Formulating a Solid SEO Strategy

Formulating A Solid SEO Strategy For Your Site And Your Business

In previous blog posts I’ve shared quite a bit of information with you about putting it all together and formulating a solid SEO strategy that can boost your rankings and the traffic Google and the other search engines send your way. By the way, I haven’t spelled this out yet, but Google is what you want to focus on. It is your best shot at traffic and if you optimize well for Google it will work well for the rest of them too. Search engine optimization is well worth your time and effort and will give you an unfair advantage when it comes to growing your business.

Start By Setting A Goal

The first step of any good strategy is to set a goal of what you want to accomplish. Without a goal, you won’t know if you’re succeeding. You also can’t gauge what it will take to reach your goal. Decide how much search engine traffic you want from your content by the end of the month or the quarter. Then get to work. Start by taking a guess at how much you need to publish to reach that goal.

Determine Your Topics And Your Publishing Schedule

Next, it’s time to make a list of topics that you want to write or record about and come up with a publishing schedule. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but you’re much more likely to get it down if it’s on the calendar. Commit and do your best to stick to it. Then it’s time to start writing.

Formulating a Solid SEO Strategy Requires You to Find Your Keywords

Do your research and find the keyword that you think will give you good results. There’s no way to know for sure if they will work for you until you try. The good news is that you can tweak and change, or simply create more content based on other keywords. Remember, you want to rank for keywords that indicate that people are looking for what you have to offer.

Work your keyword into the first 100 words of your post, but make sure it flows and reads well. Don’t force it. It’s better to leave it out than to end up with a blog post that no one wants to read. From there, continue to write and drop your keyword or key phrase in occasionally. You don’t want to overdo this. Once or twice is all you need for shorter pieces of content. For a long article like this one, you can get away with mentioning it a little more often. An SEO plugin like Yoast SEO can help determine keyword density and suggest increasing or reducing the frequency. If you’re not using a plugin, use it early in the post and then once or twice more. That’s enough to get the point across to the search engines without annoying your readers.

By the way, Google has gotten pretty smart over the years. Their algorithm can recognize related words and phrases. That’s great news because you can get more creative with your writing and craft blog posts your audience will enjoy reading.

Publish And Monitor Rankings

Publish as you go along and keep an eye on rankings and traffic. Make a spreadsheet of your keywords and look at the rankings – using an incognito web browser – once a week or so. Install Google Analytics and keep an eye on the traffic you have coming in through search.

Work On Social Signals And Incoming Links

Each time you publish a new piece of content, spend some time to share it on social media. Get the ball rolling and share it around. If you have an email list, email them about it on a weekly basis. The more your content is seen, the higher the chances someone will naturally link to it.

Rinse And Repeat

Keep writing and recording. Keep publishing. And keep sharing both old and new content on social media. You’re in this for the long haul.

Track, Test, And Adjust As Needed

Last but not least, take some time to stop every once in a while and examine your data. Is your SEO strategy working? Is it working as well as you’d like? If not, what could you try to do differently. Maybe it’s publishing less frequently, but writing longer blog posts instead. Maybe it’s using more social media friendly images. Or less. Maybe it’s taking the time to create five new pinnable images each week. Keep learning about SEO and tweak your strategy as you learn and try more techniques. Formulating a solid SEO strategy now will make a difference for years to come.

I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you’re new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my training on how to sell yourself at Sell Yourself and Your Stuff and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.