Currently, there are around 400 million active websites in the world, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to make their websites stand out from the crowd.

However, the task is no longer impossible thanks to search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is typically referred to as the science behind getting your website to rank higher in search engines like Google or Bing. The higher a website lists, the greater the rate of traffic and conversions you would expect to see that business generating.

So, how can you increase your website’s overall search engine position to secure that extra business I hear you ask? Below we have listed 5 small tips that when implemented will soon see you climbing up the search engine polls.

1. Produce high-quality content

Long gone are the days of being able to attract customers simply through a pretty interface. Even the sleekest and most modern websites now require quality content to stand out from the crowd.

It is this unique, high-quality content that drives prospective customers to and from your website. By optimising your content you will find that your search engine ranking gradually starts to climb. This is because the more relevant and engaging your content is, the longer visitors will tend to dwell on your site - it is this dwell time that can score you some serious ranking rewards.

So, think about your current website. Do you have a mix of content deployed throughout? Maybe consider adding some multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, GIFS, and audio files. The greater the quality of your content, the more likely you are to rank above your competitors.

2. Improve your page loading speed

In Google’s most recent Core Web Vitals upgrade, they listed webpage loading speed as one of their key ranking measurements. Simply speaking, this means that if your web pages are slow to load then your search engine rank will suffer.

One of the easiest ways to improve your webpage loading speed is through the optimisation of all imagery. To do this you will need to compress the size of each image, title them with a relevant and descriptive file name, and then once loaded include an alt text.

Click here to test your website’s current page speed before and after optimising your images.

3. Broken links and back links

Something as simple as a broken link can hurt both your prospective customer’s user experience and your search engine rank.

But the good news is that fixing these broken links is easy to do and reaps big benefits. See if your website has any broken links to fix by using the free checking tool here.

Having high-quality back links to your website from other reputable websites increases the authority of your website and in turn, increases your overall search engine ranking.

Plus, by improving your rank you are also boosting the amount of traffic to your website which typically will lead to more conversions - win, win!

4. Optimise your website for mobile devices

With way over half of all daily web searches being done via a mobile device, optimising your website to be mobile-friendly in 2021 is a no-brainer.

Unsurprisingly, your website’s ‘mobile-friendliness’ is now one of the factors that play a crucial role in your search engine rank.

So, why not take Google’s free mobile-friendliness test today to see how mobile-friendly your website really is? If you need help in making your website mobile-friendly, get in touch with the team at Clockwork today who will be happy to help.

5. Add relevant keywords

Keywords are a key factor in optimising your website’s SEO. If a prospective customer is typing key terms and phrases into a search engine to find services similar to yours, you want to be appearing amongst your competitors. This will only happen through optimising keywords throughout your website.

However, do be warned that there is a fine line to walk. You do not want to oversaturate your website with keywords as this will be recognised by search engines and knock your ranking. You want your keywords to fit naturally into sentences and be relevant to the services you offer so your audience doesn't get swallowed up by irrelevant jargon and content.

With numerous keyword research tools now online, you have a helping hand to find the relevant keywords in just a few clicks.

Could your website benefit from any of the above optimisation tips? If so, get in touch with the team at Clockwork today for help in optimising your website.