Getting it right for Google

As Google’s algorithm changes to favour questions, digital marketing specialist Kat Rodway explains why you may need to adapt your website content to make sure you are seen by potential customers

Google often makes changes that have an impact on how your website performs, compared to others.

Standard search engine optimisation (SEO), nice images and a regularly updated news feed are no longer enough to keep you top of the list when it comes to your rankings, meaning your website could be missed by potential clients.

It’s now all about questions. Consumer habits have evolved, and people tend to make specific searches; for example,

‘How do I treat acne scars?’. Consumers are not going online and looking for companies or brand names. Instead, they’re typing – or, increasingly, asking out loud thanks to voice search – full questions, a change that has resulted in the introduction of the ‘people may also ask’ box on the first page of Google results.

Google has changed how it operates so that the websites that make the effort to answer those questions, and use structured data mark-up, will be nearer the top of the search results. If your potential client is looking for the right type of treatment or product, you need to talk about that specifically on your site to ensure you’re hitting the top of the search.

Luckily, this is relatively easy to do and doesn’t require huge changes to your website. It does, however, mean taking a little more time to get the tone of your content right.

Provide the answers

Your blog or news section can be adapted, or a new page added, in which frequently asked questions are listed. You can also plan regular advice articles that answer questions by plotting out the list of key products you sell or services you provide, and putting together a strategic programme of advice articles, sharing your expertise on topics such as the best products for different skin types and changing trends.

This provides interesting, sharable content that people will want to read, as well as satisfying Google’s new search requirements.

Online activity has risen significantly over the last 24 months. While word of mouth, traditional PR, local marketing campaigns and social media all play a vital role, your website is becoming more and more important.

Ways to optimise your website

1 Make it user friendly
Ease of use and encouraging people to book appointments is the priority. Google will show preference to sites it deems to have good user experience, labelling them as such, immediately making them more appealing to consumers.

2 Get your images right
Make sure you optimise your images by compressing them, so they are the right size. This will affect page speed, allowing the user to scroll and interact with a page while an image loads, without the risk of clicking on anything unintended and leaving the site.

3 Keep it positive
Over recent years, Google has introduced several assessments to rank usability,conducted to understand how easy the site is to use and, therefore, how positively or negatively a person responds to a web page. When you first click through to a website, lots of processes are kick-started behind the scenes as HTML, CSS and JavaScript are gathered and loaded. This can make browsers struggle with other tasks in the meantime. You can tell the browser which page or part of a page is most critical – you aren’t necessarily making the page load faster, but giving the illusion that it is, further boosting the user experience.

If your potential client is looking for the right type of treatment or product, you need to talk about that specifically on your site to ensure you’re hitting the top of the search

4 Make it mobile
Over half of global traffic comes from mobiles, so you need to make sure your offering is suitable to use across all devices. Develop your site using a ‘mobile first’ mentality.

5 Reviews matter
A total of 93% of consumers read an online review before buying or booking something, making it hugely beneficial to generate good reviews for your salon on your own and third-party sites. Don’t feel shy about asking clients to leave a review – 68% of customers will leave a review if asked. Include the best comments on your pages, and if reviews start to get negative, it’s best to try to take the conversation offline or onto a private platform.

Once these things are set up and managed correctly, it comes back to good-quality content. Create a programme that is full of interesting articles (at least 3,050 words long), that answer customer questions about your treatments, your location and popular styles, and your site will be more likely to have higher Google rankings, leading to more traffic – and, ultimately, more clients. PBHJ