Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a challenging, complex and exciting part of any good business marketing plan.  Plenty of businesses have a strategy for SEO, but there is quite a lot of variance in terms of how complete and effective these strategies are.

So what makes an SEO strategy a good one?   I’m glad you asked!

SEO has many facets that all play a part in determining whether your website ranks well in Google’s organic search results.  Ultimately the objective is to drive organic search traffic and sales leads to your business without having to pay for those keyword terms.  It is an investment in your long term success, which if done correctly can be one of the best you will ever make.

To check whether your SEO Strategy is a good one; here are a few questions you should ask.

Is it focused?   

A good strategy always starts with a specific objective.   When it comes to SEO, that objective should specify exactly what keywords you want to rank for – pick high volume keywords that would generate leads who are genuinely in your market to buy.  You should then determine how high you want to rank for those keywords.  Top 3 is where the real value is and that is a great place to aim for.  What is realistic for your objective depends on the competition vying to win on your keywords – but the key is to be specific on what target you set.

Does it cover both technical and creative elements?

A good SEO strategy is a tapestry of both technical and creative elements.   Having one without the other is not going to lead to success.   You could have the most vibrant and engaging blog content but host it on a slow non-optimised site and it will never get anywhere.   Equally you could have a technically amazing site but have no content and it also will not rank.   A good strategy should address site performance (especially mobile), site schema, site metadata and more as well as having robust SEO specific content and link strategies to build relevance and reputation.

Are there both short term and long term tactics to achieve your objectives?

Within your SEO strategy you should see both short and long term tactics.  The short term tactics can be completed quickly – for example R6 Digital offer an ‘SEO Boost’ which includes identifying all the elements of the strategy that can be done quickly such as site speed optimisations and technical fixes as well as setting up blogs, metadata and directory links; all elements which boost SEO performance and don’t have to wait to be implemented.

These changes are a great head start, but they alone don’t win the war.  To do that requires that you also have long term tactics.  This would involve regular content updates, blog postings and ongoing valuable link generation.

Both the short and long game need to be played if you want to hit those valuable top spots in the search rankings.

Once you get to your desired ranking is there a plan for how you will maintain that ranking?

Once you make it to the holy grail of your desired organic search ranking and the leads start flowing in you must remember – the battle is not over, it has only just begun.   That coveted spot that you have worked so hard to achieve will undoubtedly be in the sights of your competitors and you must be ready to defend it!

To defend your position you will need to keep on top of any changes in the SEO landscape that might impact your rankings and be ready to respond by changing the strategy, tweaking content or optimising your website.  Make sure that you don’t ever declare victory in the SEO game – keep up your content development and keep building your site authority to ensure that no competitor can scoop that valuable spot away from you!

Need a hand with your SEO strategy?

Then get in touch with us!     At R6 Digital we are marketing geeks who love the challenge of SEO strategy and would love to help you develop and execute for your business.