businesses in your area and find out what agency they are using. Look into how the sites they have built are performing and the quality of work executed. Some sites even indicate the agencies that manage them. You can find good candidates to run your SEO campaign this way. You can also look up reviews on independent review sites for more information on the reputation of the agency.

Consultation

Once you have shortlisted some good prospects, reach out to them to find out how they can help you meet your marketing goals. The best providers will first seek to understand your business and what goals you are targeting before developing a tailored plan and quoting estimates for the services they think will work best for you. Businesses can vary greatly and so too should their SEO strategies. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that works the same for everyone. Cross off any agency that does not engage with you to learn more about your business and industry. They should be detailed in what specific SEO services they will offer, KPIs and why your business needs them. You can also use these quotes to make comparisons between your top choices of an SEO agency. However, even as you carry out this comparison shopping, remember that the cheapest deal is not always the best. Be sure to weigh all factors before making a final choice.

Expertise

It is vital to delve into the expertise of the SEO agency you are engaging. Doing some research on how SEO works will make it easier to discern what kind of experience and expertise they have. You can raise queries on trends, how they tackle specific SEO challenges and so on. Create a list of questions to ask and see if their responses make sense or even wait till you have a chance to do further online research to confirm. References from past clients and success stories will also help. This should be easy to confirm as you can use the contact information on the websites to get in touch with the clients’ references and make confirmations. The resume of the provider can affirm the technical expertise and experience. This can be particularly helpful if dealing with an online agency. It is always advisable to only engage businesses that are open about who the owner and key employees are. Be sure to also review what kind of strategies are being suggested to attain SEO goals. Familiarise yourself with black hat and white hat SEO practices. Black hat tactics can sometimes bring quick results in boosting rank, but will typically fizzle out and could lead to penalties. Stick to SEO agencies that utilise white hat tactics to ensure lasting results for your brand.

Deliverables

The SEO agency you select should be able to define KPIs and how they will go about reporting on their efforts. They should map out the online marketing strategy they will pursue and provide regular performance reports. This will allow you to more easily track performance and determine if this engagement is proving successful at meeting goals. This is necessary to ensure your investment is reaping some reward for your business.  

Whether your business is new or established, you will have likely realised that building an online presence is essential to success in today’s marketplace. The majority of consumers now find and research brands through the internet and it pays to control the narrative by ensuring your sites are highly ranked and contain valuable high-quality content that will appeal to this audience. However, some businesses are still hesitant about investing in this kind of marketing. Here are some signs that you should make this a priority now.

1.    Lack of Expertise

There are very many e-books, educational content, and tutorials you can find online on how to start formulating an SEO strategy for your business. But keep in mind that this is a massive industry upon which entire corporations have been built. Thinking that you can take on such a monumental task and exploit the many opportunities it presents effectively would be unwise. Not to mention that the SEO landscape is very much at the mercy of search engine algorithms which can change at a moment’s notice. While you may be able to get a good start by setting up a website and building a presence on social channels, SEO has many facets that require a multipronged approach you may not be able to keep up with without the relevant expertise. Some SEO work can also be highly technical and require knowledge in coding and programming. This is an expertise that many people lack. Outsourcing will allow you to tap into professionals with the relevant training, knowledge, and experience in the field that can ensure your SEO campaign is competitive and effective.

2.    Lack of Results

There is some SEO work that even a novice can get started on their own. From setting up a website on WordPress to creating business pages on social channels like Facebook. However, with time you will likely find that despite your efforts, there is no traffic coming your way and little if any, engagement on social media. Your website not ranking is another common problem some businesses face. These are clear signs that your work is not paying off and you will need professional help to stimulate the results you desire. There could many reasons for these failures including an inability to build trust with your audiences, not applying local SEO strategies, and a brand name that is too similar to another company.

3.    Time Constraints

As said, SEO work is typically multifaceted. A good SEO strategy will require focus on various issues such as building a website and app, researching keywords, creating content, running social campaigns, developing an e-commerce site, and so on. This work will require a sizable amount of time and effort to get done. It gets complicated when you already have the actual business to be concerned about. Few businesses owners have the time or capacity to undertake this work besides the core business. The same applies to even those that have marketing staff. Outsourcing to an SEO firm is a good way to have all your bases covered by experts while leaving yourself free to focus on more vital aspects of your business.

4.    Budgetary Constraints

When people think of advertising or marketing their business, they imagine having to allocate huge amounts for funding. SEO services are however highly affordable and offer the highest ROI of any marketing effort. The field is highly competitive, so you do not have to look far for great deals. When you choose a good SEO firm, you are assured of a steadily improved flow of traffic to your site that offers opportunities for lead generation, conversion and subsequently growth in sales. All this requires expert help that more than pays for itself. So if you think your limited funds restrict you from being able to market your brand, then think again. This is a clear signal that SEO is your best bet for boosting your brand visibility and growing sales.

5.    The Competition

If consumers are not choosing you, then they are choosing your competitors. A little online research will let you know if this is because your competitors are investing in SEO while you are not. Look up their brand name and keywords related to what products you offer to see how they rank in comparison. Even if you have a superior product, having a competitor that is more aggressive about SEO will cause your business to lose out. You need to engage experts that will help build up your rank so you are more visible than your competition for the same related search terms.  

Did you know visitors are likely to leave a website if it’s not loading fast? Yes, this is a fact! Once a website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 40% of the visitors will abandon it. We wouldn’t blame them, though; they have other things to do and would rather go on a fast page than wait for your page to load. Now, the last thing you want is your potential customers leaving your site because of its slow site speed. Your website speed will influence traffic and conversion rates, and that’s why you want to optimize your website, so it has a fast load time.

Start by Conducting a Speed Test

A lot of website owners are unaware of how slow or fast their website loads. This is something you need to change as a business owner. Therefore, start by conducting a speed test of your website to know how fast it operates compared to other websites. You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest, and Bitcatcha to conduct the speed test. If the result shows that your page doesn’t load fast, you need to proceed with other tips to boost your site load speed.

How Fast Should a Website Be?

According to Google, the magic speed time is 3 seconds. However, the general guideline is; Below 1 second = perfect 1-3 seconds = above average. 3-7 seconds = average 7+ seconds = very poor

5 Tips to Speed Up Your Website

1.      Choose A Fast and Reliable Host Provider

Getting fast and suitable hosting is key to delivering a great user experience. If your hosting is bad, your website speed will be affected. Therefore, go for hosting companies with good quality and regularly updated software that will improve your site’s performance.  

2.      Keep It Simple

Heavy and complex aesthetics or themes are not suitable for your page load speed. You will benefit from good site speed if you avoid heavy aesthetic details, oversized images, and overloading your site with plugins. Also, embed your videos, compress your pictures and stabilize your page theme. At the end of the day, having a simple site that loads fast is better than a slow one with many details the visitor may end up not seeing.  

3.      Use a Content Delivery Network

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are a collection of web servers that help distribute content efficiently across the globe. This way, your website will be hosted on different servers so that visitors can load your site from the nearest servers to them. Consider hosting your media files on CDNs to speed up your site and reduce the number of requests your website makes. Popular CDNs include Amazon CloudFront, Cloudflare, and KeyCDN.  

4.      Minimize HTTP Requests

One of the reasons a page load speed may be slow is when your site generates many HTTP requests. You can minimize these requests by minifying your Javascript, HTML, and CSS files into one file. These files are essential for your site, but at the same time, they increase the number of requests your site makes when someone visits. By combining these files, you can reduce the total number and size of the files. Plugins like WP rockets for WordPress websites can handle the minifying process for you.

5.      Use Browser Caching

Leveraging browser caching is a great tip to improve your website speed optimization for returning customers. Browser caching allows content to be saved on your visitors’ browsers so they when they come back to your site, they won’t have to request and redownload from the server. To get started, activate Plugins like WP Super Cache to set up catching settings that will significantly improve the speed of your site.  

Keep Testing Your Site Load Speed

Meanwhile, following these tips doesn’t mean you are done with optimizing your website speed. While following the tips above, you also need to keep testing your site speed to know how far you’ve gone.   Conclusion Everyone loves an aesthetically pleasing website, but users don’t have the time to wait an extra second for your page to load.  A delay of even a second is enough to make your visitors bounce. This is not to say you can’t have both a good site speed and beautiful design. However, do not sacrifice speed. To improve your web performance and site traffic, you need to prioritize your site speed. Reduce the details of your website, leverage browsing caching, minimize requests, and get users’ feedback to design a better website.

Any Australian business that isn’t taking advantage of digital marketing at this time is missing out. According to a survey by We Are Social, about 88% of Australian people use the internet. That’s a considerable percentage and one of the world’s highest penetration. As a business owner in Australia, your potential customers lie in this percentage, and it’s up to you to find them. How Do You Find Them? By taking your business online and being strategic with your online marketing. It’s expected to keep up with the top digital marketing trends to boost your business. The world is constantly changing, so is the technology marketing sphere, so you have to keep polishing your marketing strategy to dominate your market. Let’s take a peek at some latest Digital Marketing trends in Australia you should watch out for this year.  

1. Influencer marketing is A Big Deal

Social media marketing is an excellent marketing trend, but Influencer marketing is another ball game. For some reason, consumers connect better with social media influencers, which has a rising impact on sales. To boost your business, work with a social media influencer to promote your brand to their audience.

2. Google Listings and Local SEO Remain Crucial

The mistake many businesses make is targeting the whole world rather than targeting a specific group of people. An excellent marketing trend and Local SEO strategy are to target people within your geographical location. Start by signing up for local listings like Google My Business and review platforms where new customers can easily find you and existing ones can drop reviews.

3. Video Marketing and Live Streaming Is On the Rise

There is a big boom in the rate people consume videos.  Many marketers across the globe even reported a positive ROI for their video marketing. Video is an effective way to engage your audience and educate them about your brand. It’s said that an average video viewer will watch up to 36 minutes of online video per day. So, make video content like video ads, webinars, video slides, and masterclasses for an interactive experience with your customers. Also, take advantage of Live streaming. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer streaming features where you can easily make live videos. According to research, people spend three times longer watching live videos than pre-recorded ones.  

4. Online Advertising Isn’t Going Anywhere Soon

Advertising has always been a great way to spread the word about your business. Businesses may find traditional advertising like TV and billboards expensive. However, you can take advantage of online advertising, which has proven time and time again to be an effective marketing strategy. For instance, social media advertising lets you tailor your ads to reach a specific audience.  

5. Customers Love a Good Experience

Marketing isn’t just about getting new customers but also retaining those you have already. To do that, improve your customer’s experience. Tips: –      Try to engage them in ways you can. Reach out to them, ask questions, answer questions and personalize your services –     Invest in a better UX and make your website fast. No one wants to stay on a website that takes minutes to load. –    Invest in quality content marketing. Write topics that will interest your customers.  

6. Chatbots Is a Growing Artificial Intelligence Marketing Trend

Artificial intelligence marketing like chatbots is a great way to improve customer’s experience. Chatbots receive and respond to messages automatically. Chatbots on your website or social media offer speedy responses and help you answer customer’s basic questions even when you are not around to answer.  

7. Visual and Voice Search Are Growing in Importance

Google and Bing added a new feature that allows customers to search without typing. They can use the voice search to record their questions quickly or use the visual search by submitting a picture to find similar products or services.   It’s an excellent idea for businesses to optimize their content for voice and visual search for a better SEO and Google ranking. Tips: –      Type in keywords and image alt-text to videos and pictures you upload, –      Submit existing images for search –      Include long-tail keywords –      Answer FAQs and include question phrases in your content to sync with voice search queries –      If you have an app, consider voice integration     These seven marketing trends are a great way to start your marketing strategy and improve your SEO in Australia. However, before acting, find out which one will work best for your brand and focus on them.    

SEO has always been and remains to this day, a hi8ghly complicated and ever-evolving field of work, with new techniques and changes being made constantly to search engines, it can be difficult to work out where to focus your time. However, there are a few principles regarding what work is absolutely essential to rank your website for relevant keywords, often called the “pillars of SEO”. These principles should be your sole focus when beginning a new SEO campaign for a website, so let’s take a look at them in more detail.

1. Technical SEO

              Technical SEO is the name given to any work that affects the way your website is read by individual search engines. This can include things like how easy your site is to crawl and explore or how fast your page loads. Ultimately this is to ensure the websites they offer to their users in the search results are of high quality. Depending on the size of your site and the platform you are building on, the amount of work this will take can vary significantly, the more pages, the more work.

2. On-Site Optimization

Your website should be viewed holistically, page by page to ensure that each part of your site is properly optimized for the information that it is conveying. There are many things that you can do in order to optimize your site and they are all relatively easy to perform, such as making sure your URLs are short, descriptive and to the point, doing proper keyword research in preparation for content optimization and rewriting your pages met description like ad copy. All of these things will sharpen up both the way the search engines view your site, but also how the users of your site will experience it.

3. Content

Content is one of the most vital parts of optimizing a website for targeted keywords as this is one of the main things that Googles algorithm will use to determine exactly what your business does and what keywords are most relevant to what you do. As such the content on your website needs to be well written and properly targeted to the individual information each page is conveying. This is especially important for businesses who offer multiple services or products who are looking to rank for a range of different keywords.

4. Off-Site Authority Building

One of the most important factors for performing effective SEO in Australia is to have 3^rd party sites referring back to your website as an authoritative source of information for a relevant topic. Link building is an extremely complex topic which would require a whole article of its own to explain but suffice it to say you need to have links from reputable and authoritative sites that perform well in their own SEO in order for the link to add real value to your site’s rankings, however, these links can be very difficult to acquire.