#1 Planning for your SEO Campaign
This is part 1 in a series on building a successful SEO strategy…
Every business wants to be #1 on Google, and I’m sure you’re no different. However, before you go diving into a desperate attempt to improve your rankings in search engines, take time out to plan now rather than backtracking further down the line.
SEO is long-winded and demands hours of your time. Not only is it time-consuming, but results are rarely instant (can take months to see improvement). Before you head out into the online world in search of links, consider what your business goals are and ensure your website reflects its purpose.
What is the purpose of your website? Do you want to generate leads, recruit a member of staff, or is it to send out a message to a particular audience? Whatever the objective, make sure your website is equipped to accomplish these goals. I.e a website focussed on lead generation should have plenty of calls to action and contact forms to convenience the visitor.
An essential part of your SEO campaign is to track your progress and be in a position to make adjustments when necessary. Do you have the right tools and trackers in place to keep ahead in your SEO campaign, and gain insight into your website’s strengths and weaknesses? Analytic, Webmaster and Professional SEO tools will all help you monitor your website’s position and provide a valuable platform to perform keyword research, competitor analysis and check link building statuses.
Tracking helps you stay up-to-date, don’t proceed without tools in place!
Every campaign is different. Whether you are B2B, B2C or non-profit your methods maybe similar, but the approach can vastly differ. For example, a B2B audience, will predominantly know what they need and how they will search for it and have a longer attention span compared to a B2C audience. Gaining backlinks as a B2B website can be more challenging, so it might worth investing a little spend in PPC to build momentum. What about mobile search – will you accommodate time to optimise for that?
Will you participate in social discussions? Will you join Facebook & Twitter? Could you maintain a corporate blog? All these items need thorough consideration and planning beforehand to save you time in the long run. DIY SEO doesn’t have to demand a massive budget either; but have an idea of the amount you are prepared to spend.
Once you have ironed out your approach and you feel comfortable knowing the search engine path you’re heading, you should be well and truly on your way to performing keyword research and competitor analysis.
Do you have any particular plans that you conduct before creating your SEO strategy? Have you had difficulties building momentum for your campaign? Drop your comments below or send them to me via Twitter – @tommylindridge