Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often confusing or frustrating to people who aren’t practicing it every day. Sometimes I’ve heard SEO talked about like it’s an illusive state of Zen that people want their website to achieve.
This happy place exists; however, it’s not finite. SEO Zen is achieved and sustained through continuous improvement over time. We’ve learned this over the years at A-LINE—and sometimes the hard way! (For a refresher on SEO, review our “What is SEO?” blog, which includes “A-LINE’s SEO 101” whitepaper.)
As much as I wish we’d developed the magic SEO pill for our clients’ websites, we instead do the next best thing: we create SEO-friendly websites through a process of evaluation and consistent fine-tuning.
Whether we’re maintaining an existing website or helping a client develop one from scratch, we improve a company’s site first by writing content that resonates with humans, instead of machines.
This approach is different from old-school SEO, which included a lot of “keyword stuffing” and link building. People used these tactics to try to trick search engines. But the Google machine is very smart. It can see through those tactics.
We strive to work well with Google, not trick it. We use Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and other tools for continuous improvement. These help us gain insight and analysis into our client recommendations, content development efforts, and marketing campaign suggestions.
After we’ve implemented a well-informed content strategy within a new website launch, we draw attention to the concept of launch. Launching a new website is a beginning, not an ending. A new website needs SEO care and feeding regularly. At this point, we benchmark, track, and evaluate how website visitors engage on the site, then fine-tune to continuously improve.
For example, we adjust content to lower bounce rates, increase click-through rates, and improve calls-to-action. Our goal is to provide a helpful, engaging web experience so that the people within the clients’ target audiences keep coming back and taking action on what’s important to them (and to the goals of the website). That’s a win for everyone!
We evaluate and report on these efforts at least twice a year, and with several clients, quarterly. Our team works hard to hone their skills and develop SEO reporting that’s easy for our clients to understand and implement.
If you’d like to learn more about our SEO practice or wonder if with some fine-tuning, SEO Zen is within your company’s reach, feel free to reach out.
