Search engine optimization isn’t easy and it’s not a one and done task, either. In all honesty, it’s quite the opposite. Once you start to implement an SEO strategy, you need to continue working on it over time. There are several tasks that you can do on a monthly basis to keep your SEO game going strong, and to ensure you stay near the top of those search engine results pages.
Having a clear and defined SEO strategy is one of the best ways you can market your business across the world wide web, no matter what industry you’re in. Consistent effort and paying regular attention to your strategy can be the difference between reaping the benefits of SEO and not. We’ve compiled the top 10 easy tasks, so you can create your monthly SEO to-do list and start seeing the benefits of SEO for your business.
Why are recurring SEO tasks so important?
A good SEO strategy is not a set it and forget it type of thing. You can’t just implement your SEO strategy, leave it for months at a time and hope it creates the results you’re looking for. Rather, you need to consistently adjust and maintain your SEO strategy.
Why? Because SEO revolves around improving your results on search engine results pages and those pages are constantly changing. In order to keep yourself on the top of those pages, you need to keep up with the changes. Search engine rankings change simply because websites change, new websites are created, pages are added to existing sites and every other company out there in your industry is also constantly working to get their name at the top of the page.
So, in order to keep up with the constant changes, you also need to keep up with recurring tasks that will keep your site fresh and consistently SEO friendly. Otherwise, you may find your site sinking to the bottom of those search engine results pages – a place where no one wants to be!
What are the top 10 recurring monthly tasks for SEO?
1) Evaluate the quality of your content
In the world of SEO, quality content reigns supreme. The content on your website should be exciting, dynamic, and varied. The internet is constantly changing and as a business, you need to keep up with those changes. Regularly evaluating the type and quality of your content will help keep your SEO strategy at the top of its game. The content on your site should come in multiple forms of media (think text, video, infographics etc.) and should provide tons of information that your audience will want to act on.
2) Optimize your existing content
You don’t always have to create new content in order to stay on top of your SEO game. You can also regularly optimize your existing content. This includes optimizing your title tags, meta descriptions, and images. Make sure you are continually using your top keywords in your tags, images and descriptions and update them as your site evolves.
Also take a look at the content on your site, including blog posts. Sift through and determine whether the content is still suitable for your business and SEO goals, or if it could benefit from some adjustments. If and when you decide to refresh a piece of content, take a look at things like focus keywords, media (videos, animations, images) and facts/statistics. If the content is outdated, optimize it with current ideas and trends.
3) Analyze your competition
If you don’t know what your competition is doing, how do you expect to outrank them on the search engine results pages? Analyzing your competition gives you a starting point and allows you to know how and where you can improve.
Define a few (anywhere from 3-5) performance indicators that you want to look at. This can include things like the number of keywords a competitor’s website is ranking for, how many number one positions they have, how many clicks they generate etc. From there you can create your own goals and game plan that will allow you to reach your goals.
4) Remove low quality pages
While looking through your old content, you may notice some pages or content that just aren’t worth your time and effort to refresh. Those pages should be removed from your site all together, so they don’t bring down the general usability of your site.
Not sure if a page or piece of content is destined for the recycle bin? If the content on the page is no longer relevant to you or your business, and doesn’t bring any value to your site user, then it’s time to give it the boot. Much like you want to prioritize rich content, you want to eliminate thin or low-quality content from your site.
To remove the content, there are a couple of ways to do it so that Google knows what you’re doing without making a mess of your SEO:
• Do a 301 redirect from the page to another URL
• Add a no index tag to the page
• Canonicalize the page to another URL
5) Regularly check keyword rankings
Ranking high on search engine results pages is definitely something worth celebrating. But it’s also important to note that your high ranking could change to something much lower in a matter of minutes. New competition, and changes in content can happen just like that. It’s important to stay on top of those changes.
The best way to do that is to regularly check your rankings, on a monthly basis if possible. This will ensure you’re adjusting your marketing plan as needed to respond to any changes in rankings and that you’re creating or adjusting your content as a result.
To check your ranking for certain keywords, try using tools like Google Search Console. If you notice that you aren’t ranking as high for a chosen keyword, then try updating the content on your site with that keyword in mind. This could be in the form of adding the keyword into existing content or creating new content like blog posts around the chosen keyword.
6) Check for broken links
Broken links are never a good thing and not something you want your site visitors to see when they look around your site. And let’s be honest, Google isn’t a fan of broken links either.
You might think broken links don’t happen often, but the truth is they do. If a page on your site is redirected or if an image is deleted from your server, you end up with a broken link.
Checking for broken links isn’t as tricky as it may sound. There are a number of tools out there that will help you find them. If you want to do it the old-fashioned way, spend some time on your site, clicking links and checking images.
As you update your content, make sure you check that any linked material is relevant, current and helpful to your reader, potential customer or client.
7) Run frequent speed tests
As part of your ongoing SEO maintenance, you should always check your page speed as it is one of the markers Google uses to determine your site’s position. Site speed isn’t just for user experience and conversions, it’s a ranking factor too. A faster loading speed time means higher conversion and lower bounce rates, both of which will help increase your rankings on search engine results pages. Google’s Page Speed Insights allows you to perform an easy and short analysis of your website’s loading speed.
8) Perform a technical review
The purpose of performing a technical review is to essentially catch any technical errors before they become a problem, and before they create even bigger problems down the line, like site downtime, disruptions in user experience or ranking penalties.
A technical review involves looking for issues that may impact the way search engines crawl your site and cause a negative user experience. Technical issues tend to come up as your site expands, so sites that are regularly adding new pages or plugins, should be reviewed on a monthly basis.
For a technical review, Google Search Console is going to be your easiest and best bet as it offers a wide range of reports and tools that will allow you to assess your site and detect any errors that could potentially impact your rankings.
Items to review on a monthly basis:
• Find and fix any broken links or missing links
• Find and address 404 errors
• Check site speed and load times for both desktop and mobile
• Identity plugins and extensions that are in need of an update
• Address security and HTTPS issues
• Duplicate content
• XML sitemap and robots.txt file optimization
9) Maintain local listings
It’s important to make sure your local Google My Business listing is up to date and contains the correct information about your business so that potential customers and clients can find you easily. Information like your mailing address, operating hours and current website should always be up to date on Google otherwise it could lead to a negative review on Google.
You can also add keywords into your business listing for improved SEO. Add two or three relevant keywords that you are hoping to rank for in your listing. For example, it can be added into your company description or about paragraph.
10) Measure performance
Take time each month to look at and measure your performance based on your goals and key performance indicators. Look at the pages with the most significant positive and negative traffic changes and track your performance in the following areas:
• Total keywords your website ranks for
• Organic traffic
• Referral traffic
• Social traffic
• Direct traffic
• Traffic by website section
• Traffic year over year
• Ranking for chosen keywords
• Conversion rate by source
Making SEO a part of your monthly marketing plan is good for both your website and your business. Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of search engine results pages requires a consistent SEO maintenance and review of SEO practices. If the thought of maintaining your website’s SEO is just too overwhelming, then reach out to Trilogy Solutions. Our team of SEO experts will maintain your SEO so you don’t have to. Give us a call today, we can help!
