My approach to SEO online marketing

As an SEO specialist, my job is to increase the visibility of organizations in search engines(1). This is no easy task, as it requires a deep understanding of both technical and content aspects of websites and the constantly changing algorithms of search engines. Moreover, SEO must be seamlessly integrated into an organization’s broader marketing strategy to realize its full potential.

In this article, we dive into the world of SEO online marketing . We will explore the basics of SEO, the impact of SEO on other marketing channels and vice versa, how to report the progress of an SEO journey, and the role of SEO within overall marketing strategy. We will also look at the steps we take to ensure that SEO remains continually in focus within the marketing strategy and how we integrate SEO into organizational processes.

The ultimate goal is to show how essential SEO is to an organization’s digital success and how I, as an SEO specialist, can help achieve that success(2). Let’s begin.

Why is SEO an important part of online marketing?

I see SEO as an essential part of online marketing, and here are the reasons why:

  1. It contributes to visibility and findability: In today’s digital world, where almost everyone uses a search engine to find information, it is important for an organization’s website to be easily found. This is where SEO comes in – it helps increase a website’s visibility in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find the organization.
  2. It improves the user experience: SEO is not only about search engines, but also about people. I pay attention to things like page load speed, mobile optimization and site architecture because these factors contribute to a better user experience. A positive experience can turn visitors into customers and customers into loyal fans.
  3. It helps to attract targeted visitors: SEO allows me to reach specific segments of the target audience by optimizing for relevant keywords. These keywords are often closely tied to user intent, meaning that visitors attracted through SEO are often ready to take action.
  4. It offers valuable insights: The data I collect from SEO can tell us a lot about the target audience, their behavior, their preferences and their needs. These insights can then be used to inform other aspects of online marketing strategy.
  5. It supports other marketing channels: SEO can enhance and support other online marketing channels. For example, good SEO can reduce the cost per click in paid search campaigns, and can increase the effectiveness of content marketing by increasing traffic to the content.

To me, SEO is not a stand-alone tactic – it is an integral part of the online marketing mix, and one that adds value to all other channels and efforts.

Integrate SEO into your marketing strategy

Integrating SEO into a holistic online marketing strategy is a vital aspect of my services. As an SEO specialist, I understand that it’s not just about optimizing a website for search engines, but also about being part of a broader, cohesive marketing plan. Here is my approach:

  1. Analysis of the complete digital landscape: I start with a thorough assessment of the organization’s current digital presence. In doing so, I look at not only the website, but also social media channels, email marketing activities, and all other digital touchpoints.
  2. Research and understanding the target audience: A good understanding of the target audience is crucial. I try to understand who they are, what they want, and how they look for solutions online. Based on this, I conduct keyword research, which not only identifies the right words and phrases, but also reveals the intent behind those searches.
  3. Collaboration with other teams: SEO is not an island. That’s why I work closely with other marketing teams – whether it’s content, social media, email, PPC, or other departments – to make sure our efforts support and enhance each other.
  4. Develop optimized, valuable content: I advise and guide the content team to create content that not only appeals to the target audience, but also meets SEO best practices. This includes integrating relevant keywords, properly structuring content, and ensuring high quality and value for the user.
  5. Technical optimization: Parallel to content creation, I provide technical optimization. This includes making sure the website is fast, responsive, secure, and easily crawled by search engines.
  6. Measure, learn, and adapt: Once the strategy is implemented, I closely monitor performance. I use several tools to gain insight into how our SEO efforts are performing. I present these insights in an understandable way to the marketing manager or CMO so we can learn and adjust as needed.

The purpose of all this is to ensure that SEO is not treated as a separate tactic, but is an integral part of the overall digital marketing plan. By integrating SEO into the broader marketing strategy, we ensure consistency, strengthen our efforts, and ultimately achieve better results.

The first steps to make this happen

Integrating SEO into a marketing strategy is a crucial step in ensuring an organization’s online success. Here are the first steps I follow to integrate SEO into a marketing strategy:

  1. I start with an SEO audit: The first step I take is to conduct a thorough SEO audit to assess the current state of the website. This helps me understand strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement in SEO.
  2. I identify the target audience: Understanding the target audience is essential to an effective SEO strategy. I conduct a thorough analysis to determine who the target audience is, what their needs are, and how they search online for the products or services the organization offers.
  3. I conduct a keyword research: Based on the insights from the audience analysis, I conduct a keyword research. This helps me determine which keywords and phrases are most relevant to the target audience and most likely to lead to conversions.
  4. I optimize the website: With the results of the SEO audit and keyword research, I get to work on optimizing the website. This includes adjusting content, meta-data, URL structure, loading speed and other technical aspects of the website to improve SEO performance(3, 4).
  5. I develop a content strategy: Content is a crucial part of SEO. I develop a strategy for creating relevant, high-quality content that targets the keywords identified in the keyword research(5).
  6. I set KPIs: Finally, I set clear KPIs to measure the progress and success of SEO efforts. These KPIs are based on the specific goals of the SEO strategy and can include metrics such as organic traffic, keyword ranking, conversion rate and bounce rate.

Integrating SEO into marketing strategy is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring, analysis and adjustments. But by following these first steps, I can lay a solid foundation for the success of SEO efforts.

The influence of SEO within marketing strategy

SEO has a significant impact on other marketing channels and can even enhance them. Here are a few ways in which that happens:

  1. Improves the performance of paid search campaigns: Optimizing relevant and high-quality landing pages for specific keywords can increase the quality score of these pages in paid search campaigns. This can lead to lower cost per click and better ad position.
  2. Supports content marketing: By conducting thorough keyword research and developing an SEO strategy, I can direct content creation to cover topics that are relevant to the target audience while having good SEO value. SEO also ensures that this valuable content is better found by the target audience.
  3. Enhances social media marketing: By aligning SEO and social media marketing, I can ensure a consistent brand message and leverage social signals (such as shares and likes) that can contribute to SEO performance.
  4. Increases email marketing effectiveness: Using SEO-optimized landing pages in email campaigns can improve visitor experience and increase the likelihood of conversion. In addition, the content of the emails can be optimized for keywords to increase findability in search engines.
  5. Integrates with PR and influencer marketing: When I obtain backlinks from reputable sources or influencers, it increases website authority and improves SEO rankings. At the same time, those backlinks can also drive direct traffic to the website.

In short, SEO is not just a marketing channel in itself, but it plays a crucial role in supporting and improving the performance of other marketing channels. It is an integral part of any holistic digital marketing strategy.

Do the other channels also affect SEO?

Just as SEO can support other marketing channels, so too can other marketing channels positively impact SEO. Here are some ways in which that happens:

  1. Paid Search Campaigns: Running Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns can provide valuable keyword data that can be used to inform SEO strategy. In addition, PPC campaigns can help build brand awareness, which in turn can lead to increased organic search traffic.
  2. Content marketing: Creating high-quality, relevant content can increase website visibility, increase user engagement and attract valuable backlinks, all of which contribute to SEO performance.
  3. Social media marketing: While social media signals do not directly contribute to SEO, a strong social media presence can increase content visibility, which can lead to more backlinks and shared content. Moreover, social media platforms can act as additional search engines where people can find information and businesses.
  4. Email marketing: A well-optimized email newsletter can lead to more visitors to the website, thereby increasing overall organic traffic. Also, content from email campaigns can be shared on other platforms, which in turn can lead to backlinks.
  5. PR and influencer marketing: Getting mentions or backlinks from influential websites and individuals can significantly increase the authority and visibility of the website, which has a positive effect on SEO performance.

That is why it is important that I, as an SEO specialist, work closely with the teams responsible for these other channels. Aligning our efforts can provide more powerful and efficient results for overall online marketing success.

SEO online marketing report

Reporting the progress of an SEO journey is crucial to assess the effectiveness of efforts and adjust the strategy if necessary. Here are the steps I follow when reporting:

  1. I set clear KPIs: The first step in the reporting process is to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These can vary depending on the specific goals of the SEO strategy, but they typically include metrics such as organic traffic, keyword ranking, bounce rate, page views and conversions.
  2. I collect data: I use various tools, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMRush and Moz, to collect and analyze the necessary data. This helps me get a clear picture of the website’s performance.
  3. I analyze the results: I analyze the data collected to identify trends and patterns, compare performance against established KPIs, and gain insight into the effectiveness of the current SEO strategy.
  4. I prepare a report: I prepare a detailed report presenting findings and analysis. This report usually includes graphs, tables and diagrams to present the data in a visual and understandable way.
  5. I present the report: I schedule a meeting to present and discuss the report. During this meeting, I explain the results, answer questions and discuss any recommendations for continuing the SEO strategy.
  6. I adjust the strategy: Based on the findings from the report, I adjust the SEO strategy as needed to improve performance and achieve the set goals.

By following this process, I can report the progress of the SEO process in a clear and transparent way, which helps to increase client confidence and understanding.

What are the most relevant KPIs?

Identifying KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) relevant to both SEO and other marketing channels is essential for measuring and reporting the overall effectiveness of the digital marketing strategy. Here are some of the KPIs I often use:

  1. Organic traffic: This is the number of visitors who arrive at the website through an unpaid search result. It is a key KPI for SEO, but it can also be influenced by other marketing efforts, such as content marketing and social media marketing.
  2. Conversion Rate: This is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as filling out a form, making a purchase, or signing up for a newsletter. This KPI is relevant to almost all marketing channels, since the goal of most marketing efforts is to generate conversions.
  3. Bounce rate: This is the percentage of visitors who leave the website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate problems with the website or content, which is relevant to both SEO and other marketing channels.
  4. Average time on page: This KPI measures how long visitors stay on a page on average. It is a good indicator of the relevance and quality of content, which is relevant to SEO, content marketing and other marketing efforts.
  5. Page Views: This is the total number of times a page has been viewed or “refreshed” in a browser. It is a basic measure of website traffic and can be influenced by all marketing channels that drive traffic to the website.
  6. Returning visitors: The percentage of visitors who return to the website after their first visit. This is a key KPI for measuring audience engagement and can be influenced by SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, and other channels.

These KPIs give me a holistic view of website performance and the effectiveness of various marketing efforts. Monitoring these KPIs helps me adjust and optimize strategy based on the data collected.

Don’t let SEO online marketing “slack off”

Integrating SEO into organizational processes so that it remains continuously in view within the marketing strategy is crucial to the long-term success of SEO efforts. Here are the steps I follow to achieve this:

  1. I integrate SEO into the planning: When I create a marketing plan or content calendar, I make sure SEO is an integral part of the process. I plan SEO activities such as keyword research, technical audits and content creation as seriously as other marketing tasks.
  2. I hold regular SEO updates: I make sure SEO is a regular part of regular marketing meetings. This allows me to provide updates on the progress of SEO efforts, identify new opportunities and discuss any concerns or issues.
  3. I provide SEO training: I make sure everyone on the marketing team understands the basics of SEO and how it fits into the broader marketing strategy. This helps ensure broader involvement in SEO efforts and ensures that everyone understands their role in the process.
  4. I set clear KPIs and report on them regularly: By setting clear KPIs for SEO efforts and reporting on them regularly, I ensure that SEO results are visible and understandable to the entire team. This helps demonstrate the value of SEO and ensures that it remains a priority.
  5. I work closely with other teams: SEO is not just a job for the marketing department. I work closely with other teams, such as the technical department, product management and sales, to ensure that SEO is considered in all aspects of operations.

By following these steps, I ensure that SEO is an ongoing part of organizational processes and not something forgotten or overlooked over time. This helps to maximize the long-term effectiveness of SEO efforts and contributes to the overall success of the marketing strategy.

Conclusion

As an SEO specialist, I understand the importance and complexity of integrating SEO into an organization’s holistic online marketing strategy. SEO is not just a one-time project, but an ongoing process that requires attention and adjustments as the market and technologies change.

The success of an SEO journey depends on a thorough understanding of the target audience, carefully conducted keyword research, optimizing the website and creating relevant, high-quality content. Monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting progress are also essential to measure and adjust the effectiveness of SEO efforts.

Furthermore, integrating SEO into organizational processes is crucial to ensure that SEO remains an ongoing part of the marketing strategy. This can be achieved by incorporating SEO into planning, holding regular SEO updates, providing SEO training, setting clear KPIs and working closely with other teams within the organization.

In the world of digital marketing, where competition is fierce and technologies are constantly evolving, an effective and integrated SEO strategy is a powerful tool to improve visibility, attract traffic, enhance user experience and ultimately achieve the organization’s goals.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 78 reviews

I have been working for 12 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 22 March 2024. The last update of this article was on 10 July 2024. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.