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It takes time to drive an SEO win. However, simple and effective tactics can help you achieve wins quickly.
“You should know that these tactics are not complex,” says David Brenton, President of BluShark Digital. “You do not need to know high-level theories to get them right; simple and actionable insights, when implemented, are also as effective.”
Using pivot tables is not enough. If you do not get the results you need, you will not get the wins you want. Your outputs determine the kind of results you get.
You do not need to have different spreadsheets opened up just for an SEO win. You need to get the tactics right. This article enumerates three simple but effective tactics that will get you the SEO wins you want this year:
Getting Things Done in the First Six Months
An SEO win is not achieved on a short-term basis. It is continuous. That is why your output for this year will determine your next year’s result.
The first thing you should do is adjust your payback period. You also need to re-strategize and change tactics. SEO is about investing first via creating an asset for the first few years.
You should ensure the asset you are creating has a defensive moat that appreciates over the years. Then, you can bank on it and set your sights high on what you want to achieve.
Solving the Problem
The problem you probably face is that the years you set are unrealistic. Also, you do not need a lot of money to get that SEO win.
You should ignore what you do not rank for. Instead, your focus should be on the things you have. Also, you should look at what you already rank for.
Below are ways to shift your focus and strategy
Content Outside Top Five
One big problem is that no one is probably seeing, clicking, or reading a large portion of your ranking content. You should know that of the top-ranking results on a SERP, only the top five get seen, clicked, and read.
This means that SEO is a zero-sum game. You need someone else to lose to win, and you need to ensure you get the top-five ranking spot.
Having newer content is not even the solution. Many people believe that having new content helps. On the contrary, newer content takes time to move from non-indexed to the top five ranks.
Evaluate all the content in the top five and set a minimum volume in your evaluation.
The next thing to do is to set a keyword difficulty ceiling. That way, you can prioritize the lowest top-ranked.
Doing this lets you quickly find which keyword you update content in. It also helps you indicate content ideas that can help increase your rank. Also, doing it this way helps ensure that the newer content takes less time to rank.
Keyword Cannibalization Content
You may have content that is already ranked, but there are three significant problems with it. One problem is that you are not supposed to be ranked. That is because the topic you are ranked in differs from the one you optimized.
The second problem is that if the content is not properly optimized, it will not reach the top five, because other content ranked higher is optimized for that keyword.
The third problem is that you cannot properly rank content optimized for that keyword, because other content on your site is cannibalizing that content’s potential to rank.
When you have four keywords and only two pages rank, there is a problem. It is more worrisome when the homepage ranks the bulk of the pages. It can only be considered good if the SERPs are contained on the homepage which is highly unlikely.
This translates to what is known as “cannibalization of content.” That is, some pages are blocking the actual pages you want to get ranked. There is a way to fix this.
Firstly, you need to optimize your homepage again. Make it focus on branded keywords. Then, re-optimize the landing page to focus on non-branded terms. The next step is to have a canonical link.
After that, you should update the structure of your internal links and create exact-match anchor texts.
Next, you should have editorial-based links. These should be of high quality and relevant to the keyword. Then, reinforce the exact match anchor with them.
Contents that Formerly Rank Highly
SEO is not inanimate. Like humans, it changes. Their evolution is in relation to searches.
You should also know that information changes affect them too. Competition is fierce. They are also more evolved, adept, and adaptive and have more money to spend on ensuring they rank highly.
This means that if you get relaxed about the content that ranks high, it could plunge faster after some time. Luckily, there is a simple fix for that. You do not need to focus on publishing new content.
You need to evaluate the keywords that are ranking. Check the date and time of this content and filter it down to two years.
The filter will show you the keyword with the biggest drop in those two years. You will see the content that used to rank high dropped.
Don’t worry; having content that ranks highly is a positive thing. It shows that the content displays a high level of topical authority and is popular and relevant to searches.
When you update and re-optimize the pages on a short-term basis, these old pages will yield better results than newer content.
Final Words
What you should have in your mind is that SEO is both a science and an art. While you may have the tactics and strategies, if you don’t put them into action, then you are not doing yourself any good.
You don’t need to spend a lot of time analyzing and strategizing. You just need to implement the SEO basics. Adjust your keyword research, optimize your content, put more effort into your link building, and watch as you drive the desired results.
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