"Good-Bye Black Box" Blog Series

I thought it was about time to demystify the SEO process. Every client I work with has access to what I am doing, why I am doing it, and what the expected results should be. That doesn't mean they always understand or even ask. But that doesn't mean I can't accurately describe what I am doing and what the results should be.

If you have any questions, please submit them to me: joshuam@cthinkgroup.com.

Insight into SEO workflow

One of the most significant SEO challenges is the nature of the work. In my opinion, SEO work is front-loaded, subject to diminishing returns, and set on an ever-shifting landscape. 

Shifting variables is not super unique to creative fields, and this is not a "one and done" process. So how do you balance your SEO plan or strategy? Here are some ideas outlined below:

For me, I follow a simple method for completing SEO work:

• Code - Clean code
• Content - Keyword-rich content
• Community - Strong backlinks
• Competition - Know how your positions in a market
• Clicks - Positive ROI

SEO Workload Distribution

When you apply where all the work lies, the following rings true:

Process	Front Loaded Work	Follow-up Work
Code	Fix Errors, Create a process to reduce errors on new pages	Check for errors as new pages as added
Content	Establish a keyword list and implement it into your website	Check ranking for keyword list, watch for competitor ranks, implement keywords on new content. Refine list and content over time.
Community	Create a list of sites that you want to backlink	Pursue links as sites become more relevant or as new sites come online
Competitors	Identify competitors for specific keywords,	Watch for competitors gaining market share, identify keys to success
Clicks	Create campaigns based on keyword list and marketing goals	Refine the PPC campaign to improve results and aim for more bang for the $, rather than cost savings.

Most of the work is finding out what is happening to a website, outlining what success looks like for your website, and then planning and implementing changes to achieve the desired results.

SEO Diminishing Returns

Again looking at the facets of SEO, we have found:

Process	The bulk of the time to address	Time to refine	When the required time is nominal
Code	First few weeks	Over a few weeks	A few months
Content	First few weeks	Duration of the project: Track rank, test measure keyword list, refine list and content	When you have content updates that continuously feed ranks/conversions
Community	First few weeks	Duration of project - continue to build relationships with new websites.	Backlink saturation for current content
Competition	First few weeks	Duration of the project: Track rank, test measure keyword list, build backlinks	A few months
Clicks	First few weeks	Duration of the project: Track efforts measure against benchmarks	A few months

Most of the SEO work is front-loaded in the first few weeks. Once you can track efforts and changes, you should be in a constant state of process improvement, testing and measuring, watching competitors, and making adjustments.

If you are onboarding new products/services or going after new markets, this process can start anew. 

Shifting Landscape

The internet is adding content and new websites every day. Some of your competitors are ramping up their efforts to improve their SEO efforts. These entrances or actions change the variables you have to track to follow your website's performance. This shift is generally measured and timed so that monthly monitoring should suffice. 

Does this mean you have to keep fixing/changing your website? 

Not really. Once you do the bulk of the work, you get to where maintenance is the main focus. You did the hard work to get up the mountain, you can enjoy the view for a bit, till something else comes along to move you from your place. 

What about highly competitive positions?

Holding a competitive position is the one caveat to trying a front-loaded SEO effort to keep your ground for SEO rank. If you are competing with highly competitive keywords, you will have to keep an eye on your website weekly, making changes daily. These changes include adding new content and backlinks.