Ready, Set, Go! One-Hour SEO

Travis Bliffen
by Travis Bliffen 12 Jan, 2016
Ready, Set, Go! One-Hour SEO

:: By Travis Bliffen, Stellar SEO ::

While businesses always desire greater search traffic, the time allotted to reach their goals is often limited.

If in-house marketing professionals acquire this essential task, but are not sure where they should begin, consider this roadmap for getting started with SEO in only 60 minutes per day over the next two weeks.

Day 1: Define Goals

The easiest way to fail at marketing is by not defining S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, results focused and timed) goals. Keep in mind that an effective marketing strategy should include short, medium and long-term S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Day 2: Verifying Achievability of Goals

Setting goals is an excellent first step but not the only one. Many companies set goals to improve sales, but an in-house marketing team should also be tasked with determining what percentage of that growth can be generated exclusively via search marketing. For example, if the goal is to sell an additional 10 units per month, the formula used to calculate "achievability" would look like this: Search Traffic X CTR X Conversion Rate = Sales Generated. Repeat the process for each keyword to determine the achievability of the company's goals.

Day 3: Identifying Additional Keywords

In order to achieve the website sales goals, obviously, the selected keywords must send enough traffic to a website to meet the sales goal previously determined. When the initial keywords selected do not generate enough traffic, additional terms and phrases should be selected and targeted. Identifying variations of the primary keyword with tools like the AdWords Keyword Planner is the best starting place. 

Day 4-5: On-Page Review

On-page SEO is paramount; failing to build a solid foundation will result in failure or at best, reduced performance from off-page SEO efforts. On-page reviews should focus on two areas: technical issues and keyword optimization. 

Day 6-8: Creating Content

With a limited time horizon for achieving success, creating on-site content is generally the most effective means of promoting a website. To get started, use a tool like Buzzsumo to find content covering related topics that are performing well currently, and identify ways to improve upon it. 

Day 9-11: Fixing On-Page SEO

Once content has been created, it is time to implement any necessary on-page SEO edits. This is the time to fix both technical and keyword issues, especially those affecting the new content. Do not move onto content promotion until all important on-page issues have been corrected.

Day 12: Content Promotion Prospecting

In order to find people likely to link to newly created content, tools such as Majestic should be used to identify websites linking to similar content. Completing a search for the primary keywords/topics of the content being promoted will yield a list of pages with related content. Run those pages through Majestic to find a list of sites linking related content. Enter those sites into a spreadsheet and find a contact name and email for each site. Repeat until the lists have at least 200 contacts listed.

13-14: Promoting Content

Set up a solution such as Sidekick or a similar tool that allows tracking of email opens and clicks. Create a basic email template that allows for quick customization for each request. After sending out an email to each person on the list created on day 12, visit Buzzsumo again to find out who is sharing similar content on social media. Connect with those sharing similar content, especially influencers and use those connections to further promote the content. 

Day 15: Repeat Regularly

Depending upon the success of the outreach campaign, day 15 can go back to day 3 in which new keywords are identified and the process repeats or can return to day 12 where additional promotional opportunities are discovered and the outreach promotion is repeated. 

Author Bio

Travis Bliffen is the founder of Stellar SEO, a Web design and marketing firm located in Marion, IL. Travis and his team are equipped to handle any size SEO project and have helped numerous businesses to date build a rock solid online presence. When you are ready for more leads and sales, it is time to get #stellarized. Connect on Facebook or Twitter @theseoproz

Travis Bliffen
Travis Bliffen
I am fiercely competitive and passionate about SEO, which means working with myself and the Stellar SEO team will put you on the winning side. Nothing about SEO is guaranteed, but we make a habit of helping brands dominate, even in the most competitive of industries. Since 2012, my company, Stellar SEO, has become one of the most highly regarded names in Search Engine Optimization. Taking the unconventional route, my journey to becoming an SEO industry expert began after reading a magazine article with a "Best Business to Start" headline. Starting with no funding or prior business experience, I began researching everything I could about entrepreneurship and SEO. In the process, I personally tested every theory, piece of sales advice, and "proven" method to deliver effective link-building campaigns. I found that there is no one-size-fits-all method or magic guru tricks to link building.