Wondering how to respond to negative reviews on Google? You’re not alone.

It’s a disheartening situation for any business owner: Receiving a scathing one-star review with the power to single-handedly unravel your reputation and all your hard work (well, so it feels like at the time!)

But negative Google reviews are really not as big a deal as you think. In fact, when managed correctly, they can actually be an amazing opportunity for growth, and a goldmine for businesses wanting to improve their services!

It’s all in how you handle it – but how do you handle what feels like such a personal and public attack?

The first step is to try to not take it personally. Did you know, unhappy people are around 10 times more likely to write a review, while only 6% of people will leave positive reviews without prompting?

Given 95% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase, and businesses that respond to reviews are deemed 1.7 times more trustworthy than those who don’t – it’s never been more important to manage and respond to negative reviews.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews on Google:

• Keep Calm and Assess the Situation:

Upon discovering a negative review, take a deep breath and try to stay calm even if your heart is racing! Stop and assess the situation objectively. Is the criticism valid, or does it seem like an isolated incident?

• Respond Promptly and Professionally:

While it’s important to address the issue as soon as possible to show that you take your clients’ concerns seriously, it’s a good idea to sleep on it first so you can calm down.

What you shouldn’t do is go on the defensive. A carefully crafted, honest, and polite response is what’s going to reflect your business in a positive light.

If somebody is spamming, being obnoxious, or has left their review on the wrong business, you can make that obvious in your carefully worded response. 

A great example is with one of our health care clients here at Front Page SEO. As part of our Google Business Optimiser service, we monitor and manage responses to their reviews – and they received a doozy! After we’d provided a tactful response that still made it clear the customer was being unreasonable, suddenly the customer deleted the review altogether!

If it’s a legitimate complaint try to defuse it, ask them to contact you privately to discuss – get it offline as quickly as possible. Here’s an example response:

“We appreciate your feedback, and we’re committed to resolving this matter. To ensure we address your concerns properly, please reach out to us directly at [email/phone number]. We would like the opportunity to discuss this further and find a satisfactory resolution.”

• Learn from the Feedback:

Negative reviews can serve to highlight areas where your business can improve. Use this as an opportunity and implement changes that can enhance your overall service quality.

• Encourage Positive Reviews:

Balance is key when managing online reputation. Actively encourage satisfied clients to leave a positive review to help counterbalance any negative feedback (even before it comes in!). The good news is, over 60% of consumers are likely to leave a review if the business asks for one, so don’t be afraid to ASK.

Will Google Remove my Negative Review?

Unfortunately, it’s pretty much impossible to get Google to remove negative reviews. If they violate Google’s policies you can report it in the hope that they will remove it, but even that can take quite some time.

But all is not lost! Remember: Potential customers are much more likely to read the negative reviews – and your response – than any of the 5-star feedback.

Take Advantage of your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the first impression customers get of your business, and with only 1 in 3 businesses actively managing theirs, this presents a real opportunity for you to get ahead of your competition.

At Front Page SEO, this is one of our specialties – so if you’d rather relax instead of stressing over how to respond to reviews, contact us today to learn more about how we can assist!

As a digital marketing agency specialising in search engine optimisation (SEO), one of the most common questions we get asked is “Why is my SEO not working!?”

It’s a frustrating scenario that many business owners find themselves in. You might have employed an agency, or maybe you’ve had a go at it yourself. Yet the expected surge in business is … just not there.

Before you hit the panic button, let’s delve into the reasons behind why you may not be getting the results you hoped for, and look at potential solutions.

HOW have you concluded your SEO is not working?

First you need to identify how you’ve decided that your SEO is not working. Are you judging it by the number of keywords your site is ranking for? The volume of clicks? The number of calls, bookings, and sales? Or something else like Domain Authority (which doesn’t really matter anyway!)?

Before implementing any SEO strategy, it’s crucial to set some very clear and measurable goals and targets for yourself. And remember, baby steps. Because SEO is a long game!

Patience is a Virtue

Instant gratification might work in some aspects of life, but SEO isn’t one of them. Particularly if your site is new, it’s crucial to understand that SEO takes time. In fact, it can take up six to twelve months to start seeing results – and that’s with an SEO expert!

Search engines need to index your content, assess its relevance, and establish your site’s credibility. It’s like planting a seed and waiting for it to grow into a sturdy tree. Stay patient, stay consistent, and the results will come.

SEO Not Working? Check these!

Site Speed and Functionality: In the digital world, a slow website will lose you potential customers. The slowest site we’ve ever come across took 30 seconds to load!

Users demand speed, and search engines recognise that. If your site takes ages to load, visitors will bounce before they even see your content. Aim for a loading time of under 3 seconds to ensure a seamless user experience.

Your issue could also be something fairly simple and straight forward to fix, such as your website builder accidentally leaving “no index” ticked in the back-end settings of your site.

Misguided Metrics: A common misconception is gauging the effectiveness of SEO solely through the number of keywords your site ranks for. While keyword ranking is important, it’s actually not the best indicator of success.

Instead of fixating on keyword counts, focus on the quality of traffic you’re attracting and whether it’s converting into meaningful actions. Traffic from relevant, high-intent keywords holds more value than a high number of unrelated keywords.

Oh, and those keywords should preferably be showing up on the “front page” of search engine results, and not buried at #83 – because hardly anybody bothers to look any further than the first ten listings!

You’ve Optimised with the Wrong Keywords: Your audience won’t be able to find you if your content doesn’t match their search queries. Keyword research is essential to  to uncover terms that your target audience is actually using – and then you need to make sure those keywords are strategically placed throughout your content.

The Curse of Thin Content: Content is king, and thin content is its sworn enemy. If your site lacks substantial, informative, and engaging content, search engines will struggle to comprehend and rank it. Invest time in crafting well-researched, value-packed content that caters to your audience’s needs. Not only does this help with SEO, but it also establishes your brand as an authority in your niche.

Boost Authority with Backlinks: Think of backlinks as digital endorsements that vouch for your site’s credibility. If your website lacks backlinks from authoritative or relevant sites, search engines might not view your content as trustworthy. Cultivate relationships within your industry and focus on building a backlink profile that reflects your site’s authority.

Conversion Conundrum: So, you’ve managed to drive traffic, but the conversions are still missing? You’re not alone! This could be due to a disjointed buyer journey. Evaluate your website’s user experience, from landing page to checkout.

For example – Is the navigation intuitive? Are calls to action clear and strategically placed? Perhaps you’re selling a high-end product with a big price tag, but your images and packaging are letting you down? Address these issues to bridge the gap between traffic and transactions.

There really is a solution for every SEO woe, and understanding the potential core issues is a great first step.

That’s one of the reasons we offer a free SEO Checkup and complimentary Zoom session with one of our SEO consultants. We can show you how your site is currently performing in search engine results, and give you some pointers on how it could be improved.

 If you want your website to generate quality leads 24/7, take the first step by booking your free consult today!

If you talk to a dozen different SEO experts about how to improve the ranking of your website, you are likely to hear some very different – even conflicting – advice.

Is it any wonder that business owners are confused about the whole subject of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and are often reluctant to add this valuable strategy to the other eggs in their marketing basket?!

Before we answer the question of why SEO experts give conflicting advice, let’s start with some background about how Google ranks websites.

Shhhh! It’s A Secret

Google has very complex algorithms for deciding which websites to give preference to in search engine results. It’s said that there are over 200 factors taken into consideration, and the exact details are a closely guarded secret.

However Google does give us some guidelines in their Google Search Essentials (previously Google Webmaster Guidelines) on best practice, technical considerations and their spam policy.

There is one over-arching theme, what I like to call the Golden Rule of SEO:

“Aim to please the user, not the search engines”

The Challenge

Google is constantly changing and updating all the time. You may have heard of some of the major updates like Panda, Penguin and Bert, but in reality, small tweaks and adjustments are happening on an almost daily basis.  In such a fluid environment, it’s a challenge to dominate in search results. As I’ve posted before, any “How To” book for SEO would be out-of-date before it was even printed!

Different Strokes

SEO experts and agencies use different strategies because there are multiple ways to improve your website’s rankings.  There’s no “one size fits all” strategy – it doesn’t exist!

Hopefully most will start with Google Search Essentials, but beyond this, the best they can do is make an educated guess on what is going to work to get your business ranking highly in search engines.

In a nutshell, it all comes down to one thing: experience.

Experience Matters

I’ve been ‘playing’ in the SEO sandbox for over ten years now, and have studied thousands of websites. I’ve seen:

• strategies that work and those that don’t;
• “black hat” strategies that may work initially but end in tragedy (a Google penalty, meaning the website disappears from search engine results altogether!);
• strategies that used to work, but now aren’t as effective;
• lots of trends come and go – “Google Plus” or “Google authorship” anyone?!

I’ve worked on hundreds of websites, and during this time I have tested things and run experiments to find what works. I’ve undertaken courses, workshops, and am constantly reading industry journals.

I look back on some of the advice I gave clients in the early days, and while it was sound, I know much more now.  I can see the big picture on how to get your website ranking higher on Google.

SEO Tailored to YOUR Business

Your SEO consultant should, based on their experience, tailor strategies to suit your business and meet your goals.

If you come to me for advice, I might recommend strategies A, B and C, while a different SEO professional might recommend strategies X, Y and Z.

What I recommend for a pump and irrigation business will be totally different to an online cosmetics retailer, because they are vastly different industries.

The other issue that I hear about ALL. THE. TIME. from business owners, is that their SEO agency doesn’t LISTEN to them. The agency then targets certain keywords that they are confident will rank well – despite the fact they aren’t keywords the business wants to pursue. A classic example is the medical practice in Melbourne which didn’t offer bulk billing appointments, yet guess what keywords they were mostly ranking for?! Their reception team HATED constantly having to tell disappointed callers that in fact, it was NOT a bulk billing surgery.

How To Choose An SEO Consultant

If you are in the market for SEO services, I recommend doing your due diligence before paying a cent; find out:

• Where did they learn?
• Who have they learned from from?
• How much experience do they have?
• What sort of industries have they worked with?
• What are their results? They should be able to provide graphs or examples from other clients.
• Ask to see some case studies.

An ethical and honest SEO consultancy will be happy to provide contact details, references, and/or recommendations from previous clients.

With no regulation in the industry, pretty much anybody can set themselves up as an SEO professional; yet another reason why so-called SEO experts give conflicting advice.

I’m proud to be a genuine SEO expert, and love helping other businesses to succeed by increasing their leads online. If you’d like to find out more about how we could help your business, I invite you to book a free 30 minute Zoom consultation with me!

New Statistics on how many local businesses have claimed their Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) Listing …

---

It was while preparing to teach our own DIY SEO HQ group about managing their Google Business Profile, that we discovered some fundamental problems with the existing statistics.

While multiple websites quoted that “56% of local businesses hadn’t claimed their Google My Business profile”, few referenced the original site.

Turns out, this data was from 2017. That’s FIVE YEARS AGO. The world has changed just a bit since then, not least because of the Covid pandemic – the stats would surely have changed dramatically!

Plus, the site credited with conducting the original study no longer exists (https://www.lsainsider.com/study-56-of-local-retailers-havent-claimed-google-my-business-listing); nor was the data specific to our own country – Australia.

So here at Front Page  SEO, we set ourselves a mission:

“To find out how many businesses in 2022 had claimed their free Google Business Profile listing (GBP) – and to what level they were using this profile to market their business.”

Data and Method

The data was collected via a short online survey that consisted of the following questions:

1. In which state or territory do you reside?
2. How would you describe the size of your business?
3. Do you have a Google Business Profile?
4. If you answered yes to Q3, how often do you update or post on your GBP?
5. If you have any comments regarding your experience with GBP, please share that information here.

Analysis

In the first instance, 1030 responses to the survey were received. 

However it quickly became apparent that a large number of these were generated by bots or foreign participants, and the data would have to be excluded from the analysis.

In determining which responses to exclude, the data was reviewed on a line by line basis.  Data was then excluded due to:

• Multiple same entries
• Incoherent answers
• Non-existent email addresses
• Contradictory responses – “No, I don’t have a GBP but I post weekly”
• Identical comments

At the end of this elimination process, there were 90 legitimate responses to the survey that have now been used to provide the following analysis.

Results

1. Business location:

Business location statistics:

• NSW 17%
• QLD 59%
• SA 10%
• WA 8%
• VIC 5%
• TAS 1%

2. Participants provided the following responses regarding the size of their business:

Business Size Statistics:

• Microbusiness 0-4 employees 83%
• Small Business 5-19 employees 11%
• Medium Business 20-199 employees 6%

3. In response to whether a GBP has been claimed, the following data was received:

Claimed Google Business Profile listings:

• Yes 72%
• No 17%
• Not Sure 11%

4. In response to how often the GBP was updated, the following data was received:

• Occasionally 38%
• Never 34%
• Weekly 13%
• Monthly 12%
• Daily 3%

(The respondents who either said that they did not have a profile or were unsure if they had a profile are included in the ‘Never’ data)

Discussion 

As the survey was promoted and conducted entirely online, it is possible that the survey results have been slightly biased in that participants are more likely to have claimed their Google Business Profile listing, than business owners who aren’t actually active online.

With Front Page SEO being based in Queensland, it came as no surprise that most survey participants were also based in the “Sunshine State”; however as Google Business Profile is available across all states, it seems reasonable that the data could be extrapolated to refer to an Australia wide basis.

All of the business owners which took part were in the micro, small or medium size categories, which also makes sense – larger companies would be much more likely to have outside support in managing their online marketing, including their Google Business Profile.

Conclusion: Google Business Profile Statistics 2022

In 2016, only 44% of local businesses had claimed their free Google Business listing.

Given that more than five years have passed, plus the massive shift to the online environment that has occurred thanks to Covid, we fully expected this figure to have risen – and this was confirmed:

---

In 2022, 72% of local businesses had claimed their Google Business Profile

---

However, only about 1 in 3 businesses are actively managing their listings; and only 13% are posting at the optimum regularity of at least once a week.

Participants listed a variety of reasons for neglecting their Google Business Profile, with four common themes emerging:

1 – Lack of understanding about the benefits of an optimised Google Business Profile.

• “I … assume they assist with ranking. I do wonder what measurable impact posting there has”;
• “I know that it will probably help … “.

2 – Lack of knowledge about how to manage their listing.

• “Not quite sure how to use it to best effect”;
• “I need to learn how to use it properly”;
• “The whole thing terrifies me. I think I’ve aged out of new things”;
• “Not sure what to do”;
• “I wasn’t aware you could post to Google Business profiles so I will have to investigate …”;
• “Don’t really understand it that well and last time I wanted to check it I even had trouble working out how to find it!”.

3 – Problems and issues with managing their Google Business Profile.

• “Currently client reviews don’t show up”;
• “I have so much frustration with the constant changes that Google makes to my profile … I will spend ages trying to put in all the right information, and they will refuse it, but not say why …”;
• “Hard to deal with Google. My account always needs to be verified”;
• “Validation code took 8 weeks during Covid. Also, near impossible to delete a previous business name”;
• “I used to update regularly but since they’ve changed it to maps I don’t do it”;
• “I think because GMB isn’t really as accessible as social media platforms I forget to do it … social schedulers don’t work with it”..

4 – Lack of time to manage what is perceived as “yet another” online platform.

• “I’ve set it up but haven’t had time to post updates … I just check sometimes that it’s still there”;
• “I am slowly fumbling my way through things … but sometimes it feels like just ‘another’ thing I have to update after all my social media and website work”.

 

The Benefits of a Google Business Profile Listing

Google Business Profile is an easy, free way for businesses to communicate with customers – and for customers to communicate with them.

With Google dominating the search landscape, it is practically a no-brainer for businesses wanting to be found in search engine results, to make the most of this Google product.

Here at Front Page SEO, we provide an array of services to help small businesses become highly visible in search engine results – including the set up, optimisation and ongoing management of Google Business Profile listings, as well as training.

If you would like to find out more about these Google Business Profile statistics, or are keen to make the most of your Google Business Profile listing – please contact us today!

*We particularly want to thank all the participants, as well as those who helped to circulate our survey.

If you want to increase traffic to your website, then backlinks are important.

What is a Backlink?

Backlinks are created when other websites link to yours.

There are three crucial elements to making your website rank highly in search engine results – what we call the 3 Pillars of SEO. These are:

• Keyword Research – to determine the keywords that people are actually searching for when looking for a business like yours;
• Onsite Optimisation – placing those keywords strategically in your website copy and settings, as well as improving the user experience (eg ensuring your site loads quickly); and
• Offsite Optimisation – which primarily involves trying to gain quality backlinks to your site.

So Why are Backlinks Important?

This is because the search engines look at your backlinks as a way of gauging your website’s reputation and authority, and whether it is worth including on the front page of search results.

So what do links do?

• In machinery, a chain of links transfers power from one place to another; in SEO, links transfer power (or “link juice”) to the website they are pointing at.
• The links in snow chains on a car’s tyre, increase the amount of grip on the road in icy conditions; in a similar way, links in SEO help your website gain traction in the search engine results!
• In jewellery, links are used to connect something valuable; the same principle applies in SEO.
• Even the Good Book says that there is strength in building links: “A cord of three strands is not easily broken”. This applies to SEO as much as to our relationships!

The Best Backlinks

The best backlinks:

• come from relevant sites;
• are from sites with a decent Domain Authority;
• and fit naturally into the content on that site (ie they are not obviously spammy – we’ve all seen webpages stuffed with hundreds of links and not much else).

The more reputable the website that is linking to yours, the more Google likes it. Both quality and quantity are important, if you want your site to do well in search results.

And never, ever pay for links!

An Online Popularity Contest

In a way, it’s an online popularity contest!

Remember how the cool kids used to rule the schoolyard?

It was pretty tough to break in to their circle, if you were a newbie or just a small, quiet kid. Nobody wanted to hang with you, unless somebody noticed there was something special about you … and a cool kid started hanging out with you. Once one cool kid gave you the time of day, more would follow …

Getting backlinks to your site, and ranking well in search engine results, is much the same!

It can be particularly tough if you are a small or new business, to get people to notice your website, let alone want to hang out or link up with you. But as your site shows it has something special to offer, and a couple of websites start sending a backlink your way … there is a snowball effect. The more popular you are, the more backlinks you tend to get!

All of a sudden, the search engines realise that your site is actually pretty great, so they start telling other people about it …

It’s a bit of a Catch-22, and all sounds pretty overwhelming when you are just trying to run your business. You know you “should” be more competitive in the online space, but there are only so many hours in a day …

SEO is important – it shouldn’t be left to when you have a “spare minute”. By signing up for one of our affordable SEO packages, you will:

• free up your valuable time;
• benefit from expert SEO knowledge, skills and contacts;
• gain peace of mind, knowing that your website is generating qualified leads for your business, 24/7.

So now that you know why backlinks are important, don’t waste any more time thinking about it – contact us today and find out how we can help you get the edge on your competitors!

We received an email recently from somebody wondering about one page websites and SEO.

As in – are they good for SEO, or not? Apparently a website designer had told them that it was the way “most modern websites are built”.

There is a certain appeal to having a one page, scrollable website:

• they are simpler – and therefore cheaper – to set up;
• and they are ideal for being viewed on a mobile device (which is what many of us are using these days to browse online).

However when it comes to whether they are any good for SEO (ie optimising to make sure it’s easily found in Google), the short answer is: No, not really.

Do You Want to Get Found in Google?

And now for the long answer, on WHY one page websites and SEO aren’t compatible.

(An aside – maybe you don’t care/mind if your site doesn’t come up in search engine results. For example, you may have plenty of leads and customers from other sources, or your demographic doesn’t use the internet. In that case, a one page website is fine.)

The best way we can explain it is with an analogy – think of your website as a physical building, like a store in a shopping centre. Why do shops have lots of windows / doors, in fact some are completely open to the mall? Because it increases the chances that the store will catch people’s eye, and entice them to come in (and buy!).

With a website (particularly if it’s optimised), each additional webpage that Google indexes, increases the chances that people will see / find / notice your business, and come into your site (and convert).

Why One Page Websites and SEO aren’t a Good Match

If you want to dig a little deeper, here are just a few reasons why one page sites aren’t generally recommended for SEO:

• There’s usually more copy on multi page websites – and you NEED content to rank. The content on a one page website is going to lack the detail needed to get on the front page of Google.
• Better targeting – SEO strategy tends to work best when it focuses on one keyword / cluster (topic) per webpage.
• Consider the user – From a user point of view, it’s usually easier to find the info they want on a multi page website – and the “golden rule of SEO” is all about seeking to please the user, not the Google gods!
• Internal links (links from one page to another on your own site) – These can be used to signal to Google and Co what content on your site is particularly important – and this opportunity is lost on a one page site.
• Website Speed – A long scrollable one page website is likely to be slower to load – and site / page load speed is an important factor in SEO.

Of course there are always exceptions to any rule, but in most cases, one page websites and SEO are not a good match.

We hope this helps clear things up! Now – do you have a burning SEO question?! Feel free to drop us a line, we’d love to help!

Shock, Horror! Did you know that the aim of SEO is not (just) to rank well in Google and Co?!

There’s no point to appearing on the front page of Google – unless when users are searching online and scanning the results, the item they click on is YOURS.

But even that’s not the true indicator of the success of your SEO!

What you really want is for that visitor to stick around and actually convert (ie sign up, follow you on social media, call you, book an appointment, fill out your contact form, or buy the thing).

How to Increase Dwell Time – and Why it’s Important

Once you’ve actually got someone on your website, you have only a few seconds to capture their attention or they will move on!

The duration of a website visit is known as “dwell time”, and there is a lot of debate among SEO professionals about whether a longer dwell time is a positive ranking signal to Google.

One of the other search engines (though nowhere near as popular) – Bing – has said in the past that dwell time does help them to understand which content is worth promoting.

Regardless, the longer somebody is on your website, the more they are interested in what you have to offer – and the more likely they are to convert.

So how do you get them to linger longer?

Here are three ways to make your website ‘stickier’:

1 – Does your website have a search bar?

There is nothing more frustrating than a site that doesn’t have a search bar!

Ideally, it should be on every page or, at a minimum, on your home page.

If a visitor to your website can’t find the information they are looking for easily, then they will very quickly click on to the next website.

A search bar allows them to more easily pinpoint the information they want, so they can then click through to the relevant pages on your website – increasing their dwell time.

Visitors are also more likely to return to your website if they find it useful. Remember, a positive experience is always the name of the game.

2 – Create a Custom 404 page

A 404 page is what your visitors see when they try to access a page on your website that doesn’t actually exist. This can sometimes happen if you remove a page, or if your visitor mistypes an address. Usually, they will see a generic 404 page that says “Oops! That page can’t be found” or something equally boring!

However, if you create a custom 404 page, it gives you a chance to keep your visitor’s attention a little longer. Your custom page could include:

• A sincere sorry message explaining that the page either no longer exists or has been moved;
• A suggestion of two or three (hyperlinked) pages that the visitor could go to instead;
• Your search bar, along with a suggestion to try searching the site for what they need.

3 – Internal links

An internal link is when you link to another page of content within your own website – and these are great for boosting your SEO. This is because internal links:

• Help Google understand the structure of your website and which pages you think are the most important;
• Help your visitors navigate your website and keep them there for longer, because relevant information is just a click away.

If you are on WordPress, you could consider installing a ‘related pages’ plugin, which will automatically allow you to show related content at the bottom of your page – yet another way to encourage your visitors to digest more of your content.

These are just a few of the ways to increase dwell time, and improve the chances of your website ranking more highly in Google and Co –  however we are really only touching the tip of the iceberg!

If you think that these ideas might be of benefit to your business, but aren’t really sure how to get started, then why not contact us at Front Page SEO for a free chat and we can get you heading up the rankings to SEO (and business) success.

So you’ve heard the buzz: when it comes to marketing your business, SEO is the way to go!

(What is SEO? – click through for a simple explanation.)

It’s the marketing method of the future. That’s because people are living in the online world more and more each day – reading, playing, chatting, banking, researching and shopping.

Naturally, you want your website to be the one they find when they are researching and shopping for your product or service – and not those of your competitors! This is where SEO comes into play.

However, there’s both good news and bad news.

The Bad News

The bad news first: SEO is a long term strategy.

To quote the old shampoo ad: it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. It usually takes about 8-12 weeks for any SEO strategies (eg new web content) to gain traction on Google; 6-12 months for it to reach its full potential.

(Sidenote: We often report on improvements from our SEO Boost packages by the time we send out the final report, just 6 weeks after commencing!) 

But anything good is worth waiting for, right?!

The Good News

And now for the good news: SEO is a long term strategy.

The benefits last far beyond what you can achieve with other forms of marketing and promotion – long after:

• Your newspaper ad has become wrapping for fish and chips;
• Your letterbox drop has been tossed into the recycling bin;
• Your radio spot has gone silent;
• Your 5 minutes of TV fame have passed.

The beauty of SEO is that it keeps on working for you for months, even years to come. It’s a marathon, not a sprint; while it might be a slow starter, it really goes the distance!

Don’t believe it? Check out some examples of SEO success stories here, and see for yourself the difference it has made.

At Front Page SEO, we love helping small business owners with their SEO. Don’t be fooled into thinking only giant companies and corporations can win at this game – you too can enjoyed a steady stream of both clicks and clients!

Interested in finding out more? We offer a complimentary review (we call it an SEO Snapshot) of your site, which includes a free 30 minute Zoom chat to go through the findings with you. Click here to book your free SEO Snapshot and Zoom session today!.

If you have a website for your business, you have probably heard about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

And for good reason! SEO (search engine optimisation) is crucial if you want your website to generate leads for your business: more clicks means more clients, and ultimately, more sales.

These days, it seems that most website builders and digital marketing agencies include SEO in their service offerings.

But not everyone is an SEO specialist.

Why an SEO Specialist?

Imagine for a moment that you need heart surgery.

Would you want your GP to perform the operation – or a specialist?

It could mean the difference between life or death, so of course you will choose the specialist!

It’s the same with SEO.

You might not think that getting your SEO right is a matter of life or death – but it is for your business!

While a website builder might set you up with an SEO friendly website, it isn’t their area of strength.

A digital agency may offer a range of services – from social media marketing to Google Ads campaigns, and yes, even SEO – but they may not be SEO specialists.

What Sets an SEO Specialist apart?

Anybody can call themselves an SEO expert, as the industry is unregulated.

So here are some tips on what to look for when somebody makes this claim:

Experience

It’s said that it takes 10 000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert – which equates to roughly ten years of spending approximately four hours each work day immersed in the field.

Achievements

A specialist has a strong track record for achieving excellent results in their field – check out their case studies and testimonials to see if this is the case.

Certifications

There’s no university degree in SEO (at this stage) but there are certifications offered by reputable institutions such as SEMrush and Hubspot.

Awards

Have they been officially recognised for their skills in relevant awards programs?

Teaching

One sign of an expert is that they share their knowledge and skills with others. This might be through conducting training, or creating books and other resources.

Well-Resourced

They have invested in the best tools in the trade, and they know where to find the answers for the things they don’t know.

Ongoing Learning

What! Aren’t they supposed to know everything?!

A specialist realises that they will never know everything about their area of expertise. However, they are constantly reading and trying to improve their knowledge.

SEO Specialists Brisbane

Factoring in all of the above – at Front Page SEO, we are proud to call ourselves SEO specialists and we love helping our clients to flourish!

We invite you to book a free SEO Snapshot and Zoom session with one of our SEO specialists today, by calling 0421 757 424.

White hat, black hat … it sounds like a line from Dr Seuss, but the term “white hat and black hat SEO” refers to different methods of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). 

And as you have probably already figured out: white hat is the “good” version, while black hat is bad – very bad and could end up doing your business considerable damage.

Google’s Number One Priority

When it comes to Search Engine Optimisation, you want to stay in Google’s good books. Why? Because Google is “top cat” of the search engines – so they get to set the rules.

And this is what Google wants to achieve with these rules:

They want to give users the best possible experience, and the information they need, so they keep coming back to Google.

It’s important to understand this before we drill down to what white hat and black hat SEO techniques actually are.

Black Hat SEO

In the early days of the internet, marketers and website owners quickly figured out that getting backlinks was a great way to make their site look more important to Google, and therefore do better in search engine results.

So they started paying other website owners for backlinks, to manipulate search engine results.

Google however soon became aware of this practice and clamped down heavily. It’s not very fair when you think about it: big business can afford to buy lots of links from other websites. It doesn’t mean that their website content is any better, or that they are experts in their industry, or even giving searchers the information they need (remember Google’s Number One Priority). It just means they have more money!

There are a number of other underhanded black hat techniques used by some SEO agencies, such as:

• cloaking – having lots of invisible text on a page that the reader can’t see, but Google can. Why is this bad? Again, back to Google’s Number One Priority – it doesn’t improve the user experience.
• keyword stuffing – while a page stuffed with keywords like the example below might signal to the Google machine (bot) that it should rank high in search engine results – it’s not useful for the human reader (Google’s Number One Priority).

So why do so many SEO agencies STILL use these black hat techniques?

In the past, black hat techniques did work – until Google got wise to them.

Today, black hat SEO may still generate quick results BUT it’s extremely risky. Rest assured, Google WILL find and punish sites utilising black hat techniques. Not only could you lose your high ranking in the search engines (and therefore most of your traffic), but you could even disappear from search engine results altogether. Disastrous for your business!

White Hat SEO

White Hat refers to an ethical, above board, approach to SEO, which takes time and effort – it’s not a get rick quick scheme.

Yes, backlinks are still important, but Google much prefers that website owners earn them, rather than pay for them.

The good news is, Google hasn’t left website owners in the dark; they offer heaps of handy resources. Here are just two which in our opinion, are essential reading:

• Steps to a Google Friendly Site
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Starter Guide

White hat techniques rely on things like:

• keyword research – figuring out which keywords are most popular and generate the most searches, and looking at competitors’ websites which are already ranking for them (so you can do a better job!); and
• website content – providing fresh, quality content which meets the user’s needs.

If you’d like to find out if your website has been subject to risky black hat SEO strategies in the past – contact us today to request your free SEO Snapshot and Zoom chat with an SEO specialist.