Developing a successful SEO strategy requires a systematic approach like any other marketing tactic. Start by creating and implementing a comprehensive plan that incorporates the following SEO strategies. Test each SEO practice regularly and adjust your strategy as needed to get the best results.
Set your SEO goals
Before you create an SEO plan, it's important to know what you want to achieve with it. So, the first step is to prioritize your business goals and determine the specific objectives you want to achieve through your SEO efforts. This could include increasing website traffic, improving search engine rankings, increasing leads, or increasing brand awareness.
Consider SEO scalability
Evaluate whether you have the resources and expertise to handle SEO in-house, or whether you need to outsource it to a specialized agency. Businesses that are unable to outsource their SEO marketing due to limited budgets can consider self-studying through platforms like Moz or HubSpot Academy. These resources provide a wealth of knowledge to help you develop and strengthen your SEO skills over the long term. If you decide to hire an SEO agency for your business, be sure to check out our 10 Best SEO Services.
Do keyword research
Keywords are the foundation of an effective SEO strategy. They improve search engine rankings by acting as a bridge between user search queries and relevant website content. To find the best keywords for your website, it is important to conduct thorough keyword research. SEO tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs can help you find search terms and phrases that are relevant to your target audience. They can also analyze the search volume and competition for specific keywords and phrases.
Create website content
Develop a content marketing strategy that aligns with your SEO goals. Content marketing involves creating web pages, blog posts, and other forms of content to attract visitors to your website. Once you've gathered your target keywords, focus on optimizing individual web pages by including them in headings, meta tags, and throughout your content. If you created your website using WordPress, be sure to download the Yoast SEO plugin to help with on-page optimization and content analysis.
Technical SEO
While content creation may be the fun part of SEO optimization, technical SEO optimization is the tedious but necessary part. Technical SEO optimization includes increasing website speed, implementing proper URL structure, optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, and using schema markup. Once you think your website is optimized, use Google Search Console or Moz Pro to identify and fix any remaining technical SEO issues.
Mobile SEO optimization
More than half of a website's traffic comes from mobile devices, so it's essential that your website is not only mobile-friendly, but also optimized for mobile SEO. So how can you optimize your website for mobile? First, make sure you build it with a responsive design. This means it adjusts to any screen size. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search rankings. Keeping load sizes fast is also important. Slow loading times increase bounce rates and negatively impact search rankings. To optimize speed, be sure to compress images, use browser caching, and minimize the use of rendering-blocking JavaScript and CSS. Finally, make your SEO-friendly content easily available on mobile devices by breaking up large text, using subheadings, and incorporating visuals.
link building
A backlink is a one-way hyperlink or “backlink” from another website to your website. Each backlink acts as a vote of trust from other websites, increasing your website's authority. Search engines such as Google often consider these backlinks as an indicator of a web page's quality. As a result, higher quality ratings by Google often result in better rankings in search results. Among the various SEO measures, 'backlinks' are considered to be the most difficult, with around half of companies citing it as the most difficult aspect. Effective backlink building strategies include guest blogging and creating content that encourages sharing and interaction with industry influencers. Tools like Moz's Link Explorer and Ahrefs can help you track and analyze your backlink profile.
Analyze your competitors' SEO
Analyzing your competitors' SEO strategies is an essential part of optimizing your web presence. Understanding what your competitors are doing when it comes to SEO can give you valuable insight into the effectiveness of their tactics and approaches. Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs allow you to analyze your competitors' keywords, backlinks, estimated total traffic, bounce rate, time on page, top traffic sources, and overall SEO performance. Use insights gained from competitor analysis to help identify gaps, overlooked approaches and opportunities for differentiation that your business can fill. You may also consider making your own products part of your successful strategy. Whether it's keyword targeting, on-page optimization, or improving your link building strategy, effectively leveraging competitive analysis forms an important part of your overall SEO strategy.