As a freelance digital marketer, I've worked with clients of all sizes to help improve their online presence. One of the most critical aspects of this work is understanding and implementing effective SEO strategies. Recently, I revisited the fundamentals of SEO, which can be distilled into three main pillars:
Here's a breakdown of these pillars and how they can be applied to various types of websites.
The Three Pillars of your SEO Strategy
Technical SEO
This is about ensuring that Google can understand and index your website. The larger your website, the more crucial technical SEO becomes. For example, eCommerce sites need to prioritise technical SEO to manage their vast array of products and categories.
It's crucial to ensure all pages can be indexed by Google and resolving any issues here, improving page speed so pages load in a suitable time, using structured data to help search engines understand pages and canonical tags to show master pages are just a few of the key points.
To read more on this topic visit our Technical SEO blog post.
Content
This includes everything written on your website. A thorough content strategy involves conducting a content audit to evaluate every page, identify keywords, and determine what content needs optimising, merging, or removing.
Ensuring your content thoroughly answers user queries with original and informative material is essential. Additionally, keyword research and clustering are crucial to showcase expertise in specific areas and address user intent comprehensively.
To read more on this topic visit our SEO Content blog post.
Link Building
Acquiring authoritative signals from reputable sites boosts your site's credibility. Effective link-building strategies include creative campaigns that appeal to industry publications and mainstream outlets, digital PR, and creating link-worthy content such as data-driven stories and statistics. Local link-building through business directories and local service websites is also beneficial.
To read more on this topic visit our Link Building blog post.
Tailoring SEO Strategies
Not every website is the same, so SEO plans should be tailored accordingly. Smaller websites might focus more on content optimisation rather than technical aspects, while larger websites need to emphasise technical SEO to handle complex structures and numerous pages.
For instance, an eCommerce site with thousands of products requires a robust technical SEO framework to ensure all pages are accessible and indexable by search engines. On the other hand, a small business website can benefit more from creating high-quality, targeted content that directly addresses their audience's needs.
Conducting a Content Audit
A content audit is essential for understanding your current content landscape. This process involves evaluating every single page to identify keywords, current rankings, and optimisation opportunities. It also means removing or consolidating thin content to create more comprehensive information, identifying and addressing cannibalising pages, and fixing 404 errors that previously brought in traffic. A thorough content audit helps in refining your content strategy to better meet user needs and improve search engine visibility.
Common SEO Errors
During technical and content audits, several common mistakes often come to light. Poor internal linking can make content hard to find for both users and search engines. Insufficient content across pages can fail to thoroughly address user intent, even though word count isn’t a direct ranking signal. Additionally, many pages might not be optimised for relevant keywords, and the site may suffer from low-quality or insufficient backlinks. Addressing these issues is crucial for a successful SEO strategy.
Keyword Research and Topical Authority
Keyword research is vital for targeting the right audience. This involves grouping key phrases into clusters to demonstrate knowledge in specific areas, analysing search volumes, traffic, CPC, and clicks per search, and cross-referencing this data with Search Console to ensure that the keywords you want to target align with what people are searching for.
Building topical authority helps establish expertise in an area. Linking from blog posts to service pages and earning backlinks from authoritative sites are effective strategies for demonstrating this expertise.
Creating a Content Plan
A solid content plan is based on insights, a content audit, and keyword research. It should outline a strategic SEO roadmap over a 12-month period, aligned with business priorities.
This plan will guide the creation of content briefs for writers, detailing keyword to target, industry information gaps, internal linking, and page structure. Having a well-defined content plan ensures that your content creation efforts are focused and effective, ultimately driving better results for your SEO strategy.
Link Building Strategies
Once the technical and content aspects are in place you can focus on link building. Google sees third-party links as trust signals, and the combination of authority and relevance boosts rankings. Effective link-building types include:
Creative Link Building: Data-led campaigns that attract industry and mainstream coverage to link to your content.
Digital PR: Promoting stories and content that naturally accumulate links.
Local Link Building: Engaging with local directories and service websites.
Reporting and Adapting
Regular reporting on SEO progress is crucial. Using tools like GA4, Search Console, and SEO tracking tools, you can monitor keyword performance and technical aspects. CRM tracking for lead generation can provide valuable insights as well.
It's essential to be prepared to adapt your strategies, taking an agile approach, based on industry changes, business priorities, and observed results. This agility ensures that your SEO efforts remain effective and aligned with your goals. Additionally, understanding how users originally found you versus the channel they used, as shown by GA4, can offer deeper insights into your audience’s behaviour and preferences.
To understand more on how analytics and reporting can help your SEO and overall marketing strategy take a read of our Website Analytics blog.
SEO fundamentals
By mastering these SEO fundamentals and tailoring strategies to fit different website sizes and needs, you can significantly enhance your online presence and drive meaningful results for your business.
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