Businesses often waste a lot of money doing Search Engine Optimization.

Why?

Because most businesses don’t really understand the following:

1. How SEO Strategy is actually done, and
2. How search terms fit into their marketing strategy

That’s why we created this 3-part video series. It explains all the strategic details you need to consider BEFORE investing in SEO for your business.

But this video does NOT talk about on-page SEO or meta tagging or anchor text distributions. Why not?

Because none of that tech jargon makes any difference without the right strategy.

Instead, this video focuses on the trickiest – and most valuable – skill of all: is understanding how and where your SEO campaign fits within your sales and marketing funnel.

If you’re interested in learning SEO Strategy, then this complete 3-Part Series will teach you what you need to know.

Here is Part 1:

You’ll have to watch all 3 videos to get the juicy details – but here’s a summary:

1. Know the different segments of your audience.

   Each group of customers searches in different ways – so you need to understand those distinct behaviors, and tailor your SEO strategy around them. The more clearly you know how each segment is most likely to find you, the more precisely you can target your SEO objectives.

2. Be specific about what you want to achieve.

   An increase in traffic may not automatically equal more sales. Far too many marketers just focus on driving maximum traffic, but ignore the EXPERIENCE their audience has after they click. If you don’t take the time to create a focused, streamlined website experience, SEO may actually end up COSTING you money.

3. Choose keywords based on intent.

   Choosing the right keywords to target is a major part of a successful SEO campaign – but without proper research and analysis, you might as well be gambling… and you’ll usually bet on the wrong choice. That’s why your keyword selections need to  come from a deep understanding of your audience, their needs, and the intent BEHIND the searches they perform.

4. Map out the journey your customers take.

   SEO is only one component in a complex path your audience takes – from the search engine, to your website, to their next steps after they leave your website. Every step of this path needs to tell a meaningful, consistent story – a story that drives your audience to take action.

5. Create content your audience will value.

   Content is a crucial part of SEO – but that doesn’t mean it should exist solely for the sake of SEO. When done right, content can become a powerful tool for building a trusting relationship with your audience, giving them useful  information, and taking them on a journey that leads to a sales opportunity.

6. Promote content to build backlinks and gain referral traffic.

   When you plan your SEO properly, you’ll achieve a lot more than just ranking on the first page for top keywords. You’ll also gain referral traffic from websites who have their own blog audience – which means THEIR readers will also be talking about your content, and referring new qualified leads to your website. This is what we call an Advanced SEO Strategy.

7. Be patient, and base your decisions on solid analytics.

   Most businesses that conclude “SEO is a waste of money” never took the time to set up proper analytics and make data-driven decisions. This skews their perspective on what’s happening with their campaign, and leads them into sloppy decisions. That’s why you need to track your SEO campaigns closely, and use hard numbers to determine how they’re performing, and what You can do to further increase your ROI.