SEO is more than just a fun marketing buzzword – it is a crucial addition to your marketing strategy. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is unfortunately one of the most misunderstood marketing terms. According to a study conducted by Weebly.com, 45% of online entrepreneurs don’t understand what SEO means – yet 98% think that being able to be found on Google is important.

Like many other things in the marketing world, implementing and setting up SEO campaigns for success is a process. However, it is a process that is worth your time, energy and marketing dollars.

Utilizing SEO will help you increase your business ranking on Google search results, refine ads, be strategic with ad targeting, increase exposure and gain valuable impressions. However, SEO usually comes hand in hand with patience. None of these results happen immediately. At COMO Marketing, we typically set up SEO campaigns to run for six months to twelve months. But this isn’t something we simply implement and forget about – through the entire campaign we monitor progress, evaluate strategy, and make key decisions that set your business up for growth.

So, what exactly does all of that entail? Let’s break it down. Here are the 5 phases of SEO you can expect to see when you partner with COMO Marketing for SEO services.

Phase 1: Discovery

The goal of phase 1 is to understand and evaluate where we are starting. To start, we perform a website audit to make sure the website is up to snuff with your competition. (Psst, we offer free website’s audits for non clients to see how your business stacks against it’s competition). During this phase, we will work together to become more familiar with your business, target audience, and goals. We will then compare that to your current site’s content, mapping, code, and keyword density to see what is working and what could be improved. This step usually takes around 30 days.

Phase 2: Strategy

You’ve heard us say it many times, but we’ll say it again: marketing efforts are a waste without strategy. SEO is no exception! During this phase, our team will work to identify opportunities and prioritize. SEO strategy is not a one-size-fits-all. We craft a customized plan unique to your business, your audience, and your goals.

Phase 3: Implementation

This is where things get technical – it’s time to put the plan to action! Phase 3 mainly consists of executing on-site and on-page optimization strategies. This typically consists of cleaning up your site’s code, content, architecture, mapping, keyword usage and much more. Phase 2 and phase 3 combined can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days.

Phase 4: Optimization

The most important rule about strategy is knowing when to adjust it, and at COMO Marketing, we are all about pivoting when needed. We are constantly monitoring your campaign, tracking insights and making real-time optimizations that will help you reach your goals. This phase is between 60 and 90 days.

Phase 5: Amplify

We’ve reached the end… but have we? At this point, our team works to take the insights from the optimization phase and amplify them to ensure long-term success. This phase is beneficial as an ongoing effort to say ahead of your competition and to navigate the ever-changing search algorithms. Consumer search trends tend to change, and continual monitoring and optimizing is important to stay relevant. From our experience, this phase is the best place to be: consistent optimizing and amplifying to achieve your business’ goals.

Contact us to learn more about our SEO services.