SEO

The Impact of Mobile Optimisation for SMEs

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing
A close-up of a person holding a mobile phone on a blue background

With the rise of smartphones and tablets, optimising your website for mobile devices has become essential for any business. In fact, it’s especially crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to have mobile-friendly sites. Why is that, you ask? Simply put, mobile optimisation enhances user experience by improving site speed, reducing bounce rates and increasing user engagement, all of which contribute to higher conversion rates and greater ROI.

Consider this: about 70% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website is not optimised for mobile devices, you’re missing out on a massive number of potential customers. Additionally, Google has announced that mobile optimisation is part of their search algorithm, which means that if your website is not mobile-friendly, you’ll likely have a poor search ranking.

Beyond these benefits, mobile optimisation can also boost brand credibility. A mobile-friendly website shows that a business is current, reliable, and trustworthy. On the other hand, a non-mobile optimised website can make a business seem old-fashioned and out of touch.

So, how do you optimise your website for mobile devices? Here are a few key steps that you can take:

Ensure that your website is responsive: A responsive website changes its layout dynamically to fit the screen size of the device being used, without altering the content.

Make sure your website is easy to navigate: Mobile screens are small, so it’s important to make sure that your site is easy to navigate. Use clear, concise headings and subheadings, and ensure that buttons are large and easy to press.

Reduce load time: A slow-loading website can be frustrating for mobile users. Ensure that your images and videos are optimised for mobile viewing and that your website’s code is streamlined.

Mobile optimisation can be the difference between losing potential customers and converting them into loyal clients. With its potential to improve user experience and boost conversion rates, it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are prioritising mobile-friendly websites. So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to invest in mobile optimisation and ensure your website is mobile-friendly.

If you’d like to find out more about mobile optimisation or require any other business support, please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are always happy to help.

T: 01903 688789 E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com

Top 5 Ways To Optimise Your Content Marketing Strategy

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing, Social Media
Woman sitting at a desk working on a digital tablet device.

As a business owner or marketing manager, you know that creating high-quality content is essential for driving results. But with so many demands on your time, it can be difficult to know where to start or how to make the most of your efforts.

What if we told you that there are some simple – yet highly effective – ways to optimise your content marketing strategy and see growth? In this blog, we’ll share the top 5 ways to optimise your content marketing strategy so that you can start seeing better results in no time.

Plan your content strategy using buyer personas

One of the best ways to optimise your content marketing strategy is to start by planning your content using buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictional, idealised representations of your target customers. They take into account your customer’s demographics, behaviours, motivations and goals. Developing buyer personas for your business will help you create more targeted and effective content. When you know who you are talking to, it is much easier to create content that speaks to their specific needs and preferences. As a result, your content is more likely to resonate with your audience and convert them into customers or leads.

Utilise more photos and visuals

Another great way to optimise your content marketing strategy is to utilise photos and visuals. Recent studies have shown that articles with images get 94% more views than those without. And tweets with images get 150% more retweets than those without. Including photos and visuals in your content will not only help you to get more views and engagement, but it will also make your content more memorable. When you include visuals, you are giving your readers another way to engage with your content and understand your message.

Make sure your website is optimised for search

If you want your content to be seen by as many people as possible, then you need to make sure your website is optimised for search. This means including relevant keywords in your titles and meta descriptions and making sure your website is easy to navigate and mobile-friendly. By improving your SEO, you will make it easier for people to find your content when they are searching for keywords related to your product or service. As a result, you will see an increase in website traffic and engagement.

Use social media to amplify your reach

Another tactic for boosting your content marketing strategy is to use social media to amplify your reach. When you share your content on social media, you are increasing the chances that it will be seen by more people. Not only that, but social media is a great way to start a conversation about your content and get people talking. When you can get people talking about your content, you are more likely to see interaction and improved sales.

Experiment and analyse your results

Finally, one of the best ways to optimise your content marketing strategy is to experiment and analyse your results. Try different things and see what works best for your business. Then, track your results so that you can see what is working and what is not. By experimenting and tracking your results, you will be able to fine-tune your content marketing strategy and focus on the tactics that are producing the best results. It will also allow you to look back upon your progress and better track your business growth.

We hope you find this blog, insightful. If you’ve enjoyed the read, why not share it on your socials? Be sure to tag us and let us know what you think! If you’d like to find out more about optimising your content strategy or require any other support, we’ve got the team to help. Get in touch:

T: 01903 688789 E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com

6 Ways To Elevate Your Business Blog

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support
A Man typing out a blog on a laptop on a desk

Having a business blog for your company is important beyond reasons you might expect. Apart from becoming an informative source for your audience, studies show that websites housing regular blogs get more than twice the amount of traffic than those without. They boost your SEO, provide additional social media exposure, and can be incredibly useful for building an email database on customers which can be used for bulking up mailing lists. Moreover, they present your brand as an authoritative voice – showcasing you as an expert in your field and thus gaining more audience trust and recognition.

While writing blogs undoubtedly brings significant benefits, it can be time consuming and requires a level of consistency and execution. But what is the key to doing it well?

Create a strong heading

Create a heading that will immediately grab the attention and tell the audience that you have something worth saying. Try and capture the essence of your content while making the title snappy and easily readable. Distil the entire idea of your blog into the title. Highlight what new information you’re bringing, and don’t be afraid to add a bit of drama – a cliff-hanger to make the audience curious e.g., “5 Shocking Benefits Of Social Media” or some brackets e.g., “How To Be Productive (The Smart Way)”. Be sure not to be overly generous with the word count, it’s good practice to make the title of your blog less than ten words long.

Cater towards your audience

Always tailor content to your target audience. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the target audience of your whole business, but rather who you are aiming the blog at. This could be a different demographic than your normal audience if you have a new and different product or service being released soon. If your blog has a comment section, then it’s a great idea to interact with any queries or comments your readers may have.

Keep it short and frequent

With short form content dominating the internet, media consumers have shorter attention spans than ever – so keep it brief and easy to digest. Short blogs that are released more frequently have been proven to be more effective than longer blogs released every couple of weeks. Blogging a couple times a week is ideal to increase traction however, if you have fewer resources or personnel available to your company, then a weekly post is generally recommended.

Select the right tone

Remember that business blogs are different than personal or lifestyle blogs as their primary function is to promote your business. Depending on the nature of your company, choose the most appropriate tone. E.g., if you work in the legal sector you might want to opt for a more formal voice, but if you work in a field such as retail or media, you may like to select a more relaxed approach. If you’re usure of what would suit your business best, stick to a semi casual tone but keep it informative and professional.

Attach an appropriate blog image

It’s no surprise that content which contains visuals tends to perform better, but that doesn’t mean that attaching any image will do. Always use high-quality, relevant visuals with your blogs, making sure that the subject of your image is in clear focus. Use pictures or graphics which offer the best representation of your writing and don’t be afraid to edit your visuals for some additional artistic flare. Don’t forget to use alt tags and optimise them for search visibility and be sure to adhere to copyright laws. If you’re on a budget check out some of our favourite sources such as Pexels, Canva, and Pixabay which all contain good selections of free imagery.

Master your SEO keywords

Make the most of your SEO keywords and conduct some research prior to writing your article. If you want to appear at the top of those search results, you’ll need to find out what kind of words are being actively searched for by your audience. Once you have done so, utilise them to your advantage, use them as topics and include them in your blogs. However, it’s best not to go overboard, as “keyword stuffing” can sometimes make your content appear lower in quality. To combat this, make use of long-tail keywords, related keywords and synonyms. Include one main keyword/keyphrase alongside two or three keyword variations per page.

We hope you have found this read insightful. If you’d like to find out more about elevating your blog writing or require any other business support, we have the team to help! Get in touch:

T: 01903 688789 E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com

Driving Traffic To Your Website

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing
Different shades of blue cogs with different SEO symbols

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Are you a new business looking for ways to attract visitors to your website? Or perhaps your website is simply no longer grabbing the attention like it used to. Not to worry! It won’t happen overnight but there are many things you can do to help your website drive traffic. While it’s good to cover all bases it’s important to start at the beginning and understand the basics, which is why we’ve divided the subject into three core structures.

Understanding SEO

SEO is the process designed to enhance the position of a web page from search results. SEO’s use bot crawlers, which work by indexing the website information found online. The information is automatically processed and categorised accordingly, displaying sites in an order of relevance established by the bot.

Many SEO-boosting strategies have been established over the years, however there is a staple checklist every business should follow:

  • Improve website speed- Statistics show that the speed of your website has a direct affect on how high your site ranks on a search engines page. The better your loading speed, the higher you climb on the main page. Make sure to optimise image formats, remove irrelevant 3rd party scripts, update site plugins, and perform general site maintenance on a regular basis. It can do wonders for speeding up a website.
  • Improve site visit duration- The amount of time spent on your website by existing visitors plays a major role in how much a search engine will ‘like’ your website and thus how well it will appear in search results. If your website is unattractive or too hard to navigate it can significantly lower the visit duration. Some good methods for boosting visit durations are embedding videos within your home page, including more interactive site features, and improving readability.
  • Improve your keywords- Keywords help to categorise your content and bring relevant traffic to your website. When used correctly, they improve visibility and suggest your website to target audiences searching within a pertinent field. Do your research and establish what type of client you would like to visit your site, your strategy, and the targeting keywords that will help to get them there.

Providing Quality Content

It may seem obvious to include content on the list of must haves, however the downfall of many websites is simply lack of quality content. No, we’re not just talking about the stuff that is permanently embedded in your website, we’re talking about fresh, regular, and quality content that can link back to your page. Whether it’s a weekly blog, a newsletter or podcast every piece of content you put out should have a link bringing the reader back to your site. The more site links lead back to you- the stronger the rankings of your website. Finally, don’t forget about video formatting! As mentioned earlier, embedding videos in your website can increase the duration of the site visit, but that’s not the only thing making them beneficial. Video format has statistically proven to have higher information retention than written format, which is why video marketing has become so successful among businesses. Don’t cut out written content completely but balance it out with other formats to provide alternative ways of tuning in!

Social Media Marketing

You most likely already have an account or two with the top social media platforms, but are you using them right? It’s not just as simple as posting every now and then. It’s important to keep the profiles alive, active, and regular and crack down the best places to reach your target audience. Becoming part of online communities, lists and pages can be a great way of gaining credibility as well as extending reach to preestablished and categorised groups. It also allows for interactions and gives you the opportunity to engage with your audiences.

There are many ways in which you can use social media to your advantage, from hashtagging to sharing content linking back to your page, it’s one of the best, free forms of advertising available. You don’t need to join them all but establishing where your audience hangs out online should give you a good idea as to where you too should be.

If you’d like to find out more about driving traffic to your website or would like to discuss outsourcing those tasks, get in touch. We would love to answer any of your questions and discuss your needs!

makeithappen.. E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com T: 01903 688789

6. Don’t Forget The Little Extras! | In The Know Blog Series – Search Engine Optimization

MOMENTUM Business Support In The Know Blog Series
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Welcome to the final part of this SEO In The Know blog series! 

Finishing this series’ focus of SEO, in our last instalment we’re talking about why you should be using Website Images Meta Tags, Alt Tags, Descriptions, Titles and More!

Lots of little extras on your website all work together to help boost your SEO rankings overall. Are you making the most of them for the best possible results? These can include:

Website Image Meta Tags

Website Meta Tags are small snapshots of text and images that provide a summary for a website page. You may have noticed these before when sharing a link on social media or in a message. It’s important that you ensure yours are always up to date, so your content is accurately represented when shared by others.

Alt Tags

Alt Tags (also known as ‘alt attributes’ or ‘alt descriptions’) are HTML attributes that can be applied to image tags to provide a text alternative for search engines. Ensuring these are filled out can help positively impact web browser  rankings. They are also used to describe the image or what the image is representing to those who are visually impaired or use screen readers. This is a must to ensure your website is inclusive for all. 

SEO Descriptions & Titles

Page titles and meta descriptions are two separate pieces of short HTML code that should be found on every page of the world wide web. Essentially, what they do is tell you the title of the page you’re on and a summary of that page. For a smooth customer web journey, keep these up to date and regularly updated as much as you can.

Thank you for sticking with us for this series. We hope that you’ve found it useful! You can catch up on all instalments here. Stay tuned for another In The Know blog series coming soon in the future!

Good luck on your SEO journey! If you need support, we’re always here. Just get in touch, we’d love to help.

T: 01903 688789 E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com