Not finding your site on Google or other search engines can be one of the most frustrating things any business owner has to deal with. You know you are missing out on traffic, but you just can’t seem to reach all of those potential customers passing you by!
At Cornerstone, we are specialists in creating excellent SEO, optimizing your site so you not only rank in search – but your potential clients find all of the great things past clients have had to say about you! While the many techniques used in SEO are always evolving, we want to share some of the latest and greatest keys to search engine optimization with you.
FIVE SEO MUST-HAVES FOR SEARCH ENGINE RANKING
#1 – GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE
Your site has been “live” for some time now, but you discover the site has an undesirable search engine ranking! This scenario can be very frustrating. Fortunately, asking yourself the right questions can open up a wide variety of troubleshooting options.
Are there any crawl errors?
Has the site ever been crawled?
Has Google indexed my pages?
What about redirect errors?
Useful guides such as Google Search Console provide services to understand better how your site is fairing. If errors are found, focus on resolving them as soon as possible.
#2 – DUPLICATE CONTENT
There are two ways to have duplicative content. One is to plagiarize content from another site – which is actually illegal. The other is to copy your own content over and over again within your site or from website to website.
Google views duplicate content as manipulating search engine rankings and will penalize your site for it. You can utilize services like Grammarly.com to help you discover if you are accidentally repeating content or plagiarizing.
#3 – MOBILE FRIENDLY SITE
As more and more people use their phones for search, Google and other search engines are shifting their focus to up-ranking sites that are mobile-friendly. Recently, Google debuted a new algorithm favoring mobile-friendly sites above all others.
#4 – SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) is a defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as “the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.”
The team at Cornerstone specialize both in design and SEO, so when you work with us, you get the benefit of years of experience when it comes to every aspect of search engine optimization.
#5 – UPDATED CONTENT
Many business owners “set and forget” their website, treating it more like a brochure than an interactive space. However, new customers and old customers alike who land on your site want to know what is happening with your business, right now. Because this information is valuable to customers, Google and other search engines value websites that are regularly updated over those that act as online brochures.
There are many ways to bring your site up to the top spot in Google Search. If you are frustrated with your SEO, or you’re ready to take the next step with your website, contact Cornerstone Studio today. We work with business owners to help them grow their online presence.