Strategy matters in everything, really. Picking a parking spot at the grocery store might seem as though it’s the most trivial and inconsequential thing — and it may very well be — but putting thought into anything improves the potential for a positive outcome. Which direction does traffic flow in the parking lot? How easy will it be to turn out of the lot? Are you near the cart corral? Will you be parked in the shade? Are you parked on a corner space? Most people don’t consider these things while doing something as simple as parking the car for 5 minutes to run in to the store for butter and bread, but you should absolutely put this much thought into your SEO strategy.
Why anecdotes aren’t a replacement for planning.
“I overheard some shady guy at the park talking about SEO. He said that he just stuck in lots of keywords, and now he’s a billionaire!”
There’s no shortage of SEO tips and tricks, from the ridiculous (put a badge on your page!) to the sublime (publish lots of fresh content!). It’s tempting to try the latest shiny object of an idea, especially if it sounds easy and doesn’t require a lot of time and research and planning.
Sure, you could lumber through your SEO efforts, trying out every easy shortcut you hear about and probably stubbing toes and bumping into walls. You might get some good results, even if your slapdash approach makes it hard to replicate those good results.
Hope isn’t a good business strategy, however. The more organized and data-driven your SEO strategy, the more likely it is that you will succeed.
Why you need an SEO strategy
To really understand why an SEO strategy is important, you have to recognize why SEO is important. SEO is meant to help both people and search engines find your website. Search engines crawl the web and index pages to help get the most relevant search results for users. When you’re competing with the entire globe for online exposure, you need all the help that you can get. Having a well constructed plan for SEO benefits your business and improves your chances for success.
This means that you can’t just do what you think feels right at the time for your SEO. Not only is impulsive decision making generally bad for business, but you also have to recognize that not every one thinks the way you do. For an effective strategy, you have to consider as many scenarios, possible outcomes, potential pitfalls, likelihoods, and unlikelihoods as you possibly can.
But you have to do more than just think about these elements of a strategy. You must also have the knowledge and skill to know what to do with those things once you have identified them. You must be able to optimize blogs, effectively use social media, set up your website to get conversions, and use analytics.
You don’t have to strap on your strategic thinking helmet every time that you enter a parking lot, but you should definitely give your SEO strategy as much thought and attention as you possibly can.
Of course, not everyone has the time to give their SEO strategy the attention that it needs. Even though you see the value in strategic planning, you may have better things to do with your time. You might also recognize that you have limited experience with SEO and few specialized tools. Let us help you. Contact us today to get started on a custom SEO strategy.
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