Stages of SEO website promotion

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of works aimed at improving the ranking and visibility of a website in search results in order to generate traffic. Proper and timely settings and step-by-step SEO promotion will increase the ranking of your resource by search engines and provide special attention to users.

Advantages and disadvantages of SEO promotion

The advantages include:

• The effect of the work lasts for a long time. The results will be relevant for a long time, unlike, for example, paid advertising, where everything stops as soon as payment is completed.
• Improved visibility. The better the optimization, the higher the resource will be in the search results. Which, in turn, will bring traffic to the site, and accordingly, attract new customers.
• Reducing advertising costs. Thanks to successful SEO, you can reduce the costs of advertising campaigns, as your portal will be found by more users organically.
• Increased trust. The higher a resource is ranked, the more reliable and authoritative it looks in the eyes of users.
• Advantage over competitors. SEO strategy will set you apart from other businesses, especially if there is high competition in your field.

Disadvantages of promotion:

• The results do not appear as quickly as we would like. Search engines need time to index the site after work is completed. Usually, it takes from 2 to 6 months.
• Costs for refining the resource. To improve a site, you always need to first draw up a change plan and then implement it. Both will require spending both time and money.

Despite the fact that there are some disadvantages, in addition to top positions and traffic, you in any case get an improvement in your resource. This has a positive impact on conversions – they increase, and you get more hits from any traffic sources.

Factors that your resource must meet to get into the TOP 10:

1. Convenient and simple site structure, created based on search demand.
2. Availability of a convenient mobile version of the platform.
3. Text optimization of pages: human-readable resource address, relevant Title and Description tags.
4. Good site loading speed (it affects both ranking and user behavior).
5. Availability of commercial blocks (reviews, descriptions, delivery, certificates).

Stages of website promotion

Every person who has ever thought about search engine optimization has asked the question “Where should I start the process? SEO website promotion, how and in what order to carry out the work in order to bring the resource to the top positions?” Below we will look in detail at the stages of promotion, thanks to which you can achieve the desired result.

Site audit

Conducting an audit of the platform makes it possible to determine its condition and find errors, correcting which will help achieve effective SEO promotion. For a quality audit, you will need services such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

This stage consists of checking and analyzing the following aspects:

• Is the site well optimized for SEO?
• proper development of sitemap.xml (a file that notifies the system which pages need to be indexed), as well as robots.txt, which includes the main parameters for indexing;
• search engines do not like duplication, so it is extremely important to find duplicate pages and duplicate content;
• if in the search results a link to a resource is followed by a message about a possible security threat to the user’s device, it means that the site contains malicious code that requires removal;
• correctly configured micro-markup (it is necessary to add information so that search robots can read data about images, reviews and ratings on the platform, as well as to compile snippets in search results);
• addresses of resource pages, taking into account search phrases in a format that will be understandable to a person;
• fast loading speed of the portal.

Analysis of topics and competitors

Analysis of the site, niche and competitors allows you to obtain information that will be needed for subsequent work aimed at SEO promotion of the resource. This process is one of the most critical, as it determines the level of efficiency for all subsequent actions.

The stage includes the following steps:

1. Site analysis

• studying the existing semantic core;
• link research;
• obtaining visibility indicators for each type of request;
• assessment of structure, user friendliness and quality of content.

1. Competitor analysis

• studying leaders in the chosen niche;
• analysis of the strengths and promotion methods of competitors.

An analysis of competitors will show an example of the structure of the resource, interesting promotion ideas, the location of media files, the best length and semantics of the text, and the use of commercial elements. From all this you can take the best for your resource. And remember that the site must meet the needs of the target audience to the maximum.

Based on the results of the analysis, goals are determined, a strategy for promoting the platform is built, and a budget is planned. A list of global changes necessary for SEO is also compiled here (for example, switching to another CMS), since it is better to plan this in advance than to later lose the results already achieved due to the inability to carry out work for technical reasons or the next rework.

Internal optimization

It is very important that the site is not only attractive and user-friendly, but also has the greatest visibility for search engine robots. In the process of working on this stage, the issues that interfere with the good ranking of the resource are eliminated, after which it begins to receive the necessary part of the organic traffic.

This stage consists of performing the following actions:

• setting up title, description and H1 headers of website pages;
• generating human-readable URLs using words that indicate the topic;
• setting up micro markup (for better understanding of content by search bots);
• removing duplicate pages to increase the level of uniqueness of the resource;
• creating an XML map (it tells search robots which pages need to be indexed);
• improving the loading speed of portal pages (users do not stay long on slow sites);
• multilingual setting (if the resource contains different language versions);
• working with content (it must be unique, interesting and useful for users).

The work that is carried out at this stage has a positive impact on the ranking of the resource and brings more than 95% of the results of SEO promotion.

Collection of the semantic core

One of the main stages of successful SEO website promotion is the formation of a semantic core (queries that users enter when searching for the necessary information in search engines). The purpose of its creation is to select key phrases that correspond to the topic of your resource. This process is implemented using special tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, Serpstat, Ahrefs, which help to collect and group keys for further work of an SEO specialist.

Keywords are needed for:

• texts posted on your website;
• meta tags and titles;
• texts that are published on external sources.

The result of the entire promotion depends on how correctly and competently the semantic core is formed. Here are some recommendations:

1. When selecting, you need to take into account the competitiveness of requests. This will make it possible to achieve good and quick results for low- and medium-competitive requests.
2. All key phrases must correspond to the topic of the resource being promoted.
3. The keys must have an informational or commercial marker in order to understand the site promotion strategy.
4. It is necessary that queries cover all search demand in the subject of the site.

Labor intensity collecting the semantic core depends on its size (which depends on the structure of the resource). For example, for a business card of several pages, hundreds of keywords are enough, but for a large online store, hundreds of thousands are not the limit.

Formation of the site structure

At this stage, all previously selected keys are distributed to each section of the platform (compiling categories and subcategories), which will most closely match the request and help the user find the answer faster. A properly formed structure makes it possible to increase the position of your resource in search results and improve conversions.

It is necessary that the site structure is user-friendly. This can be achieved thanks to:

• simple navigation (the user should quickly get what he is looking for);
• filters and search (the faster a person finds the necessary information, the better);
• quick access to pages (ideal if the user finds everything he needs in 2-3 clicks);
• division into categories (each group should contain thematic content).

If the resource works with more than one city or region, then for each location you need to create its own set of pages. Moreover, the content of these pages should not be duplicated, otherwise search engines may lower the site in the search results.

Working out the structure is a rather lengthy stage, so the sooner the bulk of the work is completed, the sooner you will get the result.

Working with content

Content is the content of the promoted resource that users see first. And it also needs to be optimized. Nowadays, search engines care more and more about users. And, if previously it was enough to place text filled with keywords to get to the top of the search results, now you can get a decrease in the site’s rankings for overspam. Search engines prefer unique and easy to read content (with headings, illustrations, lists, graphs).

This stage includes the following tasks:

1. Writing headings with keys (after all, it is the headings that carry the semantic content of the page).
2. Optimization of title and description tags on all pages of the site (also reflect the essence of the page and are shown in the search results snippet).
3. Linking across platform pages (besides the fact that this is simply convenient for users, it helps search bots index the site).
4. Optimization of images with alts (which must also contain keywords and be unique).
5. Preparation of texts for pages in accordance with the collected SYNOPSIS (here you may need to draw up technical specifications for copywriters).

All this has a positive impact on the ranking of the portal and makes it possible to see important information about the resource even before going to its pages.

Linking website pages

This stage involves intertwining all components of the site structure. Ideally, any page is accessible 2-3 steps from the main page. Properly built linking correctly distributes static weight on pages that are promoted and helps search robots and users easily get to other sections.

Advantages of correct linking:

• relevance of queries (anchor links to other pages make it possible to increase their relevance to the promoted keywords);
• the importance of the page (it is established by the number of links leading to this page);
• indexing (indexing of new materials is accelerated by providing links);
• usability (if the resource is large, then its structure is complex; proper placement of links allows the user to obtain the necessary information and increases the time spent on the site).

External optimization

External optimization involves building up your link mass. At this stage, authoritative and thematic resources are selected (so as not to spoil your reputation). But remember that you need to work with links quite carefully (increase them gradually) so that search engines do not impose sanctions.

The best and ideal way to get links is to design the site in such a way that it is as useful and interesting as possible for users, and then they themselves will want to share links to it. But as practice shows, you still have to buy more of them in order for the resource to match the performance of competitors from the TOP search results. But when purchasing links, be sure to monitor their quality (it is important that they look as natural as possible) and check whether the donor site has sanctions from search engines (so as not to fall under the filter).

Behavioral analysis

After receiving traffic and reaching higher positions, behavioral analysis is carried out to identify problems, improve the site and achieve better results.

At this stage the following actions are performed:

1. Development of snippets. It is more likely that the user will go to the site if the snippet looks attractive and best meets the user’s expectations.
2. Reduced bounce rates. Once the pages where visitors spend little time are identified, the content on those pages is refined.
3. Improvement behavioral factors. In order to interest potential customers and make the content more attractive, you can fill it with videos, graphs, calculators and other materials.

Working with usability and increasing conversion

This stage requires a lot of attention, as the site needs to be functional, intuitive and stylish. Particular attention should be paid to the structure of the portal, since it determines whether your resource is convenient to use and whether the required information can be quickly found. And if the site is convenient, it’s pleasant and comfortable to be on it, then the time you spend interacting with it will increase. The way we behave on a particular resource is called behavioral factors (this takes into account the number of failures, the depth of views and the time spent on the site), which affect the ranking. This is why it is necessary to devote time and attention to improving usability.

Increased conversion will be an additional benefit. The following points are important here:

• navigation (simple and clear, the presence of an internal search on the site will be a plus);
• adaptability (the platform should be convenient for smartphones, since more and more people use them to find the necessary information);
• unobtrusive design (colors and fonts need to be well chosen);
• contacts (should be on the website and it’s good if they are easy to find);
• “about us” (this section will increase user confidence in your resource);
• installation of online chats (so the user can communicate with site managers without unnecessary actions).

Monitoring results and maintaining positions

Competent and high-quality SEO promotion is always accompanied by tracking the effectiveness of the work performed using special tools. If there are no critical errors, no sanctions have been imposed on the site, and it is successfully ranked, then you can move on to more detailed configuration of sections, subcategories, etc. This can achieve full coverage of the semantic core in order to have more natural traffic.

Once the desired results are achieved in search results, there is no need to stop working on promoting the platform. Search engine algorithms change periodically, competitors are working to improve their resources, which means promoting your site also needs to be done constantly. Systematic monitoring and making the required improvements will help you receive stable traffic and stay firmly in high positions.

To summarize

The process of bringing a website to the top positions in search results for targeted queries contains many important stages of SEO resource promotion, which we discussed in this article. But remember that when you achieve a result, you should not stop working. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, and in order to improve and maintain the already achieved effect, you need to continuously improve the site and adapt in time to the new requirements of search engines.