As outlined in past issues, there is a clear process that defines the work Rosetta does to help drive organic search engine traffic to client Web sites. After initial optimization is complete and offsite promotion and link acquisition activities have commenced, the ongoing optimization journey begins.

Ongoing search engine optimization is something that should be a perpetual consideration. As described by SEO Manager Chris Boggs at Search Engine Watch, SEO is an ongoing process, when properly planned and budgeted for.

Through years of experience, we have found that “setting and forgetting” simply doesn’t work for SEO. For a site to truly compete, the appropriate amount of time should be spent optimizing the site and establishing offsite promotion, as well as continuing to analyze and review how the optimization is performing with the search engines, making changes as needed, expanding optimization to additional pages, building an online relationship between the site and the rest of the Web, and reporting on all elements of the project.

Reporting

Standard SEO reporting includes monthly visibility reports, which measure the percentage of keywords that site pages are ranking for on the first three pages of search engines’ result pages within Google, Yahoo, and MSN. These three search engines should be the main target for more SEO campaigns in the U.S. because of their market share (comScore report). Visibility reports serve an important purpose – to help indicate success and areas for improvement. By watching performance patterns for keywords and pages, tactics can be determined to improve or continue positive results each month.

Organic search-referred traffic and conversions are additional metrics that provide insight, especially when clear conversions events have been identified for a Web site. Depending on the site and online goals, the proper analytics package should be implemented to show where traffic is coming from and going to, which conversion points are successful, and areas for improvement. Key performance indicators should be identified before SEO enters the ongoing phase, so that goals are established and can be tracked using visibility reports and analytics. Each month reports should cover the basic optimization data as well as how the site is tracking to the established goals.

Ongoing Link Building

Link acquisition requires time, patience, and determination. “Natural” linking takes years to do correctly, which involves following search engine recommended guidelines. The goal is to increase the number of links pointed to the Home page as well as deeper pages on the site. It is important to include detailed information about link building activities performed each month in the monthly SEO report.

Ongoing Content Development

In addition to tactics that generate linking value, such as online press releases and articles, content should be kept fresh and up-to-date, and new content/pages should be added to the site in order to increase the site’s perceived authority on a topic. Industry changes, ongoing reporting and keyword research should provide the direction for this additional content.

Conclusion

SEO is an ongoing process, just like all marketing. The key is to ensure a long term SEO relationship is in place, and that flexibility exists on both sides to move in the direction that will most benefit the client and provide additional long term exposure within organic search results.