The strategic guide to search engine optimisation: why you need an expert’s touch
Christine Hollinden
by Christine Hollinden
Referrals are often a primary source of new business, but have you ever considered the process a prospect uses to determine who to hire? Individuals typically begin by asking their network and then search to learn more, or they conduct a search and look for the familiar. Regardless of the order, a search is almost always part of the process. What happens if they can’t find you or your firm? They move on to the next name or they proceed with caution. You probably have neither the time nor inclination to learn search engine optimisation (SEO), but in today’s world, SEO is critical to success.
Algorithms and ranking factors drive search results. For its first 15 years, Google made few adjustments to the algorithm, opting instead for updates to improve usability. Today, approximately 9 algorithm changes occur each day. Some changes go unnoticed, closing loopholes to artificially inflate results, spam, or eliminate “deepfakes”. Other changes have a dramatic impact on rankings such as the August 2024 adjustments which not only value high-quality content, but push poor content down in the rankings. It is nearly impossible to maintain, let alone improve, search rankings with sporadic SEO efforts. SEO requires consistent, ongoing management as part of a long-term strategy.
Benchmark
Begin by understanding the current state of your company’s web presence. Run reports from Google Analytics (GA) and Google Search Console (GSC) to get URL-level data on organic results of traffic, clicks, rankings, and average positioning. Google’s algorithms are focused on returning results relevant to your search. It uses search history, geographic location, IP address, frequently visited sites, the Google account, browser, and other factors to return the most relevant results for you. Searching key terms from your work computer to determine where your firm ranks may not be accurate. In addition to the GA and GSC reports, firms like ours turn to professional-level tools such as Moz, SEMRush, Screaming Frog, and AHREFs to gather further insights. It is also important to compare your results with those of your closest competitors. These tools also analyse the site’s indexability, authority score, and toxic backlinks, among other pertinent data.
Identify gaps
Once the benchmark has been established, the next step is to identify gaps.
Make a list of current keywords and rankings.
Rank the importance of keywords to identify those most relevant, as well as any outdated or irrelevant terms.
Create a list of key terms, including individual names, that prospects would use to search for your firm, services, and partners.
Review how competitors rank for the key terms.
Identify the gaps.
While the steps outlined sound simple, they are driven by data and can be complex when diving into the details.
The foundation
SEO includes many advanced strategies, but I recommend starting with the foundational elements. All indexed pages should have proper title tags, meta descriptions, H1 Headers, URL structure, and alt tags. There is both an art and a science to all these elements. Title tags and 5,000 characters meta descriptions must meet length requirements in terms of characters, and accurately reflect page content and include keywords, while also avoiding keyword stuffing. Google compares this meta data and page content with the search string to determine whether it should be included in the results. Edit the first 100–150 words on each page to ensure it includes the search terms for that page. Add alt tags with search terms for images within the site.
Segment content
Not all content is of equal importance when it comes to a search. Identify all the content on the site. I typically do this in spreadsheet with columns for the title, URL, content type, and next steps. Content types may include blog posts (long form or short form), videos, podcasts, or pillar pages. A pillar page is a central or cornerstone topic. Think of it like a jumping off point for topic clusters which are sub-topics or related topics. For example, a pillar page may give an overview of how the M&A process works. Topic clusters may include how to prepare your company for sale, why certain companies draw higher multiples, what to expect during due diligence, deal structures, and how to grow value. Identify if the content is a link or a conversion asset. A link asset is content written with the intent to generate backlinks, while a conversion asset drives engagement (e.g. form completion, downloads, newsletter sign up). In the “next step” column, insert notes about the content itself if it needs editing, updating, or deleting.
Conclusion
Results-driven SEO starts with a strategy tied to goals. It is complex and ever-changing. Creating and implementing a strategic approach takes more than knowing the basics. A strong SEO requires an understanding of your goals, the competitive market, the technical elements, and how to translate all of that into content that drives the right kind of engagement.
If you're curious about how your firm currently ranks, Hollinden offers a complimentary baseline SEO audit to help you assess your position and identify opportunities for improvement.
Christine Hollinden, CPSM, CEPA, CM&AA, CVGA is the principal and founder of Hollinden | inbound + strategists headquartered out of Houston, Texas. Focused on professional services, Hollinden provides marketing strategy, inbound marketing, marketing automation, content, social media, eMarketing, and web development. Contact Christine.
At Hollinden, we are Bold | Experts | Thinkers | Marketers. We are your marketing team, dedicated to achieving your goals. We are the spirited side of professional services marketing, where left brain meets right brain. Our services identify market opportunities and produce measurable, business-impacting results.
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