Over 50% of website traffic is driven by organic search results. Because of this, businesses are taking SEO and SEO management more seriously than they previously have. SEO and SEO Management is perfect for growing revenue and the company itself.
It doesn’t matter how familiar you are with SEO or the management of it, this article will give you all the information you could possibly need to start building an SEO strategy. It will also help you learn if you should invest in professional services for your SEO management.
SEO: What Is It?
You may be wondering, “What is SEO?” if you have never heard of it before. It stands for search engine optimization, and it improves your ranking in relevant search results. Search engines like Yahoo!, Bing, and Google all use algorithms that can be utilized to your favor using SEO. Search engine optimization uses a plethora of techniques and strategies to increase your website’s visibility. As a direct result, your website will see more traffic.
However, it isn’t an overnight strategy. Unlike PPC advertising, it takes time to see the results. By the time, we mean several months. Don’t be turned away; the results you will get do make the wait worth it.
Business owners who invest in SEO services can see millions, if not billions, in earnings from a proper strategy.
SEO Management
SEO management references the management of the SEO strategy that your agency or company has developed. Your SEO management team, or agency, will develop, modify, and lead your strategy to the best results possible. This is an important step in reaching your sales, business, and marketing goals.
There are two main types of agencies you can partner with, specialized agencies and full-service digital marketing agencies. It isn’t uncommon for a business team to invest in an agency when their marketing team handles many responsibilities but doesn’t have a solid background with SEO. Professional SEO services are used by 55% of companies.
It doesn’t matter if your company partners with a professional agency or has an in-house team to manage your strategy; SEO is essential. You are building a foundation for a strategy that is competitive, driving forward the revenue your company brings in.
Successful SEO Management in 4 Steps
It is important to understand how SEO works if you want a successful strategy. SEO management is equally as important as understanding it. Even if you choose to partner with a professional agency, practicing SEO management is a must. Because of this, we are offering you 4 steps in managing a successful SEO strategy.
- Demographic Research
The companies that successfully utilize SEO normally have in-depth knowledge as to who their demographic (audience) is. They research their target audience to understand what they expect from the company, service, or product. These companies also have the answers to the common issues their audience may have. Make sure you are investing time in researching the market you are targeting. The best way to do this is to answer these 4 questions:
- Where does the audience turn to for the answers to their questions?
- What demographic does the audience make up?
- What do other providers in the industry have problems delivering to their audience?
- What does my service/product provide for the user?
Always keep your past research on hand, even if you have marketing personas developed, recalling this information could result in growth in the future. Consumers do change as time passes; if your personas are out of date, your SEO strategy could suddenly flop. Once your research is done, you can focus on the next step…..
- Analysis of Competitors
A vital part of SEO management is competitor analysis. It will give you an amazing amount of insight while allowing you to alter your strategy appropriately. This has to be part of your plan, whether you are hiring an agency for help or working in-house.
There are two competitor types that you have to look at during an analysis: Direct and Indirect Competitors.
Indirect Competitors- These are the companies you have to compete for rankings within search results. Even if they provide a service or product that is different from yours, if the common search phrases are the same, you will still have to compete with them for rank.
Direct Competitors- Unlike indirect, you are competing with these companies online and offline. You know who your major competition is, so take to the internet and study their presence online, as well as their SEO investment.
When you perform this analysis, you are going to want to figure out the SEO strategy of their organization. In a few cases, you may find competitors that don’t have a strategy for SEO. That is when you utilize indirect competitors who have made high ranks. Their SEO strategy is working, so make sure you study it well.
The following points will help you learn the SEO strategy of a company:
- Targeted Keywords
- Backlink Profile
- Traffic Value
- Domain Age
- Optimization Practices
This can be a challenging step for businesses. So it is sometimes more ideal to invest in an SEO agency to help you.
- Optimize Your Website
After knowing you’re demographic and have researched your main competition, your business can now begin optimizing your company website for search engines. This is a long process, so make sure your goals are realistic.
If you have a lot of pages on your website, getting it done in a month could prove to be impossible. You and your marketing team have a lot of responsibilities that you have to tend to, which is why SEO copywriting services are usually utilized.
This is a service that provides your business with a copy that is brand relevant and optimized specifically for SEO. Even if this service is something that your company has already invested in, you need to remember that results will always take time. Getting your content published as soon as possible can help boost the results. If you are working on your SEO management and strategy in-house, then remember to put a heavy focus on using your important keywords in a few different places.
- Images- Your pages should feature relevant, helpful images for the audience. It is a way to improve the readability of the page, as well as making complex topics easier to understand. Also, if it makes proper sense, your image filename and alt text should contain your keywords.
- Headings- Headings display on your different pages, separating content into sections. Your keywords should be used throughout your headings, as long as it is readable.
- Title Tag- This tag will display in search results. Make sure the title of the page is attractive to users, encouraging interaction with your pages and website as a whole. Again, keywords.
- Meta Description- Also appearing in search results, the meta description describes your page and expands the points of your title to entice viewers. Once more, keywords.
- Content- Possibly, the most important section of your website is your content copy. Ensuring that keywords are used properly will result in optimum search result rankings. This will bring in traffic, and if the content is high-quality, it will keep traffic coming back.
There are ways to mess up with keywords, however. Keyword Stuffing and Black-hat Tactics can hurt your website’s ranking, preventing you from being one of the top results.
- Monthly Reports
Common among all digital marketing strategies, data is used for SEO. With this data, you are able to measure the performance of your strategy. You will also be able to locate areas that need improving, as well as make decisions that are backed up by data to plan your next course of action.
If you decide to invest time and money into an SEO agency, you will (9 times out of 10) receive a monthly report. You can even have it set up to where you are receiving a weekly report to help better plan your strategy and make adjustments as needed.
If you are choosing the DIY method and focusing on in-house SEO management, you want your schedule to be routine. You want to be measuring and checking the performance of your strategy. It is the industry standard to get a report once a month, or even once a week. It is important that you set a schedule and stick to it.
You will want to look at the growth in the following areas on the report:
- Search Results Ranking
- Conversions
- Organic Traffic
- Backlinks
Tools such as Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Google Analytics can help you monitor your progress. However, it could be challenging to do this on your own. So, it’s best that you look into working with an SEO agency.
