One of the most difficult jobs during any website build is creating effective web copy. Being able to engage & communicate effectively with an audience through the written word is an under-rated skill and very difficult to master. But, when you get it right, your visitor engagement levels will go through the roof! [Read more…]
Top 10 SEO Tips for New Websites
Just a quick post today. One of the most common questions I get asked is how to get to the top of Google Ireland‘s organic search results pages with a new website. While there isn't a one size fits all approach, below are my ‘Top 10 SEO Tips for New Websites' for ensuring strong organic ranking in Google.ie and other search engines when building a new site from scratch: [Read more…]
How To Turn Web Traffic Into Customers
When it comes to SEO, getting traffic to your website is only one part of the equation. At the end of the day, getting visitors is absolutely pointless if you can't get them to perform some sort of action, e.g. sign up to a newsletter, fill out a “get a quote form” or (the ultimate goal) of buying your product/hire your services. [Read more…]
Local SEO Tips for Irish Small Businesses
SEO is challenging at the best of times, but particularly so for small businesses in Ireland that have little resources at their disposal. And, in many cases, these smaller businesses are competing against recognised brands and market leaders with big advertising budgets and marketing departments with specific responsibility for search engine optimisation.
But, this doesn't necessarily mean organic SEO is an impossible task for small businesses. Big companies are often lazy in their approach to search optimisation, so there are plenty of opportunities for small players to compete with bigger brands by adopting a more intelligent, focused strategy that offsets the difference in marketing spend. [Read more…]
What Is SEO?
Bоth pay-per-click аnd SEO аrе targeted tо gеt уоur website рlасеd аѕ close tо thе top оf search engine results аѕ possible. Marketing аnd SEO аrе different, уеt very, vеrу similar. SEO аrе considered аѕ thе mаin factors in enhancing thе traffic оf one's website. Thе concepts оf good SEO аrе hаrdlу a secret. Thе people whо lеаѕt understands issues with URL structure аnd SEO аrе thе vеrу people whо create them: web developers, programmers, аnd software developers. [Read more…]
How to get a Job in SEO
Drayton Bird was described by advertising legend, David Ogilvy, as someone who “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.”
UK magazine Direct Response said his impact on UK direct marketing was “unlikely to be matched by any other individual.”
In short, when Drayton Bird offers advice, it's wise to listen and take heed.
Some time ago he wrote a paper for The European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing on how to get a better job. The advice and tips given are some of the most useful and insightful ever written and apply equally to an Engineer or Teacher as they would to an SEO or Online Marketing Executive.
If you're looking for a job in SEO or Online Marketing, do yourself a BIG favour and read every last word of his brilliant article:
Growing importance of online reviews in buying decisions
Here's an interesting article and discussion focusing on a recently published report which highlights the growing influence of online reviews on buying decisions:
Factors influencing online purchasing decisions
A recent survey, published by Eccomplished, looked at the buying habits of 2,000 respondents and came to the following conclusion:
Just under a quarter (23%) of online purchasers claimed they talked to friends and family in order to help them make a purchase, yet significantly more – nearly a third (31%) – cited having read product reviews or endorsements online. So the opinion of a stranger would appear to be more useful than that of a friend or family member when making an online purchase.
The importance of peer-to-peer word of mouth is compounded further by more shoppers citing having read comments on an online article (18%) than reading an article itself (14%) to help them make a purchase decision.
And providing further evidence of the power of ratings and reviews, four in ten (39%) of our shoppers claimed they would be likely to complete an online rating or review after making an online purchase, which is more than would make a recommendation to friends/family (35%).
Free SEO Analysis Tools
The best SEO analysis tools provide a useful summary of specific elements within your website to help you improve your search engine optimisation strategy.
Below are a few of the best free SEO analysis tools which we have found over the years to be useful and effective:
How Google Works
The guys at PPC Blog recently published a graphic which explains how Google indexes, analyses, sorts and ranks web data. This is a great place to start for anyone who wants a summary of how to go about optimising their website to enhance their chances of getting ranked well in Google.