Here’s a Most effective step-by-step SEO process.
@1. Keyword Research
First, you need to find different sets of words your target audience uses to find your brand or content online, called keywords. You need to find the most popular and relevant keywords.
So, how do you find the right keywords?
#1 The simplest way is to Google them. Make a list of 4-5 broad topics. Now, type one of these topics in the search bar. Add the suggestions made by Google to your keyword list.
#2 At the bottom of the search results page, you will see eight keywords related to your search term.
Try a similar approach for identifying keywords on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, among others, of course, you can use tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, keywordtool.io, and KWFinder to do the same. During your research, you will come across the following types of keywords:-
#1 Short-Tail – They are made up of three words or less. They have a high search volume and competition, no clear search intent, and a low conversion rate. Use them as head keywords.
#2 Long-Tail – Keywords with more than three words have low search volume and competition, but high conversion rate due to clear search intent. Use them for specific content.
#3 Short-Term – They offer high conversion rate, clear search intent, and high search volume, but only for a short period. You can use them to gain from trending news and media.
#4 Long-Term – Also called evergreen keywords, they are just like short-term keywords, but have a longer life span. You can use them to create evergreen content like guides and skyscraper posts.
#5 Product-Specific – They have low search volume and competition, but high conversion rate owing to their precise search intent. You can use them in product-related content.
#6 Location-Specific – Also called geo-targeting keywords, they are critical for local businesses where location matters for attracting leads.
#7 LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) – They are semantically related to the main keyword. They can boost your primary keyword ranking. You can use them to create blog posts, guides, and even infographics.
@2. Competitor Analysis
Next, you need to find out what your competitors are doing. Doing so will help you find out the specific keywords they are using and the SEO opportunities you can use to get ahead in the game. You can start by Googling your main keyword. For example, when you search Google for “content marketing agency in San Diego,” you get the following results.
This means NextLeft, Power Digital Marketing, Siege Media, CNG, and Thrive Agency are our top five competitors. You can also use Ahrefs or SEMrush to find these competitors. Using the same tools, you can also find the following information and use it to build your SEO strategy:-
#1 Estimated organic traffic
#2 Top performing keywords and content
#3 Content gaps if any
#4 Backlinks
#5 Social media and overall online traction
@3. On-Page SEO Optimization
Once you’ve done keyword research and competitors’ analysis, you can start optimizing your website accordingly. You will need to cover the following elements:
#1 Title Tags – Use the main keyword for the page in the title tag, preferably at the beginning.
#2 Meta Descriptions – Apart from using your main keyword in the Meta descriptions, make sure to use an active voice with the perfect call-to-action and unique content that clearly describes a specific page. Keep the length between 150 and 180 characters. You can also include a set of relevant keywords as Meta Tags for each page.
#3 URL Optimization – Make sure your URLs are short, descriptive, and include the main keyword. Pay attention to the URL structure as well. It should mimic the actual structure of your site.
#4 Image Optimization – Make sure image file names or Alt Text include your main keyword and are relevant.
#5 Content Body Tags – These are also known as H1, H2, and H3 tags. H1 tag is usually your main page title, while the rest of the tags are used for consequent subtitles. Make sure you write keyword-rich subtitles throughout the content.
#6 Internal Linking – Internal links will make it easier for your users to browse your website. Use these links wisely (at least 2-3 links) on each page.
#7 Loading Speed – The faster your website loads, the better. According to a recent speed test, slow-loading websites often have a high bounce rate.
#8 Mobile Optimization – With more than half the global internet traffic coming from mobiles, your website needs to be optimized for mobile. If not, you will lose nearly 50% of your potential buyers.
#9 Content Optimization – Finally, you need to optimize your content with the right keywords. However, don’t overuse keywords and make sure they fit in the content naturally. Keep this in mind when creating new content for a blog post, video, infographic, or new product page.
@4. Off-Page SEO Optimization or Link Building
Off-page SEO optimization involves the following techniques:-
#1 Guest Blogging – Guest blogging is one of the best ways to boost your off-page SEO. You can write shareable, relevant, unique, and the latest content to earn valuable backlinks and web traffic to your site. Make sure to post your content on high-authority sites. In addition to this, you can also start a blog on your website.
#2 Social Media Engagement – This is the fastest way to make your brand popular online. You should set up and sync all your social media accounts with your content marketing strategy.
#3 Social Bookmarking – You can also bookmark your website and content on social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious, and Reddit to earn more traffic for your site.
#4 Directory Submission – When you submit your webpage URLs to the right directory and category, you can improve your web presence. Plus, you can also find valuable backlinks.
#5 Article Submission – Another way is to submit keyword-optimized articles to relevant high-authority article submission sites.
#6 Question-and-Answer Websites – You can also submit content to question-and-answer websites like Quora to boost your online presence.
#7 Google My Business (GMB) Page – GMB can help you improve your local SEO ranking. You can optimize the GMB page with the right keywords to get more local traffic. GMB also allows you to post short articles.
@5. Measuring Results
The only way to know if your SEO strategy is working is to measure the results. You will need to track and measure the following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):-
#1 Keyword Rankings: This metric tells you how well a website is doing in SERPs and whether or not you are targeting the right keywords. You can use Google Analytics for this. However, other tools like Rank Tracker or Monitor Backlinks are much better.
#2 Organic Traffic: Organic traffic comes from search engine leads, not paid advertisements. It is also one of the best indicators of SEO success. Open Google Analytics, go to Acquisition>All Traffic>Channels>Organic Search to track organic traffic coming from search engines.
#3 Social Shares: You can easily track this metric using Google Analytics. Go to Acquisition>All Traffic>Channels. You can track the traffic coming from Search, Social, Direct, Referral, Email, Paid Search, and other resources. You can also use tools like Mention to track your social media presence.
#4 Backlinks: If the number of your relevant backlinks is growing, your SEO strategy is working. You can check out Acquisition>All Traffic>Referrals in Google Analytics to know this. Referrals are nothing but backlinks. You can also use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to check your backlink volume.
#5 Click-Through Rate (CTR): Calculating the CTR will help you measure both organic as well as paid website traffic. You can track and measure this KPI in the Search Analytics section of Google Analytics. You can see a detailed report of the average click-through rate of your site along with the best-performing keywords and pages.
#6 Average Time Spent on a Page: This KPI tells you how engaging your website is. Usually, higher average time spent on a page indicates that people like your content, and it satisfies the user’s intent. Once again, you need Google Analytics. Go to Behavior>Overview and open View Full Report section. It will show you how long people stayed on each page of your site.
#7 Returning Visitors: Returning visitors often indicate that your target audience wants to come back for more. You can check out this KPI in the Audience>Overview section of your Google Analytics account. Although there is no fixed industry standard, having more than 30% visitors out of your total number of site visitors is a sign that your SEO is working.
At Codeaxia Digital Solutions, an SEO company in Delhi, our expert in-house team of SEO specialists can help you jumpstart your SEO marketing strategy and start increasing relevant traffic to your website. Our holistic approach to SEO will grow your overall brand presence online and raise your visibility above key competitors.
