The last 12 months or so have been tough for almost all individuals and businesses. While some sectors, such as ecommerce, cloud computing and telecommunications, have thrived, other industries ranging from travel to private schools have struggled to stay afloat, never mind generate sales or even think about growth. But with vaccine programmes being rolled […]

When businesses and homeowners require the services of an electrician, the first thing they’ll do is search online. Recent research suggests that 97% of consumers search for local businesses online. In fact, local business searches account for nearly 50% of all Google searches. So, if you haven’t made sure your customers can find your electrical […]

Search engine optimisation (SEO) has been all the rage in the online marketing world for years. And there’s more than one good reason for the hype. There’s no doubt that maximising your visibility on search engines like Google can work wonders for your business. But SEO is a bit fiddly. It involves a lot of […]

How do you make sure your website performs to its maximum potential?   By analysing as much data as you can collect so that you can make your online offering as appealing as possible.   Unfortunately, when it comes to explanations on data analysis, many business owners simply switch off. After all, you need to […]

All of a sudden, a global pandemic puts the world – and your business – into lockdown. You’ve got the goods, and people still need them. But both your employees and your customers are staying inside. If your doors are closed, how can you remain open for business? Now’s not the time to pull back […]

Are you trying to find the most cost effective marketing channel? Confused and overwhelmed by the amount of information online? You are just one of millions of small business owners trying to achieve the same thing! So how do you break through to your customers online? One of the most effective ways to get your […]

Why produce more video content? …and where do you even start? According to a report by Oberlo on video marketing statistics for 2019, they found 87%  of marketing professionals use video as an effective marketing tool. Moreover, 88% of marketers who actually use video as part of their strategy are satisfied with the ROI they […]

Social media has always been somewhat of a wily beast to tame for most businesses. The problem – We know how to use and we know how powerful it can be but we’ve always struggled to use it effectively as a tool to generate leads and sales for our businesses online, largely owing to the […]

By now, you’re probably aware of the potential value of content marketing. However, content marketing needs to be done correctly to deliver real results to your business. With the right planning, you can create a strategy that will increase traffic to your website, improve your conversation rates and ultimately boost your bottom line – for […]

Some people think that with the rise of video and infographic marketing, blogging is no longer a crucial aspect of a content marketing strategy. However, that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Consider these statistics before deciding whether your company should continue blogging in 2019: Businesses who publish blogs as part of their content […]

If you want to earn a high ranking on the search engines, you can’t ignore your site structure. A jumble of disorganised pages can ruin the user experience and make it challenging for Google to crawl and index webpages. Conversely, a clear site structure with organised pages helps people and crawlers navigate your website easily. […]

There are plenty of ways to spread the word of your website, from social media marketing to paid advertising. However, given that the majority of your customers are searching for your website using Google, you can’t afford to neglect search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is exactly as it sounds – it refers to the process […]

…even if your competitors have been doing SEO longer than you have! If you’ve just created a new website, you may fear that you have no chance of outshining the competition when it comes to earning those top spots on the search engine results pages (SERPs). After all, competitors who already dominate the SERPs may […]

Did you know that websites that implement a blog strategy generate 126% more leads than those that don’t? That statistic should be enough to persuade you that blogging isn’t just a good idea – it’s a necessity. But how to do you implement a blog strategy that will actually work? Just because you insert keywords […]

We’re all aware of the expression ‘first impressions mean everything,’ a theory that has been proven time and time again. Whether you’re selling a property, a piece of art or even yourself during an interview, first impressions count – and the same goes for your website. When it comes to your website, first impressions are […]

It’s easy to start with Google Ads, set up a campaign and then start advertising online. However, it’s even easier to pay a lot more per click, and cost per acquisition than you actually should when your campaign is not optimised to increase Google Ads conversions. But where to start? There are many ways to […]

This article was updated in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: Running your own online business could pay dividends in the long run – Australia’s growing ecommerce industry is set to generate north of USD 32 billion by 2024. Already, a predicted 1 in 10 items are purchased online. And with the restrictions in place as […]

If you haven’t started optimising your content for voice search, now is the time to do so. Research continues to show that voice search is on the rise. Thrive Analytics, for example, found that over 70% of 18 to 29-year-old smartphone users utilise their voice-activated personal assistants. In fact, nearly 40% of smartphone users aged […]

If you want to boost the performance of your online marketing campaigns and SEO strategies, you need to use data analysis tools such as Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics. The first two of those free online tools essentially let you study the way in which search engines interact with your site […]

Google is the world’s most popular search engine and most-visited website, and we all use at least some of its apps on a daily basis. However, hidden within Google’s apps are some fun features called Easter Eggs, which are designed to put a smile on your face – and almost nothing more. Actually, Google creates […]

As recently as 2010, the key to earning the top positions on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) was to gain as many backlinks as possible while ensuring your content was packed with the keywords you wanted to rank for. Nowadays, such tactics are unlikely to get you very far, largely thanks to the rise […]

During the first week of September 2018, Google unveiled its newly updated Chrome browser, Chrome 69. Now, you can view answers to queries as you search for them using the omnibox, which is the bar at the top of the browser used to type URLs. Even though Google has stated that this is a new […]

Google has now confirmed that it released a broad core update to its search algorithm around the beginning of August, which many figures in the SEO industry suspected after noticing dramatic gains and losses in website ranking positions. Some webmasters seem to be overjoyed by the update whereas others have reported their rankings have been […]

What is commonly unofficially known as Google Posts or Posts by Google is a feature within Google My Business that allows local businesses to create content directly on Google. Those who feature in the Google My Business search results section will rank highly on the first page, and they can now add information such as […]

Google recently announced that it will soon unleash mobile-first indexing, which basically means that Google will index the mobile version of your website before the desktop version. The update doesn’t mean that your desktop website won’t appear in search results – it just means that the mobile version of your content will be given priority. […]

From October 2018, Google Chrome and all other Chrome-based browsers will highlight unsecure websites by displaying a red icon with the words “Not Secure” next to the URL at the top of the browser. At the moment, secure websites display a green lock icon and the word “Secure” next to the URL, but that will […]

For the first time, Google has officially announced the rollout of mobile-first indexing, which aims to make it easier for mobile users to find websites that are optimised for their screen. Even though Google has only just officially announced the release of this new feature, mobile-first indexing existed before the announcement. Google has stated that […]

Google has rebuilt a new version of its Keyword Planner tool, which is now available to everybody who uses the new AdWords experience. The layout and appearance of the Keyword Planner tool have been simplified and cleaned up, yet it gives users access to more robust data and boasts new analytical and forecast tools. The […]

One of the world’s most popular Q&A websites, Quora, will now have its answers displayed in a carousel feature on some Google results pages. For now, Google appears to be in its initial stages of testing the feature, but given that we’ve already seen similar updates, we may soon see top answers, reviews and other […]

Early in March, Google’s John Mueller participated in a Webmaster Hangout, during which time he discussed techniques and tactics for getting your content indexed as soon after it is published as possible. You can view the hourlong Hangouts session here on YouTube, but we’ve also compiled some of the high points of his discussion in […]

Today’s consumers buy more of their products online than in brick-and-mortar shops. That means more sellers than ever are struggling to find their footing on e-commerce platforms. This proliferation of online markets is exciting, but it also places a burden on search engines. They have to maintain pace and guard their users from spammy or […]

Google has added a new feature to its popular website auditing tool Lighthouse. The addition of an ‘SEO Audits’ category to the Chrome extension has been met with a positive response from the SEO community, though experts warn that the new feature is no replacement for a professional SEO audit. So, what is Lighthouse and […]

The vast majority of interested parties will, of course, already be familiar with the search engine giant’s suite of tools for webmasters, marketing executives and SEO professionals but if you are not, you can check out a beginner’s guide online, to get you up to speed. The big news today for users of the latest […]

With the holiday season well and truly behind us, it is only natural, for those of us involved in the search engine optimisation industry at least, that our thoughts turn to the trends we expect to dominate SEO in 2018. Which existing trends will gain even more momentum over the coming year, which current practices […]

Google has confirmed that its long-awaited Speed Update for mobile devices will be released later this year. In July, webmasters will for the first time have to have to factor mobile page loading speed when optimising their websites. Loading speed as a ranking factor was introduced in 2010, but it only applied to desktop searches. […]

SEO experts who wish to target rich snippets, rich cards and other rich content – the small content elements that are featured at the very top of the first pages of search results – now have access to a new tool that will make their task a little easier: Google’s Rich Results Testing Tool. It […]

It has been over 5 years since Google first promised to provide webmasters with a year’s worth of search data for analysis purposes but the wait is finally over. The Google Search Console beta now includes the option to select a whole 12 months of data in the performance report section and whilst this feature […]

WordPress is known as an SEO-friendly platform in the blogging community, making it a popular choice with bloggers from all over the world who are interested in driving traffic to their website and capitalising on the content they produce. Whilst there are other choices with built-in search engine optimisation functionality, WordPress is the most widely […]

It’s easy to see how retailers can capitalise on the festive season, especially if their products make ideal gifts. However, it’s not just retailers that can take advantage of the season of spending. With the right digital marketing strategies, which usually incorporate elements of PPC,  SEO and social media, you can increase your customer base, […]

This article was updated February 2019: With the release of Google’s ‘Pigeon’ update back in 2014, local SEO suddenly became a lot more important for webmasters and developers. Optimising a site to pick up local searches was no longer simply a good strategy, it was suddenly an essential way to ensure online success. Fast forward […]

Almost every web developer in the world has to deal with Google’s crawl errors, and it’s better to remedy problems quickly to prevent being penalised by Google’s ranking algorithm. Crawl errors let Google know that certain elements of your website aren’t working as they should, such as broken links, and, fortunately, most issues are easier […]

Not so long ago, major sporting events such as the Melbourne Cup, the biggest handicap race in Australia’s horseracing calendar, were promoted primarily via traditional printed media: newspapers and magazines. However, in recent years, digital channels – in particular social media sites – have taken centre stage in the promotional arena for sporting events and […]

If you’re reading our blog, it’s probably safe to say that you’ve embraced the value of search engine optimisation (SEO). But even after acknowledging that this is an indispensable aspect of online marketing, figuring out where to start is still a challenge. Fortunately, I’m here to help. The single most important (and most challenging) thing you […]

If you’re currently looking for ways to improve your website’s local SEO, then you’ve probably come across the need to accumulate citations. In this post, I’ll explain what a citation is and how you can leverage it to boost your standing in local search rankings. What is a citation? A citation in and of itself […]

Google is updating its user interface with a Facebook-style news feed that will be featured on its homepage. The feed will show users content they may be interested in viewing based on their browsing habits. In particular, these custom newsfeeds will feature the following types of content: News stories Feature stories Sport highlights Videos Music […]