It is widely understood in the industry that search engine
optimization should be built in, as early as possible, to the entire site
development strategy, from choosing a content management system (CMS) and
planning site architecture to on-page content development. SEO
practitioners have significant input in both of these areas. Of course,
many businesses learn about the need for SEO only after they have built
the site, in which case the time to start is now.SEO plans have many moving parts, and SEO decisions can have a
significant impact on other departments such as development, other
marketing groups, and sales. Getting that input as soon as possible will
bring the best results for a business at the least possible cost (imagine
that you develop your site and learn you need to replace the CMS—that
would be very, very painful!).
Business Factors That Affect the SEO Plan
Here are some examples of business issues that can impact
SEO:
Revenue/business model
It makes a difference to the SEO practitioner if the purpose
of the site is to sell products, sell advertising, or obtain
leads. We will discuss this more in the later sections of this
chapter.
Target customers
Who are you trying to reach? This could be an age group, a
gender group, or as specific as people looking to buy a house
within a 25-mile radius of Orlando.
Competitor strategies
The competitive landscape is another big factor in your SEO
plan. Competition may be strongly entrenched in one portion of the
market online, and it may make sense to focus on a different
segment. Or you may be the big dog in your market but you have
specific competitors you want to fend off.
Branding goals
There may be terms that are critical for you to own for
branding reasons.
Budget for content development
An important part of link building is the
quality of your content, as well as your capacity to commit to the
ongoing development of quality on-page site content.
How your potential customers search for products like
yours
Understanding what customers do when they are searching for
products or services like yours is one of the most basic functions
of SEO . This involves mapping the actual
search queries your target customers use when they go to a search
engine to solve their current problem.
