Cross-link relevant content

If you need search engine optimisation help for your small business website, consider working with an SEO agency or hiring an SEO freelancer. This can be a complex area, and it pays to get it right. It’s totally understandable that Google takes user behavior into account in their assessment of which result to rank highest. As Google has become quicker in catching webmasters who use unethical SEO practices and has implemented harsher punishments for offenders (lower rankings or banning of websites, etc.). Some companies desperate for improved search rankings have found ways to hack into the websites of competitors and implement some nasty strategies on those sites. I’d rather have a more relevant link with low authority. I’d hope that was better for traffic, but I’d not really expect it to have the same effect on rankings as a higher authority link with lower relevance.

Searches coming from a mobile device now outnumber searches on a desktop

SEO will never die! As long as the web is around, people will need to search to find what they want, and some algorithm will control what gets served up first. According to research by Google, smartphone users have a higher buyer intent than desktop users. They’re focused and ready to buy. It’s your job to be there when they are looking for your products. As we all know, Google change their algorithm 500+ times a year, and these are the small tweaks to make user experience and results better, and these are largely unconfirmed. Then come the larger, more drastic algorithmic changes that sometimes cause a stir in the SEO industry, mainly due client sites being negatively impacted. Give your customers points toward free products. Be generous with the points, so it is easy for them to visualize cashing them in after a few orders. The points could be toward products or information, available only to those redeeming points, so customers feel special because they have access to those products. Another option is to throw in a freebie of some sort, with every order.

Make sure your business categories are accurate in directories

The true goal of SEO should be to engage customers and deliver conversions, and that cannot be accomplished with the artificial tactics used in traditional SEO campaigns. The cleaner the code on your website, the faster your pages will load and the actual html text on the page will be given greater emphasis. In other words, if you say “vacation rentals” five times in 100 lines of code, those phrases will stand out much more than if you use 10,000 lines of code. As you use more programming code, you dilute the value of the actual verbiage on the page. There is no universal page 1. Google is customizing search results using RankBrain, artificial intelligence that analyzes search queries to provide better answers -- making results less predictable and giving websites less control over when and where they appear. Most webmasters believe Google crawls their website in one go and will continue until everything’s crawled.

Carrying out competitor research is crucial to any SEO campaign

Google has no problem telling you what you need to do to compete for their top ranking spots, just read their guide and do your best to follow through with their recommendations. Paid link-building is considered black hat SEO and is likely to incur a penalty. Consumer behavior has rapidly matured with the growth of the online world. Customers access the internet through a variety of different platforms and channels. Two thirds of shoppers report using more than one channel when deciding to make a purchase. Gaz Hall, an SEO Expert from the UK, said: "Use it before it ceases to be an enabler of competitive advantage."