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The (Mostly On-Page) SEO Playbook
Let’s talk SEO AKA Search Engine Optimization AKA getting your website ranked and displayed on the first page of Google.
I know, I know — it’s not the sexiest topic.
But trust me, it’s one of the most powerful levers for driving organic traffic, building your brand, and unlocking long-term growth.
Here’s a thought to chew on: SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
It requires a patient, methodical approach, but the rewards are exponential.
Think of it as compound interest for your website — a little effort today can lead to massive returns down the line.
Today, I’m sharing my SEO playbook — a collection of strategies, tools, and frameworks that I’ve used to skyrocket organic traffic for my own businesses and those of my clients.
The Old SEO Playbook is Dead
Let’s be honest: the old SEO tactics of keyword stuffing, spammy backlinks, and thin content are dead.
Google’s algorithms are smarter than ever, and they prioritize user experience above all else.
So, what’s the new SEO playbook?
It’s about:
Creating High-Quality Content: Content that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience. (On Page SEO)
Building a Strong Backlink Profile: Earning links from reputable websites that vouch for your authority. (Off Page SEO)
Technical Optimization: Ensuring your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and easy for search engines to crawl. (On Page SEO)
User Experience: Creating a website that’s intuitive, engaging, and provides a seamless experience for visitors. (On Page SEO)
If you’re new to SEO, don’t worry — I’ve got you covered.
The SEO Mindset: Think Like a Search Engine
To win at SEO, you need to understand how search engines work.
It’s not rocket science, but it does require a shift in perspective.
Here’s the key: Search engines are designed to provide the best possible answer to a user’s query.
They do this by crawling the web, indexing content, and ranking it based on a complex algorithm.
Your job is to make it easy for search engines to understand what your content is about and why it deserves to rank high.
This means:
Creating high-quality, relevant content: This is the foundation of SEO. If your content isn’t valuable to users, it won’t rank well.
Optimizing your content for keywords: This means using relevant keywords in your titles, headings, and body copy. But don’t overdo it — keyword stuffing is a big no-no.
Building backlinks: This is when other websites link to your content. It’s a signal to search engines that your content is trustworthy and authoritative.
But SEO is more than just keywords and backlinks.
It’s also about user experience.
If your website is slow, difficult to navigate, or not mobile-friendly, you’ll lose out on valuable traffic.
So, think like a search engine. Ask yourself:
What questions are my target audience asking?
What kind of content would they find valuable?
How can I make my website as user-friendly as possible?
By answering these questions, you’ll be well on your way to SEO success.
SEO is a long-term game.
Be patient, be consistent, and always focus on providing value to your users.
Your Keyword Strategy: The North Star of Your SEO Journey (On Page SEO)
Think of keywords as the compass guiding your SEO journey.
They’re the terms and phrases your target audience is using to search for solutions you provide.
A well-defined keyword strategy is like having a map with a big, glowing “X” marking the treasure — your ideal customer.
Beyond the Basics: A Keyword Strategy for Advanced Entrepreneurs
While basic keyword research is about identifying relevant terms, advanced entrepreneurs need a more sophisticated approach:
Intent-Driven Keywords: Go beyond the obvious and focus on keywords that reveal the intent behind the search. Are people looking for information, a specific product, or ready to buy?
Long-Tail Keywords: These are longer, more specific phrases that often have less competition and higher conversion rates. For example, instead of targeting “shoes,” go for “best running shoes for women with high arches.”
Semantic Keywords: These are related terms and synonyms that expand your reach and help search engines understand the context of your content.
Competitor Keywords: Analyze what keywords your competitors are ranking for and identify gaps or opportunities where you can outperform them.
Tools of the Trade: Keyword Research Arsenal
Luckily, you don’t have to do this manually.
A plethora of tools can empower your keyword research:
Semrush: An all-in-one SEO powerhouse that offers comprehensive keyword research, competitive analysis, and rank tracking.
Ahrefs: Renowned for its backlink analysis capabilities, Ahrefs also boasts a robust keyword research tool.
AnswerThePublic: Uncover the questions people are asking around your niche, giving you content ideas that directly address their needs.
Google Keyword Planner: A free tool from Google itself, offering valuable insights into search volume and competition.
KWFinder: A user-friendly tool that helps you find long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulty.
The Keyword Mapping Framework
Once you’ve identified your target keywords, it’s time to map them to your website’s structure and content.
This is where the magic happens:
Create a Master List: Compile all your relevant keywords in one place.
Cluster Keywords: Group related keywords together based on their intent and topic.
Assign Keywords to Pages: Decide which keyword clusters align with specific pages or sections of your website.
Optimize Content: Integrate your target keywords naturally into your content, including titles, headers, meta descriptions, and body text.
Remember: Keyword stuffing is a big no-no. Focus on creating high-quality content that genuinely addresses the user’s needs and seamlessly incorporates relevant keywords.
Content is King, But Context is Queen (On Page SEO)
By now, you’ve got your keyword strategy locked and loaded.
But keywords are just the starting point.
The real magic happens when you create compelling content that not only aligns with your target keywords but also resonates deeply with your audience.
Content is King, But Context is Queen
Here’s the truth: content is still king in the SEO world.
But it’s not just about churning out blog posts and articles stuffed with keywords.
It’s about creating content that:
Addresses User Intent: Answers the questions your audience is asking and solves their problems.
Provides Value: Offers unique insights, actionable tips, or entertaining stories that leave a lasting impression.
Is Relevant and Fresh: Stays up-to-date with the latest trends and information in your industry.
Is Engaging and Shareable: Compelling enough for people to share with their networks, amplifying your reach.
Context is queen because it’s what elevates your content from good to great.
It’s about understanding the nuances of your audience’s search intent, their pain points, and their desires.
It’s about crafting content that speaks directly to them, providing solutions and building trust.
Crafting SEO-Friendly Content: A Framework
Here’s a framework for creating content that not only ranks high but also delivers a powerful punch:
Topic Ideation: Start by brainstorming topic ideas that align with your keyword research and resonate with your audience. Use tools like AnswerThePublic or explore relevant online communities to uncover what people are talking about.
Outline Creation: Before you start writing, create a detailed outline that maps out the structure of your content. Include key sections, subtopics, and the main points you want to cover.
Compelling Headline: Craft a headline that is both attention-grabbing and accurately reflects the content of your piece. Use numbers, power words, and questions to pique curiosity.
Engaging Introduction: Hook your readers from the first sentence. Pose a question, share a surprising fact, or tell a brief story that captures their interest.
Value-Packed Body: Deliver on the promise of your headline by providing valuable information, actionable tips, or unique insights. Use data, examples, and stories to illustrate your points.
Clear Call to Action: Guide your readers towards the next step, whether it’s signing up for your newsletter, downloading a resource, or making a purchase.
Optimization: Incorporate your target keywords naturally throughout your content, including titles, headers, meta descriptions, and body text. But remember, prioritize readability and user experience above keyword density.
Tools to Empower Your Content Creation
Grammarly: Ensure your writing is clear, concise, and error-free.
Hemingway App: Improve readability by identifying complex sentences and suggesting simpler alternatives.
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer: Craft headlines that are both engaging and SEO-friendly.
Surfer SEO: Optimize your content for specific keywords and improve your chances of ranking higher.
The Content Ecosystem
Don’t limit yourself to just blog posts.
Diversify your content formats to cater to different audience preferences:
Long-Form Articles: Dive deep into complex topics and establish yourself as an authority.
Infographics: Visualize data and statistics in an easy-to-digest format.
Videos: Engage your audience with dynamic and informative content.
Podcasts: Reach a wider audience and share your expertise in an audio format.
All of this can be SEO’d.
Content Audit: Refine and Optimize
Don’t forget to regularly audit your existing content.
Identify underperforming pages and optimize them for better results.
Refresh outdated content with new information and insights.
By continuously refining your content strategy, you’ll ensure that your website remains a valuable resource for your audience and a magnet for organic traffic.
The Link Building Game (Off Page SEO)
We’ve covered keyword strategy and content creation, but there’s one more crucial piece of the SEO puzzle: link building.
Think of backlinks as votes of confidence from other websites.
When reputable sites link to your content, it signals to search engines that you’re a trusted authority in your field.
And that, my friend, is SEO gold.
Beyond the Basics: Link Building for Advanced Entrepreneurs
While beginners might focus on quantity, advanced entrepreneurs need a more strategic approach:
Quality Over Quantity: A few high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites are worth more than a hundred low-quality links from spammy domains.
Relevance: Seek backlinks from websites that are relevant to your niche or industry. These links carry more weight and are more likely to attract your target audience.
Diversity: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Aim for a diverse backlink profile from a variety of sources, including blogs, news sites, industry publications, and social media.
Relationship Building: Link building is not just a transaction; it’s about building relationships with other content creators and website owners. Collaborate, guest post, and engage with others in your industry to earn valuable backlinks.
Link Building Strategies: Your Arsenal of Tactics
Here are some proven link building strategies to boost your SEO authority:
Guest Posting: Offer to write high-quality articles for reputable websites in your industry. Include a link back to your website in your author bio or within the content.
Broken Link Building: Find broken links on relevant websites and offer to replace them with a link to your content.
Resource Page Link Building: Identify resource pages in your niche and reach out to the website owners to see if they would be willing to include a link to your valuable content.
Skyscraper Technique: Find popular content in your industry, create something even better, and then reach out to websites that linked to the original piece to see if they would be interested in linking to your improved version.
Digital PR: Get your brand mentioned in online publications and news sites. These mentions often come with valuable backlinks.
Unlinked Brand Mentions: Use tools like Mention or Brand24 to find instances where your brand is mentioned online without a link and reach out to the website owner to request a link.
Tools to Supercharge Your Link Building Efforts
Ahrefs: A powerful tool for analyzing your backlink profile, identifying potential link opportunities, and monitoring your progress.
Semrush: Another all-in-one SEO tool that offers a comprehensive link building toolkit.
BuzzSumo: Find trending content in your industry and identify potential link partners.
Hunter.io: Easily find email addresses for website owners and content creators.
The Link Building Mindset
Link building is not a sprint; it’s a marathon.
It takes time, effort, and a strategic approach.
But if you’re persistent and focus on building genuine relationships, the rewards are well worth it.
Remember: Link building is not about manipulating search engines.
It’s about earning recognition and authority by creating valuable content that others want to share and link to.
By mastering the art of link building, you’ll not only boost your SEO rankings but also establish yourself as a trusted thought leader in your industry.
And there you have it!
My SEO playbook..
We’ve covered a lot today.
We’ve gone from understanding the intricacies of SEO, from keyword strategy and content creation to link building and technical optimization.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to dominating organic search, attracting high-quality traffic, and achieving sustainable organic growth for your business.
Scott