The process of an SEO campaign, and web marketing in general, should not be taken lightly. Some Internet Marketers may start making changes or modifications to a site without knowing where they are really going. Like anything in the web world, always start with a plan.
Our SEO process looks like this: Strategy, Research, Prioritize, Delivery, Maintenance and Analyze.
Strategy is first and it depends on the brand. What is the purpose of the efforts? Is it to gain more traffic? Is it to educate and inform clients? Whatever the main focus, the strategy and purpose should be well defined as we begin our research and delivery.
Research is possibly one of the most important aspects of SEO. Research includes data on the site that is being ranked, a competitive site analysis of the competition and off-site activity. What keywords are most beneficial? What keywords carry the most traffic and the most competition? What sites might be good partners for link building? How is the content of the site? What backlinks are in place and do those inbound links provide any help? Research is time consuming, but very important. We must know where a site stands, where the competition stands and what paths we can take to overcome the competition.
Priority Evaluation allows time to consider what items are top on the list and what items can wait. For example through our research we might discover a keyword that is non-existent in the site. However, that keyword has high traffic and relates to the purpose of our client’s site. So, that particular task may move closer to the top of our list. What possible inbound links were identified in our research? We’ll want to take the top prospects and work on those first. It is key that we know where the site needs the most help and prioritize accordingly.
Delivery begins by putting our strategy, research and prioritized tasks in to motion. We run down our list of items and begin plugging away at content, keywords and backlinks. We can have a great plan, but we still have to execute to achieve results.
Maintenance of the site is important. Once we’ve put all the items we’ve developed in place, we have to maintain them. Digital relationships with other sites, focus keywords, etc. all require continued maintenance and attention.
Analyze the results. Did our efforts land the site where we wanted? Did we see movement in the top keywords? Typically we see some major ranking improvements in several keywords and little change in some of the more competitive keywords in the first month. This is expected and normal. As long as we can determine that our strategy and plan are moving the site in the right direction, we continue to move forward. The SEO game is a marathon, not a sprint.
Our process is necessary to provide the results our clients need. If you want to know how your site compares to your competition, fill out our SEO Site Evaluation and receive a FREE Competitive Report of your site.
