An example of how to run a search engine optimization campaign. Includes an SEO project example and the major aspects that make it successful.
SEO project plan objectives
Our first step is to understand our clients objectives with an SEO campaign. Most clients come to us with an idea of what they want to achieve, but no idea how to achieve it. We seek to understand the intended outcome, make suggestions, and set reasonable expectations. We also work to educate the client on the SEO process, timeline, and expected rate of success. In fact, the first thing we ask clients to do (if they haven’t already done so) is to read this page.Setup SEO analytics and reporting

Record baseline search metrics
Once we have access to analytics we will record baseline metrics. These will be checked again just before project execution begins in earnest. We seek to understand how the site is currently performing. We will examine analytics information, web traffic, keyword analysis, and basic on-page factors that affect search engine ranking. We examine the content management system (CMS) used by the site.Important pages

Identify search terms
We tend to approach the question of which search terms to pursue in reverse. Most SEO companies start with a list of search terms provided by the client. While we do take those into consideration, we also look at the search terms people actually type into search queries including long-tail search terms. Often we will build a sitemap based on a taxonomy learned from real-world search phrases, a bottom-up approach. This helps insure the site, its content, and its structure reflect the real world needs of user intent.Identify inbound links

Measure domain and page strength
The relative strength of the home page of the site, and various sub-pages is measured using both the Domain Authority and Page Authority metrics. Domain Authority is a score from 0 to 100 that attempts to predict how search engines will rate, and rank, a page. It measures the relative “strength” of either the website as a whole, or a specific page. We use authority measurements to help us compare the relative strength of our clients web pages against those of competitors.Identify search terms
Search term identification is an art form unto itself. It is common for clients to want to go after extremely competitive search terms from the beginning. Some clients already have domain authority that is high enough to make this possible. But not in most cases. We identify search terms (keywords) that fulfill the objectives of the campaign, but are also realistic. Over time the strength of the entire site will improve, and as it improves more competitive terms can be sought.Research competitors
One of the best ways to predict what works is to examine what has worked for competitors. Much can be gained by examining the types of on-page SEO and promotion that has worked for them in the past. We’ll also look at the placement of search results to determine approximately how much traffic can be achieved based on the percentage of clicks to a search result.Identify inbound links
By measuring the inbound links of competitors we make a list of blogs and other online publications within the topic-space of our client that can be approached later in the SEO process. This “punch-list” is used as part of the Outreach Program mentioned later in this campaign example.Measure domain and page strength

Suggest search terms
We start with the clients wish list of search terms, then look for semantically similar terms. We work in reverse by using the core list to identify alternative search phrases. For example, if a client would like to rank well for “blue widgets” we will seek out additional phrases like “widgets in blue”, “cyan widgets”, and “where do I find blue widgets”.Identify “low-hanging fruit”
In many cases a website will already rank to some degree for a given search phrase. For search phrases that have been identified as “converting” phrases (we call them “money terms”) that are ranking high, but not high enough, we will focus special attention. Often website conversions can be dramatically improved by simply moving a given page up one or two positions in search results.Create content plan

Create editorial calendar
A content plan is useless unless the content is published. The editorial calendar sets the objectives for site content and off-site content to be produced and placed. It includes typical lead times for blogs and larger publications. For example, an article on Inc.com may have a lead time of only a few weeks, whereas other publications could be more than 90 days out before publication due to their internal editorial cycle.Outreach program
The outreach program seeks to identify publications relevant to the interests of our client so they may be contacted. Information learned earlier in the SEO process during competitive research will have provided a list of target publications and may even provide contact information for authors. A typical search engine marketing outreach program is undertaken by at least two people, an Outreach Specialist and a Content Manager. The Outreach Specialist identifies and contacts prospective link partners and gently opens a dialogue with them. S/he offers to help with research and content, always looking for the word “yes”. Once the Outreach Specialist identifies a willing partner he or she will work with the Content Manager to deliver the research or content specified. The authors each have a need, it is our job to discover what they are looking for and to help them fulfill it. This often takes the form of outreach via email, social media, telephone calls, and on some occassions personal meetings. The type of outreach program we design is based on the publications we plan to approach.
On-page factors improvement
On-page SEO factors relate to things that can be improved on the target website to make it more search engine friendly. We look at meta tag structure, title structure, schema markup, quality and freshness of content, cross-linking, and more. We then create a list of suggested adjustments. Normally the client makes the changes.Inbound link cleanup

Measuring SEO results

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