Search engine optimization, or SEO, is an important topic for marketers and for all websites, big and small. Developing and implementing an SEO campaign is necessary if you want your website to be seen on the internet and Google’s search engine results page. An effective SEO campaign takes time, patience and a lot of hard work and dedication to be effective.
In this article we’ll discuss what an SEO campaign is, why it’s important and how to go about developing an SEO campaign that will greatly improve your site’s ranking in the search results page.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What is an SEO campaign?
- Why is it important to develop an SEO campaign?
- Most important elements of a successful SEO campaign?
- How to build a successful SEO Campaign in 7 steps
- Key Takeaways on developing a SEO campaign
Ready to get started with your own SEO campaign? Follow along below!
What is an SEO Campaign?
A SEO campaign is a plan that is developed and implemented which includes tactics for improving a website’s position in search returns. This plan should outline what steps will be taken in order to improve rankings.
Why is an SEO Campaign important?
Did you know that 75% of users don’t venture past the first page of Google’s search results?
An SEO campaign is important because without one a website will likely not be found easily in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
With so many websites online these days, in order for your site to compete with others and turn up on the first page of the search results, you need to make a plan and put it in action to start setting results.
What’s the most important factor in an SEO Campaign?
While many SEOs guide may tell you that keyword research is the number one factor contributing to the success of an SEO campaign, we’re here to tell you that every component of your campaign is just as important.
Keyword research, on-page SEO (e.g. title, heading, alt text optimization, fast page loading times), off-page SEO (link building, social media) and technical SEO (e.g. site architecture, mobile optimization) are all incredibly important aspects of a successful campaign.
Link-building is one of the essential elements of an effective SEO campaign. Read “Why “How Link Building Can Better Rank Your Website” to learn how to do it yourself!
Excluding one and focusing on another can severely impact a campaign and limit your website’s overall ability to rank well in the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs).
How to Develop a Successful SEO Campaign in 7 Steps
Step 1. Determine Your Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Before you begin tackling SEO head-on, it’s important to develop a set of specific goals and performance indicators. How will you know if your SEO campaign is successful otherwise?
Common business goals for an SEO strategy include increasing site traffic, sales, conversions and improving domain authority.
Determine what is most important to your business and then establish a set of KPIs that will determine whether your campaign is successful in reaching these goals.
KPIs for your business goals may include website metrics such as traffic, unique visitors, bounce rate, conversions, time on site stats, etc. Sales data is also very helpful to monitor and can tell you a lot about whether your strategy is resulting in a valuable ROI.
Step 2. Perform an SEO Audit by Analyzing Your Current Website
First, examine technical SEO aspects and make improvements where necessary. For example, how fast does your website load?
Anything over 2 seconds should be analyzed and improved. In fact, Google aims for half a second loading time!
Next, check out your current on-page optimization. What does your content look like? Does it reflect your business goals i.e. does it highlight your products and services and address pain points and questions that your target audience has? If so, that’s great – get ready to create even more! Take note of your content, as it may be possible to repurpose into additional fresh material.
Finally, survey your off-page SEO. Do you have backlinks pointing to your site? Where are these backlinks coming from? It’s important to make sure links to your site are coming from relevant and quality websites.
Step 3. Conduct Keyword Research and Develop a Pillar Content Strategy
In order to determine the right keywords and topics to tackle on your website, you must conduct a keyword analysis.
Try to uncover search terms that aren’t too competitive but have a high number of searches. It’s also important to understand and consider the search intent of your audience in order to create a list of keywords that are relevant to their needs.
The intent of a user’s search is important for SEO. Learn more about search intent in “How You Can Use Search Intent For Crafting SEO Content”
Once you’ve developed a list of relevant, high-quality keywords, you need to determine how these can be grouped. It’s important to address larger topics in your content – not singular keywords on their own! Create a pillar content strategy that will help you develop great content that incorporates the valuable keywords you’ve discovered.
Step 4. Create and Publish Value-Added Content
Now that you have your list of keywords and a solid pillar content strategy, put them to work! Strat by creating engaging, helpful and shareable content.
Content that provides your target audience with value will be pivotal to succeeding in the SERPs. Evergreen content is also highly valuable – be sure to focus on creating content that is long-lasting and can be referred to by your audience for years to come.
Step 5. Perform On-Page Optimization
Now it’s time to optimize your content and each page on your site!
On-page optimization tips:
- Include the page’s focus keyword in the url
- Include the keyword in the page title (and meta title) – at the beginning of it, preferably
- Include the keyword in the first paragraph of your page to show search engines that the term is important
- Include the keyword several times throughout the page. But remember – don’t over-optimize! Don’t use your keyword too often throughout the page and make sure to include synonyms as well
- Interlink all related content (new and old)
Step 6. Create Backlinks
Backlinks are crucial for making your website land at the top of search results. When creating backlinks, it’s very important to consider where a link is coming from. Make sure to build links that come from relevant, high-quality websites only – anything else can get you penalized by Google!
Here are some backlinking ideas:
- Create social media posts with links to your content
- Run email campaigns with links to your content – make sure you are promoting your website links to others who are able to post your link on a relevant, quality site
- Provide guest posts on other sites with links to your content
- Post links to your website in directories, for example Google My Business, forums, etc.
- Take a peek at your competitors links and follow suit if they seem to be doing well in the search returns
Step 7. Track, Monitor, Refine, Repeat
Now that the basics are complete, keep an eye on the results of your work. Track and monitor your KPIs and base your campaigns performance on the data you see! Is the bounce rate still too high? Make adjustments to your website and content to address any goal that isn’t being met.
Continue tracking, monitoring, making adjustments and refining your process and your SEO campaign is sure to be a success!
Key Takeaways for Creating an SEO Campaign
In order to improve your website’s position in the search returns, you’ll need to develop a killer SEO campaign.
Here’s 7 crucial steps to developing an effective SEO strategy that will result in long-lasting traffic:
1. Develop Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
What do you want to accomplish? Make sure to clearly establish your business goals and the performance indicators that will determine whether you are meeting them.
2. Audit Your Current Website
Do you have valuable and topical content on your current site? Does your website load fast? These are important things to note and improve on, if need be.
3. Perform Keyword Research and Create a Pillar Content Strategy
Utilize the many tools available to examine possible keywords. Choose keywords that have high traffic volumes, are not too competitive and are relevant to your products and services. Be sure to create keyword groups so that you can focus on topics, rather than individual keywords.
4. Create and Publish Valuable Content
Not all content is good content. Use the valuable keywords you’ve chosen to develop value-added, interesting and shareable content.
5. On-page optimization
Optimize the content on each page of your website. Make sure to:
- Create urls that include your keywords
- Put the keyword at the beginning of your page title and in the meta title
- Include your keyword in the first paragraph of your content (as close to the beginning as possible)
- Use the keyword (and synonyms) throughout the page – but not too often!
- Interlink all related content
6. Create backlinks
Create backlinks from relevant, high-quality websites. You can do so with the use of social media, email campaigns, online directory profiles and guest posts on other sites.
7. Track, Monitor, Refine, Repeat
The work is never done! Be sure to monitor the results of your SEO campaign with the help of your KPIs. Make adjustments where necessary.
Keep up the hard work – track, monitor and adjust – and you’re sure to see your site climb up the rankings!
Now you’re ready to get started with building a successful SEO campaign! Good luck!
