The Importance of SEO Strategic Planning
Businesses develop Strategic and Marketing Plans, but do you have a SEO Strategic Plan?
Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing requires numerous on-page and off-page elements to work together to achieve success. Search Engine Marketing must be planned and carried out in an organized and structured manner to achieve optimum results.
Some of the many tasks required to complete a successful Search Engine Marketing program include:
- Competitive analysis
- Website Analysis
- Keyword Research
- Link Building
- Social Media Optimization
- Pay Per Click advertising
- Website Revision and Updates
If the required SEO / SEM tasks are not adequately identified and completed in a well organized process the SEO / SEM project is likely to be unsuccessful and offer a minimal ROI, thus the importance of SEO Strategic Planning.
As with any business process, planning, initiation and completing tasks must be prioritized and carried out in a specific order to achieve business goals and objectives. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are no different. Develop the plan define the objective and complete the tasks. However, it must be remembered that many of the tasks required in successful SEO Programs are iterative and therefore are not one time tasks.
Developing the SEO Strategic Plan
SEO Goals and Objectives
What does your business want to achieve by completing a SEO Program?
Defining the goals and objectives is the first step to building a powerful and successful Optimization Program. If goals are not identified it will be impossible to determine the overall performance of the program.
Some common SEO goals and objectives are:
- Increase Traffic to Website
- Improve Online Sales and Lead Generation
- Enhance Social Media Visibility
- Higher Website Conversions / Site Registrations
Website and Competitors Analysis
Website and Competitors Analysis is an important step in the production of a SEO Strategic Plan.
A comprehensive understanding of the current status of both your company’s website and that of your competitors is required to determine what work is required to achieve business goals and objectives. Without a clear understanding of what needs to be done it will be impossible to ascertain the SEO / SEM task requirements.
Define the SEO Budget
This is critical. Obviously the first item on the agenda in budget definition is how much your company can afford to spend on the SEO / SEM process and to determine if this sum be adequate to complete the defined goals and objectives.
To determine if the goals and objectives can be achieved in their entirety or if modifications to the goals is necessary will require a careful analysis of the likely tasks required and their associated costs. Some of the more common SEO / SEM costs include:
- Website revisions and updates
- Content development
- Consultancy Fees
- Directory submission costs
- Pay Per Click advertising budget
The need to compromise on overall goals and objectives is not uncommon when the SEO Strategic Plan reaches the budgeting stage. As overall project costs become apparent Goals and objectives may need to be adjusted.
Task and Web Page Prioritization
Web Page Prioritization
As budget constraints become evident it is now time to prioritize. Ideally prioritization initially looks at the specific web pages within a website to determine which pages are most important to the overall business performance of the website. These are the pages which should be given priority in the optimization process.
Task Prioritization
SEO and SEM task prioritization is not strictly tied to the budgeting process. The prioritization of SEO / SEM tasks must be considered in the budgeting, SEO / SEM process and overall SEO Program scheduling.
Some SEO / SEM tasks are absolutely necessary to the overall success of the Search Engine Optimization Program. Some of the required tasks include:
- Keyword Research
- Content Development
- Website Revisions / Updates
SEO Strategic Planning – The Project Schedule
Scheduling you Search Engine Optimization Program is required to ensure the project moves forward in a logical task order and to ensure all Consultants and Developers are aware of the time frame for future task requirements.
Without adequate scheduling of the program it is highly likely the program will take longer than required to complete and increases the likelihood of increased costs.
Monitoring the SEO Plan
In the Strategic Planning phases it is highly recommended to develop a plan and guidelines to monitor the program’s performance and schedule.
Monitoring is critical to determine if business goals and objectives are achieved and in the case of the program schedule early identification of task overruns is necessary to ensure the overall SEO / SEM Program is completed on time and on budget.
SEO Strategic Planning – Conclusion
SEO Strategic Planning is necessary to ensure a well thought out SEO / SEM Program is conceived and accomplished.
However, it must be noted that the SEO Strategic Plan is a guideline only and is not a definitive document. As the program progresses and issues become apparent changes may be necessary. The SEO Strategic Plan is a fluid document it can change and is likely to change, it must not be a static document with no room for revision.
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Written by: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .ca a Search Engine Optimisation Consultant
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