Search Engine Optimization Methodology

01 Executive Summary
02 Situation Analysis
03 Planning
04 Administration
05 Measurement
06 Budget
01 Understand SEO
02 Evaluate Readiness
03 Research Keywords
04 Plan Using PPC
05 Implement Strategy
06 Measure Results
Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
Plan Methodology
© 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Follow this simple, step-by-step, methodology to
develop an SEO plan that increases your
competitive position, reduces advertising
expenditures, and implies authority.

To help you develop a Search Engine Optimization Plan that:
» Is aligned with corporate values and vision
» Provides a solid foundation for content marketing
» Supports the following:
 Corporate Marketing strategy
 Content Marketing plans
 Social Media Marketing and Blogging plans
What is the purpose of this methodology?
Corporate
Marketing
Strategy
Content
Marketing
Plan
Social Media
Marketing
Plan
Marketing Communications Plan

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Defined
“The process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web
page in a search engine's unpaid results - often referred to as
"natural," "organic," or "earned" results.” Source: Wikipedia
Bottom-Line – SEO increases your competitive position,
reduces advertising expenditures, and implies authority.

What are the Top 12 Benefits of SEO?
1. Increase sales through visitor call-to-action conversions.
2. Acquire new customers and new markets through better web presence.
3. Reduce advertising expenditures.
4. Increase brand reputation and trust.
5. Measure revenue increases from digital channels.
6. Expand global markets.
7. Increase competitive position.
8. Deepen local presence (online and offline).
9. Forecast and prove ROI from SEO and all Digital Marketing.
10. Increase value of content creation and management.
11. Maximize company/brand social presence on the web.
12. Market to customers earlier in the buyers journey.

Why Do You Need to Utilize SEO?
Search is very, very popular. With 20% growth a year, it reaches nearly every online American
(91% of US internet users search every month) and billions of people around the world and drives an
incredible amount of both online and offline economic activity. – Hubspot and MOZ
Although SEO is often seen as optimizing your web, 75% of SEO is influenced by off-page factors,
with only 25% of on-page factors influencing rankings. – Hubspot
Higher rankings in the first few results are critical to visibility. Being listed at the top of the results
not only provides the greatest amount of traffic, but also instills trust in consumers as to the
worthiness and relative importance of the company or website. – MOZ

SEO Marketing Research Results
Download
We’ve conducted our own research on Search Engine Optimization, and with our SEO
Marketing: Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment Report, it highlights the impact effective SEO
strategies are having on organizations, especially on revenue generation.
This report includes the following sections::
 Executive Summary
 Achieving Revenue Goals
 Current SEO Program Success
 Obstacles to Achieving SEO Objectives

What our Research Report has Found:
1. SEO objectives remain constant with increasing website traffic, increasing lead generation and
improving natural search rankings ranked as the top objectives for this year. Ultimately, the top
choices are interrelated since increases in website traffic and leads generated are often the result of an
improvement in natural search rankings.
2. It appears Outsourced SEO is more effective for revenue generation. Companies that are
achieving or exceeding revenue goals are almost two times more likely to outsource all or part
of their SEO programs. By outsourcing, these companies are gaining access to the specialized
expertise required to execute difficult tactics effectively leading to performance improvements.
3. SEO drives successful outcomes. Overall, 89% of companies who are attaining or exceeding
revenue goals and 64% of companies not achieving revenue goals, report some level of
success with SEO, whether significantly or only slightly. No surprise but, companies that achieve
or exceed their revenue goals are seven times more likely to have a “Very Successful” SEO program
than are those not achieving their revenue goals.

For SEO, Google Recommends to:
1. Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present
different content to search engines than you display to users, a practice commonly referred to as
"cloaking."
2. Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least
one static text link.
3. Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your
content. Make sure that your <title> elements and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
4. Use keywords to create descriptive, human-friendly URLs. Provide one version of a URL to reach
a document, using 301 redirects or the rel="canonical" attribute to address duplicate content.

Main On-Page Optimizations Include:
1. Title Tag – Have your keyword in here at least once, and as close as possible to the beginning.
2. H1 Header Tag – Your header is like your title, but you see it at the top of your page .
3. Body Copy – Put your keyword, 2-3 times including any variations in your pages text.
4. ALT Image Tag– Include your keyword in at least one photo.
5. URL – Put your keyword once in the address URL for your page.
6. META Description – These descriptions are ultimately what get someone to click.
7. Sitemap – This file will tell Google where every page of your site is, and how they link together.

Other Training Courses that Relate:
AccessAccess
This methodology is connected directly to the Content Marketing Training Course and
Social Media Marketing Training Course, and we highly recommend you also look at those
courses for additional best practice resources and advice for your SEO project.

This methodology consists of six stages, each with a description, steps and action items.
Action items include using our premium tools & templates. Our intention with this methodology
is to help you:
How to use this consulting methodology:
1. Understand SEO and identify the keywords you should focus on.
2. Evaluate and select the technology that will be the backbone of your SEO strategy.
3. Plan and craft a strategy to drive traffic using Search Engine Optimization.

01 Understand SEO
03 Research Keywords 06 Measure Results
STAGE 01 – UNDERSTAND SEO
It’s important that your organization gets a fundamental understanding on how SEO works, and the different
options available. In this first stage you will:
1. Review SEO Best Practices
2. Review Data about Successful SEO
3. Understand SEO Technology
4. Review Demand Gen and SEO Report
04 Plan Using PPC
Understand SEO

Topics covered by this video course include:
 6 Myths about SEO you need to understand
 Optimization framework for your web pages
 Mobile and App Store SEO best practices
 Reviewing SEO technology solutions
Watch Video
STEP 1 – Review SEO Best Practices
 Action Item – Watch the Training Course: Search Engine Optimization to discover how SEO works and
which best practices are required to get on to the top rankings to get free traffic.
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Understand SEO

STEP 2 – Review Data about Successful SEO
 Action Item – Read the SEO Marketing Benchmark Report to compare the strategies and practices of
companies that have succeeded in achieving or exceeding their revenue goals with those that have not.
This report includes the following sections::
 Achieving Revenue Goals
 Current SEO Program Success
 Obstacles to Achieving SEO Objectives
 SEO Tactics Effectiveness
 SEO Performance Metrics
Download
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Understand SEO

STEP 3 – Understand SEO Technology
This report includes topics including:
 SEO Marketing Overview
 SEO Vendor Landscape
 Evolution of the Landscape
 Analyst Bottom Line
Download
 Action Item – Read the SEO Technology Overview which highlights the Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) technology space at a high-level.
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Understand SEO

STEP 4 – Review Demand Gen and SEO Report
Topics discussed include:
 Paid Search Vs. Organic Search
 Website Experience
 Demand Generation Metrics
 The ROI of Demand Generation
 Analyst Bottom Line
Download
 Action Item – Read the Demand Generation & SEO Benchmark Report to learn more about the role of
SEO in demand generation, as well as gaining a current view of the state of the demand gen process.
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Understand SEO

STAGE 02 – EVALUATE READINESS
In this Stage you will evaluate the maturity of your organization when it comes to SEO:
1. Assessing your SEO Maturity
2. Review SEO Technology Vendors
3. Evaluate SEO Technology Vendors
4. Determine if you will use Outsourcers
5. Find an SEO Expert for your Team
6. Getting Help with SEO Systems
7. Learn How to Manage an SEO Agency
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 1 – Assessing your SEO Maturity
 Action Item – Use the SEO Maturity Assessment to help you measure your organization's search engine
optimization maturity.
This assessment is intended to address the following areas:
 Strategy, Buy-in & Skills
 Processes Definition
 Automation & Systems
 Keyword Management
 Results Reporting
 Metrics
Download
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 2 – Review SEO Technology Vendors
 Action Item – Use our SEO Vendors Matrix to obtain information about key vendors in the Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) technology space.
This matrix is based on several criteria:
 Company
 Target Industries
 Offerings
 Key Features
 Unique Strengths
 Customers
Download
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 3 – Evaluate SEO Technology Vendors
 Action Item – Use our SEO Vendor Evaluation to compare SEO platforms based on your requirements.
This model is based on several criteria:
 General & Technical Requirements
 Standard Feature Requirements
 Advanced Feature Requirements
 Service and Training Requirements Download
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 4a – Determine if you will use Outsourcers
 Action Item – Based on your organizational maturity and SEO technology solution decisions, you will need
to decide if your organization will hire an internal SEO expert, or hire an SEO agency to get the work
done.
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 4b – Find an SEO Expert for your Team
 Action Item – Use our Webmaster and SEO Expert Job Description to quickly document the role and
responsibilities for this position.
This job description includes:
 Position Overview
 Responsibilities
 Job Requirements
Download
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 4c – Getting Help with SEO Systems
 Action Item – Use our SEO System RFP Template to help you design a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a
SEO platform.
This model is based on several criteria:
 Company Info
 Statement of Work
 Proposal Procedure
 Scope of Work & Business
 Vendor Information
 Estimated Budget
Download
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 4d – Learn How to Manage an SEO Agency
 Action Item – Watch our Agency Management Training Course to help you develop a streamlined
approach to agency selection, management and evaluation.
This course is based on several stages:
 Prepare
 Research
 Select
 Communicate
 Manage
Access
Evaluate Readiness
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STAGE 03 – RESEARCH KEYWORDS
Research Keywords
This stage will help you build a keyword list, check them against latest trends, spy on competitors keywords
and determine each keywords financial value, if a first page ranking is achieved. We will cover how to:
1. Build a Keyword List
2. Check the Trends for Keywords
3. Leverage your Competitors Keywords
4. Share Keywords with your Team
5. Determine Value of Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 1 – Build a Keyword List
 Action Item – Use the Adwords Keyword Planner Tool to discover keyword opportunities for your
organization based on relevance to the topic, and volume of daily traffic.
Utilize this tool to review:
 Keywords based on a URL
 Related Keywords
 Traffic Volume
 Keyword PPC Cost
 Keyword Categories
Access
Research Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 2 – Check the Trends for Keywords
 Action Item – Use Google Trends to compare keywords based on how they are trending historically, to
understand which keywords are a better long-term investment for optimization efforts.
This tool allows you to:
 Compare Keywords
 Explore Trends
 Discover Related Searches
 Compare dates
 Visually chart information
Access
Research Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 3 – Leverage your Competitors Keywords
 Action Item – Use tools such as Keyword Spy and SpyFu to help you discover and leverage your
competitors keywords to save time and money on your research effort.
Research Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
AccessAccess

STEP 4 – Share Keywords with your Team
 Action Item – Use the SEO Keyword Database to gather information on the keywords that you are
targeting, and share them with your team.
Download
This template includes:
 Keywords
 Competition Level
 Global Monthly Searches
 Local Monthly Searches
Research Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 5 – Determine Value of Keywords
 Action Item – Use the SEO Keyword Value Estimator to calculate the profit opportunities on a target
keyword, for each of the 10 organic positions on the first page of a search engine.
Download
This tool includes:
 Profit per Day/Month/Year
 B2B and E-Commerce Formulas
 Value Per Visitor
Research Keywords
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STAGE 04 – PLAN USING PAY-PER-CLICK
This stage is all about planning which keywords you will optimize by testing them first using paid ads, to see
if that traffic is worth the effort required to achieve a ranking. In this stage we will::
1. Discover How to Create Agile Campaigns
2. Test Keywords using Paid Google Ads
3. Discover your Competitors Link Strategy
Plan Using PPC
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 1 – Discover How to Create Agile Campaigns
 Action Item – Use the Creating Agile SEO Campaigns how-to guide to help you plan, implement &
measure an Agile SEO campaign.
This document includes:
 What is Agile SEO?
 Reasons to Engage in Agile SEO Campaign
 Agile SEO Approach
 Action Plan
 Bottom Line
Download
Plan Using PPC
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 2 – Test Keywords using Paid Google Ads
 Action Item – Use Google Adwords to identify which keywords generate traffic that converts into leads or
transactions, by placing ads on those search keywords and tracking the results.
Access
Plan Using PPC
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Adwords can help you:
 Understand which keywords actually work
 Test your landing pages with real traffic
 Immediately send traffic to your site for testing
 Test Titles and Descriptions for maximum Click-Thru (CTR)

STEP 3 – Discover your Competitors Link Strategy
Access
 Action Item – Use the Moz Open Site Explorer to discover which sites your competitors are linking to, so
you can leverage their approach in your SEO strategy
Plan Using PPC
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Open Site Explorer can help you:
 See who is linking to your site
 See who is linking to your competitors site
 Find opportunities for linking you would otherwise not know
 Understand how your competitor is ranking for keywords

STAGE 05 – IMPLEMENT STRATEGY
In this Stage you will be ensuring that your content is fully optimized. You will discover a best practice
approach to optimizing your website, blog, mobile and social presences.
1. Optimize your Webpages for SEO
2. Optimize Blog Posts for SEO
3. Optimize Website for Mobile SEO
4. Optimize Mobile Apps for SEO
5. Optimize YouTube Videos for SEO
6. Utilize Content, Social Media and Blogging
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 1 – Optimize your Webpages for SEO
 Action Item – Use our SEO On-Page Optimization Checklist to get your web pages ready for search
engine optimization, and ensure you didn’t miss any critical best practices.
Optimizations include:
 Titles
 Body Copy
 Images
 Meta Tags
Download
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 2 – Optimize Blog Posts for SEO
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
 Action Item – Use our SEO Blog Post Optimization Checklist to get your blog post ready for search
engine optimization, and ensure you didn’t miss any critical components of your post according to your
blog policy.
Optimizations include:
 Styling & Format
 Keyword placement
 Call to Action
 Use of Visuals
Download

STEP 3 – Optimize Website for Mobile SEO
 Action Item – Use our SEO Mobile Optimization Checklist to ensure that you are optimizing your web
pages based on mobile SEO best practices.
Areas of optimization include:
 Responsive Vs. Dynamic Mobile Sites
 Speed of your site
 Short Meta Descriptions and Titles
 Disabling Popups
Download
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 4 – Optimize Mobile Apps for SEO
 Action Item – Use our SEO App Store Optimization Checklist to ensure that you are optimizing your app
listing based on best practices.
A few key success factors include:
 First 2 sentences of description
 Exciting and compelling icon
 Target keyword in title
 Screenshots that tell a story
Download
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 5 – Optimize YouTube Videos for SEO
 Action Item – Use our YouTube Posting Checklist to ensure you complete all of the tasks associated
with posting your videos on YouTube.
A few key success factors include:
 Upload Standards
 Optimize ‘Unlisted’ Videos
 Publish Videos
 Engage with commenters
Download
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 6 – Utilize Content, Social Media and Blogging
 Action Item – Leverage the Content Marketing Playbook , Social Media Marketing Playbook and
Blogging for Business Playbook to leverage other related and powerful best practices.
DownloadDownload
Implement Strategy
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STAGE 06 – MEASURE RESULTS
Now that your SEO program has been launched, you need to take a moment to reflect on the program,
measure success or the initiative and plan for the natural evolution and maintenance of SEO. In this Stage
you will:
1. Set Up Google Analytics
2. Set Up Google Webmaster Tools
3. Leverage a Metrics Dashboard
Measure Results
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

STEP 1 – Set Up Google Analytics
Access
 Action Item – Use Google Analytics to collect key metrics including how long a visitor stays on your
landing pages, and what actions they take.
Measure Results
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Google Analytics can help you:
 See where your traffic is coming from
 Understand how long people stay on your website
 Discover what pages are the most valuable
 Compare different seasonal traffic trends

STEP 2 – Set Up Google Webmaster Tools
Access
 Action Item – Use Google Webmaster Tools to communicate about your website directly to Google
including submitting your sitemap, and understanding how your rankings appear.
Measure Results
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC
Google Webmaster Tools can help you:
 Submit your XML Sitemp directly
 Find out what pages have errors
 Understand where you can further optimize your site
 Give context for dynamic URLs

STEP 3 – Leverage a Metrics Dashboard
Following are some key metrics you want to analyze:
 Traffic Sources
 Top Pages & Total Page Views
 Unique Visitors
 Pages/Visit Download
 Action Item – Use our Website Program Metrics Dashboard to collect key metrics and show visually with
charts how the SEO program is doing.
Measure Results
01 Understand SEO
04 Plan Using PPC

 At the end of any project, it’s always a good idea to review it and identify areas for improvement.
 Demand Metric has the tools and expertise to help you build an effective SEO program:
» Create or audit your existing SEO Strategy
» Assist with using any of the tools referenced in this methodology
» Provide hands-on marketing assistance to accelerate achieving your marketing department’s goals.
To learn more, simply contact Demand Metric: info@demandmetric.com
Conclusion

Search Engine Optimization Methodology

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