Dominate Your Market: A Month-by-Month SEO Strategy for Local Businesses

SEO can be confusing, but it doesn’t need to be. Understanding basic principles and strategies can elevate your website and business above your competition.

This article simplifies important SEO concepts and provides a step-by-step guide to building and implementing your own SEO strategy.

Warning – this is long and will take about 15 minutes to read. Why? Because SEO guides by SEO agencies are designed to confuse you, so you pay them to do it.

Our goal with this guide is to help you understand the key tactics, so you can do it yourself. If you can’t yet afford an SEO Agency in Newcastle, this guide is for you.

Introduction

SEO can be difficult with Google’s algorithm updates and the rise of AI-Generated spam, leaving business owners unsure where to start. Paralysis by Analysis sets in and before you know it, 6 months have passed and you’ve done nothing.

Like most digital marketing strategies, SEO can be simplified to a few tactics that yield the best results. The AI Spam Revolution creates a massive opportunity in SEO. By understanding those opportunities and what Google cares about, you could drive plenty of new customers to your business, without the long-term cost of PPC advertising.

This guide will focus on those tactics.

The Most Important Thing

If there’s one thing you take away from this guide, make it this.

To understand SEO, we must first understand Google’s goal with its Search Engine. Yes, they want to make money from auctioning off advertising spaces, but they balance this off with an equally important goal – User Experience.

When it comes to search, the most important thing to Google is the customer experience – the person doing searching.

Quick Example. If you suspect rats in your loft and need professional to remove them, you search for “Pest Control Company in Newcastle”. Google provides the most relevant web-pages for that search query (keyword).

If Google gives you links to websites in Newcastle Australia, poorly written “DIY Pest Removal” guides, or a slow website that doesn’t work on your iPhone, you will be frustrated. They haven’t solved your problem. A bad user experience is bad for Google.

If, however, you’re given 5 pest control businesses in your local area with good reviews and fast mobile-friendly websites, your problem is solved. You’ll have no frustration and you’ll return to Google next time. Hopefully not with more rats…

When creating content for SEO, make sure it’s highly relevant to your audience, matching their search query and intent.

Intent? Google knows the intent behind searches and will show related content. Using our Pest Control example:

• A customer searching “Bee v Wasp” wants to learn the difference between the two. Google will show them blog posts with images and guides. It’s Informational or Educational Intent.
• If the same customer discovers they have wasps in their garden and searches “Wasp Removalist Near Me”, their intent has changed. Google will show them Pest Control Businesses specialising in Wasps in their local area. It’s now Commercial or “Buying” Intent.

Understanding the search experience from Google’s perspective is essential for SEO success. You can design your website and content to be relevant to the people searching for what you do and where you do it by understanding keyword relevance and search intent.

Let’s move on to the cornerstone of a good SEO Strategy – Keyword Research, with Relevance and Intent in mind.

Keyword Research – Where the Magic Happens

Keyword (KW) research is the foundation of a successful SEO strategy. You can optimise your content and attract more organic traffic by identifying the most relevant search terms for your business and website.

“Organic” means free, which is why SEO is crucial for local businesses. The sooner your SEO works, the sooner you can cut advertising costs (e.g. Google Ads, Facebook Ads).

You don’t need an SEO Agency. If you lack the budget, dedicate an hour or two a day to work on SEO yourself.

Most business owners don’t have a problem with Keyword Research itself, but in what to do with it. Many customers we meet through our SEO Agency already have an idea of what their customers are searching for.

The initial research is simple. There are many guides and free tools to help, so we won’t go deep here. We’re focused mostly on identifying key themes within the KW research to guide our strategy.

Here’s what you need to look for:

• Find primary and secondary keywords. The secondary keywords should be related to the primary ones. For example,
  
  Primary Keywords are general, shorter search terms with high search volume and difficulty ratings due to competition.
• Secondary Keywords, like long-tail keywords, have lower volumes and are easier to rank for due to lower competition.
• You want to identify one or two key themes in your KW research. Themes will emerge as you build a list of search terms. Take the time to find these themes.
• Use SEM Rush or Ahrefs to identify Keywords and make a list with search volume and difficulty ratings.
• Be cautious with high search volume and difficulty keywords. You’re unlikely to reach the first page of Google, so your efforts will be wasted. If that’s the case, move on. Look for Primary Words with good volume and difficulty ratings under 30.
• Don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of keywords. Write them all down, but settle on a relevant theme with consistently good volume and plenty of secondary keywords.

Let’s find a theme, using our pest control example from earlier.