In the past, SEO used to be a very technical checklist you would run through, and by doing a few things you could get results very quickly.
That is not the way of Modern SEO today.
SEO is many things, and touches many disciplines that impact the visitor, prospect, customer, and influencer experience. This is one of the primary reasons that SEO has become simpler and more enjoyable (we don’t have to fight to keep up with ridiculous activities like spinning an article 5000 ways or submitting to thousands of directories), but also more confusing to understand and implement because it straddles:
- Web design and development (technical) best practices
- On-page optimization
- Off-Page optimization
- UX (user experience) and CRO (conversion rate optimization)
- Content strategy and content creation
- Content amplification
- Persona and keyword research and mapping
- Social media marketing and amplification
- PR and influencer marketing
- Target market knowledge and creativity application to get in front of influencers and market
- Data and analytics measurement and decision making
- Development of a brand story, voice, and personality (I added this because you will never rank if your company’s online presence is as exciting as cardboard; this is correlation vs causation)
- Keeping up with the evolution of business priorities, goals, KPIs
If you choose one of these items, or maybe 3 or 4 in isolation, your SEO won’t take off very far, or for very long.
Oh, and if you have multiple different products, services, or audiences, you have to repeat much of this list for each.
In no way does this point mean that SEO is impossible, it just goes to show why it’s so complex today, and takes time and a strategic plan.
7 Components of a Modern SEO Approach
There have been several shifts around how you should approach SEO, some very obvious, and others more subtle. Here is my take on 7 components of a successful modern SEO approach:
- Integrated SEO – success requires being involved in a mix of disciplines and SEO best practices put on top of those disciplines
- A team approach to strategy and execution is required – one person cannot do it all
- Off-page content optimization – you have to optimize and amplify away from your site more than ever as Google is favoring a variety of social, community and collaboration sites more than ever
- SEO strategy shelf life – businesses change rapidly these days, and your SEO and digital strategy and tactics need to keep up and shift accordingly
- Creative and diversified keyword mix – it is not just a handful, or even 10 keywords that will bring you success for long. It’s several terms that carry across the different areas of the buying funnel, for each niche product, service, solution, industry and persona
- SEO foundational best practices – this will never go away. The basics of technical, on-page and off-page is the root of it all and the piece I still see most people miss
- A Post-Click, Lead Nurturing Plan – more and more I’m seeing clients that that are achieving SEO success on paper, but not in reality. The right lead gen terms are showing up in Google Analytics, the data is showing clicks and conversions….but leads are not reaching out as readily. Utilizing a lead nurturing program has become more important than ever.
What Hasn’t Changed About SEO – Reinforcing Core Fundamentals
Modern SEO, and how you approach it, is all about strategic SEO fundamentals:
- The practice of making your content findable – the strategies, tactics and activities
- Getting in front of your target market and being where your peeps are
- SEO strategy and execution being a mix of both art and science
What Are You Seeing Out There with Modern SEO?
Your turn – how are you approaching modern SEO today? What’s changed for you? Leave a comment below.
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Jenny Munn
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