We sure can help! Fundamentally, increasing your presence on Google for the long term involves showing Google that your business is the best match for its searchers' needs. This means your website needs to be easy to use, relevant and technically sound. When you're awesome, people start talking about you, and when people talk about you online, Google listens and rewards you by ranking you higher! How do we help? We'll guide you to make your website genuinely awesome and useful. We'll also help you identify what you're really selling so you can target your customers better and add value to them. We'll continue this process with you aiming for a minimum of 25% growth year on year because we're about sustainability, not smoke and mirrors!

Every case is different, but generally between 4 to 12 months. You see, SEO is like pressing the accelerator in a car - just as it takes time for the car to speed up, SEO requires continuous investment of resources and time to see results. And if you let go, just as a car slowly slows, your results will slowly decline. Stiff competition is like trying to accelerate up a hill - it takes more time to reach your desired speed. Good SEO strategies are sustainable and often see a continuous improvement in results over time. It's important to beware of SEO companies selling fast results, putting the pedal to the metal is ok once in a while, but how long will your engine last? And once you're past Google's speed limit, you're at risk of losing more than you gained (Google penalises websites illegally trying to gain position - you may get away with cutting corners on some racing games, but Google is not one of them).

SEO is an art (a worker puts his back into it, a craftsman puts his head into it, but an artist - an artist puts his heart into it!). Anyone can get a website ranking, but the key is to get your website ranking for search terms used by customers looking for your product or service. We at Due North, analyse search trends and determine the intent behind them (this involves our head). Then we'll work with you to align your website and online assets to address these trends (this involves our back). We'll also work with you to ensure your website is awesome, easy to use and adds value - so when people come to you, they convert (and this involves our heart).

Many SEO agencies focus on increasing your Google rankings fast. Due North focuses on your business goals as a whole, and then leverages SEO strategies as part of a whole marketing strategy to ensure your business sustainably grows 25% year on year. Many SEO agencies are like McDonald's - fast and convenient, but not much substance (don't get us wrong - we love McDonald's, especially our SEO techie, but as part of a balanced diet). Due North is like a home-cooked wholemeal pasta that keeps you full and feeling good for longer!

What's in KFC's secret 11 herbs and spices? If only we knew! Likewise, Google (and other search engines) guard their search algorithms carefully. However, many factors are known to resonate with search algorithms nicely. These include, but aren't limited to, being mobile friendly, loading fast and securely, and providing a good user experience (i.e.: If people consistently spend 10 seconds on your website then leave, Google will rank you further down). Having quality content that targets the right keywords and adds value to your audience, coupled with structured data, is also beneficial to your rankings.

If your website's intention is to get attention and win customers, then it's important that SEO and website development occur simultaneously! SEO is the make up and preparation before a job interview - you don't want to present yourself to Google like you just got out of bed do you? Forming your website with your customer and SEO in mind is critical to it's success and will save you a lot of money down the track!

You sure can! In fact, we have a few blogs that can guide you on the principles and methods for SEO and digital marketing. Keep in mind though, a successful business owner does what they do best and delegates the rest to others that have shown competence in that field! It's easy for SEO and marketing to fall by the wayside when things get busy. That's why we recommend having dedicated resources to the task of SEO and Digital Marketing when business reaches such a level. If you feel that a partnership with a quality & holistic focused Digital Marketing Agency will benefit your business, we're just a phone call away!

You can, but it's not necessarily ideal as both SEO and PPC (buying ads) help in different ways. PPC allows you to connect with customers when they need you, but SEO provides more exposure to your business in general, leading to better brand affiliation and prominence. It depends on your marketing strategy, but we often recommend a mix of PPC and SEO to increase your online presence for the long-term whilst also making gains immediately. SEO also helps you analyse your website, increasing its effectiveness, which naturally increases your PPC outcomes.

Keywords are the search terms people type into a search engine. For example, if you're looking for a good café in Hawthorn, you could type "good coffee in Hawthorn" - that is a 'keyword'. When you learn what keywords people are using to find products or services you offer, you can align your website accordingly - connecting your business to potential customers. However, Google is getting smarter by the day and it knows that 'good coffee in Hawthorn' has the same intention as 'Hawthorn good coffee' - so you shouldn't stuff your website copy with every keyword variation - people first; machines second!

Backlinks are literally links from other websites that point to your website (so people can click through to visit you). When many good websites point to your website, Google tends to rate you better because Google trusts you more!