When it comes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content is key.

SEO can be a tricky subject to master and the fact that Google and the other search engines are constantly changing their top secret algorithm, means that you will have to be prepared to keep up to date with the latest advances.

One part of SEO that has always been important and probably always will remain important is fresh content.  The search engines like to see websites that are actively being updated regularly with new and relevant content. This shows them that the business is sharing content that is up to date and that they are keen to ensure that they only have relevant current content on their site.

Historically some sites used to just add an RSS feed from another website to theirs to get the fresh content element on their site, but this is no longer anywhere near enough and the search engines are now looking for a lot more. Ideally you need to be adding a new testimonial, news article or product / service at least once a week to notice a big improvement and see this reflected in the keyword / phrases rankings of the website.

Online marketing is made up of lots of different elements. Link building is one of these elements which many people believe is vital to improving search engine rankings.

Links can have a huge impact on the rankings of your site, with sites that have many sites linking to them often ranked higher than those who don’t. This is because links to your site can be seen essentially as a vote from another source to recommend your website. The more of these you have the more popular your site is seen to be therefore the search engines will push it up the rankings as they want to give their users the best experience. Google and the other search engines state that these links should be organic and should have been built up natural, they very much frown upon paid for links which can be bought in bulk.

Although they frown upon paid for links, it is very hard sometimes for them to find out which links are genuine and which are paid for, so many marketing companies do use links that have been paid for although this can be risky.

The links need to be from sites that are relevant and good quality to really have any sort of impact.

Many businesses have had to put their trading on hold due to the UK being in Lockdown. They may have had to switch to online trading for a while or if they do not have an ecommerce site, they may have had to cease trading altogether.

During this time it is important that all businesses continue to do some sort of marketing if possible. It may be that you have spent a long time working on your website, trying to get it to the top of Google. If you stop all marketing now then you may lose all the hard work you have put in and have to essentially start again with your marketing once you start trading again.

If you were doing Pay per Click advertising such as Google Adwords then you may decide to pause it but continue with your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) work. This will allow you to build up your organic listings ready for when you can start trading again. If possible, it may be worth trying to offer your visitors another way of getting in touch with you. If for example you sell carpet but are not able to work at the moment, you may want to allow them to register their interest to book an appointment as soon as you are open again. You could then add these people into a list to contact when you are trading again.

When you are deciding on the most effective way to market your business you may consider using video as a medium to promote it. Without a doubt video has become a commonplace feature in most successful advertising campaigns but how important is it for your business and what are the costs involved?

For years television advertising has been the key to promoting businesses to the masses, but it is a costly undertaking that your company may not be able to justify. In recent years with the growing number of social media platforms available to us there is a more cost-effective way of using video to stimulate business growth.

Dependant on the business you are in will determine the sort of video that you will need. If you are selling a product then a product demonstration would be worthwhile whereas if you are selling a service, then video customer reviews would be more suitable. In either case the most important thing to remember is that the video needs to capture the prospective client’s interest without being too long.

There are many online applications that can provide you with the software to enable you to produce your own advertising videos without the need to employ someone to do this for you. By practising and viewing footage objectively a suitable advertising video can be produced.

When it comes to advertising there are a number of different ways in which you can do it, but one that is often used (even without people realising they are doing it) is self-promotion. Self-promotion  is attempting to present yourself to others as an accomplished, capable expert in a certain field. There are very mixed feelings on self-promotion. Some people feel that it is annoying and gives the impression that you feel you are an expert on a particular area, when this may not be the case.

Many people are using social media to self-promote their business but this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If you hand out business cards, talk at network events or write and distribute articles about how you and your business can help others, these are all types of self-promotion and often a method of advertising that works well.  

If you are confident in what you do, then why not promote that to others, after all the whole idea of advertising is to create new business. DJ’s for example, do a lot of self-promoting as when they are playing to a crowd they are effectively promoting.