An effective SEO strategy starts with defining the purpose of having a website and questions like ‘Why does the website exist? What is the function of each page?’ need to be answered for this to take place.
Building an SEO strategy that will last for a while especially with the enormous number of Google algorithm updates made on average each year (estimated to be over 500), requires being equipped with the right kind of information and this article seeks to discuss that.You can read the full version of their Search Quality Rating Guidelines which will give you good idea of the work that has to be done for SEO
Answering the two questions earlier asked will allow you to not just rank high for keywords but also give you the basis on which to build an SEO strategy that will produce remarkable results for your business.
There was a report released sometime in November last year in which Google was trying to determine how well the purpose of its site was being served; so if a company as large as that realizes the need to check on and determine the purpose of its website, then you also need to determine why you want to use SEO so that you can obtain the right results.
Building a purpose-driven SEO strategy
In order to have a purpose-driven SEO strategy, the first thing to do is to define the reason why the site is there- purpose because the remaining parts of the strategy will develop from this.
There are a million reasons for the existence of a website and here are some common ones:
- Sales of various products or services.
- Entertainment
- Provision of answers to questions people might have
- Discussion of a topic
- Sharing of files and obtaining files
- Sharing of personal or social information
- Expression of opinions or thoughts
A good look at the list above shows that the purpose of a site or page immensely affects the focal point the SEO strategy to be used by such website. When the purpose is now multifaceted, it then becomes imperative to state the end goal of each part of your site as this will help you to move in the right direction.
Now the next thing is to go for ranking in order to drive the right amount of traffic to your site. This, however, is quite tricky as there are a number of factors at play here. When it comes to SEO though, there are three main ranking signals in Google’s search algorithm and they are RankBrain, links, and content.
Purpose-driven content
Content is the reason people visit any website; it’s like a car that drives people to their destination- a site filled with the content they are looking for. So there is a linear relationship between the purpose of your site and the content you will be creating.
Content is quite important as the rate at which it resonates with your audience will determine the growth of your business.
A lot of people searching the internet are looking for solutions, trying to ask meaningful questions in the hope that they will find answers, they are looking for entertainment and trying to check out the latest trends in the world.
So people can’t really do without the internet and it becomes imperative as website owners to provide them with what they are looking for.
When building your content for SEO, your content needs to be user-friendly ensuring that it is what they are looking for such that the right traffic will be driven to your website. Nobody wants to leave a place once it has what they are looking for and it gives them value for time or money spent.
Your content has to be all about quality and not just quantity; take your time to provide precise and concise information not minding the length as long as your target audience are satisfied with what they see or read.
This is where keyword comes in and it should be centered on the user while at the same time ensuring that it doesn’t deviate from the site’s overall purpose.
This will help contextualize your SEO strategy and also keep the traffic being generated real- people there actually want to be there and interact with you.
Let’s examine how to go about setting up your keywords for maximum results.
How to select purpose-driven keywords
The best place to start from should be your brand because keywords centered on brand tend to drive traffic particularly from those who have the slightest idea about you and what you do.
The next thing for you to do is to check out the content of your competitors in order to find more relevant terms. Also, you can use the social media to check out profiles of prospective clients, make use of Google trends or read informative sites in order to have a better idea of what people might be looking for.
Once this is done and a final list of relevant, purpose-based keywords has been made, all you have to do is to run them through your own research tool so as to determine stuff like traffic, competition etc.
Here’s a practical breakdown of how to do the listing:
- Define brand-related terms.
- Scan your site and competitor sites for other keywords.
- Look at other sites your target audience uses for additional relevant terms.
- Narrow down the list and run it through your preferred research tool.
If you’re not sure what keyword research tool to use, check out this tool
Purpose-driven link-building strategy
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Backlinks have been and will continue to be an essential part of any SEO strategy. However, due to the level of importance they hold, a lot of people used them negatively which gave link building a bad reputation.
IBacklinks have been and will continue to be an essential part of any SEO strategy
With improved, technology, however, Google has gotten pretty good at identifying and punishing link-building practices that are basically spam, this has then brought about a certain level of caution by those using SEOs almost to a point of abandoning link building for content marketing.
True, building and earning links has gotten tougher, but that does not mean you should eliminate it from your SEO strategy. In fact, it should be at the core as it will allow your search to be successful and bring you qualitative traffic.
When it comes to your link strategy, not all links are created equal. A site’s authority alone shouldn’t dictate the value of that link. You need to make sure that it holds value to you and it is within the context of your site’s purpose. Context is key as it is the point that shows how fitting your link strategy and content are.
In order to earn links, your site must actually be link worthy. Linkworthy, how exactly do I get that done? Well, very simple, Create useful content.
Now, while creating content alone isn’t going to do all the work for you, it is quite important if you are trying to build relevant links and the degree of usefulness of your content determines how well you will receive a link to it.
No matter the purpose of your site, you can create relevant, topic-based content that will encourage links. You just need to be dedicated, be hardworking and stay focused.
Once the content has been created, simply promote it to relevant sites and related industries. Let me point out here that purpose-driven link building takes time and patience, but in the end, it’s worth the effort. And when it comes to backlinks, it’s about the quality and never about the quantity.
Find your purpose and work toward it
In an increasingly competitive online world, the sites with a strong foundation focusing on giving their audience high-end value are the ones that will stand out and survive the competition.
Clearly stating the purpose of your site and using that as a blueprint to build your SEO strategy will delight your customers, make your site more link worthy and invariably make you achieve your goals.
If you have any comments or questions, please your opinions are welcome.
