The SEO Process Simplified

 

SEO Process Documentation

  • What are the steps involved
  • What in the estimate of time that it will take to position the website for better traffic.
  • What statistics can we monitor and provide to the client to show increased visibility
  • How do we measure success

Business Analysis

The role of the SEO consultant is a form of a business analyst for the client. It’s important that the SEO consultant have at least a basic understanding of the core business and the goals of the business. This is critical to provide solid recommendations throughout the SEO process. This step could potentially be the most time-consuming part of the project.

Keyword Research

The search engines are looking for keywords in the company’s website content within the pages. These are identified by the search engine companies themselves based on the searching patterns of users. It is important to identify these search keywords to help guide your vocabulary in the content that you write to represent your company. This not only applies to the company’s website, but also applies to any articles, newsletters, blogs, press releases, or other written material that is released on the internet.

Content Development

This is the first step toward making really measurable steps toward improving the companies web presence. Once a solid list of keywords have been identified, it is important that the client review their current website to see how it matches up with the keywords that have been identified. Any additional content that is developed should strive to include the vocabulary of the keywords that have been identified. This will help the search engines find the website with greater ease.

Link Development

The establishment of links from other sites to the company’s website is the second part of the SEO visibility process. There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished.

  • Article publishing on industry communication website- There are many websites that allow for users to submit articles of relevant information relating to the industry. This is not so much a sales opportunity as it is a chance for the company to establish itself as an authority in the industry. You can provide links back to your company’s website as a reference for more information.
  • Contribute to industry blog sites – There are numerous blog sites today where people exchange ideas. Again, this is another place where a company can work to become the thought-leader and an authority in their industry.
  • Press release distribution – There are companies that specialize in the electronic distribution of company press releases. This is an easy way to get the company name widely distributed. Again, the relevance and quality of the content is important to how well this is picked-up and referenced. There a numerous other methods for getting external links to the company’s website. These are just a few

Evaluate Results

There are several ways that results can be measured. It’s important that we find reliable and consist methods for representing the company’s visibility improvements on the internet. Here are a few methods:

  • Monitor website traffic and what pages are being visited
  • Identify the source of any new lead/prospects that come to the company
  • Review search engine monitoring tools to validate ranking statistics

Secrets of the Trade

The major secret of the SEO trade is in the research tools. There are several tools that are available on the internet for free. However, some of the most efficient and comprehensive tools are available by subscription only.