5 ways to set the stage for a successful SEO engagement

Wireless

So you’ve landed a new SEO client – hooray!

Before you officially start the partnership, there are still a few things you need to discuss to set the stage for success and make a good first impression.

As SEOs know, there are two areas of any website that require targeted analysis before launching any SEO program: content and backend setup.

This article covers five initiatives my team undertakes right after signing the contract to find and address these critical solutions and ensure we are preparing our client for success. They are:

Check existing content for update opportunities.
Rate the site to prioritize technical improvements.
Prepare a keyword research list – in good time before the kickoff.
Assign keywords to the pages of your website.
Set up a tracker that works for both parties.

Let’s take a closer look at each initiative.

1. Review existing content for update opportunities

How many times have you had a client who wanted to start creating new content without thinking about optimizing the content they already had on their website? (In my experience, this is quite common.)

You can add immediate value by encouraging new clients to devote the same resources to updating their old content as well as creating entirely new material.

The optimal frequency of content updates depends on the topic, of course. The three most important considerations when assessing themed updates:

Is the theme evergreen? If the answer is a resounding yes – let’s say it’s an article about tax rules that haven’t changed since the 1990s – the information may remain relevant for a long time. You should still schedule optimizations for evergreen pages, but they won’t be as intense or frequent.
Does the query require super fresh content? The more dynamic the theme, the more regularly you need to review and update it. For example, content related to social and political events needs regular updates to rank high in the SERPs.
Does Google consider the topic “your money or your life” (YMYL)?? Google covers YMYL topics (think financial or medical advice) in its Search Quality Rater guidelines and ranks web pages that contain them to a higher standard. These require special attention to ensure they convey actual, current value to the reader.

Use a simple matrix of potential search volume (high, medium, low) and content update effort (high, medium, low) to give your customer a prioritized list of opportunities to improve by revisiting their, what is already on his website can gain attention.

2. Rate the site to prioritize technical improvements

Marketers should have a good grasp of serious visuals. Websites that look like they were created 10 years ago and don’t take the user through a thoughtful journey should require particularly critical analysis.

These are the basics you should learn before diving deep into any content.

Some factors to check after signing the contract:

Code that lives with spiders: If search engine spiders are having trouble crawling your code, you are already slowing down your growth. Make sure the coding is clear and organized.
XML sitemaps: Sitemaps are the be-all and end-all for SEOs; They design pages, images and videos in such a way that search engines can easily navigate through the content of a website.
Server maintenance: Server diagnostic reports are excellent sources of insight into high-priority errors that require attention.
The content management system: Make sure you know the answers to the top CMS questions: Can you easily update content? Are there errors or warning signals? Are plug-ins up to date and compatible?
Mobile usability: Websites in every industry – even B2B – attract a large amount of mobile traffic. Responsiveness for both desktop and mobile is a must.
Robots.txt: This is one of our favorite features. Robots.txt signals spiders where they don’t need to crawl, which saves resources on services and indirectly directs bots to the content that matters.
Website speed: Slow-loading websites lead to poor user experiences and high bounce rates – and are an important factor in Google’s algorithm. According to Google Search Console, what are the areas with the greatest room for improvement?
301 redirects: 301s prevent error pages by redirecting old or blank pages to newer, more relevant content. This can improve user experience.
Full URLs: URL shortcuts can lead to crawling errors. Make sure to use the full URL, including https://, for internal links.
Canonical tags: These tags provide protection against duplicate content. They redirect search engines to the URL that should appear in the SERPs.
The design: Just as marketers can sniff out old or outdated website designs, users are conditioned to keep up with web trends and may be prepared to bail if you haven’t shown your website a lot of love for the design.

Receive the daily newsletter search engine marketing relies on.

3. Provide a keyword research list at least two weeks before kickoff

The keyword research list is the single most important document in an entire account as it sets the framework for targeting and helps align goals with the client. This living document should be continually updated throughout the customer engagement.

The sheet is simple. Add headings for:

Keyword.
Volume.
keyword category.
Current rank.
Current ranking page.
Strategy.

This gives you and the customer an actual performance basis and a tool for linking and targeting our campaigns.

Send it to the customer in good time before the kickoff and ask for timely feedback.

The goal should be to incorporate the feedback and create a longer list of ranking ideas that can be discussed during the kickoff.

4. Create a document for mapping keywords to web pages

Content and keywords need good strategic alignment to reach their potential.

As you develop the target keyword list, map those keywords to current pages for optimization.

This helps you stay on top of important early projects like title tags and meta description optimization. It also ensures that you are aware of each page’s SEO goals, including what searches they are designed to target.

5. Set up a project tracker that works for both parties

Whether it’s on Asana, Trello, Monday, or a Google Sheet, it’s a good idea to set up a single reference for tracking all projects, including schedules, priorities, owners, and collaborators.

Basic functions should include:

Ability to grant various permissions (e.g. edit, view, etc.)
24/7 access for all parties.
The ability to add comments and notes to each task.
Roll up and zoom in capabilities to track progress at scale and by initiative.

Before starting, make sure you understand the client’s preferences for the platform and have a list of collaborators so you can create a framework to present as a starting point.

Working towards a successful SEO engagement

That might sound like a lot of work to do before the client pays a dollar for the job. The reality is that your team has work to do anyway.

Addressing the issue pre-emptively gives you a stepping stone to effective collaboration and gives the customer a clear signal that you are ready and willing to take the critical step for their business.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. The authors of our employees are listed here.

Source link