SEO Marketing Strategy

We’ll share everything we cover as an SEO marketing agency so you can start seeing better SEO results for your website. 

The Four Pillars of SEO

As you build your SEO marketing strategy, it’s important to focus on the four pillars:

• On-Page SEO
• Off-Page SEO
• Technical SEO
• Content

This will give you a complete SEO strategy that will guide you to ranking higher. Implementing them will improve the quality of your content, make it more visible and build authority. We’ll begin with a quick overview of these pillars before going into more detail. 

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO focuses on optimising your content to rank better in search engine result pages. You’ll need to carefully select relevant keywords and incorporate them into your site’s content, titles, and meta descriptions. It’s also important to make sure that your HTML is clean and well-structured. 

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO focuses on increasing your site’s authority through external means. You’ll primarily engage in building high-quality backlinks from reputable sites which shows search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO improves your website’s structure, ensuring search engines can easily crawl and index your content. This involves optimising server response times and checking your site’s architecture to allow for efficient crawling.

Content

Your content mustn’t only attract but also engage and satisfy the needs of your visitors. It’s about producing material that’s precisely aligned with what they’re searching for. 

Building an SEO Marketing Strategy

Now it’s time to put the four pillars together into a marketing strategy. Creating a strategy makes sure you have a checklist and team members know their roles. 

Set Goals and Objectives

Setting clear goals and objectives is the first step in developing an effective SEO marketing strategy for your business. Start by identifying what you hope to achieve with your SEO—whether it’s increasing sales, generating more leads, or boosting brand awareness. 

Consider setting specific, measurable targets like a 10% increase in organic traffic within six months, achieving first-page rankings for key product pages, or reducing your website’s bounce rate by improving content relevance and user engagement. These clear benchmarks won’t only guide your strategy but also make it easier to track progress and adjust tactics as needed.

Keyword Research

Identify the terms your audience is actively searching for. Use SEO tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush to find keywords with search volume that you can realistically compete for.

Concentrate on primary keywords that directly describe your products or services, such as ‘first-time mortgage’. These keywords will be the pillar pages you want to drive as much traffic to as possible. From there you can create a list of secondary keywords like ‘government incentives for first-time buyers’. These secondary keywords will link to the pillar pages like supporting articles. This allows you to build topical authority on subjects which is great in the eyes of Google. 

Local SEO can be a valuable SEO strategy for some businesses. For example, if you’re a franchise, consider primary keywords like ‘bakery in [City Name]’ and long-tail options such as ‘best gluten-free desserts near me’.

Analyse Competitor Strategies

Start by identifying who ranks for your chosen keywords; these are your direct SEO competitors. Utilise tools like Moz’s Competitive Analysis, Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, or SEMrush’s Competitive Positioning Map to dive deeper. You should focus on keyword gaps, discovering terms they rank for that you don’t.

Also, analyse their backlink profiles to see the quantity and quality of links. Don’t overlook the content quality; review their content and how well they’ve optimised for keywords.

For example, if competing franchises are successfully drawing traffic with in-depth guides, consider creating your unique take on similar topics.

Create the Strategy

With your goals, keyword insights, and competitive analysis in hand, it’s time to build a tailored SEO marketing strategy. Start by mapping out a content calendar that targets both high-volume and niche long-tail keywords. This guarantees you’re covering a broad spectrum of search queries with relevant content to your audience.

Focus on on-page optimisation, making sure each web page utilises meta tags, headings, and alt text effectively to drive traffic and boost your SEO. Also, you’ll need a solid link-building plan. Look into guest posting and collaborations that align with your brand for quality backlinks.

On-Page SEO

This is everything that’s going to take your content to the next level. Optimisation should never take the place of quality, but it can give your content a helping to get seen by more potential customers. 

Optimising Content

You can optimise new and old content for target keywords. One of the most important things to remember with content is search intent. Your content should try to match the search intent which means analysing what consumers are looking for and creating content that best fits there needs.

Place your primary keywords strategically in the title, headers, and especially in the first 100 words of your content. This highlights their importance to search engines. Aim for a keyword density of 1-2% to maintain a natural flow and avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your ranking.

Improve your content by using contextually relevant headings and related terms. These semantically related keywords help search engines better understand the context of your content. 

Meta Tags and Title Tags

Make sure your title tags are under 60 characters to guarantee they display properly on search engine results pages. Create them compellingly and descriptively, placing the primary keyword near the start.

Though meta descriptions don’t directly impact your rankings, they’re important for improving click-through rates. Keep these between 155-160 characters and don’t forget to include a call-to-action, along with your primary and secondary keywords.

Structure Your Content and Images Correctly

Structuring your content with clear headers and providing descriptive alt text for images are key components of on-page SEO. You’ll want to organise your blog post using headers like H1, H2, and H3. Make sure your main title is an H1 and includes your primary keyword. Subheadings should naturally incorporate secondary keywords to help break down the content into digestible sections.

Don’t forget to add alt text to every image. This text should accurately describe the image with relevant keywords, assisting both search engines and visually impaired users. T

Internal Linking

Internal linking improves your website’s SEO by ensuring that web pages are interconnected in a coherent way. By strategically linking your pillar content to related cluster content, you’re not only improving navigation but also boosting user engagement. This interconnectedness allows users to easily find more detailed information, keeping them on your site longer.

Internal linking establishes a network of topics that enhances your site’s authority and relevance in search engines. It signals to Google that you’re a resource hub for specific topics, which can elevate your rankings. Internal links also distribute link equity throughout your site, which helps in boosting the SEO performance of individual pages. 

Off-Page SEO

You’ll find that acquiring links from reputable websites can grow your site’s authority and improve your rankings in organic search results.

Backlinks

Focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable sources. Backlinks are critical, as they signal to Google that other websites endorse your content.

You can acquire these valuable links through several strategies. Guest blogging is where you write articles for established sites in your industry. This not only provides you with a new audience but also includes a backlink to your site.

Another method is broken link building. Search for broken links on relevant websites and suggest replacing them with links to similar content on your site. 

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is what makes sure everything is running smoothly. It’s even more important for large websites such as enterprise companies and ecommerce sites. 

Site Speed and Responsiveness

Google considers page speed a key ranking factor, particularly for mobile searches. To keep your site moving quickly, you can compress images to shrink file sizes without degrading quality, minimise HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code, reduce redirects, and utilise browser caching. This will improve load times, especially for repeat visitors.

Also, with the shift towards mobile-first indexing, your website must be mobile-friendly. Implementing responsive design ensures your site adjusts to fit various screen sizes smoothly. You can test mobile usability with tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure excellent performance on all devices.

Structured Data and Schema Markup

By helping search engines understand your content, you’re more likely to snag rich snippets. These snippets, whether they’re showing star ratings for reviews, prices for products, or ingredients for recipes, can greatly boost your click-through rates.

Choose the right types of schema like Product, Review, or Recipe based on what you’re offering. For example, if you’re running an e-commerce site selling beauty products, applying Product schema on your product pages helps display essential details like price and availability right in search results.

Don’t forget to use tools like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to confirm your implementation is spot-on.

Overall Technical Elements

Confirm your XML sitemap is always current and properly submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This helps search engines efficiently find and index your pages.

Manage your robots.txt file to direct search engines on what parts of your site to crawl and what to avoid, making sure they’re not blocked from important content. Also, regularly check your site for 404 errors and fix broken links or redirect them to relevant pages using 301 redirects. This maintains link equity and improves user experience. Don’t forget to use canonical tags to resolve duplicate content issues, clearly marking the preferred version of a page.

Content Marketing

First, you’ll want to identify who your audience is and understand what they’re searching for. Use tools like audience personas and social media listening to gather insights about their interests and pain points. Depending on your audience and goals, diversify your content types. You can include blog posts, long-form articles, infographics, videos, podcasts, and case studies to cater to different preferences and engagement levels.

Each piece of content should offer value, whether it’s educational, informative, entertaining, or solves a problem. The more value your content provides, the more likely it is to be consumed and shared. 

Plan and schedule your content production using a content calendar to guarantee regular publishing and maintain a consistent presence that keeps your audience engaged. Consider enhancing engagement by integrating multimedia and interactive elements like quizzes or polls. These methods not only make your website’s content seem more engaging but also increase its shareability and the time visitors spend on your site, which are positive signals to search engines.

SEO Tools We Recommend

Google Analytics is essential, offering insights into how visitors interact with your site and where they come from. It’s vital for understanding user behaviour. 

Google Search Console is another must-have. It lets you see your site as Google sees it, highlighting important SEO health indicators like crawl errors and security issues. This tool helps in ensuring your site meets Google’s standards, which can influence your search rankings too.

SEMrush offers features for keyword research and competitor analysis. You can identify what keywords your competitors are targeting and adapt your strategy accordingly. 

Ahrefs is similar, with tools for backlink analysis and content research, helping you understand why competitors rank where they do.

Screaming Frog crawls your site to pinpoint broken links, analyse metadata, and help optimise your on-site SEO.

Performance Tracking

As you implement your SEO marketing strategy, it’s important to track performance metrics to gauge your success and identify areas for improvement. Utilising tools like Google Analytics, you’ll be able to see which parts of your website are performing well and where users tend to drop off. This insight helps you refine your approach continuously.

For example, if you notice high bounce rates on specific pages, you might need to improve the content or user experience to keep visitors engaged longer. Also, don’t overlook the power of A/B testing. By experimenting with different meta descriptions or page titles, you can determine what resonates best with your audience and leads to higher click-through rates.

Tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs can show you how competitors’ pages are ranking and why. If they outrank you for key terms, analyse their content and backlink strategies. Learn from their strengths and apply these insights to your own SEO efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Top 5 SEO Strategies?

Focus on keyword research, on-page optimisations, quality content creation, technical SEO improvements, and building strong backlinks. 

Is SEO a Marketing Strategy?

Yes, it’s a marketing strategy. You use it to enhance your website’s visibility in search results, which helps attract more visitors and increase sales or conversions.

What Is an SEO Strategy?

SEO is a plan to boost your website’s visibility in search results by optimising content, focusing on keywords, and improving technical aspects to make search engine algorithms attract more organic traffic to your website.

What Is an SEO Content Marketing Strategy?

You’ll focus on crafting and optimising content to boost your search engine visibility by targeting key phrases that draw in more organic search traffic.