Finding the next big SEO tool or tactic is something we are always on the look-out for here at Dental Design for our dental websites. Often though, it’s the basics that can give great gains within search rankings.
For local search, logo optimisation is one of the simplest tasks. However, research shows that very few local SEO sites actually employ this tactic, so it’s a great way of stealthily gaining rankings from those that are lacking initiative.
We know that SEO for images is important and many sites and blogs do image SEO to one degree or another. Your logo is one of the most important images associated with a website and with the practice, so it should be the most consistently optimised image on the website.
If your local practice logo is not optimised, it could represent considerable lost opportunity and potential. Sites with optimised images and logos can experience higher rankings as search engines consider the images as relating to the relevant keywords.
This is done by using anchor text for the logo linked on every page of the site, all linking back to the sites homage. If the text is strategically formulated, it punches up the homepages relevancy to the keywords phrase that’s used.
In addition to this simple SEO technique, there are also a few other tips to gain benefits in terms of visibility in search results. These include;
Alt Text
Using the standard SEO element of ALT attribute of IMG tags is a basic means of associated words with image content. Here we use the ALT attribute for a fictional practice; The Best Dental Practice.
Image Alt text that merely conveys the formal business name is better than nothing. However, this could be even better. Search engines are already very good at rankings a company’s site for its own brand name(s) if the brand name is unique. You want your site to rank better for treatments or product name keywords, or for geographic location. Here’s an ALT text that’s beefed-up for geographical keywords.
It’s worth noting that ALT attribute text is an area where people have sometimes over-optimised by stuffing in tons of keywords. We ensure that all ALT text is relevant and short; the above being about the max with regards to characters and keywords.
File name
Taking the SEO of a logo further, the image file name is also influential for keyword associations. Since people searching for the term [logo] is not helpful for you, naming the file name for location and a brief description keyword is best practice.
Logo Design
Some logos are tricky as they are only composed of white and transparent areas n the image. These logos are only visible when displayed over coloured backgrounds, posing a challenge to Google, since Google’s site design has white backgrounds. Ensure your logo design has some colours beyond white and transparent.
Google’s Author tag
Including the author tag so that your image appears next to your local dental listing has a real benefit on the click-through-rate of the listing.
Some research is very moderately saying it increases CTR by 15% and others say by 150%. All we can say is that when a user is viewing the results page and can see a friendly, smiling dentist next to a listing with information that is relevant to their search, they are more likely to engage with this and click.
At present you cannot add a logo, as the image needs to be a real person, but this could change in the future. For now the human element is desirable especially for businesses that are closely associated with the personality of individuals; ie dentists!
Though not the most exciting of SEO tactics, when done well, image and logo optimisation can prove a major advantage over competitors that are yet to catch on.
If you think your site could be better optimised, call Dental Design on 01202 677277 for a review of your sites SEO and logo strategy.