Nearly all SEO agencies or consultants that you might talk with will likely offer a similar combination of services and deliverables that can be bucketed into four main groups: technical SEO, On-page optimization, Off-page optimization, and Local SEO, if applicable.
My strategy and process are similar in that aspect. However, unlike many others, my process has been evolving constantly over the years, refined by the evolution in search algorithm, and changes in the industry. It has been refined in the fire of the challenges that I have faced and lessons learned over the last 20 years.
The following are the steps that I consider necessary for any organization to take to set their organization up for long-term success with organic search. No two situations are exactly the same, of course. Every client has different needs, and has taken a different journey to bring them to this point.
When I am brought in, some of these steps have already been addressed by a client . I am always flexible and willing to pivot from the original plan when changes or direction from the business warrant it. However, when committed to working through the following the program my partners never fail to see growth.
1. Onboarding Process
This is where we get to know each other. It allows me to discover the current and future goals, current performance, and long-term needs of the company. It also allows me to understand the knowledge and skills of the team that is in place. The outcome is a customized plan to dominate in organic search.
Discover more about the onboarding process.
2. Technical SEO
There are over well over 200 elements in the Google search algorithm. Many of which relate to the technical performance of the hosting platform and customized programming of the website. Our technical expertise ensures that your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and easily crawlable by search engines. From improving site speed to fixing indexing issues, we cover it all.
Find out more about Technical SEO.
3. SEO Audit
As is standard for many SEO agencies and consultants, the journey begins with a thorough analysis of your website’s current performance. A perfectly executed SEO strategy can fail simply because of technical limitations with the website. First, I will conduct an audit to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, which always provides a clear roadmap for improvement.
Learn more about the SEO Audit.
4. Keyword Mapping
This is the step that is often the most misunderstood with clients, due to the time and effort involved. But it is arguably the most important action to ensure long-term success. Your website will be crawled to document all important SEO data and pull in current performance metrics, to understand the current performance. I document the highest performing keyword phrase and assign a primary keyword phrase, one that it should be performing for. Often they are not the same. This deliverable becomes a living document to ensure that we are always ideating new topics that will widen the organic footprint. There are also direct action items from this effort including meta data adjustments and c0ntent review for pages that will be considered too similar for search engines.
Discover more about Keyword Mapping.
5. On-Page Optimization
From the findings of the SEO audit, Keyword Map, and manual review of the SERPs, there are always quick win opportunities that arise and can improve performance. From keyword research to meta tags to content optimization and internal linking, I will fine-tune every element of your website to ensure it meets the highest SEO standards and set your website up for organic search growth.
Learn more about On-Page Optimization.
6. Link Building
Quality backlinks are the backbone of a strong SEO strategy with signaling relevance and authority. This was recently confirmed with the information flooding the internet with the Google Data breach documents. The internet was built with links. If they were no longer important and suddenly went away, every webpage would be “orphaned” and rely on other channels to drive visibility. Understanding this truth makes it easy to see that links will always play a significant role in search engine optimization, regardless of how much Google wishes that they didn’t.
There are two link related deliverables. First, I will conduct a Link Strategy that identifies the pieces of content on your website that have a high probability of generating natural backlinks and offers recommendations on new content creation. This includes the plan for our proven white-hat strategies to build new high-quality backlinks that will enhance your site’s authority and credibility.
The second is a Backlink Analysis, which uses multiple sources to identify links that can hurt organic search performance. It is important for a website to distance itself from any low quality or highly toxic backlinks. Google says that they will drop out negative influencing links. But it is always best practice to be proactive and disavow association with them. If this was no longer important then why would Google still provide a mechanism to do this very thing within Google Search Console? The truth is that they know that it is important and continue to provide a way to proactively manage them.
Find out more about Link Building.
7. Local Search
For businesses that target local customers, driving visibility on local search engines is more than just a luxury, it’s a must. I have worked in-house with very large companies in the hospitality and pharmacy verticals where driving searchers to hotels and other verticals that made up well over half of the total SEO revenue. I will conduct a Local SEO audit and present strategies that will put your business in the best position possible position to drive more foot traffic and local inquiries to your locations.
Discover more about Local Search.
8. Competitive Keyword Analysis
It is important to keep a close eye on what our competitors are doing. The Competitive Keyword Analysis will pull all of the rankings from your site and your top competitors and compile it into a comprehensive spreadsheet. This allows us to quickly identify the searches that our competitors are currently winning for which arms us with ideas where new content can be created and expand our coverage with the aim of stealing traffic away from them.
Learn more about the Competitive Keyword Analysis.
9. Content Audit
Understanding the topics and themes that are important to target is critical for successfully expanding organic search visibility. Moreover, it’s the quality of that content that matters. A perfectly planned and executed SEO strategy is of no use if the searcher doesn’t find the content on the other end of the search engine to be engaging and relevant content. It is key to attracting and retaining your audience but more importantly to convert them into clients or customers. I will conduct a Content Strategy to analyze the quality of your content and effectiveness in resonating with your target market and meet your SEO goals.
Find out more about Content Audit and Creation.
10. Monitoring and Reporting
No SEO program is successful without constant monitoring of performance and reporting on the results of our efforts. I will build a baseline report that monitors current rankings and traffic so we know not only what’s working but areas where improvements can be made.
Discover more about Monitoring and Reporting.
11. Ongoing Improvements
SEO is not a one-time effort. There are always parts of the strategy that are an instant success but others that need to be nurtured and fine tuned. I will remain committed to your success, continually optimizing your site to adapt to changes in the digital landscape and maintain your competitive edge.
Learn more about Ongoing Improvements to your program.
There are many SEO agencies and consultants on the market today who can provide some benefit for your program. However, many have just learned SEO within the last 5 years and have never had to pivot quickly due to algorithm changes to keep their companies successful. Don’t entrust that important responsibility to a newbie… go with an experienced professional!