New Statistics on how many businesses have claimed their Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) Listing … It was while preparing to teach our own DIY SEO HQ group about Google Business Profile, that we discovered some fundamental problems with the existing statistics. While multiple websites quoted that “56% of local businesses hadn’t claimed their Google My Business profile”, few referenced the original site. Turns out, this data was from 2017. That’s FIVE YEARS AGO. The world has changed just a bit since then, not least because of the Covid pandemic – the stats would ..read more

If you want to increase traffic to your website, then backlinks are important. What is a Backlink? Backlinks are created when other websites link to yours. There are three crucial elements to making your website rank highly in search engine results – what we call the 3 Pillars of SEO. These are: Keyword Research – to determine the keywords that people are actually searching for when looking for a business like yours; Onsite Optimisation – placing those keywords strategically in your website copy and settings, as well as improving the user experience (eg ensuring your site loads quickly); and ..read more

We received an email recently from somebody wondering about one page websites and SEO. As in – are they good for SEO, or not? Apparently a website designer had told them that it was the way “most modern websites are built”. There is a certain appeal to having a one page, scrollable website: they are simpler – and therefore cheaper – to set up; and they are ideal for being viewed on a mobile device (which is what many of us are using these days to browse online). However when it comes to whether they are any good for SEO (ie optimising to make sure it’s easily found in Google), the short answ ..read more

Shock, Horror! Did you know that the aim of SEO is not (just) to rank well in Google and Co?! There’s no point to appearing on the front page of Google – unless when users are searching online and scanning the results, the item they click on is YOURS. But even that’s not the true indicator of the success of your SEO! What you really want is for that visitor to stick around and actually convert (ie sign up, follow you on social media, call you, book an appointment, fill out your contact form, or buy the thing). How to Increase Dwell Time – and Why it’s Important Once you’ve actually got someon ..read more

So you’ve heard the buzz: when it comes to marketing your business, SEO is the way to go! (What is SEO? – click through for a simple explanation.) It’s the marketing method of the future. That’s because people are living in the online world more and more each day – reading, playing, chatting, banking, researching and shopping. Naturally, you want your website to be the one they find when they are researching and shopping for your product or service – and not those of your competitors! This is where SEO comes into play. However, there’s both good news and bad news. The Bad News The bad news fi ..read more

If you have a website for your business, you have probably heard about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). And for good reason! SEO (search engine optimisation) is crucial if you want your website to generate leads for your business: more clicks means more clients, and ultimately, more sales. These days, it seems that most website builders and digital marketing agencies include SEO in their service offerings. But not everyone is an SEO specialist. Why an SEO Specialist? Imagine for a moment that you need heart surgery. Would you want your GP to perform the operation – or a specialist? It could ..read more

White hat, black hat … it sounds like a line from Dr Seuss, but the term “white hat and black hat SEO” refers to different methods of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).  And as you have probably already figured out: white hat is the “good” version, while black hat is bad – very bad and could end up doing your business considerable damage. Google’s Number One Priority When it comes to Search Engine Optimisation, you want to stay in Google’s good books. Why? Because Google is “top cat” of the search engines – so they get to set the rules. And this is what Google wants to achieve with t ..read more

It’s a question we are commonly asked: Does social media affect SEO (search engine optimisation)? While at Front Page SEO we do encourage our clients to create an account for their brand on the various social media platforms (and include their URL in their profile) – the simple answer is: not directly. According to Matt Cutts when he worked for Google, the search engine giant treats Facebook and Twitter the same as any other webpage. Your popularity (ie number of followers) on social media is not a ranking factor. Indirectly however is another story – which is why you will now find Front Page ..read more

As a small business or sole trader, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). If only there was such a thing as small business SEO training! You have a website, and you know you “should” be doing something about SEO but … You don’t really understand what it is; You’re not sure what to do; and surely only big companies can afford to work with an SEO agency?! When you’re running your own business, often you find yourself doing everything, from marketing to packing orders. The one exception might be finding a trusted accountant or book keeper to help with th ..read more

When you talk to an SEO consultant or agency, one of the first things they will do is check your website’s Domain Authority (DA). This “DA” is a number from 1 to 100, with 100 being the best. Sites with a DA  of 100 are practically non-existent – even hugely popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia rank around the 95 mark. Every website URL starts out with a Domain Authority of just 1. Why is Domain Authority Important? Domain Authority is the best predictor we have, of how well a website is likely to perform in the search engines. So a site with a DA of 45 is much more l ..read more