Here’s a conversation that plays out every day in the business world:
“Our SEO campaign is floundering. How come?”
“Not sure. It could be this, that or the other thing.”
“So, what’s your plan?”
“We’re going to change this, that and the other thing, wait six months, and see what happens.”
Research and Analysis Create Winning SEO Strategies
Having a solid SEO strategy based on solid research and analysis prevents conversations like that from taking place.
The analogy of strategy as an SEO blueprint is commonly used in the context of creating an SEO campaign (just as a blueprint is used to build a house). And while this is apt, the blueprint analogy is just as important after the campaign has been rolling.
Remember, blueprints are used when the lights in the house won’t turn on, or when the owner wants to build an addition. Similarly, an SEO blueprint is used to pinpoint problems in a campaign and to expand it effectively.
Thinking back to the conversation at the top of this post, why is the campaign floundering, as so many SEO campaigns do?
One possible answer: haphazard keyword research. If the campaign targeted low-volume or low-intent keywords, no amount of optimization will produce an ROI-generating volume of conversions. The demand simply isn’t there. Lack of keyword research sends the SEO campaign into flounder mode.
Another possible answer: the competition is too heavy. Juicy keywords with ultra-high intent and demand are tempting, but if a company is up against much larger competitors with much larger budgets, no amount of optimization will make the company visible enough on Google to generate an ROI-generating volume of conversions. Lack of competitive analysis sends the SEO campaign into flounder mode.
These are just a couple of examples of how research and analysis get SEO campaigns off to a good start — and makes it possible to evaluate campaign performance properly.
In terms of ongoing campaign management, if you know you went into the campaign targeting a basket of middle-volume keywords and your campaign has leveled out, you will likely conclude you’ve gotten all there is to be had from these keywords, and expand the campaign to cover new keywords. Without the initial research and strategy, you would not necessarily come to this conclusion, and instead make all kinds of tactical campaign adjustments that will do nothing other than keep the campaign spinning in even more expensive circles.
SEO research and analysis are complex, and must account for a number of variables. If you would like someone to review your current strategy or see if a different strategy would make more sense, please contact us — we know what to look for.