Introduction
The purpose of this article is to explain our in house Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process for a basic campaign. We have optimized hundreds of websites over the years, have learned a little bit along the way- and would like to share some of this information with you. Because we are developers, this article is written primarily from the developer’s perspective. However, anyone should be able to follow along and hopefully, they might learn something interesting- if not a lot more!
Before we get started, please know this: SEO requires a lot of work and there are no shortcuts. This work needs to be done continuously, mainly because of algorithm changes and competitor movements.
Now let’s transition into the technical stuff.
Follow A Step-by-Step Process- We Do!
SEO Managers need to follow processes when they oversee an account. Never “wing it” and rely on your supernatural intuition or use of The Force. If you are a DIY person and don’t think you need this- you are in for some really tough times. A process gives you a roadmap to follow. And at minimum, it guarantees you will cover all the important aspects of a campaign, while also not missing something fundamentally important. Notice we mentioned, “at minimum.” SEO success… as in being “really good,” consists mainly of your experience, technical knowledge, intuition, work ethic and client input.
Within this article, we have intertwined local SEO and national SEO techniques. The main difference between the two is that local SEO focuses more heavily on Google My Business optimization and citation listings. And for time’s sake, we didn’t discuss E-commerce SEO techniques that focus more on product optimization, reviews, etc… However, most SEO campaigns, no matter what type you do, feature a tremendous amount of overlap.
Also note an SEO campaign can basically be segmented into two phases: Campaign Setup and Routine Work. As we progress through each SEO step, we have labeled each accordingly. Typically, the campaign setup period can last anywhere from one to two months. For example, a campaign of 30 keywords usually requires a two month set up period- because there is simply a lot of work to do. Smaller campaigns (15 keywords or less), typically require half the amount of time.
Now that we have the philosophical stuff out the way, let’s have some fun!
There are Two Major Parts of SEO
On-Page and Off-Page. Basically it’s what you do on your website and off your website. And that is about it. While simple in concept, there is a lot happening in these two areas.
In this post, we have labeled each SEO step as either one or the other- or both.
Table of contents
- Step 1: Keyword Analysis
- Step 2: Website Audit
- Step 3: Landing Page
- Step 4: Blog Integration
- Step 5: Meta Elements
- Step 6: Citation Building
- Step 7: Blog Posting
- Step 8: Link Building
- Step 9: Google My Business Optimization
- Step 10: Reporting
Step 1: Keyword Analysis (Setup: On-Page)
Keyword selection is one of the most important steps in the SEO process and some back and forth time should be spent between you and the customer. Sometimes, We create up to 3-4 versions of the keyword report as we constantly delete non-relevant/unwanted terms and add new ones.
It is also important to know that PalmettoSoft usually does keyword analysis within our sales process (before the SEO process you are reading now). Keyword analysis is usually part of our due diligence work in learning about the customer’s business. For clarity and ease of reading, we are showing this as the first step in our SEO process.
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How we do Keyword Analysis
After an initial sales conversation about the client’s business and marketing goals, we ask them to “send me a list of keywords they think people Search for that match their services/products.” Then, we use our free research tool coupled Google Search Console and to uncover a more expansive list along with monthly search volume and competition and send it to the client via email to review. We like to follow up with a timely phone call to explain what the technical terms mean as well as “how” to select the best keywords.
The Google Keyword Planner is a great free tool
Image source: Google Keyword Planner
As a primary factor of consideration, we consider relevance first. And most relevant phrases tend to be long tail keywords as they tend to deliver higher conversion. When a searcher, for example, types a 4-5 word phrase, they tend to know exactly what they are searching for, rather than a generic term that can bring a lot of unwanted traffic to the website.
A keyword analysis is very important and requires some back and forth collaboration with the client. You should let them know upfront that you need their input and it’s considered normal to create several versions of the report until the best keywords are discovered.
A secondary factor is a competition and it is typically shown as either High, Medium and Low. Competition (not the exact number of actual competitors) is the number of search results pages displayed when you do a keyword search. And High competition means you normally will require more time to get the first page Google ranking for the keyword. Low competition is faster… you understand how this works.
If you are wondering about a tertiary (or third) factor, it’s the number of monthly searches. And this is a distant third when compared to the first two factors.
From a strategy perspective, long-tail keywords usually gain faster 1st page ranking and that leads to quicker sales. As the client begins to build a business during the short term, you can begin to build on this success and by expanding the keyword list with more competitive terms.
When selecting keywords, customers tend to automatically lock on to the highest monthly search volume ones. These also tend to be generic in nature. For example, if your customer mainly produces faux alligator handbags, you probably don’t want to target the term “handbags.” Here’s why: Four years and $48,000 later when (and if) you finally do get a first page ranking, around 99% of the traffic will NOT be buying from your customer. And this traffic will overwhelm the telephone with unqualified sales calls, massive email spam, and also the site will have a really high bounce rate. By the way, a high bounce rate has a negative effect on SEO rankings. It’s a vicious cycle you want to avoid and a huge waste of time and money.
Moral of the story: Generic, high competition keywords are NOT worth it- in many ways.
Step 2: Website Audit (Setup: On-Page)
The website audit can be thought of much like a website health check. And a major goal of the audit is to identify any major technical or functional issues a website may have during the SEO setup process. Of course, any issues found need to be fixed immediately or they will cause systemic ranking problems.
For brevity, we are only going to cover the main elements of the audit and not go into detail. If you want to learn more about the elements, there is a ton of information available on the web- plus you tend to learn and retain more when you do research!
All website fixes should be 100% completed before any off site SEO work is done. Would you land a new jumbo jet on a dirt road? Of course not, and the engineers at Google hold the same view.
Main elements of a website audit
- Technical SEO
- Website Structure
- On-Page SEO
- Website Content Review
- Competitors Website Analysis
- Analyze Design and UX (user experience)
SEMrush is one of the best website audit tools.
Image source: SEMrush
Website audits, like an oil change for a car, extend the life and performance of your SEO campaign. And like oil changes, they need to be done periodically. We recommend running an audit on an annual basis.
Two Cases For a Website Audit
Algorithm changes
By doing so, you can keep the performance running optimally while also keeping up with ever-changing Google and Yahoo/Bing algorithm changes.
Webmaster guidelines
Another reason to periodically run your audit is to remain compliant with the major search engines’ Webmaster Guidelines.
Overlooking or blowing through this step will almost guarantee your site will never get ranked. Trust us from personal experience- if your meta coding is out of parameter, if page loading times are slow, etc… This is like pouring water in a bucket with a small hole in the bottom. You keep pouring (effort), yet the results are always the same: You get a quick rise, followed by a long slow decline.
No matter how many other SEO techniques you do, if your website foundation is bad, your SEO strategy will be a doomed house of cards.
Step 3: Landing Page (Setup: On-Page)
After keyword selection and the website audit is completed, the important step of Landing Page Review occurs.
In our experience, almost every website will need a few new pages built to support the new keywords. However, in rare cases, existing pages on a website can be optimized for the new keywords.
If the client chooses 10 keywords in their campaign, you should usually figure on the creation of about 3-4 new pages within the website’s main navigation.
Years ago, when the search engines were more rudimentary, each keyword basically merited its own landing page and the websites tended to have “keyword overload,” as well as repetition all over the page. These days, however, several related keywords can be targeted to the same page in a more natural structure, so a fewer number of landing pages are required.
Landing pages support the targeted keywords for your campaign. However, don’t just have a page full of copy… add supporting images, call to action buttons and make the page “come to life.” You will have higher conversion when you do this.
Landing pages typically follow a template style for consistency.
Image source: Unbounce
How landing page names and # of landing pages are chosen: A few examples
- If several service based keywords are related, one landing page can be created and all of those words can be targeted.
- Normally city-specific keywords require their own landing page.
- E-commerce websites require the actual product page to be the landing page.
Install Landing Pages in the Footer
Usually, keyword targeted landing pages are inserted in the website’s footer (or in the Sitemap) so as to not clutter the website’s top navigation. In this manner, the search engine sees the page as a “1st level navigation page” and gives it the proper authority when indexing. When someone does a search on Google, they type in the query, click on the link, and arrive on the landing page. Another benefit of the landing page is the user is always within one click of your website’s main pages- such as the home page.
Install Landing Pages in the Main Navigation
A different way to install landing pages is to integrate them within your website’s main navigation structure. This can be a bit more tricky and you always want your navigation links to support each other and look more fluid. However, if you can pull this off, you can expect higher customer conversion because the website looks more naturally geared towards these targeted keywords.
Beware of the customer who is infatuated with the design of their website. This tends to be because they designed it themselves and therefore have an emotional attachment to the look and feel of their website.
When you make the recommendation to add landing pages you can get a lot of pushback and odd workaround suggestions by the client (don’t do any of them!) in order to avoid doing the necessary SEO work to help their website. I have heard, for one example, I don’t want keywords on my home page, I wrote the copy myself and everything looks great.”
When this happens, you need to have a straightforward and respectful conversation and simply tell them this: “Currently your website is designed for your public. However, Google requires you to design BOTH for the public and the search engine. If you don’t do this, your site will not rank.”
After coming to their senses, the customer will usually acquiesce and you can make the much needed changes to the website.
Step 4: Blog Integration (Setup: On-Page)
Over the last several years, blogging is growing and is becoming a more increasingly integral part of an effective SEO strategy. It is a good way to boost traffic, build trust and also adds frequent content to your site.
After installing WordPress, our preferred development platform, it’s important to set up the blog theme to include the overview and detail page. And we always use the overview and detail page structure for the maximum SEO benefit. When installing the blog theme, it is also important to use supporting plugins.
WordPress offers a robust blog with a lot of plugins.
Image source: WordPress
We use the following WordPress plugins
- Breadcrumb NavXT
- Social Warfare
- 301 Redirection
- Yoast SEO
- wpDiscuz
- Broken Link Checker
- Rel NoFollow Checkbox
- All in One Schema Rich Snippets
It is also pertinent to create a top navigation and footer link for your blog as it shows your visitor this is an important component of your website. This also helps your blog to be read more often and sends a clear message to Google that your website is a frequent content producer and not simply a static brochure.
Your website blog can be one of the biggest SEO drivers on your website. Set it up correctly, with all the appropriate functionality- and write content with teeth! Your visitors will appreciate it and the search engines will reward you handsomely. Never underestimate the power of your blog!
You NEVER want to approach blogging with the mindset that “it’s a task I have to do.” If you do, you will quickly become part of the status quo of millions of average bloggers that waste time and effort on the Internet.
Instead, you should look forward to writing about things that you are passionate about- or may also happen to be an expert in. Your readers and search engines like engaging and informative content… so always do your best! And these same habits will carry over into all aspects of copywriting you do on your website.
Also know this: It is good to have a strong opinion, say it. Try not to be vanilla and boring. On the flipside, I am also not advocating using bad language, being disrespectful, or being so over-the-top in your claims that you make some people angry or offend them.
Let me prove the math on the above: You have already invested some of your valuable time reading this post. If it was bad content, you probably would have left a long time ago (smile).
Step 5: Meta Elements (Setup: On-page)
Meta elements, a.k.a. Metadata, meta coding, etc., is one of the most basic parts of an SEO strategy. They are also very important and have been around a long time. Basically, they are hidden words (to the public) in your website’s coding that tell the search engine what your site is about. As a result, it’s paramount that you address all the major elements of meta elements as well keeping the information within the search engine’s parameters.
In layman’s terms, meta elements tell the search engine what your website’s pages are about. As you can imagine, the actual web page content needs to also be in balance with the meta elements. Google compares both to each other and this forms one of the pillars of their ranking algorithm. Below are some major components of meta elements.
Make sure you do your meta coding correctly and to the search engine’s parameters. After all, you are talking directly to the search engines about your website’s content.
On-page meta elements
- Title
- Meta description
- Heading tag
- Image alt text
- Breadcrumb navigation
- Schema markup
- Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics setup
- Sitemap.xml setup
- Robots.txt setup
- Creating custom 404 error pages
- 301 redirect verification
- Internal content linking
Meta Coding is what the search engines sees, and not your visitors.
Image source: deepfieldinc.com
For years, literally millions have tried to stuff keywords in meta coding and other negative techniques (ex. hidden text) to try and artificially influence the search engine for better rankings.
Don’t do it, or you run the risk of being penalized. And many penalties can ultimately become Reconsideration Requests to the search engine.
Any similar idea you may think of has already been done by someone, and accounted for in an update to the search engine’s algorthim.
Think of meta element adjustment in your site to pouring a concrete foundation to a house. It’s not complicated or fancy, but does require some skilled work. And like a good foundation, your SEO strategy will be on much better ground as you move forward.
Step 6: Citation Building (Setup: Off-Page)
Citation listings help search engines verify that your business is legitimate.
This is a seriously important step within Local SEO.
When multiple and credible websites all feature the same Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP), website address and business description, this helps your website build authority, establish trust and greatly improves your business ability to rank in the local search results.
Developing a strong citation profile for your business is one of the most fundamental and cost-effective methods to optimize for Local SEO.
Key findings
- 76% of SEOs use Citations / Directory listings to build links
- 58% of SEOs use Content Marketing to build links
- 24% of SEOs use Press Releases to build links
- 21% of SEOs use Guest Posts to build links
Source: BrightLocal
Top 10 free citations
- Google My Business
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps
- Yelp
- Foursquare
- Yellow Pages
- Angie’s List
- Superpages
- MapQuest
If not done correctly, inconsistent NAP and related business information within Citation Listings will harm your SEO rankings.
In bad cases, you may need to spend additional money and a lot of time to correct the issue.
There is also the ultimate possibility of not having your rankings restored, due to the severity of the problem.
Our advice is to use a reputable Citation Listing tool and do everything “best practice.”
Step 7: Blog Posting (Routine: On-Page)
Blog posting is an integral part of SEO for many reasons. First, it tells the search engine robots that your site is routinely producing content and that basically guarantees frequent indexing of your website. Second, it can help establish your company as a subject matter expert (SME) in your field of expertise. Third, it can become a major source of quality inbound traffic to your website and this can have a fantastic effect on your overall SEO efforts.
The WordPress dashboard is easy to use and allows for robust blog management.
Image source: WordPress
Blog writing tips
- Focus on 1–2 long-tail keywords that match the intent of your target reader
- Include your 1–2 keywords in specific parts of your post.
- Make sure your blog is mobile-friendly and responsive.
- Optimize your meta description, and use all the space.
- Optimize your images with image alt text.
- Don’t use too many similar topic tags.
- Use URL structures that help your visitors.
- Link internally when possible.
Source: HubSpot
Google Analytics (when installed on your site) measures important metrics like page stay times, bounce rates, visitors per page, and a lot more! I am telling you this because while you can personally measure your website’s performance- Google Analytics also reports this data back to the mothership- Google. Over the last several years website performance data has become an ever growing piece of the pie in the Google ranking algorithm.
An extremely well written SME type blog post can even bring in more traffic than your website’s home page- and Google loves it when an inner page delivers more traffic than your home page. This scenario can also lead to more stable and higher SEO rankings. For a deeper understanding of this concept, check out the Google Hummingbird update- specifically “It also looks deeper at content on individual pages of a website, with improved ability to lead users directly to the most appropriate page rather than just a website’s homepage.”
Also, activate a social sharing widget at the top of your blog which shows how many comments, number of views and shares the post has. When people see high numbers at the top of your post, they tend to want to read it more… which leads to higher visitor stay times… Google Analytics sees this too and continually boosts your post in the rankings.
If you have the talent and passion, write more than 700 words and develop more informative articles. The search engines will reward you for this effort as you are making your website more of a knowledge base instead of an online brochure.
Social Sharing Widget
The Google Keyword Planner is a great free tool
Image source: Google Keyword Planner
Don’t use Facebook comments in your blog because they are not indexed by Google, their competitor. If you do, you are wasting your time.
Instead, enable Disqus Comments, or native WordPress comments (they are indexable) in your blog and get some compelling back-and-forth conversation going! This will definitely help SEO by telling Google your topic is important.
Step 8: Link Building (Routine: Off-Page)
Back in the late 90s when Google started its run to dominance, it began to heavily measure the number of links pointing to a web page to establish its quality. At first, the number of links (higher the better) was a huge factor, whereas over time, the relevance of the links began to matter more. Basically, as Google evolved, it realized that websites tend to link to other related websites in a natural way.
Link building is the process of acquiring high quality backlinks from other websites to your own website. A backlink (keyword-rich anchor text hyperlink) is inserted in the content for both humans and search engines to navigate between pages from one website to another.
Link building also happens to be the most popular and effective off-Page SEO technique. It also has major importance within the Google ranking algorithm. You should work to generate quality “do follow” backlinks from high ranking Domain Authority (DA)and Page Authority (PA) niche/related websites.
Reference: Google created a short video to explain how links work on the Internet.
Link building is an incredibly important step in SEO. It should be done carefully, routinely and never forced. Always try to think like the search engine when you build links so your strategy has a natural structure to it.
Linking is an extremely important part of SEO and should be
