Bespoke / Custom Web Design & Development London

1. Valuable, original and current content

What should be on the website of the company?

The texts for the website should be of good quality, arousing interest and transparent. It is known that Google ranks higher pages filled with content focused on the topic of the page, which thus brings knowledge to users. Google attaches great importance to the context of the content. The texts must also contain appropriate keyword saturation. The content should be original and based on current sources. It can be enriched with such elements as: photos, animations, graphics or movies.

When writing, we should also remember about spelling and linguistic correctness. Disregarding this issue can effectively discourage users. Let's not forget about inserting descriptions alternative to the photographs and graphics placed on the website. By using the H1-H6 title headers we increase the readability of the text, but also indicate to Google bots the most important content in the author's assessment. It's good practice to include keywords in your headers, but titles must look natural, not forcefully stuffed with keywords. Let's be moderate, otherwise our Google search algorithm will interpret our content as spam.

2. Properly selected keywords

What are keywords?

These are single words, but also groups of words that form phrases that the user searching for information on a given topic, enters the search engine. Google's algorithms then search the database of indexed sites. The results then display the pages whose content best suits and matches those entered by the user. The same words and phrases found on the websites will then be in bold in the results returned. These words and those identical on your site are just keywords. Figuratively speaking, they open the door to our potential customer to our website. That is why it is so important to place properly prepared keywords in the content on the page.

Where is the best place to enter keywords and phrases on the website?

Search engine bots register key phrases from top to bottom. More weight is attached to the words at the top of the page, so focus on the first page segments, starting with:

- website name,
- page description,
- headings H1, H2 and H3,
- keywords placed in meta tags,
- names of photos, graphics, files that are posted on the site and their alternative descriptions,
- anchor text, i.e. links in the page content,
- We also use bold and italics markers to highlight these words.

3. Website functionality

Clear content, intuitive navigation, quick and easy access to information with a maximum of 3 clicks, the ability to return to the start page.

4. Professional graphic layout

Clear graphics, large photographs, flat design, consistent colors adapted to the theme of the site,

5. Optimization of meta data

What is html metadata?

What are html tags?

Meta`s tags are elements placed in the head section of a website. They are also called HTML tags. Some tags are visible to users, other only for Google bots. Most of them influence the position of website in search engine results. Therefore, it is worth taking care of the issue of proper optimization of these elements. Among the meta tags that should be optimized for SEO we can distinguish:

- title
- description,
- keywords, currently the Google algorithm does not take them into account, but it is worth to add them,
- robots.txt file, can block bot access to the website,
- meta name = "original-source" content = "WebsiteAddress" allows you to indicate the original content, it is worth using when parts of the content of our site are also cited elsewhere on the Internet,
- meta name = "robots" content = "noodp" Google does not change the website title to the title set in the DMOZ – Open Directory Project directory.

Title, description, keywords should be different for each page and their content cannot be repeated. Additionally,  they should reflect the content on the page.

6. No duplicate content from other sites or within the same site

The Google (panda) algorithm easily captures pages that have copied content from other pages. If the percentage of text repetition is too high, then you can forget about a good position in the search engine. This also applies to modified texts. It's also important to note that duplication of content can occur on one and the same site. In particular, this happens in various CMS. This can be eliminated, among others by using 301 redirects, placing canonical addresses on individual pages, entering title headers for each page.

7. Internal linking

What is internal links?

Internal linking (hyperlinks) are links to individual subpages of the same site. It is worth using key words and phrases in them. In this way, we facilitate the navigation of users, and at the same time Google bots index your subpage and assign the appropriate topic to your site. Appropriate use of links in this way can significantly improve the position of the page in Google search results.

Link breakdown based on type

Text links,
The text will be visible in the browser. After clicking the link we will be taken to the page with the address indicated by href.

Graphic links,
We provide the address of the photo / graphic that will be visible instead of the text and the address of the page. The graphic link due to SEO (search engine optimization) should have additional parameters alt, width and height (alternative description, width and height). Additionally, you can add a title attribute to the image. Then, after hovering over the picture or graphic, a bubble with an inscription between the title tags will appear.

It is worth using both types of links on the website. Graphics are slightly higher valued by the Google algorithm.

8. The speed of loading individual pages

This is quite an important ranking indicator. Slowly opening website lose Internet users for a long time. Not everyone has the patience to wait long. A page that loads longer than 5 seconds loses 40% of potential customers. Bounce rate increases. Google gets a signal that the site is not very user friendly. This translates into a weak position of the page in the results.

To load the page quickly, it is recommended to compress and scale the images or use the latest photo formats, e.g. webp. Avoid complex scripts that slow down the opening of pages. It's worth using PageSpeed Insight. We will receive detailed information on what to do to improve the site. Google attaches particular importance to the speed of loading pages on mobile devices.

9. Website responsiveness

What is page responsiveness?

Another very important factor to which Google algorithms attach great importance. Mobile devices are very popular and it is necessary to take care of this aspect of the website's functionality. Responsive websites are favored in search engine results. It is necessary to put the same content on a computer, telephone or tablet.

10. Website security

User safety for Google is also an important issue. Sites with an SSL certificate are awarded in the results. The certificate informs the Internet user that the site is safe, uncontaminated by any virus. This increases the trust and credibility of the site. Thus, it also reduces the bounce rate.

For websites with forms, where personal data is provided, it is simply a requirement, and for online stores it is a necessity.

11. Site map

What is a sitemap?

It is an XML document in which the addresses to all subpages of the website are contained in a list. The site map makes it easier for Googlebots to navigate the site and indexes individual subpages. For complex sites, it is an absolute must. For smaller and even very small ones, it is also worth using them, because it increases the value of our website.

12. Factors related to off-site activities

Valuable external links

What are external links?

These are links / links to our website. According to Google's philosophy, the pages to which many valuable links lead are attractive, interesting and have interesting content for users, with which the inserting link wants to share with others. This sharing of the page is a clear signal to Google's algorithm that the content of the page is valuable to users.

What are valuable links?

These are the links:
- coming from a site with similar topics,
- the page from which they lead should contain checked and valuable information,
- it is good that the links come from sites of high value according to Google, highly ranked in Goole search engine results
- links should be natural, obtaining them through programs is excluded,
- links from government domains with the .gov extension.

Domain authority and age

Domains with a long and positive history are ranked higher. Domain authority is calculated primarily on the basis of links leading to the page.