Module 6 - Review and Refine
Optimizing your website is an ongoing process. You won't ever fully check 'SEO' off your to-do list.
First, there are internal factors to contend with: you will always find something to improve or tweak, a new keyword phrase to test out, a new blogger to approach for a backlink opportunity, a new blog post that you'll write and link to internally, and so on.
And then there are external factors that will influence your SEO strategy, too: a change in your industry, Google algorithm updates, or new websites competing for a spot on the first page of Google.
The idea is to take care of the essentials up front and then measure the results as you work steadily through your SEO to-do list.
Once you apply the SEO strategies you've learned in this course, you can then start to build on the foundation you've established. For example, expand your strategy to include more content development – develop topic clusters to focus on, create long-form content to help rank for specific keywords etc.
No matter what you choose to do, remember that consistency is key. Don't do a blast of SEO work and then ignore it for months. That's not how you'll get results.
But also, don't become totally absorbed by SEO: remember that, for most businesses, SEO is just a small fraction of the work the owner is responsible for. There's only so much time in a day. So, set aside a certain number of hours per week to dedicate to SEO, deal with the most pressing issues, do your best, and then move on.
Check in on your goals every month, quarter, or year. Keep track of your progress by following up on a few key metrics that you set at the beginning of the course.
⦁ Did you increase traffic to your pages?
⦁ Have you improved your ranking in Google?
⦁ Have you increased your 'SEO score' on the online site audit tool you use?
⦁ How are you progressing toward your goals?
⦁ Are the tactics you put in place (i.e., blogging, guest podcasting, etc.) getting you results?
⦁ What worked, what didn't?
⦁ What can you do to improve?
⦁ But also, what tactic can you leave behind because it wasn't compatible with your business, or it's just not worth the time and effort required?
Reassess and, if necessary, change your course of action. But remember, SEO takes time, so you need to give search engines at least a couple of months to catch up with your SEO efforts before you can accurately measure results.
What You Learned
You now have a grasp of the basics of SEO strategy, which you have tested out on several pages of your website. You can use online tools and your own research to identify target keywords; optimize content and html; put to work SEO-building strategies like internal linking, backlinking, and blogging to boost your SEO rank; and so much more.
It's important to reflect on what you've learned, so answer these questions and complete the action plan in your Action Guide:
⦁ What have you learned while working on your website's SEO strategy?
⦁ What difficulties have you encountered?
⦁ How do you plan to address these?
⦁ What further steps can you take to prevent future issues?
Key Takeaways:
⦁ Optimizing your website is an on-going process and consistency is key
⦁ Once you apply the SEO strategies you've learned in this course, you can then start to build on the foundation you've established
Action Steps:
⦁ Review your progress after 30 days. Even if results aren't yet visible on the Google results page, measure other metrics: Has your SEO audit score increased? Are more people visiting your pages via organic searches?
⦁ Review the course thoroughly and answer the questions in your Action Guide.
⦁ Use the action plan in the Action Guide to record your goals and what needs to happen next.
Optimizing your website is an ongoing process. You won't ever fully check 'SEO' off your to-do list.
First, there are internal factors to contend with: you will always find something to improve or tweak, a new keyword phrase to test out, a new blogger to approach for a backlink opportunity, a new blog post that you'll write and link to internally, and so on.
And then there are external factors that will influence your SEO strategy, too: a change in your industry, Google algorithm updates, or new websites competing for a spot on the first page of Google.
The idea is to take care of the essentials up front and then measure the results as you work steadily through your SEO to-do list.
Once you apply the SEO strategies you've learned in this course, you can then start to build on the foundation you've established. For example, expand your strategy to include more content development – develop topic clusters to focus on, create long-form content to help rank for specific keywords etc.
No matter what you choose to do, remember that consistency is key. Don't do a blast of SEO work and then ignore it for months. That's not how you'll get results.
But also, don't become totally absorbed by SEO: remember that, for most businesses, SEO is just a small fraction of the work the owner is responsible for. There's only so much time in a day. So, set aside a certain number of hours per week to dedicate to SEO, deal with the most pressing issues, do your best, and then move on.
Check in on your goals every month, quarter, or year. Keep track of your progress by following up on a few key metrics that you set at the beginning of the course.
⦁ Did you increase traffic to your pages?
⦁ Have you improved your ranking in Google?
⦁ Have you increased your 'SEO score' on the online site audit tool you use?
⦁ How are you progressing toward your goals?
⦁ Are the tactics you put in place (i.e., blogging, guest podcasting, etc.) getting you results?
⦁ What worked, what didn't?
⦁ What can you do to improve?
⦁ But also, what tactic can you leave behind because it wasn't compatible with your business, or it's just not worth the time and effort required?
Reassess and, if necessary, change your course of action. But remember, SEO takes time, so you need to give search engines at least a couple of months to catch up with your SEO efforts before you can accurately measure results.
What You Learned
You now have a grasp of the basics of SEO strategy, which you have tested out on several pages of your website. You can use online tools and your own research to identify target keywords; optimize content and html; put to work SEO-building strategies like internal linking, backlinking, and blogging to boost your SEO rank; and so much more.
It's important to reflect on what you've learned, so answer these questions and complete the action plan in your Action Guide:
⦁ What have you learned while working on your website's SEO strategy?
⦁ What difficulties have you encountered?
⦁ How do you plan to address these?
⦁ What further steps can you take to prevent future issues?
Key Takeaways:
⦁ Optimizing your website is an on-going process and consistency is key
⦁ Once you apply the SEO strategies you've learned in this course, you can then start to build on the foundation you've established
Action Steps:
⦁ Review your progress after 30 days. Even if results aren't yet visible on the Google results page, measure other metrics: Has your SEO audit score increased? Are more people visiting your pages via organic searches?
⦁ Review the course thoroughly and answer the questions in your Action Guide.
⦁ Use the action plan in the Action Guide to record your goals and what needs to happen next.
