Launching Successful SEO Campaigns (How-to Guide)

Knowing how to run a successful search engine optimization (SEO) campaign comes with lots of research and questions. Any SEO agency will tell you it’s one thing their clients find difficult to define.

It can be daunting to develop a refined SEO campaign strategy, with all its moving parts, including goals, analysis, audits, keyword research, content creation, and link building.

Anyway, you’re here to learn about launching an SEO campaign, so let’s begin!

Want to learn more about the Digital Authority Partners approach to SEO? Watch this video!

What Is an SEO Campaign?

An SEO campaign is a series of tactics implemented to increase organic website traffic and conversions from search engines. 

There are many facets to SEO campaign management: competitor analysis, keyword research, traffic data, website audits, content creation, linking, rank monitoring, local SEO, and more. 

And it’s important to note that every business, no matter industry or size, can reap the rewards of a well-thought-out and expertly executed SEO campaign.

How To Run a Successful SEO Campaign

     1. Align SEO & Business Goals

As with any campaign, know why you’re doing the work. What are your objectives? This answer helps you align all work you’ll carry out and remain focused on your goals. 

The perfect place to start with your goal setting is to assess your overall business goals.

If you’re a local business with customers in your area, you need to implement a local SEO campaign. This will focus on Google Maps visibility, reviews, and an optimized Google Business account.

Alternatively, if you’re an e-commerce business reliant on online sales, your mission is to drive purchase-motivated users to your website.

     2. Pinpoint Quick-Win Opportunities

Sometimes, businesses that actively optimize website content don’t need to make drastic changes. Usually, identifying quick wins can have the impact you’re looking for. 

• Existing Keywords

Use a tool such as Semrush to discover what keywords you’re already ranking for and in which position. Then, cross-reference this with their search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent. From here, you can compile a list of terms that can help you achieve your goals with little effort.

• Featured Snippets

Often, featured snippets rank in position one above any organic listings. If you can gain a featured snippet position for a keyword you already rank highly for, it shows you dominate that keyword by obtaining position 0 and an organic position.

• Indexing Fixes

Using Google Search Console, you can identify pages that have been blocked from crawling, have errors, and are not indexed. If a page isn’t crawlable, it won’t be ranked. You could have a page of impactful content that would drive high traffic, waiting for you to fix it.

• Site Speed Improvements

One of the key ranking factors in the Google algorithm is page loading speed. Often, websites have issues with large images and other media. Additionally, excessive amounts of unorganized third-party code can cause issues. 

Slow pages damage your overall website rankings, not just the individual page. You can use Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse for suggested improvements.

     3. Strategically Optimize & Create Content

Content is king when it comes to raking for new keywords. It’s also where you’ll be able to tackle keyword cannibalization. 

Before you begin creating new content, take a look at optimizing existing content as mentioned above. 

To do this, export your sitemap into a spreadsheet and assign a keyword to every page. Be sure to check the pages that are already ranking for specific terms. From here, you can optimize the content on every existing page. 

Then you can begin formulating new content ideas based on additional keywords you discovered during keyword research. 

Remember – always keep track of the search terms you’re targeting with each page. Doing so ensures your website targets as many terms as possible and avoids keyword cannibalization.

     4. Develop an Internal Linking Strategy

To make your website easier to crawl, provide a journey for users to follow, and pass on link juice, you need to ensure no page is a dead end. 

When reviewing existing content, consider the additional internal links to add. Simply linking to a new article on your website will boost new and existing pages. 

Here, you can use keyword text within links to increase their impact.

     5. Keywords and Search Intent

Are you using search intent focused keywords? Historically, people have targeted the most searched queries but haven’t matched them to the reason a user is searching.

Search intent falls into four categories. Use these to guide your content marketing and SEO campaign strategy.

• Information intent refers to a user who isn’t looking to buy. They’re asking questions and looking for recipes and helpful how-to guides.
• Navigational intent refers to a user who knows what they’re looking for. Often, they’re using brand search terms and can be considered direct traffic.
• Commercial intent refers to a user who knows they want to make a purchase but needs further information to make a decision. Reviews, comparisons, and product explanations are what they’re looking for.
• Transactional intent refers to a user ready to purchase. They know what they want, and they’re searching to buy a specific item.

     6. Backlink Generation and Guest Blogging

A backlink is when another website links to your content. Google views this as a referral – someone recommending your content as reliable, accurate, and interesting. 

It can be hard to generate backlinks, but you have to be proactive to see success. Methods of backlink creation include:

• Reaching out to websites and publications relevant to your industry or article
• Looking for unlinked mentions and request the website owners add a backlink
• Promoting content across multiple platforms, including social media and email
• Submitting your link to resource websites

Guest blogging is also a lucrative backlink model. Collaborate with other websites, and offer your expertise in the form of a blog for their website. In return, you'll receive a backlink to your website. 

Always target high authority websites for backlinks. Quality impacts your ranking more than quantity.

     7. Track Performance, Analyze Results, and Improve

An SEO campaign strategy can take a bit of time to show results. Monthly analysis of organic traffic, keyword ranking position, the performance of individual pages, and conversions are important. 

Don’t forget the goals you set in step one. Your analysis and improvement ideas should stem from here.

Summing Up

And SEO campaign setup and management is full of moving parts. Every element we’ve discussed is reliant on another. Remain focused on your goals, make your website technically sound, create content that specifically targets your desired audience, and you’ll see a successful SEO campaign.

If you want to learn more about how to start an SEO campaign, the Digital Authority Partners team is on hand to help – just get in touch.