SEO in Uganda: How to Appeal to a Digital Audience

All around the world, search engine optimization is vitally important to a business’s success. With more and more of the Ugandan population having access to the internet, companies wanting to expand nationwide must not ignore this useful tool. Appealing to a digital audience means breaking out from the confines of a city and reaching out to the rest of the nation and beyond. 

SEO is aided by superb web design, by the use of experts in the field, by images, text, and traffic and by ensuring your business is tailoring itself to those who use smartphones.

SEO explained briefly

Having good SEO means that your website and content is optimized for search engines, making it appear higher up search results. This makes it more likely that a potential customer will click on your website ahead of somebody else’s. Without excellent SEO, your product could be market-leading and innovative, yet nobody ever finds it through internet searches.

In Uganda, Google holds over 97% of the search engine market share and so playing to their algorithms is a must.

Brilliant web design

To get higher up the results of search engines such as Google, having a well-designed website is key. Web design aids SEO by keeping visitors on your website for longer, navigating them through your pages with internal links, and containing relevant information such as contact details and addresses. 

To appeal to Uganda’s growing online audience, your web design should be eye-catching and clean, without clutter or mess. If an online presence is new to you, it is usually a wise move to enlist the help of web design professionals, who will not only create you a stunning website but will also help with a digital marketing strategy and improving SEO. You can discover more about this on https://www.altagency.co.uk/services/digital-marketing/seo/ and see just how their services and expertise can help you.

Getting SEO right

Once your website looks great and is functional, which will help SEO in itself, you need to refocus back on those all-important search engines. Forbes reported that between 71% and 92% of search engine traffic remains on the first page of results, meaning you cannot afford to slip onto page two, let alone page three.

Working out how to use keywords effectively, uploading new content and refreshing old pages regularly, and gaining external links to your website – which can be purchased – all boost your chances of appearing in the top few results. 

Images, text and engagement

Engagement, such as social media use or promoting your site on other websites or through other mediums – such as radio, posters,or local newspapers – will increase how many people find you. Getting images and text right on your website will encourage those who do find you to stay.

It appears that internet user attention span is dropping, and this should be reflected in the way you design any blogs or product pages that you create. Having too much text is likely to be a waste of space and time if no visitors are going to read it and, if that is the case, many visitors to your website will never get to the point of what you are trying to tell them. Therefore, keep text concise and informative, using bullet points and small text boxes if necessary. 

Text should be broken up with eye-catching imagery. All images must be high quality and of a professional standard, especially if you are selling products. If you have a professional photographer, use image-based social media such as Instagram to your advantage. Having a stunning Instagram profile that links back to your website will boost leads and, in turn, sales.

Knowing your market

Having a good online reputation is key to appealing to online users, so consider having an online review system. This will also let you know your market, as they will be able to offer you constructive criticism on parts of your business you could improve and praise the areas of your service that they enjoyed. 

Being online and appealing to an online audience is about more than getting found on search engines. Once your customers have arrived on your website, they expect to have the best possible experience, just as they would in a store or office. Knowing your market and encouraging feedback will help achieve this. 

Optimize for smartphones

It is also important to remember that not all of your online customers will be visiting from a desktop. Smartphone and tablet users are growing in numbers, and so to appeal to your online audience, you must optimize your website for these devices. Professional web designers will help you in this regard.