SEO optimization is more than simply applying some SEO tactics and hope they work out well. For a website to generate traffic and increase conversion rates, a fully optimized website is required. Read in this article why an effective SEO strategy is needed for business growth.
Why is an SEO strategy important?
In a highly competitive online world, business growth requires more than having a great website and applying a few basic SEO techniques. SEO optimization is an ongoing process that requires a comprehensive and well thought of SEO strategy. This allows you to not only fully optimize your website to its highest potential, but also to get more visibility and generate targeted traffic.
With the help of an SEO agency that specializes in search engine optimization, you can combine great content with great SEO practices and bang … your targeted website traffic can skyrocket. An SEO consultant can help you create an effective SEO strategy to achieve your business goals with organic targeted website traffic.
Why do you need it if your website is performing well?
Some businesses are satisfied with the performance of their website. Since their website is generating leads, it must be good – so they believe. Rather than spending time and budget on optimizing their website, they focus on developing other parts of their business and investing in paid and social ads. Which work but are costly and generate less ROI.
Until they discover that their competitors are getting 3 or 4 folds more website traffic. Or they see a drop-down in their lead generation volume (which can happen after an algorithm update or a change in online competition). Then they realize that they need more than just a basic SEO implementation.
Optimization for search engines goes beyond on-page tactics. An SEO strategy is to get a well-performing website. This means that one has to think strategically about their online business, get to understand their target groups and their needs, conduct keyword research and analysis, identify search intent, and more. For an SEO strategy, you will need an SEO content plan.
What is an SEO strategy?
SEO strategy is the analysis of the website performance, content, keyword rankings, internal and external linking of pages, and competitors. The strategy will be built upon a comprehensive (technical) SEO audit of the site, including:
- Specific website elements,
- A comprehensive review of your products and services,
- Analysis of your target audiences and their searches online,
- Your business objectives.
”SEO strategy is a result of an elaborate discussion about the business and information exchange”.
The purpose is to define together what is needed to generate website traffic and leads:
- Where does your website stand out online?
- How do the competition and the industry perform?
- What actions do you need to carry out to achieve your online growth potential? And much more.
What type of SEO strategy suits you?
An effective SEO strategy is customized for different industries and business models. What needs to be done to optimize rankings, depends on the type of business, search terms, competitors, geographic location among many other factors.
Other criteria and tactics are applied based on website ranking and performance. Keep in mind that if you focus on Google, the rankings in the other search engines should also follow. An SEO consultant can help you to achieve your digital potential.
SEO is specific for industry, business model, and objectives
General SEO is dead. As internet search, so as the online competition is growing, SEO is getting rather more sophisticatedly industry-based. Some industries (such as finance, real estate, and insurance to name a few) are more competitive online than others. For example, financial service companies focus heavily on SEO, produce lots of content and have big budgets for publicity. A financial service website must meet certain SEO guidelines to be considered as highly secure and authoritative. This is important for search engines as well as for users. Additionally, it must apply advanced SEO tactics, optimize for rich snippets and constantly optimize content and backlinks to keep up with the competition and grow organically.
Keywords for counseling or life coaching services might have very low search volume and highly competitive keywords at the same time. An effective SEO strategy for a consulting business with a limited budget might include focusing on building backlinks on reputable sites aggressively.
Local vs. international SEO
A local business should apply local SEO where an international business should apply International SEO tactics. A strategy for a local business with multiple locations is different than for a local business with one location or multiple service areas covered.
A local store with one location and a low budget can develop a Google My Business page and succeed even without a website. Of course, having a website is better, but just to illustrate how small tips and tactics can serve basic business needs.
Search engine friendly
To gain rankings in search engine result pages (SERPs), your website needs to be better optimized than other websites targeting the same keyword(s). Next, the more search engine friendly your website is, the greater the chance that the search engines will rank the site on top.
Unlike PPC/ paid ads, you do not pay to appear on top of result pages organically. So it is free of charge on one hand. On the other hand, SEO is a complex process that requires that you either invest your money (for an SEO expert or an SEO agency service). Or invest your time (to keep learning, follow algorithm updates, and applying the optimizations of your site continuously).
By using certain SEO techniques with the help of an SEO expert, you increase your website’s rankings and user experience. This will increase your organic traffic and conversions. Next to great content, SEO is the most important part of a website. After all, what is the value of having a very good website if no one visits it and buys your product?
SEO audit is the base of your strategy
An SEO strategy follows an SEO audit which is an in-depth analysis of your website. It includes search engine ranking factors and online competition analyses. Without an SEO audit, there is no strategy. In order to draw well-informed conclusions, the SEO audit provides the basic data needed for the analysis of your website.
The SEO recommendations (technically and on-page) will be implemented when the SEO strategy is clear. An SEO consultant can also help you to create and optimize content for your website.
Read more about SEO audit.
