Step 1. Keyword Research

Before diving in we need to do a little homework and find out what keywords are actually going to be effective for your website. In order to do this we need to find out what your customers are typing into Google to find you. For example.. a cleaning business in Brisbane would obviously target phrases such as ‘cleaning Brisbane’. However, we find that some of the most effective key-phrases are what is called ‘long tail keywords’ which would be something like ‘carpet cleaning Brisbane’ or even something really specific such as ‘best carpet cleaning in west end Brisbane’… OK, it’s not likely that many people will ever search for something like that. That’s why we need to find what people are typing and how often. The Google Keyword Tool is an excellent way of finding out this information. In addition to showing you how often a search is done it will even suggest related keywords that you might not have thought of.

Step 2. Use that Keyword in your title tag

Now that we have found our keywords we need to ensure that one or two of those keywords are in your title tag. Keyword usage in the title tag is arguably the most powerful part of on-site SEO. So, if we are going for ‘carpet cleaning Brisbane’ your title should look something like “Company Name | Carpet Cleaning Brisbane”. Just a couple of things to keep in mind… the closer the keyword is to the start of the title tag the better… and keep it under 70 characters otherwise Google will chop the title tag off at the end when it pops up in the search results.

Step 3. Use that keyword in your headline tag

Each page should have what’s called a H1 tag which should be your main headline for the page. Try and think creatively about how you can embed your key-phrase into the headline. Something like ‘We’ve been carpet cleaning brisbane since John Oxley landed’. You’ll probably be able to think of something better but you get the idea.

Step 4. Use that keyword at least once in your main text

Again, another simple one. Drop your keyword into your text atleast once, preferably twice. Don’t overdo it… stuffing your site with keywords will make it carpet cleaning Brisbane sound like your Carpet Cleaning Brisbane too much and sound Carpet Cleaning Brisbane unnatural.

Step 5. Use that keyword in your URL

If you haven’t purchased your domain yet then you have the chance to buy a domain name with one or all of your keywords in it. Before doing so, have a think about whether it’s the right decision for your business as it is often better to just get the name of your business for you URL. This way it remains easy for people who are already aware of you to find you.

Otherwise, if you’re optimising a sub-page of your site, ensure the keywords are in the URL if you can. I.e. ‘www.example.com/carpet-cleaning-brisbane.html’

Any we’re done!

Whilst there are many more things to consider for an SEO campaign these simple steps are a very large part of the battle for Google Rankings.

Traditionally, the web has always been a fairly predicable medium in terms of how it was used. You could count on the screen on which someone visited your website being a particular size or larger. That’s precisely the reason why most website are made with a fixed width that is as wide as a small laptop screen… that way, most people will be able to access it correctly. However, now-a-days and increasingly in the future people will be accessing the web from phones, tvs, laptops, tablets such as iPads and maybe even microwaves (maybe ).

There’s a couple of solutions to address the rising unpredictability of screen sizes. At first, people started directing mobile phone users to a specific mobile phone sites which will always remain an option. However, there’s a growing trend towards what is called responsive web design which embraces the philosophy of responding to the device it’s being used on rather than delivering a different website altogether. One of the fantastic benefits of responsive web design is that you can use one site to deliver a great experience to virtually any device that visits your site.

For an good example of responsive web design visit the yoke website which is pictured above and change the size of your browser window and see how the website adapts and responds to the size of your browser.

So, here at Stickybeak we have decided to embrace all mediums on which the web is used and develop our sites responsively. It does take a little extra effort but for businesses that attract lots of users on mobile phones and iPads it’s well worth the effort.

With all the Buzz in the media and what seems like an epidemic of Social Media Experts it can be easy to be overwhelmed by social media. However, when you think about what social media is at its core, it’s as simple as people wanting to connect with other people… and if that connection happens to be your business then great.

Six Ways Social Media Can Be Made Easy

1. You can link your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts so that you only need to post on one account, and every account receives the update.

2. If you find a great resources that you think your customers will enjoy simply hit the tweet button if they have one or go to your account and drop in the link and share it.

3. If you have a WordPress Blog, you can set it up so that any Blog post you create is automatically sent through to Twitter.

4. Setup an auto-responder on your Twitter account so that each time someone follows you they get sent a message inviting them to join you on Facebook and LinkedIn.

5. Include your Social Media addresses in your email signature.

6. Put your Social Media addresses on your business card.

If you implement a few of these tips they your well on your way to building a suitable Social Media network for your business. How affective it will be for your particular business remains to be seen, however if you take the time to set it up correctly it won’t consume much of your time and the potential rewards from it are huge.