SEO strategy: a step-by-step plan, plus tips, best practices and the mistakes to avoid

Step 1: define what SEO has to achieve

Start with the commercial goal — enquiries, sales, bookings, sign-ups — and the products, services or locations that matter most. SEO strategy is a prioritisation exercise; without a goal, everything looks equally important and nothing gets done properly.

Step 2: research demand

Find out what your customers actually search for, how often and with what intent. Group keywords into topics and map each topic to a page (existing or new). This is the keyword map, and it is the backbone of every decision that follows. See our keyword research guide.

Step 3: audit where you are

Technical health, existing content, authority and competitors. Which pages already rank? What is holding the site back? Who is winning the searches you want, and why? See SEO audit services.

Step 4: fix the foundations

Crawlability, indexation, speed, mobile usability, site structure, internal linking. There is no point publishing content on a site Google cannot crawl or users abandon because it is slow.

Step 5: build the content plan

One page per topic, written for the intent behind the search. Service pages for commercial searches, guides for research searches, location pages for local searches. Prioritise by value and achievability, and schedule it.

Step 6: earn authority

Links, mentions and reviews from relevant, credible sources. Plan linkable content and digital PR alongside the content plan rather than as an afterthought. See link building.

Step 7: measure and iterate

Track rankings, organic traffic and conversions against the goals from step 1, monthly. Drop what is not working, double down on what is. See SEO reporting.

SEO tips and best practices

• Write for the searcher first, then make it easy for the search engine
• One clear topic per page; merge pages that compete with each other
• Use descriptive titles and headings that include the words people search
• Link related pages together with meaningful anchor text
• Keep the site fast, secure (HTTPS) and mobile-first
• Refresh content that has slipped rather than always writing new
• Claim and maintain your Google Business Profile if you serve a local area
• Avoid shortcuts — bought links and spun content cost more to undo than they ever earn

Common SEO mistakes

• Targeting keywords nobody searches, or only the most competitive head terms
• Dozens of near-identical location pages with the town name swapped
• Blog posts with no connection to what the business sells
• Ignoring technical problems because they are “a developer thing”
• Measuring rankings instead of enquiries
• Stopping after three months because results have not arrived yet