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How to Create a Winning SEO Strategy for Your Business

Dijitally

SEO

November 10, 2022

15.5 min read

Want to learn how to create a winning SEO strategy that will drive business results? Read our handy step-by-step guide to find out how.

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How to Create an SEO Strategy for Your Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Making your business visible on search engines is essential for success in today's competitive marketplace. That's why we've put together a comprehensive guide on how to create an effective SEO strategy for your business.

In this blog, we'll discuss the different aspects of an SEO marketing strategy and the importance of each, as well as give you tips on creating search engine-friendly content for your business's website.

By following these steps, you can improve your ranking on search engine results pages, and build a stronger brand. You will also be able to solve various problems your prospects and customers may have.

What is SEO?

We could be here for hours explaining every detail pertaining to what SEO is but then you wouldn't learn how to create and implement a strategy for it.

Simply put, it refers to the process of improving your site's online visibility when your prospects & customers are searching for your business's products or services on search engines such as Google & Bing.

The better visibility your pages have in the search results, the more likely you are to be found and attract to your website by those who matter most to your business.

But before we discuss SEO strategy at length, let's discuss why it's important for businesses in 2022 and beyond.

The importance of SEO for businesses in 2022

An SEO marketing strategy for your business is essential in 2022. These are straight-up facts.

Anyone who says SEO is dead either doesn't understand it or has tried to implement it and failed miserably. Trust us when we say that it's very much alive and well.

With the right optimization, you can increase traffic and conversions, helping you reach your target market, and build your brand online.

For us, building your brand online using search engine optimisation is at the core of any effective SEO strategy. And that's essentially why it's important for businesses.

There are a variety of ways to go about optimization, which we will discuss in this guide. Some of the most common optimization strategies include keyword research, on-page optimization, backlinking, and link building.

What is an SEO strategy?

There are many factors that go into an effective SEO strategy, so it's important to tailor it to your business and site. A well-executed SEO marketing strategy can help your business grow organically and reach new, and existing, customers.

But what is an SEO strategy?

Essentially, it's the process that a company goes through to create, implement, and measure a set of tasks that maximise the opportunity to gain organic traffic from search engines.

What every SEO strategy must have

Creating and implementing an SEO campaign for your business is not easy, but it's definitely worth it. That's why we've put together this comprehensive guide on how to create an SEO strategy for your business.

Before getting started, make sure to monitor the progress of your campaign on a regular basis and optimise where necessary.

Next, determine your goals and create detailed plans to help you achieve them.

Finally, start executing your strategies by targeting the right keywords, optimizing your content for search engines, and building links back to your website or blog. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term process and while results will occur, they won't occur immediately.

1. Keyword targeting

With regard to your keyword strategy, the first step is to use the various SEO tools at your disposal such as Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush.

This will allow you to identify search queries that are relevant to your target market and start ranking for them.

Once you have started ranking, it is important that you stay consistent with your SEO marketing strategy in order to keep up the momentum.

In terms of which keywords you should opt for, that will depend on the type of business you have and the industry you're in.

Ideally, high search volume keywords that have some competition around them are what we would recommend.

However, if your business exists in a niche industry, then low search volume keywords will be incredibly effective.

They will almost certainly have low competition associated with them too which bodes well for your ranking chances. Typically, long-tail keywords (keywords with 4 or more words) are effective here as they are quite niche.

2. Metadata

When it comes to ranking on the search engine results pages, including the right metadata is vital. This includes the page titles, meta descriptions, and other content elements that Google uses to determine how well a webpage ranks.

Since every element of your website can potentially be used for SEO - making sure all of them are included in your metadata can help improve visibility on search engine results pages. In turn, this will lead to higher traffic levels and ultimately better rankings.

3. Backlinks

There is no doubt that backlinks are one of the most important factors in SEO. They signify that your website is reputable and has quality content - two essential qualities for ranking high on search engine results pages.

All SEO experts & agencies often say that you need at least 500 links from credible sources to start seeing significant improvements in organic traffic.

This might seem like a lot, but it's definitely achievable if you have a well-planned strategy and put in the effort.

It isn't just about acquiring webpages or blog posts as link partners - social media interactions (likes, shares, etc.) are also counted as backlinks worth having.

Two things to remember with your backlinks:

Never pay for backlinks that are coming from a suspect or non-relevant website
Create valuable content that other businesses and bloggers will naturally want to link to

4. Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves the process of ensuring that a website meets the technical requirements of current-day search engines with the overall goal of improving organic rankings.

Important aspects of technical SEO include but are not limited to:

crawling
indexing
rendering
website architecture

Unfortunately, many businesses don't have the time or resources to invest in this important aspect of an ongoing SEO strategy. This is where an expert agency can come in and assist.

An experienced SEO agency will be able to identify any potential issues with your website's coding, structure, or design.

Once these have been corrected, they will work towards improving search engine visibility for your business through optimizing content and graphics as well as on-page elements like titles, metatags, anchor text placement, etc.

5. SEO metrics

It is crucial to keep a close eye on your SEO metrics in order to make sure that you are reaching your target audience and achieving the desired business results.

There are many different SEO marketing strategies that can be used, so it is important to decide on the right approach for your business.

Once you have determined what you want, it's time to develop a strategy that meets those objectives and be able to measure them accordingly. Metrics worth tracking are:

Organic traffic - sessions, users, new users, sessions per user, time on site
Click-through rate - the number of clicks divided by impressions
Bounce rate - dividing the number of single-page sessions by the number of total sessions on the site and expressing as a percentage
Keyword rankings
Domain authority - the strength of your website ranked out of 100
New backlinks and referring domains
Page speed
Conversions - leads, sales, etc.

You can measure these metrics through a number of platforms such as:

Google Analytics
Google Search Console
SEMRush
Ahrefs
Moz

SEO Content Strategy

Creating an SEO content strategy for your business is essential for success in organic search.

It's not enough to post articles on your site and hope for the best. In fact, that is just one piece of many in the SEO puzzle.

You need to take an audience-first approach and target keywords throughout your webpage & blog copy that your users are searching for and that will solve their problems.

Creating content for the sake of creating content won't get you the results you want and therefore a complete waste of time.

Including keyword research in the early stages of your content-writing process will help you create content that is both well-written and relevant to your target audience.

Doing all of this will help you achieve high search engine ranking, increase quality traffic to your website, drive sales and leads, and, most importantly, create a brand that people know and trust.

1. Set SEO goals

One of the most important steps in achieving success with SEO is maintaining a regular ranking on search engine results pages.

Once you have determined your SEO goals, it is time to set specific targets.

However, before doing this, it is important to understand what keywords might work best for your business and which content type would generate the best results for these keywords.

Once all this information has been gathered and analyzed, strategies can then be put into place accordingly.

Don't just create goals that are based on rankings or revenue. Ensure you have a mix of high-level goals, but within those goals are sub-goals.

For example, you might have a goal of increasing traffic year on year by 30%. Your sub-goal would be to create 25 pieces of blog content per month.

2. Consider SEO scalability

When it comes to SEO, making sure you have a scalable strategy is important. This way, you can continue ranking high on the SERPs, regardless of the size or changes in your business.

One way to achieve scalability is by using social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc., to drive traffic back to your website.

Make sure all content on these platforms is keyword rich and relevant to your niche.

Also, make use of blog post optimization techniques so that readers are directed straight to the most essential information.

A long-term SEO plan should be in place with monthly or weekly reports detailing how well each step along the way is performing.

And lastly, keep amendments and adjustments simple so that there are no disruptions for customers browsing your site or experiencing any errors from incorrect web coding practices, etc.

3. Execute a competitive analysis

In order to be successful with SEO, you need to first understand your competition and how they are performing on relevant search engines. This can be achieved by conducting a competitive analysis.

Once you have a good understanding of your competitors, it allows you to set and achieve unique goals that will be difficult for them to match.

Additionally, you'll be able to identify keyword gaps where they are ranking and your business isn't. This will allow you to create content that enables your website to start ranking and thus take market share from your competitors.

4. Audit your site's existing content

Before you start developing an SEO strategy, it's important to audit your website's content in order to find any errors.

This way, you can correct them before they cause any problems for your traffic and rankings. Furthermore, make sure that all the text on your site is keyword rich and includes titles, descriptions, and metatags that will help improve its rank in search engines.

Furthermore, we'd also recommend identifying any pages that have thin content and fleshing them out where it makes sense.

Finally, make sure all images on your site are correctly attributed so as not to mislead or confuse web searchers.

5. Do keyword research and build topic clusters

Keyword research is an essential part of any effective SEO campaign and needs to be completed first before any on-page or off-page work can be attempted. It is very much the cornerstone of all SEO campaigns.

By identifying the right keywords, you can ensure that your content reaches the right people and helps you to achieve your business goals.

Once you have determined which keywords are relevant to your business, it's time to start doing some research on those keywords.

This will help you determine what topics would be appropriate for content on these terms. Be sure that all of your information is well-researched so as not to alienate potential readers or damage your ranking in the SERPs.

Once you have completed this, it's time to create and publish your content. Publish blog posts and social media content regularly on high-traffic platforms with related topics. Make sure each piece of content offers valuable insights and advice for your target consumers.

6. Align content with search intent

As search engine algorithms constantly change, it is crucial that you keep up with these changes. This means making necessary changes to your website's layout and content as required.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to ensure that your content is always aligned with search intent.

This means thinking about what people are likely to be searching for on Google, Yahoo, and Bing and then making sure that your website provides the answers they're looking for.

Google has a habit of making algorithm changes without prior warning, so we would recommend that you keep on top of these changes and adjust accordingly.

7. Branded vs. non-branded SEO strategy

Choosing whether to go with a branded or non-branded SEO strategy is an important decision for any business. A branded strategy is typically more expensive, but it often results in better rankings and higher traffic volumes.

On the other hand, a non-branded approach can be just as effective if done correctly. It's also important to keep organic traffic growth and conversions in mind when implementing your SEO plan - this will give you an accurate indication of its success over time.

The most ideal strategy here is to have a mix of both. As mentioned, at its core, SEO is brand marketing i.e. you are building your business's online brand.

So, it makes sense to ensure that when people type in your branded search terms, you are visible at all times.

But non-branded is just as important, particularly if you are a service-based business that also happens to be a local-based business too.

8. Build your SEO strategy into the conversion funnel

Without a solid SEO marketing strategy, it will be tough for your website to rank high on the SERPs. That's because good SEO helps you attract organic traffic from potential customers who are looking for information on the products and services that your business offers.

But where does SEO sit in the conversion funnel - awareness, consideration, and conversion? The good news is that sits in all three.

This will also ensure that you are optimising for keywords that are relevant to each stage of the funnel. Let us explain what we mean here. Say you have a sore throat and you want to find a solution. Naturally, you will visit Google to begin the process of finding a solution

Below are examples of keywords you would use at each stage of the funnel.

Awareness keyword - "symptoms of a sore throat" (could be in the form of blog content)
Consideration keywords - "types of medicine to relieve a sore throat" (could be in the form of blog content)
Conversion - "buy cold and flu tablets" (your product page)

9. Technical SEO strategy

Some of the most common tasks you'll need to carry out in order to optimize your website for technical SEO include:

Use SSL certificates
Clean up any 404 link errors
Ensure your website is mobile friendly
Speed up your site
Remove any duplicate content
Create your XML sitemap
Add structured data to your web pages (this ensures Google knows what type of page it is and can rank it accordingly)
Register your website with Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

10. SEO content marketing strategy

When it comes to your SEO content marketing strategy, the most important aspect is making sure your website's content is of high quality and solves the problems of your prospects & customers.

This means that you should make sure all the written content and images on your site are keyword rich and relevant to your target audience.

In addition, you need to think about the keywords you want to rank for when creating new blog posts or publishing existing ones. You also need to ensure that all your text is properly keyword-optimized so search engines can find and rank it easily.

11. Local SEO strategy

Local SEO is the practice of ensuring your website appears high in search engine results for specific keywords when people are looking for businesses or products in their local area.

There are a few things you can do to help boost your website's ranking position in local search results:

Create geo-targeted content
Optimize images and titles according to location
Incorporate local keywords into blog and article titles
Invest in search engine marketing campaigns targeting your specific locality
Register with Google My Business and Bing Webmaster Tools

If you're a cafe, restaurant, bakery, bar, etc. a local SEO strategy is going to be incredibly important for your online presence in your local area.

5 tips to build an effective SEO strategy in 2022

SEO is a long-term brand-building strategy that requires dedication and patience. But with regular attention and a clear & effective strategy, you can achieve the business results you wish for your business by using Organic Search.

1. Write for humans first and search engines second

You want your website content to be enjoyable and easy for human visitors to read, not just search engine crawlers.

While we want to rank on search engines, our websites exist to solve problems for our prospects and customers, and not search bots.

What this will result in is your website becoming an asset to your business that users will come to time and time again due to its high-quality, valuable content.

2. Use targeted keywords in all the right places

It is important to use keywords that are relevant to the content on your website. This way, you will be able to target potential customers with precision, increasing traffic, revenue, and brand equity.

Make sure all text on your web pages is keyword rich - this includes page titles, meta descriptions, etcetera.

Keyword placement can influence page ranking both before and after a user clicks through a listing on Google or another search engine.

An SEO marketing strategy for your business is essential in 2022. These are straight-up facts.

3. Remove anything that slows down your site

Apart from optimizing your website content and keywords, it is also important to remove anything that might slow down or obstruct the search engine optimization process.

Over the years, Google has really made a focus on user experience and within that, they are placing emphasis on websites that load quickly.

Websites with significant "bloat" i.e. too many installed plugins, heavily coded, etc. will slow your website down, and create a poor user experience and thus Google will penalise you through loss of rankings.

Remove these hurdles and create a website experience that your users will enjoy and prompt them to come back time and time again.

4. Pay attention to Google algorithm updates

Google is always updating its algorithm to better reflect the search engine results pages. By keeping your website updated and compliant with these changes, you can improve your ranking on SERP and attract more organic traffic.

5. Improve existing content & add missing subtopics

To improve the content on your website and boost traffic, you need to keep a close eye on Google Analytics and other SEO-related tools & software.

This will help you see which pages are performing well and identify any changes or issues that should be addressed as soon as possible.

One tactic that we would recommend when analysing your content both initially and ongoing is to identify those pages that have thin content.

Increasing the word count on those pages with keyword-rich content will go a long way to ranking that page for your chosen keyword(s).

Within this context, it's important to remember that not every page's word count needs to be increased. For example, your Contact Us page doesn't need 500 words. It may only need 100 words at most.

It's the type of page that won't necessarily be directly found through search engines, but indirectly through other pages on your website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common mistakes business owners make when it comes to SEO?

There are many things business owners can do when it comes to SEO, but some of the most common mistakes they make include keyword research, on-page SEO optimization (including title tags and meta descriptions), social media engagement, and link building.

Lastly, it's important not to forget about the maintenance & upkeep of your website when it comes to an effective SEO strategy.

Constant monitoring and tweaking of your SEO strategy, and the tasks that come with that, are necessary in order to keep your website ranking high and ensure long-term business results.

How can I determine which keywords my business should target?

There are a few things you can do to determine which keywords your business should target in order to improve search engine rankings.

First and foremost, review your business' competitors and analyze which keywords they are targeting on their websites.

This will give you an idea of the keywords your business should be focusing on as well.

Once you have a list of potential keyword phrases, research which ones convert better (based on past performance data).

Once you have a good understanding of the keywords your businesses should be focusing on, use SEO tools such as SEMRush, Ahrefs, or Moz to generate a list of potential keyword ideas.

How often should I perform backlinking and linking audits?

Performing backlinking and linking audits on a regular basis is the best way to ensure your website is optimized for search engine visibility.

An audit will help you identify any backlinks that may not be working as intended and can also find duplicate or weak links.

Our recommendation would be to reach out to the webmaster of each website and request a change or an update in the backlink you have acquired with them.

This way, you can be sure that the links are relevant and will help improve your website's visibility in search engines.

Through this audit, you'll also want to ensure that the links pointing toward your website aren't toxic and will therefore pass on "SEO juice" that won't harm your website's chances of being found.

SEO software tools such as Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMRush will help identify which links are most harmful to your website.

You can submit a list of these harmful websites to Google and request that your website be unlinked from them.

Conclusion

With the competitive landscape constantly shifting, businesses of all sizes need to ensure their website is ranking well on relevant search engines such as Google and Bing. By following our easy-to-follow guide, you'll be on your way to building an effective SEO strategy for your business.

Summing up...

Staying competitive in organic search

Ensure you are doing everything to be found on search engines

Having a strategy is key

Without it you won't achieve the results you desire

SEO is a constant

Regularly review your work to ensure success