As website designers we are often asked about search engine optimisation (SEO). As with many online processes SEO is based on an algorithm. Google organises the websites on a ranking scale. The algorithm uses crawlers which simply scans your website to check the relevance. This done based on indicators such as website traffic, domain age and fresh content.  SEO is simply ensuring that the algorithm or crawlers can find your website relevant and rank your website higher on the search engine.  As a website design consultancy agency we have a lot of experience with SEO and have devised some useful tips to help your website achieve higher ranking.

Domain And Hosting

Identity and reliability are an essential to have in order to achieve SEO. Having your own domain is imperative, as website designers we always ensure our users are aware of the importance of a domain and how essential that becomes when blogging is incorporated

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Solving Problems With Original Content

If you find yourself being asked similar questions by clients turn that question into a blog post. Offering answers to common problems proves that you are reliable and creates the opportunity to connect with your client base. The basis of Google is to answer questions, SEO organises the content in order of relevance and reliability. Original content spans further than writing this also incorporates videos, tutorials and photographs. The more relevance an article has will increase your ranking position and the makes your more visible, not just in terms of SEO but also social media.

Building Backlinks

A backlink is when one website links back to your website. Google monitors when backlinks have been created organically and have relevance. Buying backlinks has become frowned upon in SEO. Using reliable sources from trusted websites such as government websites (.Gov)  creating a solid and trustworthy source of information. This can help improve your SEO drastically because of the quality of the source.  Anchor text is simply the word connecting to a link, these often appear as highlighted words. Use the anchor text to combine the key words and the website you are creating the backlink with. Another proven technique is to create back links with your own website and previous blogs.

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SEO Optimised Theme

SEO has two layers, the off site side such a social media and the on site workings which is optimizing your theme. Optimizing your theme allows google to discover you as a reliable site. Always ensure your blog is mobile responsive, a non responsive mobile site can drastically lower your ranking position. Google will prioritise mobile responsive site for people surfing websites with smart phones. As website designers we always ensure that all websites work on a mobile responsive platform to optimise our viewings.

Permalinks

Permalinks are simply how people locate your blogs. You can change the permalinks via your WordPress settings its always advised to include the title of your blog within the permalink. This works best for new blogs as tweaking the permalinks to old blog posts can disrupt the backlinks.

Sitemap

Installing a sitemap plugin gives you a full layout of your posts, pages and archives. The site map plugin basically sends the structure of your website presence to search engine sites. This allows your site to be indexed and more visible.

Commenting On Other Blogs

As website designers we understand the importance of commenting on other blog posts and viewing their backlinks. Within backlinks you can find the source of information which could be relevant to future blog posts as reliable information. You are able to leave anchor text within the comments to create a new backlink.

Social Media

Working within a website design consultancy agency we always recommend our clients have an up to date social media platform. Social media accounts linked to your website and blog posts help aid your SEO. If you struggle with social media be sure to look at our social media guide.

SEO Plugins

WordPress offers a wide range of SEO plugins for your website. These plugins can automatically deal with the finer details so you are able to concentrate on your blogging and social media platforms.

Research

Always ensure to look at other blogs, as website designers we always try to research trends and new plugins that are being used. This also helps create an information base in which you can pin point websites and blogs that are reliable and offer interesting information.