ImagesMagUK_January_2021

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2021 images 17 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT user’s main question before you go deeper into the subject at hand – in addition to being easier to digest, this approach is more likely to bag you a featured snippet. 3. I will keep a close eye on the Serps Once upon a time, the Google Serp (search engine results page) consisted of just 10 blue links, perhaps with a couple of ads. Those days are long gone – the modern Serp includes all sorts of different features, ranging from images and videos to map results, ‘People also ask’ suggestions, and featured snippets from relevant web pages. If there’s a specific keyword you want to rank for, it’s important to actually look at the results for that query as this will tell you what kind of content you need to deliver. And check the Serp regularly, because it’s always changing! 2 020 was, to put it mildly, an unusual year. The consequences of the coronavirus crisis were enormous and unpredictable, pushing some companies to the brink of insolvency while creating unexpected opportunities for others. But here’s one thing that’s true for just about every business: Covid-19 has made SEO (search engine optimisation) more important than ever as online sales have boomed. Here are three simple resolutions to adopt if you want to get your SEO spot on this year. 1 . I will focus on pleasing users, not bots Google does its best to direct users to high-quality websites that satisfy their needs. Repeating the same keyphrase a certain number of times simply isn’t an effective SEO strategy anymore; instead, you need to consider the intent of that keyphrase, then create a relevant web page that fulfils this intent. It also helps if your website is quick to load and easy to navigate on all devices. 2 . When writing content, I will get straight to the point Whether you’re advertising a new service, updating the company blog, or creating something that nobody’s ever done before, try to keep fluff to a minimum. People have short attention spans, and most won’t bother to scroll through paragraph after paragraph just to find the answer they need. So, put your key information front and centre, and answer the Yourwebsite’s SEO: three NewYear’s resolutions Joel Dear is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk S ocial media is like going to a party. If you stand there with your products on display telling people how much they cost, they will likely feel awkward about chatting to you and go speak to someone else. If, however, you are chatting to a small group of people in the corner about your skills and talents, doing a demo and also asking them what projects they are up to, you’re more likely to hold their interest and keep them engaging with you. I find that when I speak to the camera people engage much more than if I show yet another photo of a T-shirt I printed. People love to know what makes a good T-shirt, it lets them speak about the technical aspects so when they come to order they feel confident and knowledgeable. I have customers who now know that a side seam on a shirt is a good indicator it won’t shrink and twist, and others who know that water-based ink will have a softer hand-feel. As my emails come in they increasingly start with, “I saw on your Instagram about hoodies” or “I know nothing about screen print but I love your channel, what polo shirts should I get?”. Social media is a place where you can present yourself as an expert in your field by giving tips and insights to your followers (and remember that it is better to have a few very engaged followers than have all your Facebook friends Stop hiding... How to win at social media and auntie who are not likely to be customers). In our business, I estimate over a third of our enquiries come directly from Instagram, and a lot of existing customers see other projects that we are working on and want their own version. Your task this month is to stop hiding behind the camera and start talking directly to your customers. Tag me in your videos @squeegee_and_ink so I can see what you’re up to. Chessie Rosier-Parker is director and studio manager of Squeegee & Ink, a screen printing and embroidery studio that also provides pre-exposed screens and film to printers along with tutorial videos and resources. www.squeegeeandink.co.uk/ learn-to-screen-print