H O W T O G E T A H E A D O N

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1 H O W T O G E T A H E A D O N G O O G L E Created and published by PACK media 2015

2 PACK media Cheat Book INTRODUCTION There's a new breed of snake oil salesman today: the 'Google First Pager'. The person who promises that for next to nothing, they will work magic and get you on the first page of Google. Don't be fooled, there are many companies that can get you higher in the rankings but there is no single miracle method that will guarantee success so don't trust somebody who tries to sell you something that sounds too good to be true. There are hundreds of ways you can chip away at Google's algorithms and tilt them in your favour - so we've been busy coming up with this guide on our favourite methods. Our Cheat Book is full of things that you can start doing right now to help boost your Google ranking. Although the PACK media team (especially our content writer Ted) wore their fingertips out putting this guide together, we are happy for you to copy or replicate it: just give us a link back as original source! If you want more information about any of our tips just drop an to diane@thepackmedia.co.uk or phone she'd love to talk about how you can can make them work for your business. We hope you find this guide useful! the PACK media team

3 1. Original CONTENT Google knows what's on every page of the internet - so if you've copied your content from another site, Google will know and will penalise you. Even if the content is copied from another page on your own site, while you might not be penalised (for 1 or 2 offences) you will lose out on lots of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) power. Google will lump both duplicate pages together so only one will show up in search results meaning you'll possibly half the amount you're exposured to searchers as a result. Changing your content with every post also ensures you cover every version of a search term and increase the likelihood of being found. only create and post original content to your site 2. Run a QUALITY SITE Google will rank a site for the quality of its content and can penalise your ranking for spelling and grammatical errors. A site with 3 pages of insightful, useful and relevant content, with no errors will get a higher ranking than a 100 page site that's full of useless, poorly written information. A quality site will also lower your bounce rate (the amount of people who hit a page and leave immediately) which will help Google see your business is reputable. Google has also released a Quality Rater Guideline which highlights other key areas to consider including writing at an expert level for your industry, focusing on great user experiences and making sure there is easily accessible contact information. For a more detailed list, contact us on and we'd be happy to talk you through it! ensure your site is full of quality content with correct spelling and grammar

4 3. Social SIGNALS Social Signals are the total amount of likes, shares, views and other engagement that Social Media posts receive. There is much speculation amongst marketers about whether they affect your search engine rankings or not. "Google has repeatedly denied that they are using social signals for SEO ranking purposes. All social media sites NoFollow* such links, which acts as an instruction to the search engines to not pass PageRank through those links". While Matt Cutts from Google has gone on record to say that Google does not use Social Signals, there is a way they could provide an indirect boost to your rankings. If you are retweeted, followed or mentioned by industry leaders or people considered as authorities, you have access to their follower list and social status - when they post, all their followers will be made aware of you. Potential customers will also be more likely to click to your website because you've already been verified and approved by somebody they trust. On the Correlation between Social Media likes and ranking "Correlation studies only measure correlation, they don t measure causation. To illustrate, there is also a strong correlation between eating ice cream and drowning death They both happen when it s hot out in other words they have a common factor that causes each of them, they don t cause each other". ERIC ENGE, Stone Temple Consulting *NoFollow links are bits of code that tell Google not to count a link as part of the site it's categorising - e.g. if you linked to an article from a website, a NoFollow would stop Google counting that site as an extension of your site. engage with 'authorities' in your industry and encourage them to build relationships with you

5 4. Manage your REPUTATION Google uses links to your site ('backlinks', which we'll cover later) and visitor behaviour to rate your website. When faced with pages of businesses, visitors are likely to go with a company they feel they can trust so it's important to broadcast your positive stories and testimonials from clients. There are lots of ways you can do this but one of our favourites is with software from customerfeedbackcentre.co.uk - it allows you to automatically collect testimonials which are posted to your site and can be shared across Social Media, increasing your backlinks. This automatic rating is more credible than a testimonial you post yourself (a bit like Trip Advisor for your own business). Anything like this will boost visitor trust in your business which will retain them on your site for longer and make them more likely to hit the important pages - which Google will use to increase your rankings. shout about your successes and broadcast your testimonials 5. ADWORDS Adwords can be a great way to get your website to the top of the first page of Google - with a great company managing it, costs can be effectively controlled and the return can be monumental. Pay Per Click allows you to 'bid' on certain searches and phrases and will display you at the top of the page or down the side in prominent positions. Get in touch to find out more! consider using an Adwords campaign to boost your search exposure

6 Responsiveness is 2015's must have for websites. In short, it allows your website to change its design and layout to best suit the screen its being view on. 6. RESPONSIVENESS Google is now actively penalising sites that don't have this function so it's really important you ensure your site is responsive. bit.ly/1p6a1dx Read our blog at to find 6 unquestionable reasons to make sure your site conforms. Responsive sites viewed in mobile and laptop formats ensure your site is responsive 7. Use ALT TAGS Images are more than just a pretty addition to your site: they are also a valuable tool to drive more traffic to your site from Google. Alt tags are descriptions for the images on your page. They display when your site doesn't load properly and are used by the visually impaired when pages are being described aloud. They will also be found in Google Image searches when they match results to a search term. If every image has a detailed alt tag, the chance of it being picked up by Google and displaying in a related search increases, which is another route for visitors to get to your website. make detailed, correct alt tags to every image on your page

7 Example of Great Alt Tag Alt Tags have to be detailed and descriptive - visually impaired visitors to your site will use software that reads out the contents of your web page so it's your responsibility to make it as easy for them to picture as possible. See these tags for an image of our very own Diane Birch to see what we mean. Woman holding flowers, marketing banner, content creation, marketing Happy blonde company in Essex woman holding a colourful bouquet of flowers wrapped in green paper. Alt tag doesn't clearly describe the image and is confusing Alt tag coherently Keywords are stuffed in, describes image Google will notice No keyword stuffing Not a searchable term Full of searchable terms

8 8. Add META DESCRIPTIONS and KEYWORDS Keywords are phrases that Google looks for when returning search results. If your pages have these keywords in their content, Google is going to pick up your website and put you forward as a result. Meta descriptions are page descriptions built into the back end of your site that tell Google what's on the page. This lets Google file the page away and match it to future searches. Creating great keywords means getting into the mind of your customers, working out what they search for and building your content around that. Ensuring your site contains the relevant keywords and meta descriptions can be an involving task but it will mean Google can find you easily and you'll see an increase in high quality visitors. ensure every page has a detailed meta description and that your content has relevant keywords 9. Update REGULARLY Google loves sites that are well maintained. If you're regularly updating your website, Google will notice and will put you ahead of other outdated sites. The easiest way to do this is through a blog. Not only will this provide the regular updates, but will also give you a way to enforce your authority and expertise in your industry while increasing search potential through key themes and blog titles. start a blog and write about the subjects your customers care about

9 10. BACKLINKS Backlinks are an important feature that allow Google's search bots to find your site and verify it as being reputable. They are very simply a link from a site back to you. They can be easy to build: if you're active on industry related forums, posting your own content with a link can be counted. Be careful though: 'link farming' and spamming sites with links will be noticed and you will be penalised. The best backlinks are from reputable sources and influential internet users. If you can get a mention from an industry expert on their website, not only will their users click through to you, but Google will count it as a strong backlink. This is also part of the Social Signalling we mentioned earlier. OTHER SITE Blog on a topic interesting to your target market YOU Find a blog interesting to your target market Other site does lots of hard SEO work getting their post lots of readers Comment and link to your site Lots of readers see your comment and link Readers hit your site and read your content Other site's work Your Work Web Traffic get active online, comment on forums, don't be afraid to post links to your site and build relationships with industry leaders.

10 11. Share content on your SOCIAL MEDIA It's important for businesses to have a defined online presence - otherwise they risk missing out on a huge number of potential customers that use the internet. Social Media Marketing is one of today's must do's. It allows you to target your potential customer closely and in a non-invasive (social) way. Ensure you have the major Social Media channels covered. Once set up, make sure you share your fantastic content from your site onto your accounts every time you make an update. This will help build back links to your site and will also give people who aren't actively searching for your website a way to find it, increasing traffic and Google ranking. set up Social Media pages for your business and regularly share your website content 12. Claim your GOOGLE PLACE When you search for a business category on Google, you will see results with addresses and a small map covered in red dots. These belong to businesses that have claimed their Google Place - alerting Google that they exist. By claiming your place (for free), you will show up on Google maps under relevant searches, tell Google you exist and verify yourself all in one go. go to

11 13. Social media ADVERTISING Most Social Media platforms have a paid advertising option. Done correctly, these can be an incredibly effective way to find new customers. You can set the location, interest, gender, age and many other categories to ensure your adverts will only be seen by the market you want to target. They can cost as little as 1 a day and can be set up to guarantee a response. Every click through to your website is another tick on Google's traffic report: more traffic = better ranking. investigate paid advertising on your social media accounts In Conclusion Remember - there is no sure way to get to the 1st page of Google and even if you do, there's still a chance you won't get the click rate you had hoped for. Getting on with Google is a mix of tricking it, pandering to it and experimenting with what works best for you, your business, and your target market. You can give yourself a first rate chance though. Book your free website review now. We'll give you the hot tips to help boost your traffic. Give us a call on or diane@thepackmedia.co.uk - we'd love to chat!

12 About PACK media Content provision and marketing channel management specialists with a flair for creating outstanding websites. PACK media are a full service marketing agency in Southendon-Sea, Essex. Since 2009, we have been providing high quality and effective marketing solutions for our clients. We offer a range of content provision and channel management services, packaged in tailored, bespoke marketing strategies. We work with clients to engage their target market through innovative marketing methods: and we enjoy sharing what we learn! If you enjoyed this ebook, visit for more resources and learning materials. You can also follow us to keep up to date with marketing news, hints, tips and Pack

13 Unit 9 Victoria Business Park, Southend on Sea, Essex, SS2 5BY 'How to Get Ahead on Google' PACK media 2015