Whether you want to rank first, get more traffic or convert more leads, it all starts with SEO. It is the most vital part of your digital marketing campaign. But what’s the point of it if you don’t maximize its potential?
That’s why it’s essential to use an SEO strategy to get the results you want. In this special article, you’re going to learn exactly what a strategy is, why you should get one, and how to create and implement an effective SEO strategy step-by-step.
Your Guide To An SEO Strategy
What Is An SEO Strategy?
The name says it all, but it’s better to provide a few accurate descriptions of an SEO strategy.
According to Backlinko, an SEO strategy is “(also referred to as “SEO approach”) [and] is the process of planning and implementing steps designed to improve organic search engine rankings. In other words: an SEO strategy is the process that you follow when you want to get more organic traffic.”
Terakeet also offers a more targeted breakdown, stating that “This plan should draw from several foundational pillars, including technical SEO, content strategy, on-page SEO, link building and user experience.”
7 Reasons To Have An SEO Strategy
There are a few key reasons why you should have an SEO strategy. Let’s take a look at them below:
- It helps establish your overall digital marketing goals
- It will be tailored made to your business and their needs
- Builds the platform in which your website can thrive online
- Streamlines your processes as your team knows what to do and when in regards to your overall digital marketing campaign
- You can reassess how your plan is going and make changes accordingly
- Tracks results of your campaign
- It helps scale your business as your grow
How To Create An SEO Strategy
1. Establish Your Goals: You can’t plan a strategy without having a goal in the first place. Do you want to rank on Page 1 or be first on Page 1? Is your aim more sales or traffic? To determine how you’ll proceed with your SEO strategy, it’s important to establish your goals in the first place.
2. Make Your Keywords List: Keywords are the lifeblood of your SEO campaign. Without them, no success will be possible. Therefore, it’s important to establish what your keywords are. Consider your services, products and industry, and use Google Analytics and Keyword Planner to determine which keywords best reflect your services and products.
3. Build Pages For Each Keyword/Service/Product: Now that you have the keywords that will attract your customers, it’s time to create the landing pages that will send them to your website. It’s best to create individual landing pages for each keyword, service or product, using engaging, informative and well-researched content to get your users hooked on your products or services.
4. Create A Link-Building Plan: Link-building is a crucial aspect of your SEO campaign. You need links to and from established websites to build your website’s authority in the eyes of Google. Plan out how many links you’ll need a month alongside the best websites to get those links. Some examples of link-building include social media posts, guest posts and directory profiles.
5. Maximize A Consistent Content Schedule: They say, “content is king”, and nobody takes that more seriously than Google. They expect you to create and maintain a consistent flow of content both on and off your website to maximize your keywords’ potential. So that’s your next step: schedule when and how much content you’ll be creating a month, utilizing the likes of social media posts, blog posts and guest blogs. Build your schedule around popular holidays, events and industry trends, so you’re always providing top-quality content.
6. Keep Up-To-Date With Best SEO Practices: SEO is a constantly evolving beast that can change in a split second. It’s in your best interest to always ensure your strategy is updated with the latest and most useful practices. It could be anything from reducing the keyword per page to creating a specific number of backlinks per month. Stay in the know, so your SEO strategy stays with the times.
7. Review, Analyze & Re-Establish Your Goals: SEO takes a lot of time, effort, money and resources. So it’s vitally important to know you’re getting the most out of it. That’s why you should schedule SEO reviews to assess the progress of your campaign and if you need to make any changes to it. Consider the likes of online traffic, rankings for targeted keywords, domain authority and conversions. We recommend having reviews at the 3, 6 and 12-month mark of your campaign.
We hope that this guide helps you create a successful SEO strategy that delivers the high-quality results you want to take your website to the next level!
