Why you should be building an SEO-first marketing strategy

SEO is synonymous with ranking higher on Google results pages.

And while appearing above your competition is certainly one goal of a sound SEO strategy, focusing on rankings alone might be limiting your long-term marketing strategy.

There are more factors to SEO success than gaming the algorithm to secure the #1 result.

By broadening our view, we can use SEO to achieve long-term marketing success.

So if your SEO company is still focusing on keywords or treating SEO as a by-product, it’s time to switch gears and enlist Perth’s full-service SEO experts at Fisher.

We use an incorporated approach to deliver industry-leading SEO services as part of insight-driven digital marketing strategies.

Here’s why. Plus, keep reading for tips you can use today.

Why SEO should be at the centre of your marketing strategy

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving your digital content to generate higher quality web traffic, and more of it.

Most SEO companies focus on creating web content that targets high-value keywords.

And that’s fine. Having a simple SEO strategy keeps you on track when creating new content for your website.

But if you want to level up your marketing, consider the core elements of SEO that apply to marketing more generally.

SEO focuses on your audience’s intentions

Keyword strategies aren’t dead.

They’re evolving.

Rather than targeting individual words and phrases ad-hoc, an effective SEO strategy in 2022 looks at what users are searching for and how content meets their needs.

Content that brings a user to your website should do one of three things:

1. Educate the reader
2. Provide a solution
3. Answer a question

To do one (or more) of those things, you should be combining data analytics with user insights to inform a long-term content strategy.

SEO is about authority

Up the top, we said SERP (Search Engine Results Page) rankings are myopic.

That’s because rankings are one measure of authority, but certainly not the only measure.

Authority is wide-ranging and challenging to define, but generally thought to include:

• Search engine presence
• Social media engagement
• Loyal audience
• Lots of shares and referral traffic
• Backlinks from other reputable sites

SEO is a long-term approach to building authority online in the niche you carve out for your business.

That means consistently delivering high-value content in the places your audience expects to see it and planning for behaviour changes over time.

In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket and expect to rule the roost.

SEO is inherently multi-channel

To earn authority and address your audience’s needs, you need to meet them where they are.

SEO success is measured on a combination of data points, including:

• Incoming traffic
• Active dwell time
• SERP appearances
• Pages per visit
• Content shareability

…and many more besides.

So inevitably, the most successful SEO companies consider the value of multi-channel marketing strategies.

You can’t rely on a “build it and they will come” mentality.

Nor should you spread your efforts too thin across too many channels.

SEO success depends on targeting the right people with the right content in the right place at the right time.

And that means creating a marketing strategy that puts your audience first.

How to build a long-term marketing strategy with SEO at the core

So far, this all sounds great in theory.

When applied to marketing more generally, the philosophies behind SEO inform a highly effective multi-channel approach.

But how do we put that into practice to create a streamlined digital marketing strategy that kicks goals across SEO, SEM, social media and website interaction?

Here are three ways to create an SEO strategy that supports effective marketing and vice versa.

1.     Put your audience first

SEO practices might be evolving, but the core constant is user intention.

When it comes to creating a long-term digital marketing strategy, your audience should inform every move.

Before investing time and effort into creating content, ask yourself:

• How does this content add value?
• What will my audience do after consuming the content?
• Is this the best format to present the information?
• Does the content educate, inform or solve a problem?

Marketing strategies built to answer your audience’s queries will generate better results, both in the short-term and long-term.

We’d call that a win-win.

2.     Think long-term

SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.

Any Perth SEO company that guarantees they can achieve #1 position in a couple of weeks is either taking you for a ride or working some algorithmic magic that even Google hasn’t figured out.

The reality of SEO – and digital marketing more broadly – is that your investment compounds over time.

Consistently creating great content that meets your user’s needs and adds value to their online experience will generate authority.

In turn, that authority makes your business more visible.

Visibility brings in more traffic, which cements your authority, which increases visibility…you get the picture.

When planning for long-term growth, set measurable short-term goals so you can track your progress.

For example, when our clients launch a new website, a #1 Google ranking is an unrealistic short-term goal.

Instead, we set measurable, actionable, aspirational targets to gradually increase traffic, improve engagement and deepen audience connections across multiple touchpoints.

3.     Leverage data, insights and analytics

Good data is the foundation of SEO and marketing strategies.

This is where keyword research is a useful, if incomplete, signal.

Look between the lines of what your audience is searching for to identify emerging topics, common questions, shared frustrations or opportunities to meet a need.

Monitor how your content performs to get a sense of what your audience likes.

A/B test content, make minor tweaks to optimise conversion rates, test new approaches and survey your audience.

Use hard data (from sources like Google Analytics, SEO tools, CRM and Google Search Console) to direct your insights into measurable, trackable actions.

Stay on the leading edge of digital marketing with Fisher, Perth’s SEO specialists

Fisher Digital is a full-service boutique digital marketing agency helping our clients achieve long-term growth.

We believe in planning for success, chasing opportunities, listening to the audience and leveraging data to grow Perth businesses.

The best digital marketing strategies are the ones we build together.

So get in touch to level up your digital marketing with support from Perth’s leading SEO company.