Essential Steps for Building a Winning SEO Strategy

To thrive in today’s digital world, a solid SEO strategy is crucial.

Essential Steps for Building a Winning SEO Strategy
Essential Steps for Building a Winning SEO Strategy

Staying up to date with the latest SEO practices and adapting to algorithm changes can significantly boost the visibility.
SEO goes beyond just search rankings; it’s about understanding the audience’s needs and offering solutions through the website.
With Google processing over 100 billion searches monthly, the opportunity to reach new customers is immense if the SEO strategy is well-implemented.
However, search algorithms constantly evolve.
The recent introduction of generative AI in search has transformed how users interact with search engines, making it necessary for SEO strategies to continuously adapt.
Here’s a breakdown of the essential steps for creating a competitive SEO strategy that aligns with search engine algorithms and user expectations:
1. Align SEO with Business Goals & Define KPIs:
To create an effective SEO strategy, it’s crucial to align the efforts with the overall business goals.
Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) helps measure progress and success.
SEO should support goals such as increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, generating leads, or boosting sales.
Track these KPIs to monitor performance:
Search visibility (including AI Overviews, snippets, and local packs)
Organic traffic
Keyword rankings
Quality backlinks
Conversion rates
Core Web Vitals
Crawl errors
SEO is a long-term strategy, so setting realistic goals is essential to manage expectations.
2. Set Realistic Expectations:
SEO isn’t an overnight process.
It takes time for results to manifest, especially for competitive keywords.
It’s important to communicate this to stakeholders from the start, ensuring that everyone understands the long-term nature of SEO. Multi-touch attribution tools, like Triple Whale, can help track how different channels contribute to conversions.
3. Conduct an SEO Audit:
Before moving forward, perform an SEO audit to assess the current standing.
The audit serves as a roadmap, highlighting areas for improvement.

Key elements to examine include:
Domain age and history
On-page SEO (e.g., headlines, keyword targeting)
Content quality
Backlink profile
Website architecture
Technical SEO (sitemaps, image optimization, hreflang tags)
Understanding the current status will help to create a more precise and budget-appropriate plan.
4. Perform Keyword Research:
Effective keyword research is vital for SEO success.
Keywords inform search engines about the relevance of the content.

It’s essential to consider:
Search intent: Ensure the keywords align with what users are truly searching for.
Relevant keywords: Choose keywords that meet user intent and align with the content.
Search volume: Target keywords with high search volume but assess the competition before proceeding.
Long-tail keywords: These specific phrases can help to attract more qualified traffic.
5. Identify the Most Valuable Pages (MVPs):
Determine which pages contribute the most to the website’s success.
These are often th home page, service pages, product pages, or any high-conversion landing pages.
Focus the optimization efforts on these MVPs to increase organic traffic and conversions
6. Keep Content Updated:
SEO is not a one-time effort. Search engines prioritize up-to-date content, so need to set up a system to regularly update key pages and content.
Avoid relying on AI for content updates, as this can harm the organic traffic.
7. Optimize for User Experience (UX):
A well-structured, user-friendly website is critical for SEO.
Focus on creating a seamless user experience across all devices, particularly mobile, which accounts for over 60% of web traffic.
A smooth and responsive site structure can significantly boost rankings.
8. Conduct Competitive Analysis:
To outperform the competition, analyze what they’re doing right and where can improve.
Identify gaps in their keyword strategy, backlink profiles, and content, then position the site to fill those gaps.
Also, account for AI-generated content as it may compete for user attention in search results.
Establish Brand Authority and Link Building:
Building brand authority is essential for SEO success.
This involves earning high-quality backlinks by:
Creating valuable content
Engaging in industry discussions
Hosting webinars
Collaborating with influencers
Earning brand mentions (even unlinked ones) can drive branded searches and improve rankings.
10. Integrate SEO into Workflows:
SEO should be integrated into the entire business.
Collaboration between teams, including marketing, sales, and IT, is essential.
For example, sales teams can provide insights on product interest, while IT ensures the technical aspects of the website support SEO efforts.

11. Align SEO with the Customer Funnel:
SEO should complement the customer’s journey, from the awareness stage to post-purchase.
Create content that addresses their needs at each step, from informative blog posts to detailed product pages, and optimize for conversions throughout the funnel.
12. Report and Measure Results:
Regularly track and report the progress of the SEO strategy.
Tools like Google Analytics or other paid tools can help to measure conversions, organic traffic, and other KPIs.
Make data-driven decisions to fine-tune the strategy.
With these steps, will have a well-rounded SEO strategy that meets both algorithmic and user demands, helping to drive traffic, leads, and sales.