Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical component for the success of any website, especially for established ones. There are some critical aspects of growing organic traffic, especially when working on SEO for established websites.
There are two sides to SEO: catching up and moving forward.
This blog post will explore both aspects, providing actionable insights to help you strengthen your website’s SEO foundation and build momentum for future growth – for service businesses, local business, and online retail.
The Two Sides of SEO: Catching Up and Moving Forward
SEO for established websites can be divided into two main areas: catching up and moving forward.
Catching up involves cleaning up, reorganizing, and minimizing errors to safeguard your website against losing ground.
Moving forward focuses on creating a strategic content plan, engaging your audience with fresh content, and optimizing your website for user experience and performance.
When working with clients, I find that the biggest SEO errors come from:
- Poor website architecture and organization
- Poor content planning
- Patchwork SEO (using plugins, quick fixes, and bandaids)
With an established website, repairing the causes of these SEO errors is expensive. But catching up is crucial to moving forward. Without addressing the catching up aspects of SEO, we will not achieve desired organic traffic results.
Catching Up: The Foundation of Strong SEO
Identifying SEO Gaps and Weaknesses
Start by giving your website a checkup. Look for things like broken links, old content, and tech problems that could be holding you back.
We call this a comprehensive SEO audit to pinpoint areas that need improvement, such as broken links, outdated content, and technical issues.
Cleaning Up Your Website: Technical SEO Essentials
Your website’s technical health is super important. Technical SEO is the backbone of a well-optimized website. Ensure your website is free of errors, has a fast loading speed, and is mobile-friendly. Fix any broken links, optimize images, and ensure your site is secure with HTTPS.
Organizing for Success: Website Structure and Information Architecture
A well-organized website structure and clear information architecture are crucial for both search engines and users. When working on SEO for established websites, this can be a challenge. Not only do we need to create organization, we have to rebuild what’s there too.
Use a logical hierarchy, create a sitemap, and ensure your URLs are clean and descriptive. This will help search engines crawl your site more effectively and improve user navigation.
Technical SEO Example: Local Landscaping Company
Ensure the website is free of errors, has a fast loading speed, and is mobile-friendly.
Example: Imagine trying to find a landscaper on your phone and landing on a slow (greater than 2 seconds), glitchy website. Frustrated, you’d likely leave and look elsewhere. A fast, mobile-friendly website with no broken links or typos shows professionalism, ranks higher in searches, and makes it easy for customers to navigate your services.
Fix any broken links, optimize images, and ensure your site is secure with HTTPS.
Example: Broken links can be annoying for visitors and WILL DRASTICALLY hurt your search engine rankings resulting in 404 errors. Optimizing images helps a website load faster and improves search visibility for image searches.
In a recent client project, we worked on technical SEO, website performance, and updated the website theme to result in a 17% increase in Google Pagespeed performance score. This was accomplished by:
- Decreasing the Total Blocking Time of Code on the Website by 94%.
- Decreasing the Speed Index (load times) from 4.9 seconds to 2.5 seconds.
The remaining tasks need to come about by improving the servers and hosting service for this client’s website – a cost they’re not quite ready to budget for.
Moving Forward: Building Momentum
Content is King: Creating a Strategic Content Plan
A strategic content plan is essential (even when working SEO for established websites) for driving organic traffic and engaging your audience. It’s easier to do at the beginning of a website build, but needs to happen anytime a business is serious about growing traffic organically.
Identify your target keywords, create a content calendar, and produce high-quality, relevant content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience.
See More: Content Marketing Strategies that Drive Business Profits >
Engaging Your Audience: Fresh, Relevant Content
Regularly updating your website with fresh, relevant content is key to maintaining and improving your search rankings. Publish blog posts, articles, videos, and other content formats that provide value to your audience and encourage them to return to your site.
Regularly updating your website with fresh, relevant content is a cornerstone of effective SEO for established websites because it:
- Increases Keyword Coverage
- Improves Search Engine Visibility
- Enhances User Experience
- Builds Topical Authority
Let’s look at some real results from a recent ecommerce client.
The website was not new. It was created approximately 12 months prior to Mafost Marketing coming aboard.
This means we needed both sides of SEO for estatblished websites – catching up and moving forward.
In May 2024, we developed a content plan and began producing content for more keyword coverage. The results:
- 40 new organic keywords ranking on Google within 60 days.
- About 20% of the new keywords ranking within the top 4-10 positions on search results pages.
In the long-term, we need to pair the SEO work with advertising to ensure user engagement is high, traffic is solid, and the content is matching user needs.
Example of Keyword Coverage: Ecommerce Store that Sells Hats
Let’s take a fictional established website, sporthats.com. By creating content around the products, sporthats.com can significantly increase keyword coverage and attract a wider audience.
Example:
- Product: Black Baseball Cap
- Keywords: black baseball cap, baseball cap, black hat
To expand keyword coverage for this product, the marketing team for sporthats.com could create a blog post titled “How to Style a Black Baseball Cap for Every Occasion.”
This blog post could cover:
Different styles: casual, sporty, formal
Outfit ideas: jeans and a t-shirt, dressy outfit, workout attire
Accessory pairings: sunglasses, scarves, jewelry
Results: By incorporating keywords naturally into the blog post, sporthats.com will expand the number of search terms the website is optimized for. It also provides content to share on social media increasing the likelihood for user generated comments, pictures, and brand engagement.
Enhancing User Experience: Website Optimization for Conversions
A positive user experience is crucial for both SEO and conversions. Optimize your website’s design, navigation, and functionality to ensure a seamless experience for your visitors. Use clear calls-to-action, improve page load times, and ensure your site is accessible to all users.
This step can not be overstated.
Google absolutely considers user engagement and website events when ranking websites in SERPs.
While they haven’t explicitly outlined every factor, it’s clear that user experience plays a significant role in determining search rankings.
Putting junk content on the website, like AI-generated articles, is a sure way to boost search impressions in the short-term. But it will tank your website in the intermediate term (30-90 days).
Read More: Question is, how long does it take to see SEO results?
Measuring Success: Tracking SEO Performance and ROI
To gauge the effectiveness of your SEO efforts, it’s important to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and return on investment (ROI). Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to monitor your website’s traffic, rankings, and conversions. Regularly review your data and adjust your strategy as needed.
Conclusion
Balancing the Two Sides for Optimal Results
Balancing the two sides of SEO—catching up and moving forward—is essential for achieving optimal results. By addressing technical issues and improving your website’s structure, you can create a strong foundation for future growth. Simultaneously, focusing on content creation, user engagement, and performance optimization will help you build momentum and drive long-term success.
The Ongoing Journey of SEO
SEO is an ongoing journey that requires continuous effort and adaptation. Stay informed about the latest trends and best practices, and be prepared to adjust your strategy as needed. With a balanced approach to catching up and moving forward, you can ensure your website remains competitive and continues to grow.
This blog post explores the two essential sides of SEO for established websites: catching up and moving forward. It emphasizes the importance of addressing foundational issues, such as identifying SEO gaps, optimizing technical aspects, and organizing website structure.
The post also highlights the significance of building momentum through strategic content planning, creating fresh and relevant content, and enhancing user experience. By balancing these two sides, established website owners can achieve optimal SEO results, driving organic traffic and ensuring long-term growth.
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The ongoing journey of SEO requires continuous effort, adaptation, and monitoring to stay competitive and successful.
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