With the recent Google algorithm update targeting EMD sites (exact match domains sites), many websites have seen their rankings drop for their prized target keyword.
One such victim was Businessgas.com. Their domain name is a highly prized target keyword in the world of business energy brokering and they’ve long been sitting towards the top of Google. However, when the EMD algorithm update kicked in they soon dropped onto page two, which had a significant impact on online enquiries.
Additionally, once their ranking for the phrase ‘business gas’ took a hit, it was clear that, as their site had not been optimised for any other terms, there was no safety net for search engine visibility.
MD Paul Rafis commissioned The Artlab to rebuild their flagship website, with a view to improving their overall natural SEO visibility, prior to launching a full-scale SEO campaign. He explained, “the first step for us was to ensure that the website is the perfect platform for a sustained SEO campaign in 2013, particularly from an enquiry conversion perspective.”
From the initial audit, it was clear that many pages contained duplicate content, a definite no-no in the eyes of Google. This meant rewriting the entire site to ensure that the pages would rank – Google will largely ignore content that’s already been posted elsewhere on the internet.
Responsive website design for SEO
The final site build was based on a responsive design. This means that whatever platform the site is viewed on, whether on a laptop or an iPhone, it will be presented in an optimum way to ensure a better user experience. Responsive, or adaptive, sites reduce the chance of a user ‘bouncing’ off the site and therefore improve the Google site stats as well as conversion. Paul explained, “industry figures show a rapid increase in the use of mobiles and tablets to access the internet and our target market of business owners and decision makers are no exception.”
Additionally a blog was added to the site. Blogs are an effective way of both increasing the amount of relevant content on your site (great for overall SEO) and covering a wide range of keywords, particularly more specific, long tail ones.
Businessgas.com is now live and a full SEO campaign is earmarked to start next month.
For more information on The Artlab’s SEO management and website design services please call 0161 875 2528.