Connect with your audience by covering the topics they care about the most.
Plan out a network of interlinked blogs that answer related questions and help each
other rank.
Write and publish content that helps people, and watch your rankings go up!
Find topics and outlines catered to your business.
If you’re in search of an SEO strategy, today’s your lucky day! Developing an SEO strategy in 2023 and beyond might seem like a whole new game—especially with AI tools like ChatGPT on the rise. But rest assured, the rules haven’t changed much. We at DemandJump have compiled some resources to help you form an SEO plan, including definitions, examples, and a downloadable PDF checklist. And for your convenience, we’ve split this article into five sections:
With that, let’s just jump right into it. After all, page one is waiting!
You may know that SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” which is formulating your content and website components to increase web traffic. You may also know that SEO is not a simple goal. Why is this the case? Well, for starters, SEO is a moving target, and it moves often (technically, it’s always moving). Whether or not your content is “optimized” for search engines depends on a lot of factors, several of which are in constant flux. This includes:
As you can see, SEO is not just one seed coming to fruition, but multiple cogs in sync, turning towards a common goal. That goal is your target audience. So, to know what “SEO” means for your brand, you must know who you’re trying to reach, what those people want, and how you’re going to give it to them. Easy, right?
We know—easier said than done.
Thankfully, it’s something you can achieve—especially if you have a plan. A good starting point is breaking your strategy down by the multiple types of SEO, all of which require different approaches.
SEO can be divided into four categories:
Each of these relates to different pieces of your web content, and how its digital footprint helps (or harms) your chances of getting it in front of your target audience. Let’s take a closer look.
As the name suggests, everything on your actual webpage contributes to on-page SEO. Most people think of keywords, but on-page SEO is about much more than finding the right keyword density. You also need to consider technical components, such as meta-tags, image alt text, and even the title.
On-page SEO is how search engines determine whether or not your content is related to a web user’s query. This, among other reasons, is why it’s important to write good content for your brand. For our purposes, “good” content means it is:
We’ll take a more detailed look at each of these traits in Part 3 (How Do I Create an SEO Plan?).
Improving what’s on your webpage is not the only way to increase traffic. Off-page SEO focuses on all of the ways people find you through other people’s content—or in some cases, content you place on other platforms, like LinkedIn, Twitter, or other social media. Essentially, the more people are talking about your brand and referencing it online, the better your off-page SEO will be.
There are many ways to improve off-page SEO, but here are some ideas to get your brain going:
“The devil is in the details,” as they say. If you want to understand why technical SEO matters, think of all the times you’ve been on a website that loads slowly, has a lot of bugs, or is laid out poorly. This goes double for content that isn’t mobile friendly, since over 90 percent of web surfers are scrolling on a phone.
Technical SEO is all about making your website as easy to navigate as possible for both people and the crawlers, which are bots that explore web pages to learn about their content. A sensical site layout obviously helps human readers, but it also helps bot readers—particularly as they determine how to sort, store, and index your webpage for future reference. There is some overlap between technical SEO and on-page SEO. Take image alt text, for example: not only does it help your content show up in search results (on-page SEO), alt text also helps someone with a visual impairment navigate your content (technical SEO).
Everyone loves a hometown hero, right? Local SEO is best summarized with two words: “near me.” Even if your brand is primarily digital, it still pays dividends to win out search results in a geographic area. Local SEO boosters like a Google My Business profile not only help you nab those “near me” searches, they make it easier for people to learn about your brand. This includes operating hours, websites, contact information, or anything people need to connect with you. Good customer reviews help, too!
As you make your SEO strategy, be sure you’re accounting for each of these four types of SEO. They all impact your content’s performance in different ways. If that seems like a lot, don’t worry—we’ve included a shorthand checklist for you in Part 5 (SEO Strategy Template).
Once you’ve performed a website audit and developed strategies for each of the four SEO types, it’s time to focus on your content. Creating good content is the heart, soul, and driving force of your SEO strategy. If your SEO plan is the chariot you use to ride through the digital landscape, then your content is what’s pulling the reins. And what would you rather have pulling your chariot: a stubborn mule, or a glorious pegasus? Which will get you to where you’re going faster? (Here’s a hint: one of those can fly.)
Good content makes all of the SEO work matter because compelling content connects you with your consumers much easier. Honestly, without a strong message, the other details don’t matter nearly as much, so be sure not to put the cart before the pegasus. After all, only one of them can move on its own.
For what you produce to truly have value, it must be three things:
Good content needs to be all three of these things, all at once. Some can skate by momentarily with two or maybe even one of these traits, and trust us, some certainly try. But the SEO game is more akin to chess than checkers. Only worthwhile content—work that is helpful, engaging, and original—pays off.
While you certainly can, it’s likely not the best idea—especially if you want results. SEO is complex, so much so that specialists sometimes focus on just one type of SEO. Unless you have a lot of experience or in-house expertise, it’s best to get some help. This is not to say that you can’t do some of the components on your own, but it’s always better to have an outside perspective, particularly if they understand good SEO techniques and tools. And if it’s good written content you’re missing, DemandJump can help you produce content that is not only compelling, but catered directly to your audience’s search behaviors. (More on that later.)
SEO strategies have diversified greatly, meaning there are many ways to reach the same end goal. To illustrate this, let’s apply some SEO best practices to a hypothetical business—focusing on each type of SEO individually.
Clare is a businesswoman who wants to start a music store in her Chicago neighborhood, selling vinyls, CDs, cassettes, and other music-related products. While Clare hopes all sorts of music-lovers buy from her shop, she primarily wants to focus on serious collectors in search of more obscure records. As such, her store’s website doubles as a blog where she and her employees regularly review music.
Clare knows her target market (music collectors), what they want (obscure records), and how she’s going to fill their need (in-person and online sales). So, as she creates content for her website, how can Clare use SEO marketing techniques to her advantage?
To answer this, let’s break things down into each SEO type:
Sounds like Clare has a pretty solid game plan for SEO! We’ll surely be seeing her in our search results.
Here it is: your guidelines for SEO success! Below is a list of questions and suggestions that will help you get on track with each part of an excellent SEO strategy. Keep in mind, these are not hard rules, but ways to jumpstart your thinking around SEO. Use this list as a way to start a new strategy, refine it, or check in as your brand (and content) evolve:
If you’re creating an SEO plan for your organization, you need to have content that is compelling, well-written, and tailor-made for your consumers. DemandJump knows the best ways to get your brand in front of people, thanks to our Pillar Based Marketing (PBM) strategy. We use real search data to determine what keywords are trending around your topics, then craft content Pillars that will keep your audience coming back for more.
When you’re ready to level up your SEO game, reach out to us or try a free demo of our platform!
