If you were hoping for SEO shortcuts, I have an eye-opener: there are none. Let me say that again, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS FOR optimizing your website.

A quick way to rise through the search engine ranks would be ideal, but there is no such thing; it takes work.

A client requesting assistance with SEO has either a new website with no SEO or a less than efficient website.

In either scenario, the website must first be audited — and depending on the size of the website, this could mean a lot of work. But no SEO campaign can begin without a proper audit. A technical analysis must be performed, as well as a review of content. Additionally, the backlinks, directories, and keywords must be checked.

Let’s suppose that your existing website is composed of 60 pages, including blogs/articles. If you’re looking to perform a simple audit without digging deep into the individual pages or making keyword recommendations, you are looking at about 10 hours.

Now, if you are going through each page, rewriting the content to optimize it with proper keywords or to remove content being marked as duplicate, it is going to take substantially longer. This means putting the right headline hierarchy, rewriting copy, adding alt tax to images, changing information on the website, relinking internally, removing toxic links and updating directory sites. When it is all said and done, you are looking at roughly 100+ hours. Doing a good job with search engine optimization is labor intensive with no shortcuts.

It might even take more time if the website has been worked by a third party, as they might not have been using the best practices. Unfortunately, clients are often lured by the sound of fast and inexpensive results, but we can assure you there is no such thing. Furthermore, if you hired a third party vendor that used black hat SEO practices, it will cost you extra to audit and ultimately repair the damage. Getting SEO right the first time is crucial.

In fact, it isn’t a set it and forget it deal. You’ll have to constantly keep with your SEO efforts, as well as auditing your site at a minimum of once every 18 months. When it comes to search engine optimization, you’ll want to ensure that the following are part of your game plan:

1. On Page SEO
2. Mobile-friendly
3. Crawlable, accessible URLs
4. Correct company information
5. Correct keyword research & intelligent use
6. Quality content
7. Speed
8. SERPs Research
9. Compelling tags
10. Rich snippets & Schema markup
11. URLs
12. Internal linking strategy

1. Off Page Links
2. Toxic backlinks
3. Traffic from foreign countries
4. Fix broken backlinks
5. Remove bad links

1. Directory Listings
2. Accurate listings
3. Deletion of duplicates
4. Paid services
5. Google services
6. Mobile

1. Reviews
2. Authentic reviews
3. Responses to negative reviews
4. Unique feedback

1. Social Media
2. Facebook (yes, it is a search engine)
3. YouTube
4. Post regularly
5. Content promotion
6. Link building
7. Google + Twitter
8. Optimize profiles

Once again, when it comes to SEO there are no shortcuts. Achieving high ranks in the search engines isn’t easy, however, it is certainly possible with a knowledgeable team by your side. Be prepared to make a sizable investment if you want to see long-term results. Always remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

Ready to rank higher?

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