COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO It’s hard to achieve SEO goals in 2023 https://hub.seofomo.co/seo-auditing-survey/ Only 17% of SEOs said they achieved goals more than 90% of the time
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO We face recurring SEO execution challenges Less buy-in, resources, and support to execute Higher implementation constraints Greater difficulty predicting organic search traffic https://hub.seofomo.co/seo-auditing-survey/
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO As well as new threats along with persisting ones that make our day to day even more challenging - + Level of Control Potential Effect* Unpredictability of Core Updates Overlook of configurations affecting crawlability and indexability Lack of SEO Validation of
Web migrations 😱 🕹 + Uncertainty of Generative Search
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO But if we want different results, we need to go beyond those SEO “best practices” we tend to adopt that are already failing us
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Let’s go through 3 of them, as well as counterintuitive approaches to achieve success Starting SEO execution only after delivering recommendations Including all SEO issues and opportunities in recommendations Saying It Depends whenever decision makers ask about results 1. 2. 3.
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Rankings, Keyword & Competition Research Content Audit T echnical Audit Link Popularity Audit SEO Strategy & Prioritized SEO Roadmap Initial SEO Analysis for an SEO Process SEO Roadmap Implementation Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 SEO
Process Goals It doesn’t help that it takes so long to develop an initial SEO audit to understand the site context
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO IMPACT EFFORT 1.
To Execute
Now Don’t Do 2.
To Assess
2.
To Assess
Low hanging fruit should be the first to prioritize, as they have the highest impact with the lowest effort There are always context agnostic SEO low- hanging fruit opportunities across processes
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Rankings, Keyword & Competition Research Content Audit T echnical Audit Link Popularity Audit SEO Strategy & Prioritized SEO Roadmap Initial SEO Analysis for an SEO Process Parallel Low Hanging Fruit Assessment Low Hanging Fruit SEO Opportunities Assessment SEO Roadmap Implementation Low Hanging Fruit Recommendations Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 SEO
Process Goals These can be developed in parallel to initial
SEO analysis to achieve results much faster SEO Low Hanging Fruit Execution SEO
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Mitigate client or decision maker impatience towards results Show value of SEO implementation faster to gain further support Minimize concerns of complex implementations starting with easiest actions Establish a good coordination base for more complex implementation later on This also helps to address some of the big
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Non-Relevant Term for your Site Poor SERPs CTR Relevant Term for your Site Non-Relevant Ranked Page Lack of content to be created to effectively target the query Non-Relevant / Unattractive Titles and Meta Descriptions to Optimize Relevant Ranked Page SERP features inclusion that you’re not leveraging but could SERP features inclusion that you’re not leveraging but can’t use More ads inclusion that lowers CTR Search intent satisfied directly in search results, generating a non-click Content Cannibalization to fix between many similar/relevant pages High Priority
Medium Priority
No Priority Set a validation checklist for common scenarios of low hanging fruits, eg. poor SERPs CTR
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Create resources, like Dashboards to identify top opportunities like this for poorer CTR performers HTTPS://DATASTUDIO.GOOGLE.COM/REPORTING/8FBF65E6-9C0A-4627-95AC-F858BFAC89E2
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Automate the process using tools like Ryte or SEOtesting, that feature CTR Underperformers RYTE AND SEOTESTING. COM
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO We know how critical is to establish action driven, solution-focused, prioritized recommendations https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/seo-flowcharts/#1-2
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO IMPACT EFFORT 1.
To Execute
Now Don’t Do 2.
To Assess
2.
To Assess
Recommendation Impact [0-10] Effort [0-10] To Prioritize Higher Medium impacting with high effort 6 4 12 Low impacting with high effort 4 4 8 Low impacting with very high effort 4 2 6 Very low impacting with very high effort 2 2 4 To achieve goals more easily, we already prioritize SEO recommendations based on impact and effort
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO https://hub.seofomo.co/seo-auditing-survey/ “Insufficient resources, including human resources, budget, or development capacity” But it’s clearly not working, we face buy-in, resources, and support issues for execution https://hub.seofomo.co/seo-auditing-survey/
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Prioritized Tech SEO Recommendations Even if prioritized, who goes through all of these and has the resources to implement them?
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO + Prioritized Tech SEO Recommendations Prioritized Content Recommendations And those were only the tech SEO ones! What when we add content into the plan? It’s too much!
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO FIXING IMPROVING BUILDING Creating key content to target new relevant queries through user search journey to grow organic conversions further to achieve goals Optimizing key existing content through the customer journey to grow organic conversions for already targeted relevant queries Minimizing crawlability or indexability challenges on key pages to keep and grow rankings, traf fi c and conversions SCOPE OF YOUR SEO RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE Your recommendations shouldn’t include all that matters, is too complex & won’t be done anyway
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO It’s time for a radical prioritization, w/ a maximum of 7-10 high impact solution driven, action plan FIXING IMPROVING BUILDING Creating key content to target new relevant queries through user search journey to grow organic conversions further to achieve goals Optimizing key existing content through the customer journey to grow organic conversions for already targeted relevant queries Minimizing crawlability or indexability challenges on key pages to keep and grow rankings, traf fi c and conversions SCOPE OF YOUR SEO RECOMMENDATIONS LATER
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO You will only include what you should execute now, and leave the rest for future iterations IMPACT EFFORT 1.
To Execute
Now Don’t Do 2.
To Assess
2.
To Assess
Eliminate anything that doesn’t have a high impact towards your current goals: only must-have, not nice-to- have! Be specific of the scope of the execution (type and number of pages) Clearly specify how each action will help achieve the established seo goal and the business importance Provide examples of what needs to be executed, so it shows viability
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Leverage data storytelling to explain, engage & drive action with each of your recommendations What happened? Why Did it Happen? How to Proceed? SETUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION RECOMMENDATION X WHAT IS THE ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY ABOUT & WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT CAUSE OF THE ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO WHAT IS THE ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY ABOUT & WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT CAUSE OF ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY WHAT IS THE ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY ABOUT & WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT CAUSE OF ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY SEO RECOMMENDATIONS STRUCTURE Executive Summary PAGE 1 PAGE 2 PAGE 3 ACTION 3 ACTION 2 ACTION 1 SEO ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE GOALS Setup
Conflict
Resolution Setup
Conflict
Resolution Setup
Conflict
Resolution Conclusion Data Appendix ACTION 2 ACTION 3 Feature an executive summary at the start
to facilitate it further to decision makers WHAT IS THE ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY ABOUT & WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT CAUSE OF ISSUE/ OPPORTUNITY PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR ISSUE/OPPORTUNITY ACTION 1
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Remember you’re not paid to spot all
SEO issues, but for achieving SEO goals by solving those that are actually hurting the business Feature a maximum of 10 high impact to goals actions Use storytelling to better communicate importance and drive action Add an easy to understand executive summary for decision makers
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO We complain that “Clients prioritize other channels as they fail to understand the impact of SEO recommendations” but we continue saying “it depends” when asked
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO It’s time to stop those “it depends” and start SEO forecasting to give potential outcomes depending on execution support SCENARIO 1 SCENARIO 2 EXECUTING ACTIONS X, Y, Z EXECUTING ACTION X
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Develop forecasts with tools like AWR for targeted queries impacted by different SEO actions ADVANCED WEB RANKING
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Use this to explain how results are tied to execution scenarios and compound over time ADVANCED WEB RANKING
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO This will help to establish reasonable expectations and show importance of decision makers support
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Do decision makers still not support SEO despite showing opportunity? Show what they can lose!
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Include in your SEO forecasts how much would it cost to achieve it with paid search, to show how cheap SEO can be
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO As well as how behind they can fall in marketshare, by forecasting competitors & showing gap
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO This is also a way to address obstacles from other areas, eliminate ego and opinions out of SEO execution decision making “Political issues, top management vetoes, or internal conflicts affecting implementation.” “Bureaucratic processes, approval delays, or challenges in communication across stakeholders.”
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO There are now a few SEO tools like SEOTesting or Ryte that facilitate the development of SEO tests SEOTESTING.COM
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO You can prove the value of your recommendations by executing them faster in a small group of pages, and get support for full execution SEOTESTING.COM
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Select a few categories to implement fast and assess impact vs similar unchanged ones:
* Positive result? Replicate to rest.
* Negative outcome? Move to other implementations! Eg. to show value and address conversion or speed concerns when featuring FAQs, Descriptions or Q&As in ecommerce category pages
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO This will facilitate not only decision makers buy-in but eliminate blockers from other areas/channels vs Conversions Speed …
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Can’t you implement actions at all due to restrictive Web platforms? It’s time to use AI and Edge solutions! “Technical complexities, limitations, or difficulties in implementing recommendations” “Legacy systems, technical debt, or platform constraints affecting implementation”
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Don’t add to reports all what you monitor, only KPIs connected to SEO goals each audience care about CMO WILL CARE ABOUT THIS THIS WILL ONLY ADD CONFUSION TO CMO
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Here’s a Sheet version of the SEO report planner for using meaningful KPIs for each audience https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1g88EW02BRQGtaHQQ6wohL0jUVrSqcozaLUcTqbveNfQ/view?usp=sharing
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título It’s also not about “creating a pretty report” but about making your data easy to understand Top Ranked Queries Beautiful but difficult to understand
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título vs Have Visits in the Last Quarter improved 30% YoY? Difficult to understand Sometimes a simpler scorecard will be easier to understand than a fancy time series Easier to say
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Data storytelling creates compelling narratives to help audiences understand & drive action https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentdykes/2016/03/31/data-storytelling-the-essential-data-science-skill-everyone-needs/
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bringing to wrong conclusions though Cherry-pick data Manipulate scale Be inconsistent Show the Whole Picture Give Full Visual Context Keep visuals & language
consistent across report DON’T DON’T DON’T DO DO DO https://ppcexpo.com/blog/storytelling-with-data
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Explain and drive action without misleading, even if results are not positive, to keep trust 2021 2020 What’s the site organic search traffic trend? What’s the site organic search traffic trend? vs Q3 2021 Q4 2021 The site organic search traffic has had a strong +39% growth in Q4 2021 versus Q3, in a steady trend to achieve goals of 30% YoY in 2022. The site organic search traffic had a -8.3% decrease in 2021 vs 2020 due to drop in Q2 and Q3 2021after being hit by Google Core Updates. However, content optimization efforts started in May and thanks to them the site started to recover in Q4 and has now a steady positive trend and is expected to fully in January 2022. If content optimization efforts continue to be made for the positive performance to be kept through 2022, the 30% YoY traffic goal for 2022 should be achievable. A bit misleading More accurate April Google Update Content Optimization Process June Google Update
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Start by crafting a compelling narrative
for each KPI using the 3 act structure What happened? Why Did it Happen? How to Proceed? SETUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-build-a-narrative-from-data-85e327940c13
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Here you have the steps and a template to use for each KPI Goal: X% of [METRIC] by [DATE]
Audience: [ROLE]
KPI: [KPI NAME] [DESCRIPTIVE KPI PROGRESS SUMMARIZING HEADING] Introduction explaining what happened and if the expected results have been achieved or not.
Why [THE RESULT IS THE ONE IT IS]?
Explain why this happened, good or bad. How to achieve the expected goal?
Summarize the proposed next steps to start, continue or stop executing to achieve the expected goal. RESOLUTION CONFLICT SETUP KPI CHART
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Nivel de texto 5 Texto del título Even when results have fallen short to what was expected, it works Goal: 30% branded traffic share by December
Audience: CEO/CMO
KPI: Branded Traffic Share What’s the branded traffic share? Website Traffic January - December 2021
Source: Google Search Console December Branded traffic Share reached 28.9% but Still Fell Short from 30% Goal Despite an important increase from 8% to 28.9% in the last month, December’s branded traffic share results have fell short from the 30% goal.
Why have we fell short?
The “Branded Content” initiative meant drive the increase of branded traffic share suffered a 4 months delay: Planned to be released in March 2021, faced UX & development Partial 1st Release Partial 2nd Release constraints, only launching 40% of planned content then, leaving 60% to be launched until October, leaving too little time to see the full results for December.
How to achieve the expected goal?
Given the release delays, it’s expected to reach the +30% branded traffic share in January, a month later than what was initially planned, however, this also means a delay in the expected +50% goals for next year for which the “Commercial Branded Content” initiative had been planned to release in March. It’s then recommended to launch them in January instead, to catch up with expected results. CONFLICT SETUP RESOLUTION
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO It’s about tackling the biggest SEO execution issues with a counterintuitive SEO approach Avoid Starting SEO execution only after delivering recommendations Don’t include all SEO issues and opportunities in recommendations Don’t say It Depends whenever decision makers ask about results 1. 2. 3. Don’t send SEO Reports To Only Communicate Results Bonus
COUNTERINTUITIVE SEO BY @ALEYDA FROM ORAINTI AT #BARBADOSSEO Is it hard? Perfect, fewer people will be willing to do it, meaning less competition for those who do
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