Maine SEO Solutions
Our SEO Process
Phase 1:
Keyword Strategies
This phase is all about zeroing in on which keywords we want to target, which ones represent gaps in the market, and what other ranking factors we can start optimizing for.
Phase 2:
On-Site Optimization
This phase focuses on your site: it makes Google happy by getting everything from your images to your content up to its standards. This will help your website index faster and perform better.
Phase 3:
Link Building
Backlinks, citations and trust flow, oh my! This is the phase where we get your website powered up and really get it ranking.
Phase 4:
Continued Expansion
Rinse and repeat aren't just great instructions for hair care. In this phase we systematically check and update our past work on your site to make sure your rankings are improving and/or holding strong.
PHASE 1: KEYWORD STRATEGIES
SEO marketing is all about optimizing your website and how it appears to Google so that when people search for the services you provide, you’re what they find. This means that square one has to be determining what people are typing into Google when they’re looking for services in your industry. This is where keyword and market research comes in.
Keywords are the words that people type into Google when they’re making a search. They're an absolutely crucial component of SEO. According to Zero Limit Web, 67.6% of clicks on a search engine results page (SERP) are concentrated in the top five organic results, or the five that, among other factors, have the keywords most closely associated with what was searched. By figuring out which keywords have the highest traffic, the lowest competition and the highest buyer intent, we're able to determine which keywords to target.
Once we’ve identified these, we strategically weave them throughout your website’s content. This ensures that when someone searches those keywords, and Google crawls the web looking for those words, it will see that your site has what it’s looking for. Next thing you know, you’re at the top of the SERP!
Other, more detailed keyword research is also a part of our process. In addition to seeing which keywords are the most popular or relevant to your industry, we can also look at what keywords your competitors are drawing traffic for. This gives us a whole other angle when it comes to getting you ranking. By marketing specifically for those keywords, we can also siphon some of their traffic to us, meaning you’ll move up in the SERPs as well as actually start to take over your local market!
Somehow, that’s not all we do. This initial phase is all about groundwork, and with over 300 ranking factors to take into consideration, there’s no shortage of initial research to be done. By looking at these other ranking factors, we can determine gaps in the market. These gaps are places in the market where there is high buyer intent but little activity on the part of businesses in the area to meet that demand. Finding these gaps is another way we continue to keep you growing even after we’ve done the foundational research.
All in all, this phase is what gets things moving, as well as what keeps us on top once we get there.
PHASE 2: ON-SITE OPTIMIZATION
Once we’ve established a solid foundation with keyword and marketing research, we turn our attention to your specific site.
Essentially, the goal of this phase is to get your website up to Google’s code. By doing so, we are able to get indexed faster and ranked higher. Indexing is Google’s way of ordering and organizing websites when a search is made. There are trillions of websites to comb through, and “as fast as possible” is always on the algorithm’s mind. Therefore, websites that are built compatible with the way the algorithm works will be easier for the algorithm to crawl, index, and rank.
This is even more true if the content on your website is also optimized, which is another component of this phase. By adding and improving content where necessary, we’ll make sure that when Google crawls your pages, there’s enough there for it to know what you’re all about.
This phase is also when we will work on your landing pages. These are the pages of your site where people are prompted to fill out a form, make an appointment or call your business. Landing pages simplify the process of converting a lead to a sale by making it easy and obvious what a prospective customer is supposed to do next if they’re interested in buying your service.
This is yet another way that SEO services work to get you leads. Without this vital step, all the good marketing and SEO optimization in the world may not do enough if your customers don’t have easy ways to become customers in the first place. Check out the dropdown on the Home page to learn more about how landing pages optimize conversions and why content writing is so important.
PHASE 3: LINK BUILDING
Now that we know what keywords are crucial and got your website up to snuff, it’s time to build some power!
But wait, isn’t that what we’ve been doing? Not quite.
Phases one and two are sort of like weeding an overgrown garden. You’ve got to get the space back to neutral before you can properly and effectively cultivate things that will last. Luckily, by this phase we’re ready to start adding the things that will make your garden bloom. For this, we need trust flow.
This is basically a measure of how powerful your website is. The main thing that builds trust flow and ranks sites appropriately is backlinks. Backlinks are links to your website on other websites. Google sees these as votes for your site. Just like a garden, the Internet is a network. The more integrated into the network you are, the more valuable and trustworthy you are to the online community. Therefore, the more backlinks you have, the more trust flow you’ll build. Semrush, one of the more popular SEO tool websites, talks more about the importance of backlinks on their blog.
But, like everything else with SEO, it needs to be done right to be effective. Too many poor backlinks will harm your ranking, too many added too quickly will look suspicious, etc.. Too many red flags regarding something as important as backlinks can result in a Google penalty, which is permanently damaging and expensive to fix! Luckily, we at Portland Maine Marketing follow all white hat SEO practices to guarantee that the backlinks we get your site are of quality and added just right to keep you and Google happy.
Citations and other forms of business listings are also important components to what determines trust flow, so this is also the phase where we’ll start building those out. The culmination of our marketing services will give you a seriously powerful website that will be able to get, and hold onto that top spot!
PHASE 4: CONTINUED EXPANSION
Ahh, at last. The keywords are found, the website is optimized, the trust with Google is accruing. Seems like everything that needs doing is done right?
Except that SEO marketing is an ongoing process.
In fact, a very important ranking factor for Google is whether or not there is consistent work being put into your site. Google can see that you’re growing through things like backlinks and updated content. And though SEO has been around as long as the Internet, or really as long as people have been buying and selling things, most of us have never heard of it!
This is great for those using it now, but it also means that new businesses are constantly finding it, just like you! Only by continually monitoring your website’s ranking and responding accordingly are we able to hold onto the ranks we get you.
In addition, Google is constantly changing and improving, so new ranking factors and new algorithmic changes mean that in order to stay in step with Google, we need to constantly adapt to what it’s looking for. During this phase, your personalized account manager will send you monthly reports, containing important information about how the past month has gone, as well as the next steps we’ll be taking to keep you at the top. This guarantees we’re all on the same page, and you always feel confident about the value we’re adding to your business.
As part of ensuring your continued expansion, we’ll be consistently re-evaluating phases 1-3 to make sure that we’re never missing opportunities to get you more leads. Have a question for us about how our process could work or you? Head over to our Contact page, we'd love to hear from you!
Find Out How Our Process Will Work For You
You can learn a lot from reading about what's involved in each step of our SEO process, but nothing can compare to having a plan tailor made for you. This is exactly why we offer a Free SEO Analysis as well as Free Consultations so you can discover the potential before you buy; and use that same information even if you don't!