Create a Search Engine Optimization Action Plan

You need a plan of action if you hope to dominate the search engine results pages in your given niche. Not only do you need prominent rankings, but you need attention and to be shared on the various social networks available today. What follows is a sample SEO plan that you can use to take any business from zero to successful in the shortest amount of time possible. It all begins with the proper amount of research.

Search Engine Optimization Research

The research required for search engine optimization consists of market research – that is, what need does your product or service fulfill and what will customers comfortably pay for such an offering – product or service research – such as, how is your product or service better than the competition – and competitor research – that is, what about your product or service will make customers choose you over all others who may be offering the same thing?

Your search engine optimization efforts also require extensive keyword research. As in, what keywords are your prospects and customers typing into google, Bing and the other search engines to find your brand, products and services? Only through extensive research can you find the keywords you seek.

SEO research is best conducted via social media, which allows you to essentially spy on prospects, current customers and competitors from all over the world, and all from the comfort of your home or office.

Once the proper research has been conducted, you will want to start building your online presence. A good place to start is with a self-hosted website that can be found with an SEO-friendly URL.

Website Marketing

The first segment of your online marketing campaign should consist of your website; which will act as your home base of operations. Once you start sending traffic from the other segments in your campaign, all of those visitors will flow to your website; where they will be enticed to click, call, email, make a purchase or come in for a visit. The easiest way to construct a website is to use a content management system like WordPress.

The WordPress CMS

WordPress is a website/blogging platform that does a little or a lot, depending on your needs. In other words, it is completely customizable; as you will soon see. To begin, purchase a domain name with a search engine optimization-friendly URL that pertains to your niche, such as www.replicaconanswords.com. Your site, which sells replica swords from the movie Conan, would then require pages that you would send your prospects to. This is as easy as visiting your WordPress dashboard, then selecting Pages and Add New.

For SEO purposes, name your pages typical page names like Home, About, Services, Contact and FAQ. This allows search engines to easily find and rank those pages, which could spell good things for your rankings and results.

On-Site SEO

On-site search engine optimization refers to the efforts you take on each of your web pages to entice the search engines. This includes installing SEO plugins that speak directly to search engines and tell them what your site and pages are about, as well as providing your audience with excellent content that outshines the competition. This includes providing tips, advice, secrets and best practices so that visitors to your site come away knowing something useful. Educating your audience will also contribute to your audience coming back to your site in the near future.

Off-Site SEO

Once your website is complete, you will want to link to your site from other prominent sources around the web. This includes social media, video marketing websites like YouTube, online directories and anywhere else your company or brand might have an online presence.

The best way to do this is to become an authority figure off-site. As in, become the go-to person for advice on Facebook. Become the funniest professional in your niche on Twitter; and become the person who always has the most engaging SEO videos on Google+.

Then link to your website whenever possible so that your prospects can convert; or take action. If you want your website visitors to call, your phone number must be prominently displayed. If you want prospects to email or send a message via an online form, those capabilities must also be prominently posted; and therein lies the lesson.

When it comes to search engine optimization, and if you want your SEO efforts to stand the test of time, you must start somewhere, such as your website, and then you must build outwards. Use social media and online directories, video marketing and so on. The slower and more gradually you work, the longer lasting your results will be in almost all cases. If you want to succeed, however, you must start somewhere. Purchase a domain, a hosting account and start building your website; then build out slowly until your SEO goals are finally reached.

Image Source: Torsten Maue on Flickr