It's a jungle out there  - to get listed on Google is no easy feat!

Can you outwit, outplay and outlast on Google?

You probably can’t outwit Google  - but you can outwit your competitors.  Getting your website listed on Google is the aim.  Outwit your competitors by outranking them.  How do you rank better than your competitors?  It’s called Search Engine Optimisation or SEO and it’s complicated.  So let’s simplify it to the top 5:

1. Google My Business (maps)
2. Search Terms
3. Speed
4. Image SEO
5. Google Analytics

1. Google My Business (maps)

Google Maps is connected with your Google My Business and is top of the list for local shops and small businesses. Ensure that you have created your Google My Business listing and that you keep it updated with your open hours.

2. Search Terms (or Keywords)

What do people search on that match what you sell?  That’s the keywords you want to optimise your site for.

Unearthing the best search terms for your business, that your competitors haven't thought of, can give you an edge in the SEO game.

3. Speed of site

The speed of your site will impact your rankings on Google.  Many websites are left to languish with slow loading pages. Outwit your competitors by paying attention to your page load speed.

You can use a site like pingdom to test the speed of your site.

4. Image SEO

Images for SEO is your secret sauce to optimising your website for search engines.

Most websites don’t have their images optimised for search engines, so you can make a surprisingly effective impact with image SEO.

5. Google Analytics

Connect your website to Google Analytics.

Use your brainpower and begin learning and understanding the top 4 things to look at and measure in Google Analytics.  Don’t expect to understand analytics in one go, give yourself a little homework each month to learn it bit by bit.

Over time you can expect the research and analysis to help you outwit your competitors in your Google rankings.

,To outwit competitors small business owners will likely need to call in the expertise and resources of their web developer.  However to outplay them is all in your hands.  Here’s our top 5:

1. Refresh your content
2. Demonstrate what you know
3. Link from your social media to your website
4. Get other people to link to your website
5. Get reviews

1. Refresh your content

To get listed on Google keep your website refreshed and updated.  If your site is languishing with old content and hasn’t been updated in a while, Google knows.  A blog is a great way to update content, but not the only way.  You can update pages, products and images.  Don’t let your website be a set and forget proposition – regularly update it.

2. Demonstrate what you know

The best way to demonstrate what you know is through a blog.  Blog articles let you talk about what you know.  By their nature they require text, and Google loves text.   If the text is about products and services you provide, people will start finding your website through your blog articles.

If you’re not able, or interested, in having a blog, you can demonstrate what you know about the products and services you sell through product pages on your site.

3. Link from your social media to your website

Drive your social media fans to your website.  Create a post with a link to your website from your business Facebook page at least once a fortnight.

4. Get other people to link to your website

Surf the web for compatible businesses and see if they will link from their site to yours.  It could be a directory listing or a comment on an online article or a submission into a discussion.  It could be a suppliers website or an interstate or overseas partner or parent company.  Reach out and make your business visible online.

5. Get Reviews

Get reviews on your Google My Business listing.  Try for one review at least every three months.  If you’re not convinced read more here.

It may take 3 - 6months to get listed on Google with the pages you have optimised. SEO takes time to learn and implement. It's a long term marketing stratgy.

Studies show it takes almost 3 years to rank #1 on Google with your website.  Read more here.

Win with Google

Outwit, Outlast and Outplay

Game On!

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