Retail Surgery: Do I need to hire an SEO company to boost my website’s ranking?

It’s an enduring myth that search engine optimisation (SEO) is a dark art, or incomprehensible to non-specialists. Google produces a comprehensive SEO starter guide, for example – a great place to start for retailers looking for insight into how it all works.

These days, web developers consider SEO when they’re designing new sites, but it’s always worth making sure that a site is properly optimised, says Justin Blackhurst, managing director at SEO company SEONext. Free evaluation tools can help make those checks. “It sounds obvious, but it’s important to keep all the content on your website informative and in line with your business messages,” says Blackhurst. “Google heavily penalises sites that have wording and descriptions with irrelevant links.”

Another thing to consider is that search engines prioritise sites that are frequently updated. Keep content fresh by blogging, getting involved in social media, and writing articles for review and industry news sites, advises Blackhurst.

Posting an article to directories can also help, as it could lead to content being picked up and reposted significantly. However, Blackhurst stresses the importance of using a reputable directory service. “Google algorithms are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to recognising spam links – your website can take a major hit in the search rankings if you’re not careful,” he explains.

It is possible to optimise any website without help from a specialist SEO company. But Blackhurst says results will vary depending on the time and effort retailers are able to put into building up back-links and consistently generating fresh content.