Thursday 17 January 2019

9 Great Reasons Why Your Business Website Doesn’t Need SEO

9 Great Reasons Why Your Business Website Doesn’t Need SEO Outlined by Bamsh Digital Marketing What? An SEO agency suggesting there may be some businesses or websites that would not benefit from being optimised? Have turkeys started to vote on Christmas? Any good SEO company will be happy to state if their services would not...

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The post 9 Great Reasons Why Your Business Website Doesn’t Need SEO appeared first on Bamsh Digital Marketing.



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Thursday 23 November 2017

How to Hire an SEO

How to Hire an SEO Agency, Company or Consultant Explained by SEO Company Bristol UK

 



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Tuesday 31 October 2017

How To Increase Customer Visits To Your Business Website

Information on how to get more customers to your website

Websites and digital marketing can be incredibly frustrating for a business. You can have the best-looking website, that you know will convert visitors to paying customers, yet you cannot get the “traffic” to it. This helpful article is full of information on how to get more customers to your website.

Get An Accurate Number On Current Visitors

Measuring the number of current visitors to your website is imperative. Any changes, improvements or alterations you make to your website you will want to see how it impacted on visitor numbers and their behaviour. The first step is to install analytics to your website. Although alternative solutions are available, the standard analytical system used is the free system provided by Google. Simply search “Google Analytics” and follow the easy to understand instructions on adding it to your website.

The next step, or for websites that already have analytics is to ensure that data you are seeing is factual and accurate. There are many reasons why the data can be skewed. Adding “spam filters” to analytics blocks many of the websites that attempt to put false data in your results. Adding spam filters to Google Analytics blocks the robots and websites that would otherwise add their false data to yours. In blocking spam visits in Adwords you will have a base of accurate visitors in which to analyse and measure the impact of changes and improvements to your website.

Make Sure Google Can Read All of the Website

What good is that website page that you have perfected to drive traffic and convert visitors if Google cannot see it? Contrary to popular belief, Google does not see (or index) all pages of all websites. There are a number of tasks you can do to ensure that you give your website the best chance of being indexed.

The first one is a little technical, the others are not.

Now that you have created a Google Analytics account, create a Google Search Console account. In Analytics, link the search console (formerly Google Webmaster) to your analytics account. In “search console” ensure that your robot txt file can be read.

The next step is to add a sitemap to search console. This informs Google of the pages and images that are available on the website to be indexed.

If important pages, that you know will convert visitors, are not indexed you can “fetch as Google” – in search console add the page URL (website address) you wish to be indexed. Google will fetch this page and index it.

Secure Your Website

If you think that getting a website traffic is frustrating, even more frustrating is if you finally get visitors to your website and then your website goes down. Protect your website from security failures and breaches:

Keep plugins and software up-to-date – hackers use out of date plugins to access your website and take control of it. Logging in regularly and updating plugins (it only takes a minute) will protect you from such breaches.

Use a password that is difficult to crack – I know, that you already know, that your login details should be unique and difficult to break. The trouble is that most of us know this, then don’t actually apply it. We assume hacking will happen to someone else and stick with our old favourite password. If you want to protect yourself from hacking – DON’T!. Use 3 random words to create your password.

Keep a backup – If the worst happens you can easily restore your website if you have taken a copy, called a backup. The hosting account where you keep your website can automatically create backups of your website on a regular basis. Daily, weekly or monthly. Backups can soon fill your hosting account and so set the frequency on how often you genuinely update your website. Remember, and set dates in your diary, to review the number of backups in your hosting

Use the Correct Search Terms or Keywords

To get more customers to your business website you need to understand the search terms (called keywords) that potential customers will enter into Google. Researching the correct keywords is as simple as using the correct tool. The best SEO keyword research tool is free and easy to use. Enter the search terms that you think people will use and they will show you the actual keywords customers will use.

How To Increase Customer Visits To Your Business WebsiteFor each keyword, it offers an easy to understand matrix of the search volume, the CPC if using AdWords, the competition on Adwords etc. However, its best feature is the ability to see, by keyword and location who currently ranks for the search term and a breakdown of the SEO on their website, making it easy to find a way of jumping ahead of the competition.

Whichever keyword research tool you use, you need to consider the search terms that people would use to find the product or service. You need to think like a customer, not someone who works in the industry.

People will often search for a problem. Rather than searching for a “cheap plumber” they will likely search for “fix leaking tap”. In making the content of your website aimed at problems and solutions you will be providing the user (and Google) with the website content they are looking for.

Great content has three functions. Firstly, good content that addresses a problem for a potential customer and provides a solution, is likely to engage the website visitor and encourage them to continue reading. Secondly, once you have captured the attention of the reader you can provide a solution to their problem and start to convert then to a paying customer. Lastly, great content gives Google multiple opportunities to understand the message your website, or webpage, or blog post is trying to convey. Once Google understands the message, and if it deems it quality information, it will rank the content for searches based on the message.

The format of your content should be:

  1. Introduction to the issue/problem.
  2. Why this is usually an issue and the effects this issue can have for the reader.
  3. Name and explain a number of solutions for the customer and how they will resolve the issue.
  4. Why you are the company to provide these solutions.
  5. A call to action

Place the Search Terms in the Correct Place

The structure and layout of your website should be such that search engines, like Google, can easily understand what products or services you are offering and in which geographical locations.  This involves adding “behind the scenes” data that Google can read to fully understand the messages your website is trying to convey and which geographical locations you would like the custom from. This information should be unique and relevant on EVERY page and image on your website.

Adding your relevant search terms to the page/meta title, the main headline on the page, in the 1st paragraph of copy and in the call to action at the bottom are some of the areas of the website that Google will look for important phrases.

Use Trusted Websites to Promote Your Website

Using the power of other local websites you can borrow their authority and add it to your website. A good example of this are local business directories.

You can also add data to your own website to make it easier for Google to understand the location(s) to prioritise your business in the search results.

Because of the huge volume of content all wanting to be ranked on the multitude of search engines, it makes it impossible for something of that scale to be manually checked and ranked by search engines. This is why software and algorithms are put in place, as it’s a sheer impossible task to manually rank these amounts of sites with a fair approach. Whilst software is advancing at a relatively fast rate, there isn’t something on the market that can actually read the validity of content outright, there are things that can check the keywords count etc. and this is an element we try to focus on when creating our content. Aspects that we know are going to be picked up on by the software search engines use are always going to be a priority to use as these are the largest steps we can take into advancing the ranking of a website. If the software were to remain the same, it wouldn’t take a few months before people would manage to completely overhaul and understand every facet that the algorithms look at to rank, making the rankings void as the system would have been exploited by everyone wanting to rank their sites.

Because of this never-ending chase, we are always going to be searching for the new element search engines are going to use once the old ones have been removed or updated. It’s this process that is important to our process as the fundamentals of search engines ranking systems are always wanting to find the most supported and linked page to place on page 1. The algorithms are always going to change, which is inevitable for search engines to remain a valid platform for sites, which makes it tricky for local businesses to rank their website. We thankfully are one step ahead as we have managed to find a new facet, which Google’s algorithms use to rank websites.

Local SEO – Schema Data

This new element is called Schema data, which is the new component that Google especially likes to pick up on, through the coding in all web pages. What it is basically doing is thoroughly checking through a new source of code, which we are able to input a complete list of directory listings that gives sites we rank a huge advantage as search engines greatly favour sites with this Schema data. A simple breakdown of Schema is that it is a semantic vocabulary that search engines like Google can use to read your website. What we are effectively doing is manually inputting data that we know is effective, in a source of code,

In simple terms – schema data adds to your website a number of important pieces of information.

  • Your Status – It marks your website as a local business
  • Your Name – Business name
  • Description – What services and products your business sells
  • Address – The address of your local business
  • Profiles – linking together all of your social profiles such as Facebook and Twitter
  • Longitude & Latitude – of your business address

This means that on every page of your website there is hidden code that informs search engines exactly who you are, what you do and where you are – very powerful information for search engines and one that has accelerated the rankings of local businesses to the first page of Google and into the Google Maps.

Ranking Local Businesses – Directory Listings

Listings on directory websites is an important SEO factor for local businesses. Google has a number of directories they trust to provide to them with data on local businesses. As part of our standard SEO services, we list our local business in over 500 directory websites. Most of these are free, and as a local business owner, you could do this yourself. However, each directory takes about 10 minutes to create (10 minutes x 500 directories = 83 hours of work). They also should be checked and updated on a monthly basis.

When combined with Schema the power of directories for local listings is multiplied 100’s of times.

Use a Local SEO Expert

Regardless if you are a one-town business or a national (or international) company with numerous branches – Local SEO can be a huge factor in gaining leads and customers to your business.

 



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Monday 18 September 2017

Can I Give Up Doing SEO?

Seeing That I Have Very Good Rankings, Can I Cease Doing SEO?

Let’s say your company has invested in Search Engine Optimisation marketing by hiring a professional SEO (search engine optimisation) agency and delegating selected strategies to be done in-house. The aim when you start these types of services is to make it to the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).

After a couple of months working with the SEO agency and consistently carrying out your in-house strategies, your website eventually ends up listed near the top of the SERPs for your important search phrases. After accomplishing this increase in the rankings, it really is natural to wonder, “Can I stop my SEO services and keep my position in the search engine rankings? ”

Can I stop SEO?On the surface, it might seem like when you have reached the top of the search engine results, the work is completed and your site will continue to be near to the top for your major keywords. However, the internet is much too competitive of a marketplace for this to be true. Effective SEO marketing requires numerous practices all working at the same time to attain not simply superior search engine rankings but eventually boosting conversion rate by generating increased traffic from your potential audience. After the processes at work are halted, your website will slowly begin to fall in the rankings as your rivals with active Search Engine Optimisation campaigns take your place. It requires ongoing Search Engine Optimisation maintenance to remain at the top of your competition, Search Engine Optimisation is not a one-time wonder.

Here are important reasons why you ought to continue with your Search Engine Optimisation marketing and advertising or SEO services despite obtaining great rankings.

Remain Above The Competitors

The web allows anyone with a connection to advertise their business meaning competition for search engine rankings is tough. It’s been continually demonstrated that websites that show up near the top of the first SERP get a greater click-through rate and determined by what you are promoting, you’re likely to be competing with hundreds or even thousands of other websites looking to rank well for similar keywords and phrases. When you reach the top of the search rankings and stop using the systems that got you there, the competitors will begin to take the top rankings and drive your site further and further down.

Satisfy Changing Algorithms

Google is considered the most used search engine on earth and gradually, some might discover different ways to manipulate its algorithm with black hat SEO tactics to acquire high rankings. Due to this, Google frequently updates its algorithm to change the way it crawls and rates web pages. It is very important to keep up with Google algorithm criteria adjustments because a specific Search Engine Optimisation technique that once was effective can become unbeneficial following an update or even more serious, be eligible for penalisation by Google. You need to modify your SEO advertising and marketing strategies with each Google algorithm update or your search positions may very well be hurt by the new algorithm. The experts in an Seo company are always informed on the most recently released Google enhancements and will help you change your Search Engine Optimisation marketing for better results.

Produce Innovative Content

There is a saying within the Search Engine Optimisation marketplace that “Content Is King” as it normally takes brand new, valuable, and fascinating articles to maintain your audience or client base returning to your website. People consume information on the web at an unbelievable rate, especially on mobile phones, of course, if you stop delivering brand new written content, you might lose appeal among your audience as the previous content gets stagnant or irrelevant. Google is also far more generous to websites that continuously offer new material. Content creation needs to be at the centre of your respective SEO marketing strategy and an SEO agency can provide article writing expertise if your business does not have the time or the resources to get it done in-house.

SEO Marketing And Advertising Usually Requires Upkeep

As outlined by a search engine optimisation ranking study accomplished by Search Engine Roundtable, quitting all Search Engine Optimisation marketing activity after attaining the top of the search rankings can result in a drop in the rankings as high as 30 %. Various Search Engine Optimisation methods make an effort to build inbound links to your website so when you cease building links, Google might determine that your website is no longer lively or relevant. The same study from Search Engine Roundtable also demonstrated that companies who continued their Search Engine Optimisation online marketing after getting good search rankings enjoyed up to an 18 % increase in their search rankings.

Keep Up With New Trends And Technologies

The world wide web is constantly transforming with new technologies, trends, and equipment and it is important for your website to continue to be in line with the hottest changes in technology. One example is, a lot more people do online searches from a tablet or smartphone than a traditional laptop or computer, which was not the case a short while ago, and if your website is not mobile friendly, most mobile users will immediately abandon your site. As the technology shifts, you must reexamine your SEO marketing strategies to work with the changes and you could even want to make modifications to your website. This is yet another area in which it helps to work with an SEO agency because SEO authorities stay up to date on the newest trends and technological innovation and will assist you to adjust your Search Engine Optimisation plan and your website as necessary.

Keep Up With Adjustments Inside Your Business

Corporations often go through regular changes whether they are adjustments to their industry or internal changes such as new solutions to conduct business, new products or services, or rebranding. Whenever you complete a significant alteration to your enterprise, you should reflect the change in your SEO plan. Rebranding and new products or services are wonderful reasons for new content that will keep your current target audience engaged whilst bringing in new potential prospects.

Match Modifications In User Search Practices

The general trends in consumer practices tend to change over time and unless you alter your SEO approaches to support these adjustments, you’ll reduce search rankings, as well as your web traffic, will go down. The rise in using mobile devices stated previously is one major alteration of visitor behaviour that directly influences the search rankings and customers to your site. Another alternation in visitor behaviour you need to watch out for is keyword phrase use. The key phrases used to find a specific product or service may well alter as time passes and if you are concentrating on keywords that aren’t used, you will not rank well for the new search phrases. Continual keyword research is an important facet of SEO maintenance.

Match Changes In End User Practices On Your Website

People will get to your website through numerous paths and they each make use of your website in a different way after they arrive. Web analytics data enables you to view the activity of one’s visitors on your website along with how they got to your website along with what set of keywords and phrases they employed to get there. This information can assist you to enhance your general SEO marketing. Knowing what most website visitors do on your website can help you strengthen precisely what is working on your website as well as understanding what is not working to create a much better user experience. If you notice that most end users get to your website via a social media platform like Facebook, then strengthening what’s presently working on your Facebook page may help attract substantially more traffic.

Website analytics can be challenging and time-consuming to review for many corporations however the information it provides is vital for good SEO marketing. Agencies that provide Search engine optimisation services can offer web analytics consulting and advise or make alterations within your SEO program based on the data.

Develop Authority In Your Market Over Time

One of the ultimate targets of Search Engine Optimisation marketing is to establish your business as a sector authority in your selected particular niche. This involves constant article marketing that’s relevant and timely for your target market because it takes time to build your authority. If you discontinue your SEO marketing techniques and strategies and do not develop fresh new content for your specific audience, you won’t be in a position to grow your company as an authority in your particular niche.

Preserve Your Online Reputation

There are some things on the web your company’s online presence and rankings in combination with user feedback and remarks regarding your business make up your online reputation. It is important to sustain an impressive online reputation since most users look to the internet first if they need services or products and your online reputation will have an enormous influence on the opinion that users get of your company. Maintaining a superb online reputation calls for constant activity to reply to feedback and reviews, both negative and positive, or you will get overloaded with poor reviews which will injure your online reputation and search engine rankings.

Just because you have attained your desired place in Google’s SERPs, this does not mean the work is over. Your Search Engine Optimisation marketing strategy ought to be constantly implemented and adjusted to stay high in the SERPs which will help boost your conversion rate and Return On Investment. Ceasing all Search Engine Optimisation activity when you finally ascend the search rankings will result in your search rankings and website visitors to tumble because you will have nothing new to give your target audience and no idea of how your focused audience behaves on your website to improve their experience. A Search Engine Optimisation agency has the skills to not only increase your rankings in Google’s SERPs, but additionally put into action a constant SEO marketing plan to keep good rankings.



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Wednesday 31 May 2017

The Ian Culverhouse Game: Full Rules

TalkSport Ian Culverhouse Game: The Full Rules

If there was ever a way to get people to your website the “Ian Culverhouse” game on Talksport is a perfect example! We explain why.

What is the Ian Culverhouse game?

Talksport Ian Culverhouse gameIf you listen to Talksport on a Sunday morning you will hear the two presenters, Barry Glendenning and Max Rushden play the infamous “Ian Culverhouse” game. You may have heard the two presenters taking it in turns to state names of people, until finally, after much stealth and tactical manoeuvring, someone says the name “Ian Culverhouse”.

Who is Ian Culverhouse?

According to Wikipedia:

Ian Brett Culverhouse (born 22 September 1964 in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire), is an English former professional footballer and current first-team manager at Kings Lynn Town. He was a defender who played in the position of right-back. In May 2014 he was sacked following suspension from his duties as Assistant Manager of Aston Villa.

His early career – Culverhouse began his career with Tottenham Hotspur. He found first-team opportunities limited there and made just two league appearances for the club, though he did get a winner’s medal in the UEFA Cup as he was an unused substitute for Spurs in the 1984 final against Anderlecht.

Norwich City career – In October 1985, Norwich City manager Ken Brown paid £50,000 for Culverhouse, who would go on to spend ten years at Carrow Road. At the time Culverhouse joined Norwich, they were in the Second Division and were favourites to win promotion to Division One. They duly did so, and Culverhouse ended his first season at Carrow Road with a division two Championship medal.

For a while during the 1986-87 season, Culverhouse found himself dropped from the first team in favour of the manager’s son Kenny Brown. But Culverhouse regained his first team place and attained a level of performance and consistency that made him a fixture in the starting eleven for the best part of a decade. He was part of some of the greatest moments in the club’s history – the 1988-89 season that saw Norwich come close to winning the League and FA Cup double, the 1992-93 campaign when the Canaries finished third in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League and the subsequent European campaign of 1993-94. Culverhouse acquitted himself well on the European stage, though he missed the away leg at Inter Milan’s Giuseppe Miazza stadium – the match that saw City eliminated from the UEFA Cup – due to suspension, having picked up two yellow cards in the competition.

Culverhouse only ever scored two goals for Norwich in his 369 appearances – one in a 1988 Full Members Cup match against Swindon Town, the other in a 1994 league match against Everton. But his reliable performances in defence led him to be a very popular figure with the club’s supporters. In 1991, he was voted Norwich City player of the year and in 2002 – in a poll amongst supporters to mark the club’s centenary – he was voted the best right-back ever to play for the club and made the ‘all-time City XI’.

Culverhouse is a member of the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.

Post Norwich career – A contract dispute led to Culverhouse falling out of favour and being dropped from the first team during the 1994-95 season. He was sold to Swindon Town for £150,000, to the displeasure of many Norwich supporters. He was released by the Robins in 1998 and played briefly for Kingstonian and Brighton & Hove Albion. He began his coaching career while at Brighton where he coached the youth team. He has subsequently been youth team coach at Barnet, Leyton Orient and Wycombe Wanderers.

Culverhouse was named Colchester United assistant manager under Paul Lambert. Culverhouse, Lambert and ‘football operations manager’, Gary Karsa all resigned from Colchester to take up positions at Norwich City on 17 August 2009.



Aston Villa

On 5 July 2012, it was confirmed that Culverhouse and Gary Karsa would be joining Paul Lambert at Aston Villa, following him from Norwich City.

Now famously named in the historic ‘Culverhouse’ game on The Warm Up.

On 15 April 2014, Culverhouse and head of football operations, Gary Karsa were suspended after being accused of bullying and aggressiveness by players and other members of staff at the club. Gordon Cowans and Shay Given were promoted temporarily to take their respective places. Culverhouse was sacked following an internal investigation, on 25 May 2014. Roy Keane later replaced Given, with the latter remaining at the club in his usual player position.

The Rules of the Game

You may have been listening to the game trying to work out the rules for yourself. There is always a tweet to the show asking “what are the rules of the Ian Culverhouse game” and each time Max Rushden will “inform” them the rules are on the Talksport website. This a genius way to get people to the radio stations website – as the rules are not listed on the website – as there are NO RULES. That’s right – no rules at all. That is what makes it genius!

You have probably heard the presenters discussing their tactics for the game, or how they “warmed up” or practised before the game – all part of the “in the know joke” being played on a weekly basis.

What Lessons Can Be Learnt From The Game?

If you are a business owner or Tradesman and have a website, you know that getting potential customers to your website is the key to getting new customers and increasing revenues. Although the primary purpose of the game is entertainment, the way the Culverhouse game is used to drive people to the website is nothing less than brilliant.

If you are looking for similarly brilliant ways of getting people to your website then please contact us on 0117 325 1099 and ask to speak with “Ian Culverhouse”



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Monday 13 February 2017

You have been hacked by the white hat hacker

How to fix a message from the “White Hat” Hacker

If you have visited your website and found a post has been changed to a message stating “hacked by the White Hat Hacker” or a “Dr SILnt Hill” we can fix the problem.

Who are the white hack hacker and Dr SILent Hill?

We will never know who the White hat hacker is – however, he or she is trying they are trying to do you a favour.

Dr SILnt Hill is known. In fact he has a Facebook page and advertises that he has hacked your website to the whole hacking community.

What is a white hat hacker?

According to Techopedia “A white hat hacker is a computer security specialist who breaks into protected systems and networks to test and asses their security. White hat hackers use their skills to improve security by exposing vulnerabilities before malicious hackers (known as black hat hackers) can detect and exploit them. Although the methods used are similar, if not identical, to those employed by malicious hackers, white hat hackers have permission to employ them against the organization that has hired them.”

The hacker is bringing to your attention the fact that your website is vulnerable to malicious hacking. Hacking that could take down your website permanently.

White hat hacker

The solution to the White Hat Hacker:

At SEO Company Bristol we have the expertise and software to block hacking attempts. We can also recover your website from existing hacks from “the white hat hacker” and “Dr SILnt Hill” and all known Hackers.

We add the highest state of the art anti-hacking software to your WordPress website. We also add monitoring software to alert us to any attempts to gain entry to your website. Our team work 24 hours around the clock to ensure someone is on duty to fight off any malicious attempts to gain access, hack or take down your website.

How much does this service cost?

Compared to losing your complete business website or the cost of the ransom a hacker may change to give you back access to your website our services are low cost.  There is a small charge for removing the hack, and a small ongoing monthly fee for our 24-hour monitoring and protection service. Typically, for a normal website, this is £99 set-up and £99 a month.

Don’t lose your business website – get protected today. Call 0117 325 1099

White Hat Hacker & Dr SILnt Hill Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why was my website targetted? It may be little comfort, but the attack was not aimed at you. Hackers have software that is constantly scouring the internet for websites that have left a hole in their security. Yoru website was found by the software, and typically, a post is added to your website.
  2. Why do hackers do this? White Hat Hackers would argue that they are highlighting the security flaws in your website and they are a positive force. However, finding a post on your website, that you may have taken hours to write or that was driving great traffic to your website, has been hacked NEVER feels like a positive.
  3. Can I get my website back under my control following a hack? Yes, the hacker has identified a hole in the website security. Our service identifies that hole and close it.
  4.  Could I be hacked again? Once we have closed the gap in your website security the website is unlikely to be hacked again – that is until a new gap is discovered.
  5. How often could my website be hacked? We receive emails from the WordPress security authorities approximately every 12 hours – everyone is a potential gap in your website security that can be exploited by hackers.
  6. How does your service overcome the hackers? We utilise the latest high-tech monitoring software to monitor for potential holes in your website’s security. We also deploy a number of plugins to your website to block the varies ways that hackers will get into your website.
  7. Are there any other benefits of your services? Keeping your business website up and running not enough? The software we use also stops spam comments getting posted to your website.
  8. Why is your service so low-cost? We have 100’s of websites that we are responsible for their marketing and rankings. Having one of our SEO customers websites hacked is hugely negative to their rankings, business leads and digital marketing. We have a team in place to monitor and protect against hacking for our clients. The associated costs of the security service against hackers is split amongst a huge number of clients and is therefore relatively low cost.
  9. How fast can you implement your services on my website? We offer a 24-hour service and can have your website protected within the hour.

To find out more about our anti-hacking services, available across the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, South Africa and Europe please telephone +44 117 325 1099.


Wordpress website hacked

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Monday 10 October 2016

What is todays equivalent of Yellow Pages?

What is today’s equivalent of Yellow Pages? SEO Company Bristol Explains

From almost the day it was launched in 1966, until the end of the “Noughties” the Yellow Pages was the tool that most business’s used to get leads for their business. With the decline in size, advertisers, and users many businesses may be looking for the modern day equivalent of the Yellow Pages for generating leads for their business. What is today’s equivalent of Yellow Pages?

Yellow Pages Alternatives

As the author of this article, I offer my opinion on the Yellow Pages from a base of having worked for the company for almost a decade between 2006 and 2015. When I joined the company many Sales Staff would tell me of the “glory days” where business owners would welcome you with open arms and listen to virtually any proposal put in front of them. The business owner was pleased to see the Yellow Pages representative as the product was delivering such fantastic results in terms of ‘return on investment’ for their business. In my experience, the businesses I was spending time with still, even in 2006, were getting great returns from the “yellow book”.

Is It Still Worth Advertising In The Yellow Pages?

Having left the company over a year and a half ago it is difficult for me to say. However, very rarely did I meet a stupid business owner and the decreasing number of advertisers probably indicates that they are not seeing the same business or leads generated from the Yellow Pages.

What is todays equivalent to Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages 2005/2006 Vs 2016 /2017

What is the modern day equivalent of the Yellow Pages?

What was it that made the Yellow Pages so successful? Ease of use was a significant factor. Every home and office had a Yellow Pages somewhere convenient. It was easy to find a business to supply a product or service by simply looking in the relevant section or “classification” and choosing from the 100’s of companies adverts to find a company that sold or offered exactly what you were after. Convenience, choice and ease of use.

Today, convenience is “at your fingertips”, not in a book somewhere nearby. Choice of 100’s of relevant companies in each classification is also a thing of the past.  In terms of ease of use the Yellow pages remains the same, find the book, find the classification and choose a company. The difference is the general public’s view of ‘ease of use’. Today, having to put down your phone to find and pick up a book could be considered less than convenient.

Today, the young and the old alike use  Google find the services or products of local companies. Whether it be a mobile phone, tablet or laptop people will use Google as the easy and convenient tool to find products or services. Whatever is hand, and usually one of these items is nearby and convenient.

Like a “full page” in Yellow Pages, smart businesses owners need to dominate their market on Google. This means having a website that is easy to find for those “word of mouth” referrals, but also a website that dominates the search results when a potential customer, who has not heard of your company, searches for a product or service.

But Google is Complicated, isn’t it?

Another advantage that Yellow Pages had were its sales force. Yes, many businesses owners would say, “they always want me to spend more money”. Well, to dominate a classification normally meant having a larger advert than your competitor and that meant spending more money. But Yellow Pages staff were experts in how the book worked and how to get the most from it. They could explain this in simple terms that business owners could understand. The business owner chose how much to spend, what messages to add to the advert and the rest was completed by Yellow Pages.

The difficulty with Google, and how to get the most from it, means is that the average business owner has to either spend time on it or trust an expert and those experts can often lose the average business owner with jargon.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Dominating the search results in Google can be simple and jargon free.

Making Google Easy For Business Owners

SEO Company Bristol offer a number of solutions for businesses to make sure they dominate the local market. This is done in two ways:

  1. Getting your website “Google friendly” so when searches are done on a phone or computer your website is found. This is called ‘search engine optimisation” or SEO.
  2. Like Yellow Pages, you can buy dominance of the local market. The old way was to buy a full page advert in Yellow Pages so that everyone looking in that section would see your advert. Google has adverts too, and you can buy the top positions on the Google search results and be ahead of the competition. This is called Google Adwords.

The smart business owner does both to make sure they get the best of all advertising.

If you would like to know more about the services offered by SEO Company Bristol then please telephone 0117 325 1099.



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