Having recently binge-watched the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’, Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Season 3) | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube I can’t help but compare some of the similarities between the industry, and game, that is F1 and the seemingly very different world of SEO.
The competition in F1 is tough, there are no prizes for coming over the finish line last, there are only points if you place in the top 10 and only 3 places on the podium. It’s a zero-sum game with obvious ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.
In our SEO world, I liken your website and Search Marketing to one of those F1 teams.
There are only 10 spaces on page 1 of a Google search and you need to be there if you want to be in the rankings race.
So what should you focus on to make sure you rank no. 1 on Google ahead of your competition?
Here are a four, (and very loose 😉) Formula 1 analogies to help explain how to make sure your competition is not pipping you to the finish line:
In Formula 1, the car and it’s engine are key to winning. A superior car like Mercedes is consistently performing ahead of the competition. So, we need to make sure your engine is tip top, and able to compete with the competitor’s engine.
In this instance, your content creation, superior thought leadership, content outreach and backlinks are the ‘engine’ for your business SEO efforts, driving the marketing activity and creating winning engaging content. However, this does take a lot of time and effort and so it is vital to make sure you have a clear plan to optimise what your team spends their time on.
Formula 1 teams spend as much time and money on their aerodynamics as they do their engine. Do you spend as much time on technical SEO as you do content creation? If not, you should. These marginal gains from coding optimisation and competitor analysis to analysing page speed, schema and your analytics can be the difference between ranking at the top of Google or not. However good your content/engine is, if the technical SEO is not constantly improving, you’ll have a crash at the most unexpected moment
The reality is that if Mercedes were racing against a Mini they wouldn’t need to spend as much time and money on their car. It’s the same with SEO and whilst I’m not trying to say don’t do SEO, please make sure you stop and actually research and understand what your competitors are doing online. Your race ahead, may not be as hard as you expect.
F1 teams spend huge efforts trying to understand all the finer points of what the competition is up to. So make sure you spend time to understand why your competitor is ahead of you in a search. What’s giving them the edge? Do you really need a brand new car or will a small smart tweak do the job? Make sure you spend time not just creating the offsite content that you need to, but look at the finer technical details of your site, and tweak and change if needed to get some quick wins.
For me, Lewis Hamilton is an outstanding driver, but arguably, because of the team behind it and the Mercedes car, they would still win a lot of races with one of the ‘less experienced’ drivers from other teams. Equally, a great driver can’t win a race in a slower car.
So as far as Search Marketing is concerned, if your strategy and digital marketing team have a poor sense of technical SEO knowledge and understanding, you may never succeed. Make sure you have the Lewis Hamilton of search marketing managers or seek support and guidance from those that can help. We are increasingly supporting our clients with Search Marketing Mentoring so their team can win. Could your business benefit from SEO Mentoring? (varn.co.uk)
Whatever you do, like a F1 team, you must make sure it is cost effective, constantly evolving and the time/investment spent can actually drive a good return on investment.
It’s very common to rip up the current marketing strategy and start again, but as we have seen with many clients and their websites, maybe you need to keep what you’re already doing and focus on the changes which will make it simply perform better.
If we can help you take your SEO engine apart have a good look under the bonnet of you and your competition’s search marketing, then do get in touch with the team at Varn.
In the digital age the focus is shifting from longer prose in the form of articles and handwritten letters, to short, snappy sentences on social media. That’s if there’s any copy used at all with attention turning increasingly towards images and videos online. While the faster means of communicating via social media has its benefits and is an excellent way to reach more people, more quickly than ever before, it is taking something important away too.
The written word is a wholly powerful thing. Here’s an example to demonstrate its importance. Think about how it feels to receive a text from a friend. As much as you care about the person texting, it probably isn’t much of an event anymore. It’s probably short for starters, and it’s more likely to be about something practical or light-hearted than it is to be about something deep and emotional. Of course, that’s fine for day-to-day interactions, but now think about how you would feel if you received a handwritten letter through the post. Perhaps from a friend or family member telling you how important you are to them, or how grateful they are for something you have done, or how proud they are of what you have achieved. Because we know a letter has taken more time, effort and thought, it means more. It is also something you can hold on to forever.
Prioritise a personal touch
The same thing applies in the business world too. Social media is a fantastic way to promote your wares as a business and reach more people. But used alone, it isn’t very personal. It can’t be when you’re using so few words to talk to so many people. And with the rise of shorter, faster, more convenient ways to communicate, has come an increasing lack of attention to detail. It’s as though speed and quantity are more important than quality. Unfortunately, it probably is in terms of social media or SEO algorithms, but what does it say about you or your business when your written word is full of typos, grammatical errors, and spelling mistakes? Don’t get me wrong, we’re all human, we all make mistakes. A few errors here and there can be forgiven, but a consistently problematic read is jarring and affects our perception of the author, whether we realise it or not.
The power of persuasion
When done well, the written word can harness the powers of persuasion in a way short text and images cannot do. People believe what they read in magazines, newspapers and trusted online sources, so when they read about best practice or advice on particular product options at length, they are likely to believe the content. Many of these pieces are ghost written by a copywriter or PR agency and serve to position businesses in the way they want to be seen, whether market leading, ethical, customer focused, or all of the above!
Future generation of writers
I have been lucky/unlucky enough to be in the mass of home schooling parents during the Covid-19 lockdown periods. This allowed me to see very closely the process of my reception child learning to write his first words, sentences, even stories. The pleasure to see him gradually grasp the different sounds and put them together on the page is immense and we will keep a lot of his writing to show him when he’s older. He may even decide to keep it and show his children one day. But what is the future of this creative outlet for him? Will there still be a requirement for any longer prose when he’s an adult, or will he gradually unlearn these skills and techniques and freedom to express himself, in exchange for quicker, easier ways to communicate?
I hope this isn’t the case because the impact of the written word on someone else whether in your personal life or in the business world, is something special and powerful and future generations should have the opportunity to give and receive this gift. The power of the written word should not be left behind in the digital age.
Pay your audience the attention they deserve
Whether you are talking to prospective customers or new or well-established customers, pay them the attention they deserve by spending more time on your communications. Quick and consistent social media messaging is great, but giving more thought to longer advice blog posts, a thank you note for their custom, or feature length articles in their industry magazines, offer a different level of connection between you and them. Aside from anything else it offers far more potential in terms of word count, to get your message across to them.
If the idea of this sounds appealing to you, but you simply don’t have the time, don’t forget you can delegate (read more about when and how you should delegate here https://blogwrite.co.uk/to-delegate-or-not-to-delegate/) to ensure you don’t miss out.
We’re delighted to have been featured by Best Startup UK as one of their top Bristol-based app companies.
It’s been a busy year for the Gravitywell team, working on a raft of exciting projects with startups in the UK and abroad, as well as the successful launch of Mezze, our very own SaaS platform for the food manufacturing industry.
Gravitywell was selected due to exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
Innovation
– Innovative ideas
– Innovative route to market
– Innovative product
Growth
– Exceptional growth
– Exceptional growth strategy
Management
Societal impact
Annually, Best Startup UK recognises companies that are pushing the limits of innovation to solve critical problems and challenges. Best Startup UK is managed by Fupping LTD, a London-based media company, whose aim is to accelerate the growth of the UK’s foremost innovators by promoting them to a global audience.
There are so many different things to consider when writing a blog, but for the purposes of this post, I’m talking about how to overcome some of the typical obstacles that get in the way of a good blog post and ultimately how to write your blog in a way that will best speak to your audience.
I can just sit down and write, can’t I?
Coming up with inspiration for content for your blog is the first step in the process which you can read more about here https://blogwrite.co.uk/five-ways-to-generate-content/ but assuming you have a list of topics you’re ready to work through, you then need to think about how you’re going to put these topics into words. That may sound like an odd thing to say because you can just write the first thing that comes into your head, can’t you? Not necessarily. A few business owners or marketers may be able to produce fantastic blog posts by downloading what’s in their head, but the majority will struggle to put their thoughts on paper in a meaningful way.
In my 20+ year background of writing copy for various companies and different personalities within those companies, I’ve seen every possible approach to generating and articulating content. Some of these approaches have been counter intuitive and believe it or not have put people off of using their services. Here are a couple of examples of some of the obstacles businesses need to overcome when blogging about their offering.
Be accessible
Some of the people I work with are very technically minded. Their jobs require a high level of detailed technical knowledge and indeed it’s why their customers choose to work with them. However, when it comes to writing pieces for mass consumption, the complex technical approach probably isn’t going to work best.
Think about your audience carefully. Choose one customer or ideal customer and imagine writing for them. What would they want to see in the blog post? How much time do they have available to read information online? Do they want to see lots of technical jargon, or will that make it harder for them to read? It can be a tricky balance because you need to show you have the knowledge and information your readers require, but equally you don’t want to put people off with an overly technical and jargon-heavy article. You don’t need to be patronising, but it’s important to accept that not everyone will know the same terms, abbreviations, industry specific jargon, that you do.
It’s also good to remember that blog posts aren’t about proving how much you know – the most successful blogs genuinely help people with advice and information.
Shelve the modesty
Another common obstacle I have seen for businesses generating content for themselves, is that they’re too modest. Some of the best companies and people I work with don’t think they have anything to say. I have come to the point now where I almost relish hearing this on first meeting because more often than not it means I’ve found a hidden gem! It is always easier for someone outside of your business to see the things you can’t see yourself.
Downloading this information isn’t a painful process either. I simply ask people about their background, their philosophies and what makes them different to their competitors and wonderful nuggets of information flood out! But they haven’t been able to see it because they are too close to all the good things they do. As is probably the case with most of us, they are more focused on the things they feel they need to improve than they are about all the positive aspects of the business.
This obstacle is a little more tricky to overcome because if you’re the modest type there’s not an awful lot you can do about it. However, if you identify with this, you should try to detach yourself and see your company afresh as much as possible. Again, think about a customer or prospect and pretend you’re writing to them. What useful information could you give them? How can you make their lives easier? What makes you different from your competitors? If you’re still finding it hard, perhaps you have a friend or family member that isn’t involved in the business that you talk to and find out what they think stands out about your offering.
If in doubt, outsource!
Of course, if this all feels too time consuming, or an impossible task, you can always outsource your business blog to a professional copywriter. They will have the tools to take your knowledge and experience and present it in precisely the right way for your online audience. Or see through your modest claims of ‘I have nothing to say’ and easily be able to produce a regular blog on all aspects of your business.
Good news for businesses: you no longer need to depend on high-cost, high-resource development for your digital projects. Apps, websites, and software alike can all be developed using a visual-first approach, with zero in-depth coding necessary.
Since the invention and mass production of the very first personal computers, people have wanted to take more control of their devices. But, whereas tinkering with functionality was once the domain of the ‘geek’, the low-code/no-code trend has grown to become accessible to all.
Today, these solutions have developed into such complex, adaptable systems, that you could argue there’s a decreased need for developers. No matter how amateur your digital knowledge, if you have an idea, you can make it happen with minimal code intervention, starting a business or launching an app with just a few swipes or clicks.
But before you go gung-ho and decide to handle your next digital launch in-house, there are a few caveats.
You’ll still need experience of best-practice UX, UI and user journeys to inform your design and ensure users can engage effectively with your app or website. Plus, you’ll need a knowledge of content and design hierarchy – not to mention branding expertise.
That means bringing in the experts. But low-code/no-code also means when you hire a professional agency to handle your digital build, you’ll save countless hours in back-end development time, and go to launch much faster too.
No-code digital design offers full flexibility when it comes to designing a webpage or app. In fact, a page’s layout is as simple as a simple ‘drag-and-drop’ to bring together development elements.
Low-code offers the agility to inject code into pre-developed templates, for enhanced functionality and a more customised offering.
Recently at P+S, we’ve been adopting more and more low-code/no-code digital solutions for both our clients and our own brand. Some examples include adapting TV for the digital world via a global Islamic community platform, and of course the design and relaunch of our very own Proctors website. Both are packed with stunning interactive elements and intuitive and accessible design, demonstrating just how flexible and professional these solutions can be.
Low-code/no-code solutions offer a huge return on investment, helping to develop SMEs or achieve optimisation for multi-nationals. The benefits are unlimited and inevitable, with the two stand out advantages being the creativity it can deliver, and the speed at which your project can be developed.
Put simply, you’ll have infinite scope for adaptive design when you choose a low-code/no-code solution. And the results are fully scalable across multiple platforms.
Not only can low-code/no-code save you reliance on internal developer resource, but it can also grow your knowledge of coding, providing even more exciting prospects for the future. The platforms involved often have great support systems which tend to be simple and well-resourced, helping to alleviate any worries you might have around back-end or hosting issues.
At P+S, we’ve created a team of award-winning specialists from across our Creative, Technology and Strategy divisions who are ahead of the game on all things low-code/no-code. Meaning we can provide integrated comprehensive solutions with little-to-no code intervention – but all the right design and strategy foundations.
Low-code/no-code is now part of our core offering, with our Creative team helping to pioneer this revolution with website development software like Webflow, who have arguably created one of the best low-code/no-code platforms available to date. (You can read more about some of the benefits of Webflow here.)
As a result, the time-efficient website solutions we create for you can be self-maintained and managed, kitted out with intuitive CMS and UI for quick and easy on-screen editing, and using predefined industry-focused templates that can be injected with code – so there’s no compromise on creativity.
At Proctors, we’re always trying to stay one step ahead ahead of the latest industry trends across our specialisms in Creative, Strategy and Technology. It’s one of the things that’s helped us stay at the forefront of our clients’ needs, and continue to grow our business over the years. And a low-code/no-code solution is one of those stepping stones.
We’re currently one of only two Webflow Enterprise-level Partners in the whole of Europe because of our teams’ commitment to this low-code/no-code methodology. It’s accessible, flexible and in the right hands, offers a cost-effective, future-fit web development solution for businesses of all sizes.
To find out more about building impactful, brand low-code/no-code solutions with Proctors, email us today.
Cytel, the world’s largest provider of statistical software and advanced analytics for clinical trial design, has appointed AgencyUK to lead the strategy and roll-out of Solara, the next generation in statistical and predictive trial design and selection software. This trial strategy platform combines massive cloud computing with Cytel algorithms to dramatically expand available design options for confident selection of the optimal design. Unifying statistical design and clinical strategy to improve clinical development productivity, Solara helps teams control uncertainty by simulating millions of design options in minutes; minimizes costs by ensuring teams find opportunities to shorten trial duration; accelerates speed to market (10-20% faster) and benefits the patients sooner.
The technology is such an advancement for the sector, that the Cytel board are investing heavily in its rollout, which includes a significant marketing effort led by Rebecca Grimm (Vice President, Marketing), Cytel and the team at AgencyUK.
“Solara is a real first for our industry, and we’re already active with live customers and their case studies which are starting to emerge. We appointed AgencyUK based on their sector experience, proven test and learn methodology as well as their passionately creative team. In partnership with AgencyUK, we’re looking forward to seeing the rollout expand globally over the coming months” says Rebecca Grimm, VP Marketing, Cytel.
“Our team has been working with pharma, biotech and clinical research organisations since 2008, and it’s always exciting to be at the forefront of new technology that can change how an industry operates forever. We’ve been developing the Solara brand and proposition alongside the go-to-market strategy. Digital media plays a vital role in its successful adoption by big pharma teams and biotech leaders alike, and we’re looking forward to its global roll-out over the coming months” says Sammy Mansourpour, Managing Director, AgencyUK.
Cookie acceptance pop ups might be driving us around the bend, but since the requirement to ask permission was introduced a couple of years ago, businesses and marketers have built their marketing strategies and systems around them.
Now things are all about to change again. It might have been predictable, but with Google telling us that 48% of consumers actually stop a purchase if they don’t trust the company to collect and manage data on them, it’s no surprise that Google are following the likes of Apple and Mozilla, and have announced that they were stopping third-party tracking in 2023.
This leaves businesses having to reset their marketing strategies, relying solely on any first-party data they hold, with many businesses, particularly in e-commerce, having to go back to more traditional marketing and brand building, but in a more digital world than before.
Any that fail to do so will find themselves simply giving their marketing keys to the tech providers with no real insight on their client base.
The option of doing nothing is a dangerous one, yet whilst Pimento research tells us that most marketing professionals intend to ‘do something about it’, 19 out of 20 acknowledge that they won’t be prepared for the great switch off.
Marketing will no longer be about stalking people across the web. We now have the opportunity where digital marketing can mature to become a real weapon to help brand building in a more meaningful way.
So, what’s the action plan? And what should all businesses, large or small, be lining up to do right now?
Action 1.
Do the gap analysis now. Work out what you currently use and need to achieve marketing penetration, and what will you have post the demise of third-party cookies. That’s the gap that needs filling.
Action 2.
Focus on the business infrastructure and get back to basics.
If you need support in doing the analysis, and in building the strategy going forward, make the move now to find it. Closer to the time, resources will be limited and remedial time scales will be longer.
Action 3.
Cement the data you have and get your consent strategy robust for the future, building the new approach around it. Undertake a cookie audit now.
Action 4.
Take a relook at customer experience and contextual for scale, so that you stay completely in touch with your customers’ buying triggers in the post cookie era.
This isn’t just a marketing challenge. It impacts the whole business spectrum, from SMEs to multinational corporates. Mid and large corporates will use their in-house resources to reposition, but small businesses will struggle in the absence of teams they can fall back on, and budget.
Pimento is well placed to be the surrogate team to look to though. With over 200 independent marketing agencies, covering most marketing disciplines, bespoke solutions are close at hand irrespective of size and sector.
This is not an issue for selective blindness. Businesses who fail to act will see their markets slowly dwindle away.
When you think about the negative connotations surrounding the word “persuasive”, you can understand why a lot of us in the industry are afraid to use persuasion to influence the customer journey.
We’ve seen this first-hand. Brands will avoid persuasive design as they are under the impression it uses “dark patterns”, which is a term used for a type of design that manipulates the unassuming customer into completing a call to action for financial gain.
This is simply not the case.
Persuasive design is not about manipulation, it’s about catering to your users’ best interests and anticipating the needs of your customers from discovery to purchase. You are essentially guiding your customer to make a decision that will, in the end, be beneficial for both you and your customer.
In short. Throughout the entire customer journey.
Once you understand the different types of customers that could be attracted to your services, you should use persuasive design or “nudges” across various parts of the online experience to subtly steer their judgment resulting in a successful conversion.
You should always try to make the customer journey simple… but not too simple. You want to create a seamless experience, but you also don’t want to illicit self-defeating behaviour, as this could impact customer retention.
If you’re still unsure how to use effectively use persuasive design, there are four key elements to think about when designing a journey your customers will not be able to stay away from.
A persuasive experience is more than one linear journey. Customers can connect with your brand in more ways than ever before, and you need to see each initial interaction as an opportunity to build a rapport and create an emotional response.
Failure to recognise these points of interaction leaves you with no indication of how your customers are feeling before, during, and after they complete their journey.
Whether your customer begins their journey through Google Search, social media, or even through a newsletter you should always map and follow the customer journey to see if and/or when their emotions change.
In just one journey a customer can fluctuate from excited to frustrated, or from hopeful to disappointed, and a map will allow you to see what caused these sudden changes. With this information, you can add positive reinforcements to parts, which caused the greatest emotional response.
If you wanted to keep a high retention rate, sending a “thank you” message or a reward to your customer after they’ve completed a purchase can be very effective.
For customers that you want to reassure, you could add a “final check” before purchasing, which allows them more time to finalise their details.
Persuasive design is not about deceiving the customer, it’s about helping them reach their desired end goal in the quickest and most efficient way.
There’s a great deal of truth to this, especially for eCommerce brands, as almost every customer will use the website that allows them to successfully complete a purchase in the shortest amount of time.
To ensure the transaction process is kept to a minimum, brands need to allow users to feel they are in control by stepping aside and giving the user the freedom to do what they want.
For this type of journey to be successful, your usability and UX hygiene needs to be on point! Slow loading speed, illegible fonts, and too many advertisement pop-ups can dramatically decrease your conversion rate.
You should always run thorough tests into what is not working on your website and fix it quickly before your customers turn to your competitors.
At the end of the day, your users are not just a number, they are human beings with ranging emotions and needs, and if you don’t grasp that concept then opting to use persuasive design is pointless.
The needs of a person looking to book a summer holiday abroad are going to be different from a person looking to take out a loan, so we can’t expect their experiences to conjure up the same needs or emotional responses.
When it comes down to it, the main reason your persuasive design will fail is if you haven’t anticipated your customers’ expectations or considered how you can cater to those specific expectations.
The more you can tailor the experience to your customers’ goals, needs, and frustrations, the better the retention rate.
Take the time to research your customers and use this data to create core personas, which will help you design a more targeted customer journey. If you don’t have these personas in mind, your design won’t be relatable to your desired users, and will not trigger the emotional response you desire.
When thinking about persuasion there are three things that are applicable to all brands: USPs, reassurance and incentives.
To start you need to show your customers what makes you unique and more appealing than your competitors. To do this you can highlight your benefits clearly on your website, so users will be able to quickly understand your value.
Next, you need to reassure your customer that you are the best option. If users do not trust you, then they will not convert. To demonstrate your value and trust as a company you could include positive customer reviews, ratings, third-party testimonials, and logos from trusted payment providers on your website.
The final thing you need to consider is including some form of incentive, and this could be the difference between losing a customer or successful retention.
When customers feel like they are getting something for free, they are more likely to complete a purchase and buy from you again. For example, offering free delivery or a gift if they spend over a certain amount will always be an enticing offer.
While the idea of persuasion and persuasive design may sound deceptive and difficult to get right, the reality is that this form of marketing is all about trying to understand and empathise with your customer.
When you understand what makes your users’ tick you can create a seamless customer journey that meets their needs. Once you have achieved this, what follows is a customer journey that users will trust and return to again and again.
It’s as simple as that!
If your attention span is anything like mine, it takes little more than the buzz of a phone to kickstart an afternoon-long procrastination episode.
One moment, you’re replying to a quick text. The next, you’re three hours into a doom-scrolling session that’s somehow left you four years’ deep in Gordon Ramsay’s Twitter timeline.
Of course, businesses know this about the general public. And advertisers are more than happy to capitalise on it. But in the golden age of social media, most businesses are missing the most basic trick in the book – a ‘distraction-proof’ website.
One of the dominant trends in web page building is the ‘omni page’. And it’s existed since the internet began.
Just as it sounds, ‘omni’ describes a singular webpage structure. And each page contains content.
But between relevant content, imagery, videos, copy which tries to hit certain word counts in a misguided attempt to improve SEO rankings, not to mention the input of internal business stakeholders who want to promote their own departments, websites are becoming increasingly bloated.
Often, each webpage ends up hundreds – if not thousands – of words long, and takes minutes, rather than seconds, to scan. With multiple menus, widgets and pop-ups, it all ends up proving distracting and frustrating for your visitors.
In essence, web agencies are being asked to include more and more content into every page of a website they’re building, often for the purpose of ticking certain boxes, rather than thinking of the user experience (UX). And the result is akin to building an entire website on every single webpage.
You’d think, given our doom-scrolling habits, that one long, jam-packed page of information would lend itself to today’s consumer. However, the complete opposite is true.
Research conducted by Microsoft has shown that we have an average of between 7 and 8 seconds to catch our website visitors’ attention. That’s because many – if not most people – are in the habit of scanning a page for information before reading the detail.
If you’re looking for a paper supplier for your business, and you need to know that they meet the right sustainability credentials, how long would you spend trying to find that information on a page that’s endlessly long, filled with videos, links to download a whitepaper on the merits of different paperweights, photos of the team, a social media widget and a few case studies?
My guess is, not very long.
Because, like most users, you’d probably rather visit a page that leads with the header ‘Your local sustainable paper supplier’, followed by a list of sustainability credentials.
Maybe you then see a link to ‘Our recent case studies’, which you could choose to visit and dive into more info, if you’re interested. Or perhaps you’ll explore the site’s menu to find out more about the team via the ‘About Us’ page.
But if your boss is breathing down your neck, and you’re performing a search for ‘sustainable local paper supplier’, the chances are you won’t spend more than those precious initial 7 seconds to find the right info.
Web agencies like ourselves aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed this trend of over-complicated page structures.
Google has also noted a large detrimental impact on page performance, particularly when it comes to how it the mobile device experience.
Google Page Experience is a new measurement for a webpage’s UX – specifically, how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value.
It includes Core Web Vitals – metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of a webpage – and also includes existing Search signals: mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.
What this means is if you want a webpage that’s built for SEO, it can’t be overstuffed with keywords – something we’ve talked about before. Any page you consider important for your business needs to score highly on these additional metrics and be valuable to your visitors.
In short: Don’t overstuff your pages with content. Only provide the information that’s truly useful to your customers, and you’ll gain the most value from your website.
It’s time to more thoughtfully consider what’s actually needed on each webpage. This is what will help keep your visitors focussed, engaged, and more open to valuable cross-selling and up-selling opportunities – without the opportunity for distraction.
Ready to talk more about how your website could more skilfully direct prospects through your sales pipeline? Talk to Proctors, at [email protected].
This world of search marketing, technical SEO and digital marketing can be one where we often see things made much more complicated than they need to be.
Have you been in meetings with talented and driven digital marketeers, talking the talk, crunching the data and churning out multiple sophisticated reports, yet you didn’t see any of this have a meaningful impact to your website’s performance?
At Varn, we see the challenge of SEO summarised perfectly by Einstein:
‘If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you probably don’t understand it yourself.’
In our view, the clever thinking and knowledge we apply to search marketing, must be grounded in simplicity.
Search marketing needs to be focused on carefully listening to a clients search challenges, understanding their users, getting immersed in what the competition is doing and making sure a website’s ‘basics’ are working. The task of getting to the top of a Google search can be made to appear so technically complicated and overwhelming, that clients can be blinded by terminology, tech speak and shiny free SEO tools.
We would like to see more smart thinking by simply trying to keep things straightforward and clear.
So here are our 3 areas to help simplify SEO efforts, so that search marketing becomes an activity that delivers results for websites and is not made over-complicated for the sake of making us all look terribly clever.
You can use as many free SEO data tools as you like, but this won’t really help you rank better for the most important keywords for your business. Good content is critical to a website’s SEO performance, so you must make sure you are creating enough quality keyword-rich content regularly.
This means developing a deep understanding of what your customers/users really want, what would help them, what they would love to know and what truly engages them. This will let Google know that you are answering searcher queries.
So get cracking creating user led content, be it regular blogs, podcasts, white papers, research to share, or video content that is designed to provide value to your customers. This takes effort, but stick with it and you will be able to create content that not only improves the website but also generates quality backlinks, which are very important when it comes to SEO.
For some more tips on content this article is useful: How to create great content that improves your site’s SEO (varn.co.uk)
Digital marketing teams can spend time, money and effort looking inwardly at the website analytics and data reports, which is important, but don’t forget to look at what everyone else is doing. A quick audit of your competition can provide a valuable insight into what may be working in your industry and highlight some things you need to change.
If your competitors are hot on optimising their website and content for SEO, then you should be too.
It can be very common to protest “Our competitors are not as good as we are, yet they rank better than us?”. That’s because Google will crawl your website, crawl your competitors’ site and will rank them based on how well optimised the pages are for specific keywords. So unfortunately, Google simply doesn’t know if you really are better than your competitors and doesn’t take into account how much better your product may be compared to theirs.
If you want to be seen in a search, above and over your competitors, then make sure you compete with their website too.
SEO is such an important part of this, so make sure you optimise everything from your home page to how you are appearing on Google Maps for location-based searches.
It’s incredible to think how much effort can be spent talking about SEO, yet the actual construction and hosting of a website can be forgotten. You should always be looking to improve the usability of your website and site speed is such an important part of this.
Ultimately, site speed is a big indicator of whether you are offering a quality user experience. No one wants to be waiting 10 seconds for a webpage to load. 1 in 4 visitors to a website will abandon a website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. (Source: LoadStorm, Econsultancy). Even some of the most popular websites are not immune to expectations of speed, for example The BBC loses an additional 10% of users for every extra second it takes for its site to load. (Source: Website Builder Expert)
So, speed is a vital ranking factor and don’t forget mobile, mobile mobile!
Speed is an even larger ranking factor for mobile so always look to improve site speed on both desktop and mobile and make sure your website is mobile-friendly, so it looks as good on mobile as it does on desktop and that it functions just as well.
Our quick tip for speed is to invest in good hosting, as you really do get what you pay for when it comes to quality and speed. Our other top tips include reducing image file sizes and to look at what order your page loads it’s content. It is well known that Google uses Mobile First Indexing, and so it is imperative that your mobile site is up to scratch.
You can read some more tips about the impact of website speed here: How website speed impacts the performance of your business | Varn
At Varn we think it is so important to be open with our clients about what will actually make a difference when it comes to search marketing and being trusted here is key. This means we take enormous pride in not over complicating an issue, or bombarding a client with technical jargon. If you want to chat about SEO and any search marketing challenges do get in touch.
Article by: Tom Vaughton, Founder & Managing Director of Varn
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