“Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”

Google wants to…

“Deliver the most relevant and reliable information available.”

So if you want to rank well in Google’s listing you need to make your web page the most relevant and reliable information available to fulfill the searcher’s query.

Google is looking for.

• Relevance.
• Quality.
• And Trust.

If you’re publishing a blog post it needs to be the best blog post on that subject.

If you want your business page to be found, you need to prove you’re the best placed business to solve the customer’s problem.

There are two types of SEO, local and national (or international).

Keyword research & the SEO search query.

This introduces your first problem, what is the searcher searching for? This is called keyword research. For a small local business these keywords are usually easy to guess.

For instance, if you’re a plumber, your customer is probably searching for plumber in Bradford, 24-hour plumber in Bradford, or emergency plumber in Bradford, etc.

Keyword research is a multi-million-pound industry and there’s more to it than guesswork, but I hope you get the idea.

After choosing your keywords you, you need to know where to use them in your web page, so Google can understand what your web page is about. You also need to apply your keywords to alternative text tags, that you tag your images with. 

On page SEO.

To make your web page rank better in Google you need to place your keywords in your page title, page headlines, paragraph text and in alt tags for images. However, you don’t want to use your chosen keywords too often or Google will punish your site for keyword stuffing.

Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress.

If you’re using WordPress, you can install a free plugin that prompts you as you write your web page. It tells you how many times to use your keywords for the amount of text used on your page, and where to put those keywords. For instance, it could say, your page title does not include your keywords, consider placing your keywords in your page title.

You read through the recommendations and add your keywords where you think appropriate. If you’ve used your keywords too many times, you’ll see a message saying, you’ve used your keywords five times in three hundred words of text. That’s too many.

SEO is expensive, and there’s more to it than I can explain in two paragraphs, but I hope you’re getting the idea.

Well written content.

As well as the right keywords, your web page needs to be well written. Avoid using jargon, use short easy to understand words. Format your pages with headings, subheadings, lists, paragraphs, and images to make your pages easy to scan and enjoyable to read.

Off-site SEO & trust factors.

Google makes a big part of its judgment about your website from things that are not on your website. Google scours the Internet looking for real people whose actions show trust in your website and your business.

These trust factors include.

• Links to your site, from trustworthy websites related to your industry.
• Customer reviews left on your Google My Business profile page.
• Your business being listed on business listing websites.

Google looks for the actions of real people, such as website owners linking from their website to yours, or customers leaving a review on your Google My Business page about the work you did for them. When Google finds these real people who trust you, Google trusts you too. And when Google trusts you, you rise the ranking in Google’s results pages.

Local SEO is special.

So far I’ve talked about SEO in general, but there are special types of SEO such as SEO for eCommerce, or SEO for local businesses.

The Map Pack.

How the Map Pack works.

When Google thinks the searcher has local intent, it displays a map pack above the normal search results. For instance, if you search for car repair garage, Google assumes you’d like a local garage.

If you search on a smart phone, you might have come across the, near me, option.

Only three businesses display in the map pack near the top of the page, to be one of them you need to understand how the map pack works.

Ways to boost your chances of appearing in the map pack.

Claim your Google My Business listing page and fill out every section. If you want to attract local customers a GMB listing is important.

Encourage your customers or clients to leave reviews of your work on your Google My Business page.

List your business, on business listing sites such as Yelp, and make sure you always use the same business details. For instance, don’t list your address as Bradford Road on one site and Bradford Rd on another. Google is looking for consistency, so use identical details on all listing sites.

These types of listings are called citations. Some citations include a link to your website, but some don’t. The listing does not need to include a link to your website. If the web site that lists your name, address, and phone number is a trustworthy website, it will help you rank better for local searches.

The searcher’s location affects their map pack results.

The results that display in the map pack change depending on how close the person searching is to your business location. The closer they are the more chance they’ll see your business displayed in the map pack.

International SEO.

If you don’t target local searchers, you don’t need a Google My Business page or business listing citations (citations are also called NAPs, Name Address Phone).

Ad Words and PPC Pay Per Click.

There’s another way to be listed on page one of Google, but it’s expensive. You can pay Google to display your text advertisement when a searcher types in certain keywords. Please be careful if you use any kind of Internet advertisements, they can be expensive, and you have no guarantee of results.