Setting up your website can be quick and easy to do, but there is more to think about to ensure that it’s easy for your customers to find, simple to navigate and accessible to all.
Luckily, by following simple best practice (and with a little help from some expert tools), optimising your site needn’t be a difficult task.
Here are some simple ways to get more from your website.
Where a search engine like Google chooses to position your website on its search engine results page (SERP) will have a huge impact how many visitors come to your website. Sites on the first SERP receive 71% of all traffic. Understanding how search engines rank your website is the first step to knowing how to improve your position.
Search engine optimisation (SEO), is essentially about getting to the top of the SERP. And you don’t have to be an expert – there are small changes that can make a real difference to your ranking, such as creating a sitemap for your website.
Well, the clue is in the word ‘map’. For Google to know your website exists, it needs to be indexed. For Google to successfully index your website, it has to go through all of your site’s pages and links. So, a sitemap is basically a map that guides Google around your site, helping it do its job and therefore making it more likely to rank your website higher in search results.
Sitemaps are easy to create:
For more ranking tips, check out our blog on getting heard above the noise
With such a diverse mix of people using the internet, and many different devices used to visit each site, it’s important to make your site as accessible as possible. For example, when a visually impaired person visits your website, do your headings and images make it easy for them to use tools such as a screen reader or text-to-speech? When someone visits your website from a tablet or mobile, do the images still look good, can they read the text?
Here are some things to consider:
There’s lots to think about when optimising your site. But you’d be surprised just how far you can get with a little research and some basic tools.
For more support discover our free business support helpline and speak to one of our Business Advisers by phone, contact form or web chat.
Wondering what you can ask? Our team can help with a range of digital topics
For more support discover our free business support helpline and speak to one of our Business Advisers by phone, contact form or web chat.
Wondering what you can ask? Our team can help with a range of digital topics
Available Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm, our friendly team are here to provide guidance and support on the topics that matter to your business.