20/04/2024
The 3-Point Approach to SEO Success.
This is how you should approach SEO strategy for any business.
1. Analysis.
Gather all the data, speak with the business, and look at their business goals.
Your job as SEO is to align with these and support them.
Then, look at what is stopping them from achieving these goals.
Are they not ranked high enough? Do they have low authority? Are there technical issues? Are there low-quality web pages? Is the competition investing more/ doing more?
This is not about making perfect websites. It's about business strategy.
People choose SEO to grow revenue, not traffic.
SEO has to align with revenue growth.
2. Strategy development.
All strategies should be documented, with notes to show research.
A spreadsheet is not a strategy.
A list of monthly deliverables is not a strategy.
Strategy is you, the SEO, being at your most accountable.
Strategies do change during campaigns.
More details come to light. Algorithm changes happen, and competitors are also doing SEO, and perhaps they are ahead of you.
But a strategy is you saying, 'If we do x , then y is the likely outcome.' And you have data to support your strategy.
3. Delivery.
Your delivery of SEO must be ruthlessly targeted at things to move the needle.
A three-month technical fix might seem like a great idea. But sorting page titles and building some internal fixes might yield faster results.
Equally spreading your delivery thin could reduce success.
Yes, you did a bit of everything, but is that moving the needle?
Often what you'll find in the early days is that you'll see something working, so double down on that.
Strategy, while important, does not = the feedback and insight you gain from working inside an account.
It's in the trenches that you spot things.
This is why the relationship between juniors, AMs, and strategists (if you have them) matters.
The junior working in the trenches often has valuable insight.
The problem is that SEO success can be sabotaged in any of the 3 stages.
Miss something or do something wrong and you'll have problems.
I've seen SEO campaigns fail due poor understanding of business goals, and I've seen them equally messed up because of bad page titles.
Your job as an agency, SEO, or even client is to ensure the right work is being done at the right stages.
My biggest advice to clients is to interrogate the strategy.
