If you want to find out whether your own SEO strategy is working, you must first define goals that are tailored to the company.
Does the previous one work strategy for search engine optimization? Or does it have to be readjusted? Controlling and monitoring provides answers to these questions and both controlling and monitoring are, therefore, important steps in the search engine optimization process.
Search engine optimization is no different from other projects: If you want to measure success, you must first define specific goals. Projects without a clear objective all too often end in chaos and fizzle out. In contrast, the more specific the objective, the easier it is to identify successes and potential for improvement.
Before the actual optimization process begins, the question arises: What should the optimization of the company website actually achieve?
The target definitions must now primarily fit your own company. A local service provider with a regionally limited target group pursues different goals than a global group. A hotel wants to achieve different goals with its website than a car repair shop.
To identify the objectives, the first question that arises is what the company website should market at all. If services are advertised, visitors should shop or directly in the online shop online Book a hotel room?
Furthermore, the target definition depends on the target market of the company. The target market can be narrowed down thematically and geographically. Does the company primarily want to attract customers from the region? Or does it offer its services and products all over the world?
The next step is to define the target group of the website to be optimized. Should it address men or women, adolescents or seniors? Athletes or couch potatoes?
In order to define specific goals, the key performance indicators (KPI) must also be identified, which should be improved with search engine optimization. KPIs are measurable indicators. Most companies want to use the optimization measures to draw more visitors to their website and increase traffic. But there are other KPIs that can be improved through strategic search engine optimization. For example, a goal could be to increase the revenue the company generates from visitors who come to the page through organic search results. Online stores may aim to increase the number of sales of certain products. In particular, an auto repair shop may want to increase the number of tire changes. Controlling and monitoring is to be observed.
In addition to the KPIs, the Unique Selling Points (USP) of a company must also be taken into account. What distinguishes the company from the competition? What special features is the company known for, and for which should it become better known with the help of search engine optimization?
When defining goals, companies must not neglect the prerequisites that are given for the optimization process. If a website already exists, the goals are different than if a completely new website has to be set up.
The goals set must also be able to be achieved with the available resources. It is therefore important to check whether there is enough time to staff and budget are available for the respective project.
Useful goal definitions meet another requirement: they are SMART.
The five letters stand for five important points in the definition of goals:
S - Specific: The goals are clearly defined, that is, clear, precise and as precise as possible.
M - Measurable: The goals are measurable; the results can be checked with appropriate tools.
A - Accepted: The goals are accepted by the project team. The A optionally stands for appropriate, attractive, coordinated, practicable or demanding.
R - Realistic: Good objectives are realistic, that is, they can be achieved.
T – Timely (Scheduled): Useful goals have a clear deadline by which they should be achieved.
Possible goals of search engine optimization are, for example:
Such goals require quite extensive optimization measures. Results can only be seen after a few weeks or months. It therefore makes sense to set intermediate goals that can be achieved more quickly. These could be, for example, to reduce the number of 404 errors. 404 error pages appear when content can no longer be reached under a URL. It is often frustrating for website visitors when their search does not lead to the desired result but to an error page. Another goal could be to identify and optimize duplicate meta descriptions.