SEO Guide for New Zealand Businesses

Google gives top spot to the most relevant website for a given term.

Sites that implement Search Engine Optimisation – like the techniques I’m about to outline – send the clearest signals to Google that, yeah, this site’s kind of a big deal.

In turn? Its ratings and rankings receive a boost.

Choosing the right keywords is the most important decision your business will make.

No pressure, right?

Don’t worry, this process doesn’t have to be difficult.

I’m about to show you a quick and easy 3 step process that will have you researching, finding and deciding on your keywords in next to no time!

What Is It?

The Title Tag is the text displayed along the top of the browser window or tab. It’s also the first thing users see when searching.

In HTML, the title tag looks like:

<title>This is the text that appears in the top of the window</title>

While this is what it looks like in Google search:

Improving your title tags is one of the easiest changes you can make.

It’s also the most important.

An optimised Title Tag makes it easier for Google and searchers to identify if your page is relevant to their interests.

How To Improve Your Search Rankings With Title Tags

Limit Titles To 59 Characters
Google only displays the first 50-60 characters of a title tag, so make the most of the room you have.

Include Keywords
Include keywords in your titles that relate to your industry as well as the contents of the page.

Make Your Titles Enticing
A Title Tag stuffed with keywords doesn’t guarantee success, so make them enticing for users as well as Google. Instead of ‘How To Market Your Business’, try ‘5 PROVEN Ways To Market Your Business Online’. I know which one I’d click on!

Make Each Title Unique
Aim to be brief yet descriptive, with a unique Title Tag for each page on your website. If you’re stuck for ideas, use one of the templates I’ve outlined below.

Mention Your Location
If your business operates within a country, city or region, tell search engines and users!

Use These Title Tag Templates To Get You Started

Home Page Templates:

Business Name | Keyword Phrase | Keyword Phrase

Home Page Examples:

Number Crunchers | Auckland Accounting Service Specialists
Fresh Flowers, Roses & Bouquets at Sunshine Petals NZ

Product & Service Page Templates:

Keyword Phrase, Location | Business Name or Keyword Phrase | Keyword Phrase | Business Name

Products & Services Examples:

#1 Xero Accounting Services, Auckland | Number Crunchers

Buy Gorgeous Roses Online | Bouquets | Sunshine Petals NZ

What is it?

The meta description is the text displayed in search engine results below the Title and URL of a page.

In HTML, a meta description looks like this:

<meta name=”description” content=”This is where the META description text goes”>

While this is what a meta description looks like in Google search:

META descriptions are your opportunity to convince people to click on your link over a competitor.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Meta Descriptions

Pick Your Top Pages
You won’t have time to write unique META Descriptions for every page, so focus on important pages such as:

• Your home page.
• Product category pages.
• Services pages.
• Killer content or worthwhile resources.

As for the rest? Leave the Googlebot to grab relevant snippets from the text on these pages.

Tip: Don’t re-use a generic META description. This duplicate content can do more harm than good.

Write A Unique Meta Description

Write a concise, unique META description that summarises the contents of the page, covering:

• The services it offers.
• The products it sells.
• What the content is about.

Limit Descriptions To 320 Characters
With just 320 characters to work with, make the most of it.

Include Keywords & Locations
Include keywords and locations that are relevant to the page.

Invite People To Click!
A Meta Description is your chance to sell your page to users, so spice it up and appeal to their curiosity!

Use These Meta Description Examples To Get You Started

Number Crunchers NZ is a chartered accountancy firm providing Auckland small businesses with leading financial services. Call us today at 0800 111 222!.

or

Send flowers to friends and family with New Zealand's florist of choice. With guaranteed same day delivery available nationwide. Your first order is on us!

What Is It?

Pinch me if you’ve heard this phrase before:

‘Content is king!’

The thing is, it’s true!

Content is one of the best ways to market your business, products and services directly to your target audience.

The easiest way to do this is by writing content for your website’s blog.

But how does this increase your search rankings, exactly?

Oh, let me tell you the ways:

• You can market your website and business with content relevant to your industry.
• You can position yourself and your business as a leading authority within your industry.
• You can build quality backlinks to your killer content that increase your rankings within search.

To Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Content

Avoid Duplicate Content
Google hates duplicate content (that’s content that appears on your site as well as elsewhere on the web). In fact, Google penalises sites that feature too much of it. The solution? It’s simple: don’t post copied content.

Remove Thin Content
Do you know what Google does love? Lengthy content! If your pages – and rankings – are looking a little thin, start writing.

Create Epic Content
Epic content positions your business as the go-to expert in your industry or niche. In fact, this very page itself could be considered an epic piece of content.

Content like this is a one-stop-shop resource on everything a user would want to know on a given subject, providing your business with even greater link building opportunities!

Start A Blog
Epic content is great, but it can take time to write.

That’s why you should mix things up by blogging about relevant topics and keywords. Link these back to important pages when you’re done, and you’ll ensure your results are long-lasting.

Extra resources

• Expand your business’s horizons with our guide to Blogging For Businesses
• Start creating epic content with our guide to Content Marketing

What Is It?

Internal Links are hyperlinks that link to other pages on your website.

See the menu on your site? This is just one example.

But hey, everyone has a boring old menu!

The trick here is to include internal links within the content of your pages wherever a relevant keyword is used.

For example, this one links to a page on SEO, while here’s another that links to Content Marketing & Promotion.

By adding these links, visitors can jump to pages that explore a topic in more detail.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Internal Links

Add Internal Links To Your Most Important Pages

When adding internal links, focus on your most important product or service pages.

By doing this, you’ll ensure users who arrive at your site are guided to the pages that matter most.

What Is It?

Inbound links are links on sites across the internet that point to yours.

When it comes to your ranking in searches, these inbound links make all the difference.

In fact, Inbound Links are what the internet is built on.

These links are a great source of traffic, and tell Google that your site deserves to rank higher.

“If people are linking to it,” says Google, “then it must be worth looking at!“.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Building External Links

Establishing inbound links is an ongoing task for any website owner. But by following these steps you too can start to build relevant, quality links to your site.

List Your Site With Business Directories
Business directories are free, easy to list with, and provide a great way to boost your local rankings.

Write For Blogs & Sites Within Your Industry
Writing for other sites within your industry is a great way to promote your business online.

You’ll build your personal brand, increase your standing as a thought leader, and land a link back to your website!

Create a Free Google My Business Account
A Google My Business account is crucial for Local SEO, giving you the boost within local search results that your business needs to succeed.

Extra Resources:

• Kick-start local link building with our list of Free SEO Guides for New Zealand Businesses

What Is It?

Heading tags tell Google that the text within – and to follow – is worth getting excited about!

Heading tags look like this in HTML:

<h1>This is a primary heading tag</h1>

<h2>This is a secondary heading tag</h2>

<h3>This is a tertiary heading tag</h3>

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Heading Tags

Would you believe that most pages don’t use heading tags at all?

Crazy, right?!

Give yourself the edge and get Google excited about your content by:

• Using <h1> tags for the titles of posts, pages or products.
• Using <h2> tags for main headings.
• Using a range of H3-H6 tags for sub-headings.

What Is It?

You’ve probably seen a URL or two that looks something like this:

http://www.qjumpers.co.nz/QJumpers/SitePage.aspx?s=55&ss=251

Crazy numbers?

Odd characters?

It’s a mess!

These URLs don’t just negatively affect SEO, they can also scare users away when found in search.

But there is a better way!

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Clean URLs

Clean URLs ensure they’re readable and descriptive, and maximise their use of keywords.

The reasons for doing this? They’re threefold:

1. Users can read them and better identify pages they want to click on in search.
2. Google will bold keywords in URLs when they’re searched for.
3. Google will give these pages a boost in visibility and rankings.

So when it comes to writing URLs, you should:

• Keep them short and descriptive.
• Use a hyphen ‘-‘ to separate each word.

What Is It?

Google doesn’t see an image or a file when you place it on your website.

Instead?

All it sees is basic information like ALT Tags and file names.

This is why you should use descriptive names and ALT Tags at every opportunity to help Google to:

• Decide what your image or file is all about.
• Ensure these are found when searchers use Google’s File or Image Search.

Consider the following example:

You have a great diagram on your site that compares the differences in Accounting Software Packages.

Instead of a generic filename such as ‘diagram.jpg‘, use something like ‘Accounting-Software-Comparison.jpg‘.

When users search Google Images for Accounting Software Packages, they’ll be more likely to find your image and page.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Optimised Image & File Names

Before you upload a file or image to your site, add a descriptive phrase or keyword! This takes all of a few seconds to do, and will ensure your files are optimised before they go live.

What Is It?

There’s one important thing to remember where your website and Googlebot are concerned.

Google and its crawling bots don’t see your website in the same way humans do.

Instead? They only see the HTML code.

Take Wikipedia as an example!

You and I see it like this:

But Googlebot? It sees the code displayed below.

Unoptimised, messy, or improper HTML can bloat your code.

This pushes your actual text – which is full of those all important keywords – hundreds of lines down the page.

With more work for Googlebot to do, your rankings may suffer.

Thankfully, fixing this can be simple!

You just need to follow a familiar philosophy:

When it comes to websites?

Less is more!

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Clean Code

Avoid Bloated Navigation & Menu Options

Javascript and other code used for interactive elements such as menus can become bloated quickly, so try to keep things as simple as your design will allow.

Remove Unnecessary WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins make it easy for anyone to set up a website, but too many can leave your site working overtime. Make a habit of removing any unnecessary plugins or extras that you no longer use.

Say No To Image-Heavy Website Design

Visual elements break up the dreaded wall of text, and provide visual interest for your users. But only to a point. Too many images can leave your page sluggish and unresponsive, hindering your chances of ranking higher in search.

What Is It?

Google’s search algorithms are constantly updated to return the most relevant results in the shortest time possible.

This is just one reason why page speed is increasingly important.

If your page is slowed down by cumbersome plugins or large images? Your rankings will suffer.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Optimising Your Page Speed

Analyse Your Page Speed
Load Google’s PageSpeed Tool and select ‘Run Insights’ to run Google’s PageSpeed test on your site. This will provide you with an easy-to-read report of your results.

Remove Unnecessary Javascript Or WordPress Plugins
Whether you created your website yourself, or had a professional do this for you, there are usually unnecessary added extras left around long after the web gurus have packed their tools away.

Either alone or with your web developer, run through your Javascript and WordPress plugins to identify any redundant ones that can be removed.

Optimise Image File Sizes
Large, high-quality images increase loading times, but you don’t have to sacrifice quality for speed.

Tools like ImageOptim & Advance Projects will compress your images while keeping quality in tact.

What Is It?

Image ALT tags describe the contents of an image, and are displayed when you hover over an image or if it fails to load.

These Image ALT tags are also used heavily by Google.

Why?

Because Google can’t actually see an image.

Instead, Google relies on the filename and ALT tag to determine what an image contains.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With Image Alt Tags

Add An ALT Tag To Your Images

Keyword-rich ALT tags won’t just increase usability, they’ll also further boost the signals your page sends to the Googlebot.

You’ll also increase the chances of these images showing up within Google Image Searches.

Note: It it important you ensure that images are descriptive of the image, not only targeting keywords, just include them if you can.

What Is It?

XML Sitemaps are used exclusively by search engines to speed up the process of indexing pages.

Think of them as an easy-to-follow map of your website!

With it, search engines can index your site quicker and easier.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Adding An XML Sitemap

Add An XML Sitemap To Your Site

Head to XML Sitemaps to generate an XML sitemap for your site.

Once you have this? Submit it to:

• Google Webmaster Console
• Bing Webmaster Console

What Is It?

HTML Sitemaps provide users with a quick and easy method of navigating your site.

But the benefits don’t end there!

Search engines see them as a sign of usability, which is an increasingly important metric for your site’s online visibility.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Adding An HTML Sitemap

Add An HTML Sitemap To Your Site

Head back to XML Sitemaps, and generate an HTML Sitemap. From here, add this as a new page on your site, and then link through to it from your 404 Error Page.

What Is It?

A 404 Error Page is where users arrive when a URL can’t be reached.

Maybe you removed a page?

Or perhaps you updated a URL without a 301 redirect?

Either way, a 404 page is a crucial component of your website’s usability.

Instead of hitting a brick wall, a good 404 page will help users find their way and guide them to important pages you know they want to see.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Creating A 404 Error Page

Like Sitemaps, 404 Error Pages send usability signals back to Google which help your SEO overall.

When it comes to your 404 page? You should:

Maintain A Consistent Design

A 404 Error Page that looks different to your regular site only increases the feeling of being lost.

Include Navigation Options

When a user stumbles onto a 404 Error Page, they’ll either leave or try and find the page they were looking for. By adding a list of quick links, you’ll make it easier for them to find their way and ensure they stick around.

What Is It?

Yep, you guessed it!

Website breadcrumbs work just like they do in the age-old fairytale of Hansel and Gretel.

That is, they give users a visual representation of where they came from and where they are now.

This trail is shown as a set of links at the top of the page, boosting your site’s internal links and it’s usability, too.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings By Adding Breadcrumbs

Add Breadcrumbs To Your Website

Check out some of these WordPress plugins that will add breadcrumbs to your website:

• Yoast Breadcrumbs
• Breadcrumbs Everywhere
• Breadcrumb Navigation Widget

What Is It?

More than a desktop or laptop, where do you do most of your web browsing?

If you said ‘My mobile!’ then you’re not alone!

In fact, an average of 40% of web visitors are using mobile devices. With up to 30% using tablets!

As a result, Google penalises sites that aren’t responsive or mobile friendly.

So if you don’t have a mobile-friendly version of your site, now’s the time to get one!

Because without it?

Every other step may prove ineffective.

You can quickly and easily check the responsiveness of your website with the Google Webmaster Tools.

Just:

1. Open Google Webmaster Tools
2. Enter your website’s address into the text box.
3. Click ‘Analyse’.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With A Responsive Website

Talk To Your Developer Or Tech Specialist
Get in touch with your developer or tech guru and ask them about making your website mobile friendly.

Use One Of These WordPress Plugins
If your website runs on WordPress? There are a number of free & paid plugins available that will do this for you!

• Jetpack
• WPTouch
• WP Mobile Detector
• WordPress Mobile Pack

Use A Responsive WordPress Theme
Use a WordPress theme that includes a responsive version designed specifically for mobile devices.

What Is It?

A Domain Name is the URL people type into their address bars to get to your site

If this includes relevant keywords, then you might have an easier time ranking for these phrases.

Woah there!

Slow down!

Before you run off and register a keyword-rich domain name, keep the following lesson in mind:

Keyword rich domains do play their part, but you need to balance SEO and overall business branding.

Just because your domain name isn’t ‘www.AucklandAccounting.co.nz‘ doesn’t mean your rankings dreams are over.

Far from it in fact…

A recognisable name and cohesive branding are far more important for your business in the long run!

Tip: Don’t buy a bunch of domains full of keywords and redirect them to your site! This actually does more harm than good.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings With A Domain Name

Include Keywords Within Your Domain Name

Adding keywords to your domain name can make it easier to rank in search faster than other sites.

When registering a name, think of logical ways you could include keywords but don’t go overboard.

A domain name stuffed with keywords will confuse users and tip Google off to your overzealous SEO strategy.