Powerful Search Engine Optimization – 8 Steps

There’s a lot of negative stuff going on right now, so we wanted to throw some good vibes out on the interwebz. Did that make me sound cool? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Anywho…

We’re a digital marketing agency. It’s our job to make people visible online and help them get more customers. How do we do it? A bunch of ways, including Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Here are the 8 steps we take to give clients some mighty SEO:

1) Website Audit

What’s working? What’s not? This audit helps us find out and create solutions. We use 4 tools to make it happen:

• Brightlocal (for local SEO)
• SITEBULB (for technical SEO)
• Screaming Frog
• Ahrefs

These programs give us a whole bunch of data, which we breakdown to establish a distinct strategy and road map. Learn more about website SEO audits here.

2) Competitive Analysis

This one’s pretty straightforward. We take a look at competitor websites, social media channels, and other digital pathways to see what they’re doing and how we can make our clients stand out.

3) Keyword Research

“Google it.” People use Google search so much that the name’s become a verb. For companies to show up in search results, they need to weave relevant keywords into their content.

We’ve used tools like SEM Rush and Keyword Surfer to research the industry keywords that matter most to our clients. The trick is finding that sweet spot where keywords incorporate elements of:

• Accurate user intent
• Strong and steady search volume
• Low keyword difficulty

Learn about some paid and free keyword research tools here.

4) Website Optimization

Once we’ve completed keyword research, we can optimize client web pages to make sure they’re scannable and helpful to users. Some areas we update include:

• Title tags and meta descriptions
• Headers
• Linking

One big reason why unique, keyword-rich title tags and meta descriptions matter: Google search results. Optimizing your title tags and descriptions ensures you’re getting the right message across to potential customers. Here’s an example:

Interested in learning more? Check out this quick look at web page optimization.

5) Creation of Relevant Content

Tailored messaging helps make brands unique. We write web pages, blog posts, email blasts, and any other content the client needs to grab people’s interest and lead them down the funnel.

6) Development of Proper Code for Each Web Page

Website speeds and load times are a critical search engine ranking factor. But this becomes muddled when companies buy pre-made website themes and templates.

Off-the-shelf or out-of-the-box themes often have a ton of functions because the developers are trying to appease as many needs as possible for end-users.

The problem? People end up with a ton of unneeded code (code bloat), which is a common issue for site speed. We do our development in-house to ensure it’s done right, every time.

Our developer creates a custom theme for every website we build based on the PSD file requirements. No extra code is added and load times and site speeds are as fast as possible. 

7) Google My Business (GMB) Optimization

Have you seen the GMB commercials Google has been pushing during NFL games this year? They wouldn’t be plugging it so much if they didn’t want businesses to make it a priority.

Make no mistake, GMB listings are a big deal for SEO. The more helpful information you give, the higher up you’ll appear. Sometimes the GMB listings are the very first section in the results!

8) Ongoing Monitoring and Adjustments

SEO isn’t something you can simply do once and forget about it. It requires constant observation and updating because Google (and other search engines) are constantly shifting.

We keep up with best practices while monitoring Google’s algorithm updates. We make small and large changes to code and content to keep companies relevant and their websites ranking.

See How You Can Improve Your Marketing