Can you set objectives for an SEO campaign?
-
We have been working with a client for 3 months and they've been happy with the progress we've made on their SEO and the resulting increase in rankings, traffic etc.
They are renewing their contract for another 6 months but this time want to set some objectives and want us to suggest what those objectives are. Is it possible to set objectives when a great deal of the results can be out of our hands, eg, how Google works, level of interest in the client's products in the target market, whether they take on board our recommendations for changing their website content to get better seo results etc? What would other people be happy being set as their objectives for a campaign?
-
Hi Maureen,
I always get this upon setup of a new client. I think the main thing is to manage their expectations because many people outside of the digital industry are either unaware of the potential of SEO or think it can do more than it can! Find out what marketing objectives they have and then see where SEO can help.
For example, if they are aiming to increase brand awareness (which most companies want) then look at increasing the number of keywords they rank for. You can set traffic targets if they have a history you can compare with, look at their rankings they had when they reached those targets, see where you think you will be able to get them and base your objectives on that.
Totally agree with Jeremy on the "under sell, over achieve" thought though.
-
Hi Maureen.
I struggle with this all the time. Goals and objectives are a must and I'm always too eager and put things a bit out of reach. Being first in serp is always the goal but so long as you're making progress I feel that's what's important, and ultimately what feels most fulfilling.
From my experience developing a baseline is the first step. Every term has it's own challenges and difficulty. Knowing how difficult and how valuable the increases will be to your business is really a cornerstone of making that a quality objective.
I know this is just blather without action points of how to do it but I hope it helps none the less.
-
Hi Maureen,
I think you definitely should under promise and over deliver.
What do you feel confident creating an objective around?
What are the keyword difficulties? Can you target some easier high volume long tails keywords?
Are you making use of the long tail key words?
You know the client, you know the market they are operating in, and you have the tools.
I would only make objectives you are comfortable with achieving, smart goals are always good goals
Specific
Measurable
Acheivable
Realistic
Time based
-
Hi Jeremy, that's a good point - I guess what I mean is how specific should seo objectives be? We could set an objective of ranking number 1 for a particular search term, or ranking higher than the main competitor etc, but is it sensible to be that specific when such a lot is out of our hands and rankings change daily? I don't want to set up objectives that are unrealistic to achieve and set ourselves up for failure. Is it reasonable to set increased traffic as an objective when so much depends on the client's other marketing activities which may or may not be successful at driving visitors to their website?
-
Hi Maureen,
I think every good campaign must have goals, objectives etc.
What those goals are should be worked out with the client, because they have to be able to commit as much as anyone here.
Content is king and with SEOMOZ you have all the tools and reporting to show exactly what must be done. I recommend looking at their competitors and reverse engineering some goals from their.
hope that helps
Jeremy
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How can i increase DA of my site?
hello everyone, I have my 4-month-old blog, PA of the website is 17 yet DA is as yet 5. I don't have the foggiest idea how to expand the DA of the site. It would be ideal if you propose to me how to expand the DA of Site get best jigsaw Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Salman425521 -
Product Descriptions (SEO)
So I would like a few opinions. How long should a product description be? Enough to get the point across? 100 words? 800 words? Over detailed? Any advice would be appreciated.
On-Page Optimization | | mattl990 -
Do Blog Tags affect SEO at all anymore?
We're trying to standardize the use of tags on our site amongst writers/editors, and I'm trying to come up a list of tags they can choose from to tag posts with - and telling them to use no more than 10 (absolute maximum) per post. We are also in the process of migrating to a new CMS, and have 8 defined categories that will all have their own landing page within our "News" section. TLDR: Do blog tags have any impact on SEO anymore? Are they solely meant to help users find articles related on popular topics, or does creating a tag for a popular topic help to improve organic visibility? Full Question: With the tag standardization, I want to make sure we're creating the most useful and effective tags; and the UX/SEO sides of my brain are conflicted. To my understanding, creating a tag about a high volume topic in an industry helps establish the website's relevance to Google/other search engines about that topic and improves overall relevance; but the tag feed page (ex: http://freshome.com/tag/home-protection/) isn't really meant for organic search visibility. So my other question is, is it worth it to noindex the tag pages in the robots.txt? Will that affect any benefit to increased relevance for Google (if there is any)? I'm interested to hear others' thoughts and suggestions. Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | davidkaralisjr0 -
Anyone available to hire part time for SEO services?
I have a website (http://www.tbreak.ae) that does tech news and reviews and is based out of the Middle East. I would love to learn more about SEO and do the best job but I just don't have the time. I was thus wondering is there is anyone available that can spend about an hour on my site every day optimising content. I don't know if posting such as offer is allowed or not either but if it is, and if you are interested, then please get back to me on how much it would cost.
On-Page Optimization | | tbreak0 -
Are tags important for SEO?
I just installed a plugin called SEO content control and it is telling me I need to write descriptions for my tags. I haven't been using tags although I did create a list of them. I don't have an endless amount of time on my hands so is this a worthwhile task?
On-Page Optimization | | dealblogger0 -
SEO Optimizing in UMBRACO
Hi there, I am planning to use UMBRACO to manage my existing website, so my question to Seomozzers out there is what should I be aware of, how safe is it to have UMBRACO in terms of SEO. By using this software, would it be possible to get a positive or negative impact on my keyword rankings? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | matti_wilson0 -
SEO Site Planning Tool?
Does anyone know of a good SEO Site planning tool? I see that SEOBOOK has something that looked interesting but they want $300/mo! Thanks in advance! Andy
On-Page Optimization | | MaxOtto0