There’s no denying that we live in a world where the Internet is becoming more and more vital. Businesses, or rather, business owners, are continuously looking to adopt new and creative ways to stand out online. The trouble lies, however, with the fact that so many businesses are doing the same thing!The key is SEO. But we’re not talking the age-old keyword stuffing way of SEO. We’re talking something much, much cooler.Search Engine Optimisation, when done right, can skyrocket your online presence to heights you might have only dreamed of. But how can you get there? What type of SEO management do you need to have to make sure that you can get the most out of it?Settle in, grab yourself a snack, and read on – here’s our guide on everything SEO management – what it is, what it involves, and the key elements you should be focusing on.
What exactly is SEO?
Chances are, if you’re on a digital marketing website such as ours, you already have some idea as to what SEO is. In a nutshell, Search Engine Optimisation is the practice of aligning online content to result in higher rankings on search engines such as Google. By doing this, you can make sure as many people as possible can have access to your site, which in turn, results in lead generation. How snazzy is that!Through managing the use of keywords, backlinks, and rich content on your site, you can make sure that your website ranks as well as possible on search engines.
How long will it take me to benefit from SEO?
A common misconception that can hinder business owners is that SEO demonstrates immediate improvement. In reality, SEO takes time and attention to work. Say it with me. Time and attention!Implementing a SEO Campaign can deliver amazing results if the strategy in use is effective, well thought-out, and comprehensive. It can be difficult to know what exactly needs to go into a campaign like this, but that’s why we’re here to help.The issue with putting together a campaign that isn’t well thought-out is that results won’t come – whether you wait a week, a month, or a year. This can make you feel like SEO isn’t worth it, but in reality, it is! It all depends on making sure that the SEO is being done right. Even if seeing results is a slow burn, it definitely will come.
What is an SEO campaign?
SEO campaigns are comprehensive projects that include organising, planning, and strategizing around your business. Essentially – if you don’t get all of this together, you can kiss your SEO results farewell.Building and managing an effective SEO campaign takes time, effort, and dedication to the cause.
How can I manage my SEO?
There are many elements you will need to take into consideration when it comes to managing your SEO. Of course, you can also get a proposal from our expert team to see how we can help.The following elements are imperative to keep in mind when managing your SEO.
Keyword Research
As one of the primary ways in which platforms like Google analyse and understand webpages and searches, keywords serve as a pivotal tool in search engine marketing and discoverability.They're something you're going to want to take your time on, especially when it comes to giving yourself an in-depth view of your business landscape. Keyword research is an essential practice of any SEO campaign, being one of the best ways to contextualise and tabulate what specific keywords will serve your endeavour best.You'll want to research and seek to identify what keywords are most popular in your industry, circumstances, and objectives, with an intent on understanding which have the most overall value when it comes to being associated with these searches.There are several tools you can incorporate to do this for you, such as:
- Google Keyword Planner
- SurferSEO
- Keywords Everywhere
These tools can be significantly helpful in analysing and reviewing the most popular keywords and search terms related to different topics, ultimately helping you narrow down which ones are ideal for your campaign.When finalising what keywords to target, keep the following factors in mind:
- Intent - What is the searcher ultimately looking for?
- Volume - How much is this keyword searched for?
- Competition - How popular is this keyword, and how hard is it to rank high for?
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC) - How much are other websites paying to be visible with this keyword?
Content
Without content, your website has no substance. By having rich, relevant content on your site, it is so much easier for search engines to understand your website, and help you rank for the keywords you want to rank for.Content can be published in a variety of ways, but the most popular would be blog posts or articles. These are great ways to make your site rich with content whilst writing about relevant topics that are rich in keywords (see, this is where the keyword research starts to come in handy!)Aim to use a mix of both primary and secondary keywords, but keep your work relevant and clear. It would also benefit your site to go in depth into your blog articles – the richer your content, the better for your rankings.
Backlinks
Backlinks are pretty self-explanatory – they link from one website to another, and are extremely helpful in terms of improving search rankings. Having a site rich in backlinks helps search engines like Google measure the relevance on your site. The more backlinks, the more relevant the site is deemed to be! Backlinks are the easiest way to vouch for your own site by having other websites share links to it.When it comes to link building, the focus is on creating links that are relevant to your industry. You'll want to monitor sources related to keywords you're targeting or have optimised and look for opportunities to build links within them. If there's a theme between any of these sites connecting their content with yours, there’s your link building opportunity!As is the case with most aspects of organic SEO, it’s not uncommon for this process to take awhile. Using outreach tactics is an effective way to aid in this – reaching out to site owners and asking if they'd like to share your content on their website with an appropriate link back to yours. Building quality backlinks for your site is a process that takes time and dedication. It's often recommended that you build these as you go along with the rest of your campaign, rather than waiting until completion.
Maintenance
Arguably one of the most important aspects of managing your SEO is maintenance. Having extensive keyword research, rich content and an array of backlinks is great, but consistently is key to make sure that improvements can steadily arise from all of your hard work.Update your webpages as much as possible – a good way to do this is to schedule in a set time every week to make sure that this is done and not forgotten about. Pumping out fresh content is a must, particularly because search engine algorithms are constantly changing and updating.
Analysis, Improvement & Monitoring
Given the fluidity of the Internet, you're going to want to stay on top of your campaign's performance if you want it to sustain and increase its levels of effectiveness over time. Constant monitoring and analysis are the key to this – they should be used as a tool to identify strengths and shortcomings in your existing SEO strategy.The best and most straightforward way to do this is by using Google Analytics. It allows you to monitor your site's performance in near real time, making it an invaluable tool for determining what works and what doesn't. The insights you can draw from Google Analytics can then help you establish what (if anything) needs to be modified in your SEO strategy.It’s also important to monitor your site for any hiccups or issues that might be causing problems with its search rankings. Rectifying anything like this as soon as possible is imperative to the smooth running of your site.Ultimately, the more you watch, work on and improve your campaign, the more certain you can be that it's running smoothly and to its full effectiveness.
Well, you did it!
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You’re a fully fledged expert on managing your SEO.
Okay, that might be a little dramatic. But you’re definitely at a place now where you can start to build up your SEO strategy. SEO takes time, patience, and dedication to see success. The long-term gain that businesses can see from SEO are worth the effort that it takes to build a successful campaign.Of course, if you’re finding all of this overwhelming, or if you just want that extra edge, our team of digital marketing experts can help. Get a proposal with us today to see how.
