Ask any digital marketer what their secret to success is, and we bet they’ll say having a solid SEO strategy.
While we’re pretty sure you’ve already heard the term SEO (search engine optimization) from your fellow marketers or some random blogger, you might still be trying to figure out what an effective SEO strategy looks like, how your business can benefit from it, and how you can come up with one.
Well, the good news is, you’ve found us! We’re here to make your life easier.
In this post, you’ll learn what an SEO strategy is, how it can impact your brand and, of course, the steps you need to take to create a powerful SEO strategy.
Let’s dive right in!
What’s an SEO strategy?
Simply put, an SEO strategy refers to a detailed plan to improve a website’s search engine rankings so it can gain more exposure and drive more organic traffic.
It contains the tasks you do behind the scenes to boost your chances of appearing in top search results.
Why does SEO matter?
So, why do you need to craft an SEO strategy for your business? How exactly can search engine optimization put you ahead of your competitors and bring in more revenue?
- SEO increases organic discovery and high-quality web traffic.
- SEO delivers impressive return on investment (ROI).
- SEO maximizes PPC campaigns.
- SEO targets the entire marketing funnel.
- SEO helps you reach your target audience.
- SEO increases user engagement rates.
- SEO improves website usability.
Ways to create a winning SEO strategy
Now that you know how vital a tool SEO is, it’s time for us to show you the ropes. Follow these steps to ensure that your website gets to appear in the first page of Google and other search engines:
Make a list of keywords.
Keywords are the foundation of good SEO. By knowing the most common keywords your ideal audience searches for, you’ll be able to add them to your content. This means you’ll likely be among the first sites they see when they type in those terms.
That’s why your first move is to do keyword research.
One of the best ways to find keywords your target customers often use is by turning to Google. Simply type a keyword into its search field, and it will display a list of suggestions.
However, you need to dig deeper as well. You have to check out the search volume and competition levels for those terms. Keyword tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can help you get the job done.
Other ways to conduct keyword research is by:
- Building a list of localized keywords.
- Looking at the keywords your competitors use.
- Using negative keywords.
- Finding common customer questions.
Place your targeted keywords in all the right places.
Once you’re happy with your keywords, your next move is to learn where to use them for SEO. No, you can’t just put them anywhere as you please. Ideally, you should have them in the following:
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Subheadings
- Content
- URLs
- Link anchor text
- Directories and external listings.
Set up a blog.
Gone are the days when blogging was merely an online diary. Now, it has become a must for businesses who aim to gain traffic, improve their visibility in search engines, and grow their following.
Indeed, blogging plays a significant role in boosting SEO. Below are five reasons why:
- It keeps your website fresh and up-to-date.
- It helps increase the number of backlinks and internal links.
- It’s a great place to use long-tail keywords.
- It connects you with your audience.
- It builds trust and authority.
Write for humans first, search engines second.
With the Google algorithm getting smarter by the day and using constant human input, you won’t find any magic formula to outwit a search engine. That’s why your content should impress humans, not bots.
Here’s a couple of tips:
- Avoid repetition.
- Be conversational and compelling.
- Use relevant language.
- Let your personality shine.
Provide a positive user experience (UX).
No one likes a website that’s super hard to navigate, as well as one that takes ages to load. Not only will you lose visitors in a matter of seconds, but you’ll also get penalized by Google. Yikes! Ways to improve UX include testing, responsive web design, calls to action and more.
Build relevant links.
Link building is a key aspect of building site authority, which is another factor in SEO.
Search engines use links for two primary reasons: To discover new web pages that they can use in their search results AND to help determine how well a page should rank in their results.
Though building quality links can get complicated, there are still many proper SEO techniques you can use on your own, such as:
- Building relationships with prominent people in your industry.
- Guest posting for high-authority sites.
- Turning mentions into backlinks.
- Writing testimonials for brands you support.
- Studying your competitors’ common backlinks.
- Recovering your dead backlinks.
- Asking for backlinks.
Ready to start your SEO strategy planning?
We can’t deny that ranking high in search pages is no easy task. However, with a killer SEO strategy in place, you’ll get there. Sure, it may take some time before you can finally see results, but trust us, it will definitely be worth the wait.
Contact the experts at Digital Resource!
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December 1, 2021 at 12:02AM by Shay Berman, Khareem Sudlow
