<\/p>\n
Building a website or switching platforms involves many moving parts. A crucial step is setting up your site for search engine success. <\/p>\n
But after their new website goes live, some brands make a costly mistake: they neglect to develop an ongoing SEO strategy. <\/p>\n
“We built SEO into our site during development, so we don’t need an ongoing program” is a common misconception. <\/p>\n
They assume the initial setup was enough and rely on the content or social media team to handle the rest. However, this approach is similar to having a new lawn. <\/p>\n
While it may look great initially, it will gradually lose its appeal without regular maintenance such as mowing and fertilizing. Also, if your neighbor (i.e. a competitor) takes care of his lawn properly, it will look even better.<\/p>\n
This article breaks down some key steps during the website development (or replatforming) phase and why the SEO process should be continuous. <\/p>\n
Before you build or redesign your website, make sure your SEO fundamentals are in place.<\/p>\n
Below are the critical steps to prioritize.<\/p>\n
During this phase of the project, ensure that the website architecture is aligned with the business strategy. <\/p>\n
Let’s say you sell “jeans”, but the marketing manager prefers to call it “denim”. In this case, discuss and make decisions based on keyword research. <\/p>\n
Not every aspect of the business can be highlighted in the top navigation, so it’s crucial to have a strategic, data-driven conversation about what’s important. <\/p>\n
Use this discussion to drive other elements of your site structure, such as URL structure and taxonomy.<\/p>\n
During this phase, make sure everything is set up well and that search engines can easily locate your content. This involves implementing redirects, 404 pages and canonical tags. <\/p>\n
Neglecting these aspects can lead to search engine crashes or significant traffic gaps when large pages are not redirected. <\/p>\n
In this step, make sure you have the right content for the new site. For redesigns, plan for any existing content you want to keep. <\/p>\n
Create a content\/URL map to organize this. Likewise, target your backlinks to make sure they point to the right location and remain relevant. <\/p>\n
Remember that content is still crucial, even in an AI-driven world.<\/p>\n
Get the daily search newsletter marketers trust.<\/p>\n
Your site needs to stay current and relevant. You should write new blogs and perennial content that reflects your current demand from your customers. <\/p>\n
This could be as simple as creating and updating an FAQ page as new questions are asked. Relevant and consumer-centric content is crucial to success.<\/p>\n
Even if you try to keep up with all the changes to your website, things can still break without your knowledge. <\/p>\n
Conducting a monthly or quarterly technical site audit helps you step back and identify any changes that require cleanup. <\/p>\n
Building a strong site is great, but don’t forget the value of how the rest of the internet sees your site. <\/p>\n
This is often best measured by inbound links and link quality. Your link profile is always changing and should be constantly worked on to maximize offsite promotion opportunities. <\/p>\n
You might think that if your website doesn’t change much and you’re already ranking well, you don’t need to worry about ongoing SEO. However, this is a surefire way to outperform in the market. <\/p>\n
Even if your business remains the same, the environment around you is dynamic, with constant changes. <\/p>\n
Competitors are always striving to outdo you. <\/p>\n
Search engines are constantly evolving, introducing new algorithms and features to deliver accurate results and keep up with technology. <\/p>\n
This is particularly relevant with the current introduction and testing of generative AI without clear expectations of its impact. <\/p>\n
The best approach is to test and understand how these changes affect your business. Slowing down between releases or redesigns will put you at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.<\/p>\n