I love working with clients who bring energy and enthusiasm for an SEO campaign. That s great to want to jump in and start with the development of new content, link building, blogs, etc. But, first, that channels the energy and enthusiasm should include the creation of a plan that outlines strategies and tactics to be used.
Step 1: Set goals
The first step in an SEO plan is to set goals. What problems do you expect the SEO project will solve? You may need more organic traffic, more sales of their players in red, multiple records for your newsletter or community, or multiple contacts via a form of generating leads.
The question I would like to do at this early stage, how do we measure success? Answering that question and has its goals.
Step 2: Set your SEO team
This is easy if you're a man band or a company with few employees. But if you are a small company with several departments within the organization, it is essential to establish at the outset will be the key drivers of the SEO campaign. A typical SEO project to the marketing of products, public relations and IT / Technology Department. And obviously, you must log off at the executive level.
This is also a good time to talk about other resources required. For example, you have a web analytics program to monitor site traffic, or you need to choose one? If you are planning to launch a blog, you're a good writer with a personality blogger? You know what you have and what you need in terms of people and resources.
Step 3: Identify your target audience
Most likely you will get a lot of people who visit your site, but you know what kind of person who tends to become a customer often? You can have a product that appeals primarily to men / husbands, but studies indicate that larger purchases are usually decided by women / wives. Know your audience and will be able to adapt your copy for better SEO success.
Step 4: Select appropriate strategies / tactics
There is no permanent solution here. Every company is unique and every SEO campaign must be unique, too. Know your goals, resources, and the audience will help you choose the strategies and tactics your SEO campaign. Be careful not to try too much at first. I think it's better to go slow and do some things very well that his company to spread so thin that the campaign as a whole suffers from lack of performance.
Step 5: Measure results
Plan to monitor the results closely, but realize that SEO is not about the success of the night. Like many other vendors of search, I tell most customers usually takes 3-6 months to see concrete results of most SEO tactics. The actual time depends on the competitiveness of their sector and a number of other factors beyond their control.
Step 6: Adjust and repeat
SEO is an ongoing process, not an effort at once can be turned off like a TV when the show is over. After a few months you should have a good idea u200b u200bwhat worked and what did not. Plan to use the data you have to eliminate bad strategies and tactics. Return to step 1 - you need to reevaluate your goals? Return to Step 2 - put together with the right equipment? Continuous evaluation of success and failure should be part of any SEO plan.
Final Thoughts
This has been an attempt to simplify what can sometimes be a complex process. I have deliberately omitted the discussion of doing SEO yourself against hiring an SEO consultant, and is also ignored any mention of budgets. Both are important parts of planning an SEO campaign, this article assumes that you have made those decisions already.
The main point I hope to do here is you have to spend time planning. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail it is a truism that fits small business SEO campaigns. Be enthusiastic, but the first channel that enthusiasm to develop a winning plan for your online marketing efforts.
Your turn: What would you add to this list of the planning stages of the SEO campaign?
