8 Steps To Plan an Effective SEO Marketing Strategy

As we move forward in the 21st century, technology has become an inevitable part of the life of a human being. Technology has changed the marketing field enormously in the last 2 decades, from the traditional ways of marketing to digital marketing. Before, a consumer might learn about a product from a television commercial, newspaper, or magazine advertisement. Consumers can now access all this information through the internet and search engines such as Google. Companies must implement effective SEO marketing strategies in order to be visible to customers online on the first page of a SERP (Search engine result page) when they are searching for a product.

What is SEO?

SEO marketing strategies are detailed plans and procedures that companies should follow in order to improve their website’s search engine rankings and increase their profits.

How search engine works

When we use Google or another search engine to look for a product, it performs the three major tasks listed below before displaying the results. Crawling is the process of reading or scanning web pages by web crawlers or bots and storing the information in a database.

When crawling, it will scan or read the primary web pages as well as the external and internal links provided on the website. Indexing is the process through which a search engine determines whether or not to show a web page that it has crawled. Users will not be able to find a webpage if it is not included in the search engine page index.

Ranking – The method by which a search engine ranks a webpage is known as ranking. In other terms, it refers to a website’s position on a search engine’s result page. The factors that determine the ranking of a webpage are similar to those related to the effective SEO marketing strategy.

Before planning an effective  SEO marketing strategy the marketing team should have a clear understanding of the audience or the customers who will be searching for the product, why they are searching for the product, what they are searching for, where and when they will be using it the product.

They should know the techniques to convert a customer into a product consumer. The marketing team should consult with the sales team, and they should have a clear picture of all these aspects. In the digital marketing field, SEO is a critical link between product and customer.

It should be optimized in such a way that what the customers are seeking is delivered.  Research should be done by the marketing and sales team regarding the latest search engine trends to get more leads.

They should know what keywords customers would search for while looking for their product, how to write a product description, and how to optimize the content so that the customer will buy the product.

Recommended Read: Digital Marketing Courses in India

Areas to focus on while planning an effective SEO marketing strategy

1 ) Keyword

The first step in an effective SEO marketing strategy is choosing a keyword. They are the words or phrases that are entered into the search engine by a customer. It is the foundation of SEO. Websites with a well-researched keyword will have a higher ranking. Keyword research is the process of finding a suitable keyword for a product after studying the preferences of the target audience.

It will help to find the exact words and phrases they use while searching for a product. To start, conduct research and prepare a list of keywords relevant to the topic, utilizing LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords that are associated with the main topic and appear automatically on Google when we search.

It is based on the search done for that particular word by past users. The Google Keyword Planner is a good SEO tool for doing keyword research. It shows the level of competition for a particular keyword, which is medium, low, or high. It also shows the average monthly search for a particular keyword.

Google Trends will show the region-wise most popular searches related to a topic, which can also be referred to while doing keyword research. Some other popular keyword research tools are Semrush and Moz.

For checking the number of articles in the database related to the keyword, type the keyword in the Google search engine and type “all in the title:” before the title, which will show the number of articles based on the keyword typed. Finally, select a keyword that has high search volume and low competition.

Search volume is the average monthly searches done for a particular keyword. A keyword with high search volume will drive more traffic to the website. Also, do some research on the keywords used by the competitors. Websites like Wikipedia and Quora can be used in keyword research activities.

Also, check out the Top SEO Trends

Keywords are classified into two for the purpose of SEO optimization.

1. Short-tail keywords: These are the keywords consisting of 3 words or less than 3 words in a phrase.

2. Long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are very specific, containing more than 3 words. Long-tail keywords are less competitive and more relevant to the topic, and they can bring more leads. The great advantage of long-tail keywords is that they will bring targeted traffic to the website who can be converted into customers of the product.

While using the long-tail keywords, it should be noted that the primary word and secondary words are well aligned. In the above, e.g., “intermittent fasting” is the primary word and “for weight loss” is the secondary word. In the digital marketing field, there is a trend of using commercial intent keywords.

It can convert the targeted customers into buyers of the product, thus increasing the sales of the product. It is mostly used by customers when their search query is to buy a product. Keywords with commercial intent will bring more leads to the website. Some of the most commonly used commercial intent keywords are: “buy now”, “discount”, “offers”, etc.

2 ) Title tag

The title tag is an important factor in on-page SEO. It is an HTML element that is part of the header section of each page of a website. When we search, the title tag is the head section that appears on the search engine result page that gives us the product information.

Since it is the first line that appears in the SERP, it is necessary to create a suitable title tag for the product to create an impression on the user. Google will not display the title tag if it exceeds 50 to 60 words. It also influences the click-through rate of a website.

Tips to optimize the title tag for an effective SEO marketing strategy

• Include modifiers in the title tag—for example, 10 best casuals for women.
• Include the target keyword in the title tag but don’t overstuff it.
• Frame a title tag as per the word limit of 60 words.
• Give each page of a website a distinct title to assist the search engine during the crawling process.

Recommended Read: SEO Courses in India

3 )Meta Description & Snippet

Meta description” is a  short synopsis or summary of the product. Meta description has a word limit of 160 characters. Since it appears on the search engine result page, it should be optimized to increase the click-through rate. The meta description will increase the click-through rate(CTR), the conversion rate, and the search engine visibility.

Images, a short description of the product, ratings and reviews of the product, offers, site links, and product availability can be added to it. Using numbers, symbols, and catchy words like discount or sale to attract customers or including a call to action word like “Click to avail discount” will increase the CTR.

Keyword stuffing should be avoided since it will affect the ranking of the website by the search engine.

4 ) Content

The website’s content should be of high quality to optimize its visibility. It will rank highly if the content is well-researched. The length of the content material will vary depending on the product, but the main goal should be to provide interesting and high-quality information. Good quality content will help to create more backlinks for the website, thus enhancing its visibility.

To improve the quality of the content, include targeting keywords. The density of the keywords should be 0.5%. Add HTML tags to the content to identify the head and subhead of the content. H1 main head, H2–H6 subheadings. Search engines use this to index and search the content of the website.

Tips to increase the content optimization for an effective SEO marketing strategy

• Include LSI keywords.
• It should be organized by adding proper visuals, subtitles, and bullet points.
• Update the content on a regular basis. The latest trends in the industry should be incorporated while updating the content.
• Include the benefits and information about the product.
• Including short videos of the product in the website’s content is a good method of attracting visitors to the website. It will make the website more engaging and be more useful to the buyers who are visiting the website.

5 ) URL

A Uniform resource locator or URL specifies the web address of a website on the internet. In the SEO marketing strategy, it should be user-friendly, readable to the search engines, relevant to the user’s query, and should contain the keyword. It should give an indication of what the landing page will be. The URL should match the title page.

Tips to increase the URL optimization for an effective SEO marketing strategy

• Instead of underscore use hyphens to give space between words.
• Too many subdirectories in the URL should be avoided.
• Use lower case letters.
• Reduce the use of URL parameters.

6) Internal link

An internal link is one that connects or links the pages of the same website. It helps the user to navigate the website, and it also brings traffic to the older posts. It makes the indexing faster and it also improves the ranking of the website. But while doing the internal linking, topics or products relevant to the main topic should be linked.

Recommended Read: Content Writing Courses in India

7 ) Backlinks  

It is the link that brings users from an external website to your website. It is a part of off-page SEO, which helps the search engines to index the website faster and shows the search engine that your website is relevant and trustworthy. In short, high-quality backlinks will increase the credibility of the website, increase the website’s web traffic, and improve its organic ranking.

It is an important aspect of digital marketing. It improves the brand’s awareness. Using the backlinks on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will drive more leads to the website and create awareness about the product.

8 ) Technical SEO

It refers to optimizing the technical factors of the website. Technically enhancing the website so that the search engine can access and easily crawl the website. A well-structured site map helps the search engine crawl the site easily. It is an XML file that has a list of each URL on the website.

From the users’ point of view, the speed of the website, time to open different pages on the website, and mobile-friendliness of the website are some of the important technical SEO factors.

Technical SEO is an important aspect of an effective SEO marketing strategy since it affects the ranking of a website, influences the leads, sales, and website conversion rate, and will increase the return on investment from SEO.

Tips to optimize technical SEO for an effective SEO marketing strategy

• Keep the checkout page simple and easy to follow.
• Fix broken links – Internal and external links will change when the content is updated. As a result, the internal and backlinks provided on the website should be verified and updated on a regular basis.
• In the search bar of the website, add predictive searches.
• Use a live chat widget to help the customers.
• Updating the content with the latest trends.
• Avoid duplicate content with the help of canonical tags.
• Page speed is also an important factor that affects Google’s ranking. To enhance the page speed of a website, plugins should be reduced, using a simple website design, and optimizing the images and code.

Voice search optimization – Voice search is the latest and most popular search technique. For voice search optimization, a clear understanding is required regarding the types of questions a customer may ask regarding the product. Also, the slang and the language of the customer will be different.

So it should be optimized accordingly. Voice search optimization is a good method to reach people who are conducting voice searches.

Compatibility of the website: The website should be responsive to the multiple devices the user is using, whether it is a mobile, tab, or laptop. According to surveys, mobile phones account for more than 50% of commercial searches.

Depending on the user’s device, images and text should move, increase, or shrink to ensure that users can easily browse the website. The website should also be tested on multiple browsers like Google, Opera, and Firefox.

Technical SEO tools

Technical SEO tools help to optimize the technical aspects of the website to increase its visibility of the website. It will check the format of the website map, Meta tag errors, internal links, duplicate pages, broken links, and page crawl problems. It will speed up the website and make it easier for search engines to crawl and index.

Backlink monitoring and analysis can also be performed by SEO tools. It will examine the website’s backlinks, identify the strongest link on the website, and identify poor backlinks. Rank tracking SEO tools will track the ranking of the website and help to understand the top-performing and losing keywords.

They will also show the average click-through rate and visibility rate of the website. In short, these tools work like audit tools and give a report of the shortcomings of the website and give suggestions to fix the problems. An effective SEO marketing strategy can be planned and reviewed with the help of the above SEO tools.

The most popular technical SEO tools are: MOZ, Screening Frog, Semrush,  Ahref, and Google analytics and Google console are the top Google SEO tools.

Recommended Read: Technical Writing Courses in India

9. Local SEO

Local SEO refers to optimizing the webpage so that it will appear in local searches. It is a crucial part of the effective SEO marketing strategy since it attracts local customers who are searching for a product; in other words, it drives local traffic to the website.

Local SEO is useful for small businesses like bakeries and grocery stores and also for big businesses like banks or hotels. According to a survey conducted on Google searches, more than 80% of the survey participants have used search engines to search for local businesses. Local SEO is also important in converting leads into sales.

Factors that affect local SEO are the proximity of the business to the customer, how relevant the product is to the customer’s needs, and the ranking of the business or company locally.

Steps to improve local SEO

• Enroll in the business listing of the search engines. Register in the “  Google my business” business listing of google. It will show the search engine that the business is legitimate when the search engine searches for a product.

The business listing should include information such as name, address, phone numbers, website URL, and location with a Google map. When a profile is kept up to date, it has a better chance of appearing on the top page of a search engine results page, resulting in more visitors to the website.

• Improve the content of websites to improve local SEO. Create content by including local news, events, blogs. Include long-tail keywords that are related to the location by combining the product with the location, for example, coffee shops in Calicut. Optimize the web page content, title tag, and meta description with this keyword. Include customer reviews on your website.

Frequently asked questions

1. Are SEO and SEM are different or the same?

SEO is enhancing the website to get more organic traffic while SEM – Search engine marketing is getting more organic and inorganic traffic to the website through paid advertisements. SEM contains both SEO and PPC (pay per click).

2. What are the different types of paid search marketing?

Search ads: This is a paid ad that appears at the top of the first page when the user’s query matches the product. The search engine will be paid by the advertiser if any user clicks on the advertisement.

Social media advertising –  It is a way of promoting brand recognition and attaining marketing objectives through the creation of content for social media sites such as Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn.

Display ads – It is a method of displaying the ads on the website and social media platforms. It can be text ads, image ads, or video ads.

3. What are B2B SEO and B2C SEO?

B2B SEO is optimizing the website to drive more clients to the business. On the other hand, B2C SEO is optimizing the website to attract more consumers to the product. In this highly competitive world, companies have to adopt a successful SEO marketing strategy to attract customers. In this article, we have discussed the factors needed for an effective SEO marketing strategy. However, it should be noted that appearing at the top of organic SERPs cannot be accomplished in a fortnight.