Did you know that the number one result on Google search pages gets, on average, 31.7% of the clicks?
As you can see, ranking highly on Google is one of the most important things you can do to increase traffic to your website. However, it can be stressful and confusing to understand how to implement an effective SEO strategy, as it seems like the rules and best practices are always changing.
Never fear. That’s exactly why we’ve put together this guide to help you build the best possible search engine optimization strategy for your business.
Is it time for you to meet your SEO objectives? If so, stick with us and check out everything you need to know about making an effective SEO strategy for your business.
What Is an SEO Strategy?
An SEO strategy is a process of creating a plan and outline of steps that will improve your search engine rankings. Basically, this is a process that can help you achieve more organic traffic to your website.
You can learn more about how SEO works here.
Create a Keyword List
Keywords are a central aspect of search engine optimization. For this reason, any legitimate SEO strategy will typically have keyword research as the first step.
There are a number of different tools you can use to find keywords that your target audience searches for. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using Google suggest.
When you are creating your SEO strategy, you’ll want to start with roughly 10 keywords. You can then check out the competition levels and search volume for each of those terms using a keyword tool.
Analyze the First Page of Google
Once you have come up with your list of keywords, type them into Google one at a time.
Then, you can take note of any patterns that arise in the results. This can help you see what has been working for those keywords. For example, if your keyword is springing up mostly listicles, maybe that means that you should also publish a list post on your blog.
Create Something Better or Different
One of the most important aspects of content marketing is making high-quality content. You won’t get very far with lowbrow techniques like keyword stuffing or spamming comment sections with your URL.
When it is time to create content you basically have two options. You can either create content that is better than the existing content on the topic, or you can create content that is different from that existing content.
There are benefits to both strategies. When you write content that is completely different, it can help your brand stand out. When you write content that is better, you can climb the list of search engine results over time by simply being more useful than the other articles and posts.
Use a Hook to Help You Get Backlinks
Backlinks are essential to improving your search engine rankings. One of the ways that you can help to build backlinks is by understanding why people are linking to certain content within your industry.
For example, people might link to sites that have a lot of useful data or statistics. This means that it might be a useful part of your strategy to publish a post filled with this type of information.
There are many different types of “hooks” you can use other than data. This might mean writing ultimate guides or other types of content.
Don’t Forget About On-Page SEO
There are a number of tactics you can use to optimize your on-page SEO. This includes things like internal linking, keyword-rich URLs, and semantic SEO.
Create Amazing Looking Content
Don’t underestimate the importance of design when you are conceiving your digital marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter how well written your content is, if the aesthetic looks like the site hasn’t been updated since 1997, you won’t rank highly.
For this reason, you will want to invest in creating high-quality content with high-quality design. You might find that learning some of the basic principles of design as well as some of the theories behind web design will help you create visually appealing content so that your high-quality articles are read by as many people as possible.
Build Links
Finally, it is time for you to start building links to your content.
There are a number of different ways that you can build links. One way is through broken link building. This is when you find broken links on someone else’s site and reach out to them offering your content as a replacement link.
Another tactic you can use is called competitor analysis. Basically, you can look at other websites that are successfully ranking for a keyword that you are trying to rank for. You can then go through the backlinks and see if your link would add value to any of these pages.
Always Be Updating and Improving Your Content
Lastly, the job isn’t done when you press publish on your content. Instead, you want to go back through and improve and update. Creating evergreen content can be a great way to gradually climb up the search rankings over time, ensuring that all of your hard work turns out as a solid investment.
Is It Time For Your Business to Build an Effective SEO Strategy?
In this day and age, having a digital marketing strategy is absolutely essential to optimal business growth. While it can all seem a bit complicated at first, having an SEO strategy that works for you doesn’t have to be a full-time job. That being said, it can certainly be worth outsourcing your SEO needs to professionals so that you can focus on what really matters: growing your business.
Did you find this article on creating an effective SEO strategy interesting? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more fascinating and informative content about all things business and tech!
