In the digital world, where the internet is everyone's go-to for info and fun, it's important for websites to not only attract visitors but also keep them coming back for more. With Google always changing up how it ranks sites, you’ve gotta keep yours fresh and easy to find.

A great way to keep your site lively is by diving into user-generated content (UGC). UGC is anything your users whip up, like comments, reviews, photos, and videos. This stuff is awesome because it’s real and personal. People love content that feels genuine and comes from folks just like them, rather than stuff that’s too polished or feels like a sales pitch.

Plus, UGC keeps your website updated. As users keep posting new content, your site stays current and filled with the latest scoop and views. This isn’t only useful for your visitors but also keeps Google interested, giving your site a nice bump up in search rankings.

The post Unlocking the magic of user-generated content in 2024 appeared first on Dilate Digital.

But doing a technical audit is no small feat. So let's break it down.

What is a technical SEO audit?

Put simply, it's a pulse check on whether you've got your technical SEO down pat. Often overshadowed by its more popular flashy cousins, off-page and on-page SEO, technical SEO is the unseen backbone of your SEO campaign.

It’s not just about identifying problems but also about finding opportunities to improve and optimise your website for better user experience and search engine rankings.

What is technical SEO?

While on-page and off-page SEO impact your site's relevance and authority, technical SEO actually determines how easy it is for search engine crawlers to read your site and understand, to even judge those other SEO elements.

It looks at your site architecture, speed, security, URL structure and so much more. All the on-page optimisation in the world won't help you get higher on Google search results if the search engine can't even see the good work you're doing!

Good technical SEO means:

• Improved website visibility on search engines
• A better user experience for people who land on your website
• Better search engine rankings
• Less crawl errors so that web crawlers can efficiently scan your site
• Optimised mobile performance for users who like to browse on their phones
• Faster site speed (which also helps user experience)
• Secure browsing for all visitors

Why should you do a technical SEO audit?

As we said, you can't set-and-forget when it comes to digital marketing, and technical SEO is no exception. The world, and search engines, move fast. Things are always changing and those who think that good implementation is enough, are going to be left behind very quickly.

Your technical SEO audit can be as regular as you need and as detailed or quick as you want. It depends on your strategy, time, current organic traffic, goals, algorithm updates and more. Things like how frequently new content is added to the site, how hefty the site structure is, and so on can also demand more regular audits.

It may sound like a lot of work, but don't worry. We're going to simplify it all for you, so you can get as efficient as possible.

Tools you'll need for a technical SEO audit

Before you get started, make sure you have all the tools in place. You may need to sign up for accounts or subscriptions with some of these services, depending on how detailed you need to do your audit. We've compiled a handy list to get you started but we'll name a few more specific ones as we go:

• Screaming Frog for crawling your site (free up to 500 URLs)
• Google Search Console for insights on keywords driving traffic to your site, search performance and more.
• Google PageSpeed Insights tool to tell you about individual page performance
• SEMrush Site Audit tool for performance analysis and finding errors
• Lighthouse audit extension for analysing the core web vitals score of each page
• Checkbot extension for quickly picking up any errors or broken links

How to do a technical SEO audit in 10 steps

Alrighty, let's get into it. We've created a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know to do your first technical audit. Your audit process may change in the future as not every item needs to be checked every time. You'll need to find the right balance for your site audit, and come up with your own up-to-date audit checklist as you go.

The post Mastering technical SEO audits in just 10 easy steps appeared first on Dilate Digital.

But what is web hosting?

It's like renting space on a powerful computer (server) that's always connected to the internet. When you have a website, you need a place to store all its files and data. Web hosting providers offer this space—when someone enters your website's address in a web browser, the hosting server sends them the website's files, allowing them to see your site. Basically, web hosting makes your website accessible and available to people all over the world.

How a poor hosting choice can impact your website

Poor hosting can lead to a range of issues, from slow performance and frequent downtime to security vulnerabilities and loss of credibility. Trusting cheap web hosting does not guarantee savings and at times, it can actually lead to costly restorations, rebuilding or adjustments.

You can prevent these issues by picking the right website hosting service that matches your website's requirements. Opting for a dependable hosting provider is like an investment in the success and reputation of your online presence, ensuring your website runs smoothly and remains accessible to your audience.

Why is selecting the right web hosting service important

• Website performance: A high-quality hosting provider ensures that your website loads quickly, providing a better user experience.
• SEO rankings: Web hosting provides website speed and uptime, which are ranking factors that can impact your SEO efforts.
• Data backups: Hosting services often offer regular data backups, protecting your website content in case of hardware failures or other issues.
• Technical maintenance: A hosting service takes care of these technical aspects, freeing you from the responsibility of server management.
• User experience: A well-chosen web hosting company ensures visitors have a positive experience, which can increase engagement and conversions.
• Brand reputation: A consistently available website that performs well contributes to a positive brand image.

If you’re looking at developing a web page, you’ve probably noticed the varying prices of hosting. With some packages coming in with little or no cost, it can be difficult to tell what makes the pricier ones worth the money or the cheaper ones worth the time. So whether you're looking to build a reliable and secure online platform, improve your website performance, or find a better website host that meets your needs, here are 8 steps on choosing the right one for you. 

The post How to Choose the Right Web Hosting: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Dilate Digital.

With countless competitors vying for consumer attention, the age-old strategy of casting a wide net (trying to reach everybody) is no longer the most effective approach. Instead of trying to interest a broad audience, focus your efforts on a smaller, more specialised group of consumers. This dynamic strategy that has gained immense prominence in recent years is niche marketing.

The post What is Niche Marketing? (and why should you care?) appeared first on Dilate Digital.

Feel like you're throwing your hard-earned Quan down the sink on marketing that just ain't delivering results? You're not alone my friend.  A recent survey showed that a whopping 26%—that’s nearly a QUARTER—of all marketing budgets are wasted on channels, strategies and tactics that just don’t cut the mustard. 

Activities that just aren’t showing a return. But don’t stress. We’ve got you covered. 

Improving the ROI on your marketing spend should be your number one priority; that’s a no-brainer.  Spending money without getting a viable return is a surefire way to flush money down the ‘loo. After all, marketing is supposed to create value and grow profit, not put holes and inefficiencies in your budget. So, what can you do to ensure you're getting bang for your buck? 

Many service-based business owners we work with have seen great success by reviewing their activities and re-allocating their budget strategically.  Take from Peter—who’s spending the money on beers (and promotional gimmicks)—and give it to Paul who’s nailing a Facebook Ads campaign with 10:1 ROI.

A word of caution; before making any drastic changes, I always recommend conducting a good ol' fashioned audit of your business.  You want to be 100% sure of what’s going on before making big decisions.  Running an audit also means you’ve got a detailed record of exactly where you started, so you can see if your changes worked.  Still on the quest for better return on your marketing spend?

Here are 7 ways to stop wasting your marketing budget:

The post Stop Wasting Your Advertising Spend And Do More With Less. appeared first on Dilate Digital.

As a business owner, what could be more important than making sure customers can find you when they search for your business online?

If they need to get in touch, how quickly can your contact details be found? If they want to check out what other people are saying about your business, how can they get their hands onto this?

Making sure all this information is publicly available online even before potential customers reach your website will place your business in a favourable position for future lead generation.

And what’s the perfect tool for achieving all this? Google My Business (GMB).

Whether you’re completely new to GMB or you’ve already set up a profile, we’re going to run you through how to optimise Google My Business to drive up local SEO and bring in more quality leads. Ready? Let’s go.

The post How To Optimise Your Google My Business For Local SEO appeared first on Dilate Digital.

Knowing that SEO should be high on the priorities is one thing, but feeling empowered to do it right is another. The SEO world is complex and constantly changing. And honestly, diving into SEO blind is not the best tactic. If you’re going to succeed in SEO, you’ve got to have the right tools in your belt to get you there.

The post Best Free SEO Tools For 2021 appeared first on Dilate Digital.

The post COVID-19 Resources for Small Businesses appeared first on Dilate Digital.

First things first

From the entire Dilate family, we want to extend our well-wishes to each and every one of you during this unsettling time. Our hearts are with anyone experiencing direct or indirect complications as a result.

What is Dilate doing?

At Dilate we pride ourselves on creating an innovative, safe and supportive environment for its people, this pandemic is going to be no different. We have moved our entire team to remote working.  It's business as usual and our global team has been geared up to work remotely since 2012.

Resources you may find helpful. 

Our team has put together a list of resources, from Government relief to Google Ad credits. For more information check out our COVID-19 Resources article. 

The post Coronavirus, AKA Covid-19 | Our Thoughts Are With Business Owners appeared first on Dilate Digital.

That’s why, more than ever before, so many businesses are turning to digital marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) companies to help improve their online presence. Many offer SEO services promising great results in no time, but a trustworthy company will always tell you that the key to amazing SEO results is making it an ongoing process.

The post 7 Things You Should Know Before Hiring an SEO Company appeared first on Dilate Digital.