At First Page, we know a growth SEO strategy is necessary for an agency like ours and for the brands we work with. Search engine optimization is a key component of any marketing strategy, and the way in which SEO is used is changing. As the worlds of business and marketing grow and change, so do the strategies and practices within them.
It may be time to up your SEO game by investing both time and money in a long-term SEO strategy.
Your Growth SEO Strategy Is a Long-Term Investment
You may be thinking that you already have a growth SEO strategy, but the key here is “long term.”
We get it. When it comes to your brand, some of the things you want to think about long term are profits, leads, and customers. But you should be thinking about a long-term SEO strategy too.
If you’ve indeed implemented a growth SEO strategy of some sort, hopefully it's been a good move for your marketing and branding success. Since search engine optimization involves tailoring the content you put out to a specific audience you’re trying to reach, it only makes sense that when you invest in SEO, it pays off.
Long-term SEO, then, is simply having a steadier, more-detailed SEO strategy in play that will bring results in months (and in some cases, years) down the road. This should be good news! Brands are built to last, and you need a long-term SEO strategy if you plan to not just exist but thrive.
Finally, it’s important to remember that search engine optimization truly is a long game. Even if you also invest in display ads and PPC campaigns to speed your messaging to the forefront of users’ eyes, the success you want isn’t going to happen overnight.
If you’re starting totally from scratch, you may be looking at several months (or even a couple years) for your website and brand to really get off the ground and to the top spots of SERPs (search engine results pages). If you’re not starting from scratch and you’ve already been doing SEO, the timeline is still longer than you’d expect. This is normal, though. Lasting success comes from steady, continuous efforts.
Playing the SEO Long Game: The Payoff Will Come
As you work on your growth SEO strategy, keep in mind that quick success doesn’t always equate to lasting success. There’s no point where you can consider your efforts done. You need to continuously work on your growth SEO strategy.
In other words, you have to always be working, creating, improving, and pushing to see a better return on investment for your SEO practices. This means consistently investing time and money in your growth marketing agency partner (if you have one) and internal SEO strategy efforts. These efforts may include:
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Paid search (or PPC) campaigns
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Consultations
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SEO audits
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Technical development
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Outreach and management
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Online PR
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User experience professionals
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Social media
As you look over these efforts and how to tackle them, remember that the only constant is change — this is true for SEO like it is with most aspects of marketing. Keep in mind that everything from social media to Google’s algorithms can change at any moment (sometimes with no warning), and it’s your job to adapt to these changes as they come.
Luckily, having a long-term SEO strategy means you’re looking for where and when sudden changes arise and doing what needs to be done to roll with them, implement, and prepare.
Avoiding Black Hat SEO Practices
Since long-term SEO is, well, a long game, it may get tempting to look for quick boosts and results. While these are certainly possible, it’s important to steer clear of black hat SEO practices.
While some practices work in the short term, they’re ultimately hollow practices that fizzle out as quickly as they bring results. It’s important to avoid the black hat practices when investing in your SEO strategy because they can disrupt progress and actually push you back several steps. Be sure to avoid the following:
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Keyword stuffing
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Content spam
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Link manipulation
Tips for Creating Your Long-Term SEO Strategy
Now that you know why you need a long-term SEO strategy, let’s talk about how to create one.
The following tips are quick, simple, and effective ways to get your long-term strategy off the ground, so your growth SEO strategy is successful:
1. Get Technical
Get the technical aspects and characteristics of your website ready for launch. This way, you know you’ve put a strong face forward for when visitors, potential leads, and partners come along ready to engage.
2. Use Internal Links
Links are a great way to connect your brand to partners and credible sources, but internal links make it easy for visitors to get around and explore your website. Linking internally to valuable pages is an important part of SEO because content that’s connected is easier to find and rank.
3. Build Backlinks
Backlinks, or external links from other websites to yours, are one of Google’s many ranking factors. Guest posting is a great way to get links back to your site. Building backlinks means that you can get more organic traffic and new visitors that can lead to more leads.
4. Tailor Your Website to Consumer Needs
The appearance of your website is an indicator of how highly others will perceive your brand. Investing in web design is a must (either with an agency, contractor, or new hire), especially if your team isn’t design and development savvy. When designing your website, do it with the user in mind. Research your target audience (age, jobs, interests, needs, etc.) and tailor your site’s design accordingly.
5. Keep Churning Out Quality Content
Finally, the best way to act on your long-term SEO strategy (and arguably the foundation) is to continue creating quality content every chance you get. This doesn’t mean to spam your audience with and unnecessary posts. Tailor your content to speak to the needs, questions, concerns, or interests of your intended audience. And with great content that is share-worthy, there’s a chance other sites will link to your content, which is an indirect way of building backlinks.
Create a Long-Term SEO Strategy Today
Creating and maintaining a good SEO strategy is a lot of work, but the benefit it has will make it well worth the investment.
When was the last time you clicked to Google’s second page of search results? The first page is where it’s at. First page results will get you more traffic, more leads, and more revenue.
We use an inbound marketing map that resulted in 300 percent revenue growth in one year for one of our clients who followed it. Our map features a content marketing strategy that won “best strategy” from the Content Marketing Institute, combined with SEO, social media, and other marketing channels to take people from visit to purchase. Contact us to talk about how to get results and create a long-term SEO strategy for your tech and SaaS brand..
