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Local SEO is essential for small businesses to attract nearby customers.
Here are some key steps to help you optimise your website for local search:

1️⃣ Claim and optimise your Google My Business (GMB) listing: Create or claim your GMB profile and ensure all the information is accurate and up-to-date. Include your business name, address, phone number, website URL, business hours, and relevant categories. Add high-quality photos, respond to reviews, and encourage customers to leave reviews.

2️⃣ Optimise your website with local keywords: Research and incorporate relevant local keywords throughout your website's content, including in page titles, headings, meta tags, URLs, and within your website copy.

3️⃣ Create location-specific landing pages: If your business serves multiple locations, create individual landing pages for each location. This helps search engines index and rank your pages for specific locations.

4️⃣ Include NAP information on every page: Ensure your business's name, address, and phone number are prominently displayed on every page of your website. This helps search engines and visitors identify your location easily.

5️⃣ Embed a Google Map: Embedding a Google Map with your business's location on your website's contact page can provide clear directions to your physical location and further enhance local relevance.

6️⃣ Get local backlinks: Earn high-quality backlinks from local websites and directories.

7️⃣ Online directory listings: Submit your business information to reputable online directories and citation websites.

8️⃣ Localised content: Create content that caters specifically to your local audience. This can include blog posts, articles, or resources that address local topics, events, or news. Localised content helps establish your website's relevance within the local community.

9️⃣ Encourage online reviews: Positive online reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, or industry-specific review sites can boost your local visibility and reputation.

Remember, local SEO optimisation is an ongoing effort. Regularly monitor your local search rankings, make updates as needed.

When it comes to on-page SEO, there are several best practices you should follow to optimise your website for search rankings. Here are the top 5 practices you should focus on:

1️⃣ Keyword optimisation: Conduct thorough keyword research and strategically incorporate relevant keywords into your page titles, headings, meta tags, URL structures, and content. This helps search engines understand the topic and relevance of your pages.

2️⃣ High-quality and engaging content: Create unique, informative, and valuable content that satisfies user intent. Structure your content well with headings and paragraphs, and use multimedia elements to enhance engagement.

3️⃣ Page speed optimisation: Optimize your website's loading speed by minimising file sizes, leveraging browser caching, and utilising content delivery networks (CDNs). Fast-loading pages provide a better user experience and can positively impact search rankings.

4️⃣ Mobile optimisation: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive, providing a seamless user experience across different devices. Optimize your design and layout to adapt to various screen sizes, as mobile usage continues to rise.

5️⃣ Meta tags optimisation: Craft compelling meta titles and meta descriptions that accurately describe the page's content and entice users to click through from search engine results pages (SERPs). Well-optimised meta tags can improve click-through rates and visibility in search results.

By focusing on these aspects, you can enhance your website's search rankings and provide a better experience for your users.

Are you struggling to create content that resonates with your target audience? Read below for 5 tips on how to increase engagement

Our team of experts can help you develop a solid content strategy.

1️⃣ Use visuals: Visual content such as images and videos are more engaging than text-based posts. Visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media than other types of content.

2️⃣ Tell a story: People love stories, and they are more likely to engage with content that tells a story. Storytelling can increase the engagement of a social media post by up to 400%.

3️⃣ Use humour: Humour is a great way to connect with your audience and make your content more engaging. Funny content is shared more often than any other type of content on social media.

4️⃣ Ask questions: Asking questions is a great way to encourage your audience to engage with your content. Posts that ask questions receive 100% more comments than posts that do not.

5️⃣ Use user-generated content: User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to make your content more engaging and authentic. UGC can increase engagement on social media by up to 28%. By sharing content created by your audience, you can encourage them to engage with your brand and create a sense of community around it.

One of the questions we get asked the most is, "when should I update my website?" ⤵️

It's a valid question, as your website is your digital storefront, and it's essential to keep it fresh and relevant. Here are some signs that it's time to update your website:

1️⃣ Your website looks outdated: If your website looks like it was built in the 90s, it's time for an update. An outdated website can hurt your credibility and make you look unprofessional.

2️⃣ Your website is not mobile-friendly: With more and more people accessing the internet from their mobile devices, it's essential to have a website that is mobile-friendly. If your website doesn't look good on a smartphone or tablet, it's time for an update.

3️⃣ Your website is slow: If your website takes more than a few seconds to load, visitors are likely to leave and find another site. A slow website can also hurt your search engine rankings.

4️⃣ Your website is not generating leads: If your website is not generating leads, it's time for an update. Your website should be designed to convert visitors into customers.

5️⃣ Your website is not secure: If your website is not secure, it can be vulnerable to hackers, and you risk losing sensitive information. It's important to update your website's security regularly.

In conclusion, updating your website is essential to stay relevant and competitive in today's digital world. If you notice any of the signs mentioned above, it's time to update your website.

If you'd like to discuss how we can help please get in touch 📈

Here are three compelling reasons why should be at the top of your priority list ⤵️

1️⃣ Increased Visibility: With the ever-growing competition in the digital space, having a strong SEO strategy is crucial to ensure your business is visible to your target audience. SEO techniques, such as optimising your website's content and structure, keyword research, and technical SEO, can help you rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). This increased visibility means more potential customers can find your website when they search for relevant keywords, resulting in higher organic traffic and more business opportunities.

2️⃣ Cost-effective Traffic: Unlike paid advertising, which can be costly, SEO can drive sustainable and cost-effective organic traffic to your website. By investing in SEO, you can generate targeted traffic that is more likely to convert into customers. Plus, SEO efforts have long-term benefits, as the optimised content and rankings can continue to drive traffic and leads even after the initial optimisation work is done, making it a valuable and cost-effective marketing strategy for your business.

3️⃣ Build Credibility and Trust: Ranking higher on SERPs not only increases visibility but also establishes credibility and trust with your target audience. When your website appears on the first page of search results, it signals to users that your business is reputable and trustworthy. A well-optimized website with valuable and relevant content also helps users understand your expertise and authority in your industry, which can further enhance your brand image and customer trust.

Ready to take your business to new heights? 🚀 Let our expert team help you implement a comprehensive SEO strategy tailored to your business needs. Boost your online visibility, drive organic traffic, and establish credibility with SEO. Contact us today to get started! 💪

Have you created a TikTok profile for your business yet? Here's why you should ⤵️

If you'd like to discuss how to get the most out of your social media please get in touch ✉️

1️⃣ Wide Audience Reach: TikTok has rapidly gained popularity among various age groups, including millennials and Gen Z. With over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, TikTok offers a massive potential audience for businesses to reach and engage with. By establishing a presence on TikTok, businesses can tap into this vast audience and increase their brand visibility to a younger demographic.

2️⃣ Viral Content Opportunities: TikTok's unique format of short, engaging videos with music and effects makes it easy for content to go viral. TikTok has a highly shareable and discoverable nature, which means that businesses have the opportunity to create content that can quickly gain traction and reach a wide audience. This viral potential can help businesses gain exposure, increase brand awareness, and even go viral, leading to increased brand recognition and potential business growth.

3️⃣ Authentic and Creative Branding: TikTok is known for its creative and authentic content, which allows businesses to showcase their brand personality and connect with their audience on a more personal level. Businesses can create authentic and engaging content that resonates with their target audience, showcases their products or services in a creative way, and helps build a genuine connection with their customers. This can lead to increased brand loyalty, trust, and customer engagement, which are essential for business success in today's digital age.

Overall, being on TikTok can offer businesses the opportunity to reach a wide audience, create viral content, and establish an authentic and creative brand presence. However, it's important for businesses to carefully consider their target audience, brand identity, and content strategy before diving into TikTok or any social media platform, to ensure that it aligns with their overall marketing goals and objectives.

Is your business using Instagram to it's full potential?

Are you showing up on the social media platform where your ideal customer are?

Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular social media platforms and which industries they are best suited for based on their user demographics:

1️⃣ Facebook - With over 2 billion active users, Facebook has a wide range of demographics. However, it is particularly popular among users aged 25-34. Facebook is suitable for industries such as retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods, as well as for businesses targeting the general population.

2️⃣ Instagram - Instagram is most popular among younger users, with over 70% of its user base being under the age of 35. It is ideal for businesses that focus on visually appealing products or services, such as fashion, beauty, food, and travel.

3️⃣ Twitter - Twitter is most popular among users aged 18-29, and it is ideal for businesses in the news, media, and entertainment industries. Twitter is also useful for businesses that are looking to engage in real-time conversations with their customers.

4️⃣ LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a professional networking site that is ideal for B2B companies, recruiters, and businesses targeting professionals. With over 700 million users, LinkedIn's demographics skew towards users aged 30-49.

5️⃣ TikTok - TikTok is a relatively new social media platform that is most popular among younger users, with over 60% of its user base being under the age of 30. It is ideal for businesses that are looking to target a younger audience and create engaging, entertaining content.

It's important to note that these are general trends and there may be variations based on geography, culture, and other factors. Therefore, it's essential to conduct market research and analyze your target audience's behavior on each platform to determine which social media channels are best for your business.

The use of eye-catching videos can help small businesses dominate the digital marketing circuit because videos make the average user spend 88% more time on a website!

Using video in marketing campaigns can offer numerous benefits to businesses. Here are a few of them ⤵️

1️⃣ Increased Engagement: Video content tends to be more engaging than other forms of content, as it captures the audience's attention and can convey a lot of information in a short amount of time. This engagement can lead to better brand awareness, increased sales, and improved customer retention.

2️⃣ Improved SEO: Videos can improve a website's search engine optimization (SEO) by keeping visitors on a page longer, reducing bounce rates, and increasing click-through rates. Additionally, videos can provide valuable backlinks to a website, which can further improve its SEO.

3️⃣ Greater Reach: Videos can be shared across various platforms, including social media, websites, and video-sharing platforms like YouTube. This wider distribution can help businesses reach more potential customers and increase brand exposure.

Here are three tips for optimising your blogs for SEO ⤵️

Research and use relevant keywords:
Identify the keywords that your target audience is searching for related to your topic, and use them throughout your blog post. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find the best keywords for your blog. But be careful not to overdo it, as keyword stuffing can hurt your SEO rankings.

Focus on quality content:
Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content is essential for SEO success. Google values quality content and rewards it with better search rankings. Make sure your blog post is well-researched, structured, and formatted with headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make it easy to read and understand.

Optimise your blog post for on-page SEO:
On-page SEO refers to the optimization of the content and HTML source code of a webpage. Some key on-page SEO elements include title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, alt tags for images, and internal linking. Make sure to include your target keywords in the title tag and meta description, and use header tags to structure your content. Also, include internal links to other relevant content on your website to improve navigation and engagement.

5 reasons why your business needs to be on Social Media ⤵️

1️⃣ Reach a wider audience: Social media platforms have millions of users who are actively engaged in conversations and sharing content. By having a presence on social media, businesses can reach a wider audience beyond their traditional customer base

2️⃣ Engage with customers: Social media platforms provide businesses with an opportunity to engage with their customers on a more personal level. This can be done through responding to comments, answering questions, and providing customer support. By engaging with customers, businesses can build stronger relationships and improve customer loyalty.

3️⃣ Gain insights into customer behaviour: Social media platforms provide businesses with access to valuable data and insights into customer behaviour. This data can be used to improve marketing strategies, identify new opportunities, and make more informed business decisions.

4️⃣ Build brand awareness: Social media platforms offer businesses an opportunity to build brand awareness by sharing content that is engaging and relevant to their audience. By consistently sharing valuable content, businesses can build a strong following and establish themselves as a thought leader in their industry.

5️⃣ Drive website traffic: Social media platforms can be used to drive traffic to a business's website. By sharing links to their website on social media, businesses can encourage their followers to visit their website and learn more about their products or services.

"Part of being successful is about asking questions and listening to the answers" - Anne Burrell.

Around 8% of search queries are phrased as questions... and you could be the answer. When someone wants answers to a problem your business can provide, you need to be at the top of search engines for them to see. We can help you beat your competition and be on the first page. Ascend your business to another level.

Dm us today if you just want to have a question answered or more of a deep dive into your business's SEO.

Did you know 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine? Don't be overlooked; our team can help you ascend to the top of potential client searches. Did you know that up to 92% of searches only the first page is used and only 6% may click the second page? 🤔 Ascend yourself to the first page.

Send us a DM if you or your business needs help with SEO! 🤟💬

Seraph Property Management boosts online traffic with SEO | Ascend

Find out how a property management company in Cardiff increased its online traffic with the help of Ascend’s SEO experts.

Seraph boosts online traffic with SEO | Ascend Find out how a property management company in Cardiff increased its online traffic with the help of Ascend’s SEO experts.

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Want to up your marketing game for New Year? Here are 8 tips to help guide you! 🍀🎉

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