The SEO Process

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT ALL THE FUNDAMENTAL SEO STEPS ARE UNDERTAKEN AND IN THE RIGHT ORDER?

THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS TO UNDERTAKE THIS IN A SYSTEMATIC AND METHODICAL DISCRETE STEP-BY-STEP MANNER. IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO THIS, THEN WHY NOT USE AN SEO WHO NOT ONLY DOES IT THIS WAY BUT ALSO CHARGES ON A PROJECT-BY-PROJECT BASIS.

Every client is different, so the below process only outlines the steps that many of my clients have chosen, with my guidance, as packages to improve their search engine rankings and organic traffic. The process is never prescriptive since all clients and their websites and marketing are unique. They all have strengths and weaknesses, so part of the initial consultation process is determining the most suitable SEO strategy and packages that will deliver the most ROI and in which order this should be done.

Step 1: Keyword Research

This should always be the foundation of any SEO campaign. Without knowing what people are searching for, what’s the point of ranking for anything else? This project determines the best phrases with high search intent and a reasonable search volume and how you rank on search engine results pages.

Step 2: On-Page Optimisation

Identifying the best web pages for the deploying of specific key search terms. Each identified page is then closely optimised for that term. A review of the structure of the website may also determine the creation or moving of pages.

Step 3: Content Management

Developing new content or ensuring existing content is being fully leveraged and repurposed is now critical to engage all the audiences now identified. What’s next? That very much depends on the findings of these steps.

Step 4: Local SEO

The impact for most companies can be immense whether the organisation is a single or multi-site location business. However, the right search terms need to be determined before populating the directories!

Step 5: Technical SEO

Many sites can have poor site speed, which is a key ranking factor, so work is undertaken to optimise for as fast a load time as possible for desktop and mobile visits. In addition, a host of other issues can affect the user experience, including broken links, duplicate content, large image files, and out-of-date themes and plugins.

Step 6: Competitor Backlink Research

Once I have determined your competitor's backlinks, the next step is categorising and defining strategies for engaging these valuable contacts.

Step 7: Backlink Building

Based on the insights gained from the backlink research, new backlinks can be added to improve the client’s overall Domain Authority, which should improve the site’s overall ranking.

What's in a name? Why Ready Steady Go SEO?

Affordable SEO services aren’t a silver bullet. Like any marketing activity, if your organisation isn’t set up for SEO, it may prove ineffective or at least hard to measure effectiveness. Hence my company name. It’s a process to determine if, when or how your company can benefit from pay-as-you-go SEO at this stage in your organisation’s development. Ultimately, as with all business initiatives, a third party’s involvement without your own organisation’s commitment is likely to provide less than you’d hoped.

Are you ready?

Do You Monitor All Sales Enquiries, Particularly Phone Enquiries, To Determine The Source Of The Enquiries?

Do you currently have a decent online reputation, e.g., Facebook or Google Business Profile reviews?

Are You Dealing With Your Current Enquiries And Orders? Would An Influx Of Either Be Accommodated?

Are You Prepared To Spend The Time Analysing The Motivations, Language And Profiles Of Your Clients?

Are you steady?

Do you have access to your online assets, such as Google Analytics, Search Console, and Google Business Profile?

Do You Regularly Create Content, Or Are You Looking To Have Content Created For Ongoing Content Development?

Are you active or looking to Actively promote your site through other channels, e.g., social media?

Do You Have KPIs In Place To Measure SEO Success Throughout The Buying Cycle?

Is it time to commit to SEO?

From An Initial SEO Audit, Have You Determined Possible Keywords That Show Justifiable Search Volumes And/Or A High Level Of Intent?

Are you ready to support SEO with a commitment to understanding what's involved and meeting regularly for updates?

Will You Be Setting Up Ways To Monitor Where All Business Enquiries Are Generated From Formally?

Have You Got Realistic Timescales And Budgets In Place For The Effectiveness Of Different SEO Services To Have Their Impact?

From this checklist, you should be able to determine where you are in an excellent position to get the most from an SEO service and know whether to proceed at this point or maybe review what might need to change in your organisation. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t say ‘yes’ to all of the above points, but if you can say ‘yes’ to the majority of them, then you’re likely to find SEO success much closer to being a reality.