Yay! I’m First!
As interior design entrepreneurs in the digital era, you know the importance of your interior design website grabbing that most coveted first rank in organic search results. However, what you need to remember – and I cannot stress this enough – is that gaining prominence in organic search results is a truly organic process. In other words, rank building in organic search is something that happens gradually over time. There is no quick fix or silver bullet that can vault you to first rank in organic search in a week or a month’s time.
Where does rank tracking come in?
In the journey to a high rank in organic searches, you need to take stock at every step. SEO is not an exact science. So, you need to keep a watch on your ranking periodically to see how well your SEO strategy is working. In fact, getting an accurate picture of your current search results ranking is the first of 5 SEO Tips and Tricks Interior Designers should know in 2019. If, unfortunately, you find a sustained decline in your rank in SERP’s, it may mean you need to tweak or switch your SEO strategy.
Is a decline in rank always due to a failure in SEO strategy?
No.
As recently as June 2019, two very well known and authoritative websites – the website of the UK newspaper Daily Mail and a bitcoin news site CCN – experienced massive drops in ranking and traffic after a Google Algorithm update.
In other words, updates by Google can lead to a sudden drop in rankings. You may also experience a decline in rankings due to the entry of a competitor in the same keyword space. However, these are likely to be sudden swings in the ranking of your interior design website. A sustained decline in your ranking, on the other hand, likely means you need to take a look at your SEO strategy. Which brings me back to the point that it is essential for you to track your interior design company website’s rank on Google.
So, how would you go about tracking your Google ranking?
The first tendency would be, I think, to just Google yourself. Well, no, not Google your company, but do a Google search like ‘interior design company in [your city]’ or ‘best interior design firm in [your state]’.
Ten to one, you’ll find your own firm occupying a very high ranking in the search results.
Why do I say that? That’s because Google personalizes your search results. This personalization is based on factors including
- Your search history
- Your browsing history
- Your social connections
- Your geographical location
- Your device
- Your use of Google services like Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube and so on
I think you have realized why Google will show a preference for your website in your search results.
However a random person doing the same search will not have your search history so their search will not have that same preference.
So, a simple Google search is NOT the answer.
The second option would be a ‘private’ or ‘incognito’ search Internet browsers give you the ability to stop them tracking your online activity via private browsing. It’s Ctrl + Shift + N on Chrome and Ctrl + Shift + P on Firefox. In this case, your browsing activity isn’t tracked by Google, leading to a somewhat ‘un-biased’ search result.
Does that do the trick then? Private browsing?
Unfortunately, not completely. You see, incognito/private browsing only eliminates your browsing history and some of your personal factors.
Incognito/private browsing does not eliminate the effect of
- Cookies – Small files of information stored on your device by a website related to your browsing activity on that website
- Cache – Temporarily stored web documents (like images and HTML) to make browsing smoother
- Applications and plugins – These are like apps on your phone
The third (and best) option is to go for websites that specifically perform the function of rank tracking for you
There are several such websites. I am listing out the most popular ones here for you
Google Rank Checker from searchenginegenie – free
Keyword Rank Checker from smallseotools – free
Bulk Google Rank Checker by seoreviewtools – free
Traffic Travis – free download
Keyword rank checker by SERPs – free and gives some great options for granular checking; it allows you to check in an exact location down to a postcode and also to choose the device (phone or desktop).
In conclusion, rank tracking is critical to the overall success of your interior design business online. If you aren’t doing it already, start doing it right now. And remember, rank tracking is not something you do once and forget; it’s something you keep doing to keep an eye on how well you’re doing in organic search results.
And organic ranking is not some mumbo-jumbo we digital marketers make up. Organic ranking determines whether potential clients can spot your website when they search Google for interior design companies to hire. And if you find that your ranking is tanking over time, tweak your SEO strategy. Or, better still, consult with a professional SEO consultant.
Because, SEO is what we do…and we happen to be rather good at it.
