Smash your SEO strategy in 9 steps

Approaching your SEO with a clear plan matters.

Do it well, and the sales will follow. Do it poorly, and that might not happen.

As SEO specialists, there are 9 things that every SEO Strategy needs without fail! So whether you’re a business owner or a marketing manager, you can rest assured that your plan is hitting everything it needs to.

So, what does your SEO strategy need?

1. You need a goal.

Saying, ‘I’m going to work on my SEO,’ isn’t enough. What are you looking to achieve through doing so?

We, of course, want to make money, but how does that look for you? What other goals can you set against your SEO strategy?

Put some numbers to it too… Maybe in the first year, you want to look to increase organic traffic by 100% or your conversions by 20%. Having clearly defined goals gives us something to work towards, and you can tweak and refine as you make progress. 

2.You need KPIs.

As well as a goal, we need KPIs, or key performance indicators to know that what we’re doing is working.

You need to decide what metrics you’re going to measure to ensure what you’re doing is working. We’ll pop a few on the screen of some that would be a good idea to track for an SEO strategy.

3. You need to be customer-conscious.

It’s so important to be aware of your customers, who they are, and what they need. By knowing their pains, problems, and what they are looking for from their searches, we can create content that matters to them.

People buy emotionally. We buy when we’re happy, sad, frustrated, excited - you want to create content that people resonate with when they’re looking for what you do.

4. You need to be competitor-aware too.

So this comes in two parts - firstly, knowing how you are different and stand out from your competitors. But secondly, considering what are the ones who are ranking on Google doing right?

If your competitor is getting some incredible local backlinks and you’re not… that could make a difference. If your competitors have lots of supporting content around a specific topic and you don’t… that could make a difference too.

5. You need to consider design.

How your website functions and flows is more important than ever. People want to be given an experience, and if your website isn’t doing that... 

Your website needs to be, and remain, fast, mobile-friendly and easy to navigate. You want your users to be able to move seamlessly around it. So it’s important this is woven into your strategy when creating new pages and content.

6. You need thorough keyword research.

Using ‘screwdrivers’ in your content isn’t going to get you ranked and found for screwdrivers… unless you’re Screwfix.

We say this a lot, but this really does underpin your whole SEO strategy. You need to be able to identify terms and phrases that your customers search for. Ones that they use to search for what you offer, as well as the problems that you solve.

7. You need to remember the technical side.

Don’t overlook this, cross your fingers and pray that everything is going to go ok. Technical issues can sometimes be the real blockers for achieving SEO success.

You wanna make sure your pages work how they should. That they are secure for your visitors and that you optimise your speed so that it delivers fast.

8. You need a content plan.

Some view this as the true bread and butter of SEO. By working on your site structure, your page content and your blogs, you start to become relevant for what it is you actually do.

By crafting pages that are tailored to answer the user’s query and intent in a way that’s unique to you, you’ll hopefully be on to a winner.

9. You need to build authority.

You wanna become the most-known brand for what you do, right? You can do this by securing backlinks for reputable sources and getting your name in and about the press - for good reasons, obviously! 

The more authority your website seems, the more reliable it looks to Google, and the more potential it has to rank in the search results. 

Sounds like a lot, right?

If you need a hand navigating your SEO, that’s where we come in. At Breakout Media, we’ve worked with lots of companies in different industries to become more visible online and ultimately, make more money through their website.

Feel free to get in touch with us or subscribe to your YouTube channel for more helpful videos and how to guides on making more money from your website.