​How do I improve my website rankings?

Having a website is just one stepping stone on the path towards mastering digital marketing and achieving online success for your business.
 
Another vital component is not looking like a lone wolf, meaning that it is vital to connect with other online features, such as online directories. Why? Because being connected and building a network helps your business expand.

​There are many online directories where you can list your business for free. If you choose to go down this road you may find that many of these companies will be in touch with you soon after offering you the opportunity to enhance your listing, i.e. pay for an upgrade. Dependent upon your budget, paying for an upgrade is not needed at this point unless you’re happy to do so.
 
Being listed across the internet on different online directories adds weight and authority to your business. It also indicates that your business is live and active.
 
Here are some points to remember:
 
NAP (Name, Address and Phone number)
You must be consistent across all listings with exactly the same layout. Any discrepancies can confuse the search engine algorithms and make it think that your one business is in fact, two, three or even four separate businesses. You can see how this can be perplexing and it may affect your organic search positioning.
 
Description within the listings
While it’s extremely tempting to create an introduction to your business and copy and paste this across your all of your other listings - this could penalise you. Search algorithms can detect text that is exactly written the same way elsewhere. When this happens, you compromise your organic search positioning.
 
Add personality through images and photos
Let your potential customers get a feel for what your business offers. If you have photos that are of your business’ services, use them to give your customers a sense of who you are.
 
Build out as much as you can
Each directory will enable you to add a varying degree of content. While this can be a time-consuming task initially - getting it right and enhancing your listing to the max will pay off over time. So do it well and do it once.
 
If you are busy with your business and would like help, Perfect Layout can do this for you for a small fee. Email us at hello@perfectlayout.co.uk to schedule this work in with our team.