How to create an SEO Strategy that increases web traffic and sales

But first, what is an SEO Strategy?

In simple terms, an SEO strategy is a structured roadmap that helps your website rank better in Google Search (and other search engines) by improving visibility, authority, and user experience.

While Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the ongoing process of optimising your site, your SEO strategy is the plan behind it all - it’s what connects every moving part together.

That includes:

• Keyword research – finding relevant and realistic search terms that match your audience’s intent
• Content creation and planning – building valuable content that answers your users’ questions and earns trust
• Technical SEO – fixing technical issues that might block your site from being properly indexed or displayed
• Link building and digital PR – earning backlinks from credible sources to boost your authority
• Performance tracking – measuring your results and adjusting based on data

It’s also worth mentioning Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) - an emerging area of SEO that focuses on optimising your content for AI Overviews and other AI-driven search experiences.

GEO is all about helping your content appear within generative search results (not just traditional ones). We’ve covered this more deeply in our Generative Engine Optimisation blog, but in short: a future-proof SEO strategy should now include both traditional SEO and GEO.

Why is Having an SEO Strategy Important?

Without a clear SEO strategy, most businesses end up taking a reactive approach to SEO - publishing the occasional blog post, tweaking a few meta titles, or chasing keywords without really knowing why.

And while that might bring in some results, it’s rarely enough to move the needle.

A strong SEO plan gives you direction. It connects every part of your marketing activity - from content marketing strategy and technical SEO to digital PR - so every action you take contributes to measurable results like organic traffic growth, higher search engine rankings, and a stronger click-through rate (CTR).

Here’s why having a strategy in place makes such a difference:

1. It keeps your SEO activity goal-driven

When you set clear objectives and track them using proper performance tracking, you can make data-led decisions instead of guessing what’s working. This is also where analysing user behaviour patterns becomes important - understanding what users do once they land on your site helps you identify which content or pages are really converting.

2. It helps you compete smarter

Search is more competitive than ever, and businesses that take the time to research keyword difficulty, search volume, and user intent before creating content are the ones who win long term. An effective SEO strategy gives you a clear picture of where the best opportunities lie - so you’re not just creating content, you’re creating the right content.

3. It supports both SEO and GEO

With AI Overviews now influencing how users see and engage with content, having a joined-up SEO and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) approach helps your brand appear in both traditional search results and AI-powered ones. It’s about increasing your SERP visibility wherever people are searching.

4. It makes ROI easier to prove

When your SEO strategy is built on clear metrics - like traffic, rankings, engagement, and conversions - you can demonstrate tangible return on investment (ROI). Over time, this makes SEO one of the most cost-effective marketing channels for sustainable growth.

Basically, your SEO strategy is the glue that holds everything together. Without it, SEO becomes guesswork. With it, you can build a consistent, scalable approach that grows your business month after month.

Now we know why they're so important, let's look at how to create an SEO strategy:

1. Define SEO Goals

First things first: what are you trying to achieve? Before you get stuck into keyword tools or content planning, you need to define what success looks like for your business.

It’s easy to say “we want more traffic”, but a strong SEO plan goes deeper than that. Are you trying to increase organic traffic? Generate more qualified leads? Improve your click-through rate (CTR)? Or simply strengthen your brand’s visibility on search engines?

Your goals should link directly to wider business objectives - because when your SEO efforts align with your marketing and commercial goals, it’s far easier to prove ROI and track meaningful results.

This is where SMART goals come in:

S - your goal should be specific - What exactly are you trying to achieve?

M - your goal should be measurable - Can you track it through performance tracking tools like Google Analytics or Google Search Console?

A - your goal should be achievable - Is it realistic given your budget, resource, and timeline?

R - your goal should be relevant - Does it tie into your overall marketing objectives?

T - your goal should be time-based - When do you want to achieve it by?

Some good example SMART goals could be:

• Increase organic traffic by 25% in six months
• Secure 10 high-quality backlinks from relevant websites within two months
• Improve CTR from blog posts by 10% over the next quarter

Run a Site Audit

Here’s the part most people skip - but shouldn’t. Before setting targets, you need to know where your website stands right now.

Running a site audit gives you a reality check on your website’s health. Think of it like a service for your car: you can’t plan a road trip if your engine’s coughing smoke.

Tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, and SEMrush are great for spotting:

• Technical SEO issues slowing things down
• Missing or duplicate meta titles and descriptions
• Pages with poor mobile-first indexing performance
• Opportunities for Rich Snippets or Featured Snippets
• Pages lacking structured data markup
• Broken links or redirects that need fixing

Doing this upfront saves hours (and headaches) later. Plus, it gives you a solid benchmark so you can actually measure the impact of your SEO improvements.

2. Do Keyword Research

Keyword research is the process of identifying relevant keywords to include in your website’s content and metadata.

By analysing your audience and selecting the right keywords, you can streamline your workflow and focus on the content that will help you outrank your competition whilst encouraging more high quality traffic.

The problem is, a lot of brands rush the research eager to get straight into writing. But good SEO doesn’t work like that. Keyword research is the backbone of any effective SEO strategy - it’s how you find out what your audience is actually searching for, not just what you think they’re searching for.

When done right, it helps you:

• Understand your audience’s search queries and intent
• Identify high-potential topics that can drive qualified organic traffic
• Spot new content opportunities before your competitors do
• Avoid wasting time on keywords that will never rank

Keyword Research Tools

There are loads of tools out there to make keyword research easier. Some of our favourites include:

• Google Keyword Planner – great for checking search volume and keyword difficulty.
• Ahrefs or SEMrush – brilliant for analysing competitors and tracking search engine rankings.
• Google Trends – perfect for spotting seasonal patterns or trending topics.
• AnswerThePublic – helps uncover long-tail, question-based keywords that real people search for.

Just remember: the goal isn’t to find a random list of keywords - it’s to understand what your audience is looking for and how your content can answer those needs better than anyone else.

Different Keyword Types

There are several types of keywords to consider when building your SEO strategy:

• Short-Tail Keywords - these are short keywords used to target a broad audience. They tend to include only one or two words and are usually very broad and competitive as many websites are trying to rank for them. (e.g. handbags)
• Long-Tail Keywords - longer, more specific, and intent-rich terms. These keywords are usually three or more words and are often used by people further along in the buying process with a more specific query. (e.g. brown leather bag for women)
• Brand Keywords - include the name of a specific brand. (e.g. Gucci handbags)
• Product Keywords - describe a specific product or service. (e.g. waterproof backpack or copywriting services)
• LSI Keywords - LSI means “Latent Semantic Indexing” and refers to words which are related to the main keyword. For example if the primary keyword is “banana” then LSI keywords might include “fruit” “bread” or “smoothie”. LSI keywords help give context to your page content.
• Geo-Targeted Keywords - include a location and are useful for businesses who offer a product or service in a specific area. (e.g. copywriting services in London).

3. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO (sometimes called on-site SEO) is all about the stuff you can control on your website - from your content and structure to your metadata and internal links.

When executed correctly, on-page SEO helps users and search engines interpret the page content and quickly understand what it is about. Search engines look at these elements to determine whether a page matches a user's search intent and whether or not the page's content would be useful to the user. The more relevant or useful it deems a page, the higher up it will display in search results.

Components of On-Page SEO

• Keywords & content - the page includes target keywords or phrases in a natural way and content is of high quality.
• Title tags - the page has a descriptive title which is relevant and includes the target keyword.
• Headings - the page is well-structured with H1, H2 and H3 headings.
• Meta description - the page has a clear and concise summary which will display in search engine results.
• Image optimisation - every image should be optimised with alt text, captions and descriptive file names that include the target keyword.
• Internal links - the page includes links to other relevant pages across the site.
• URL structure - the URL is descriptive yet concise with the relevant keyword included.
• Site speed - the page loads quickly to provide a good user experience.
• Mobile optimisation - with mobile-first indexing, your mobile experience is your SEO experience. Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking and indexing, so if it’s slow, clunky, or missing key content - your visibility will take a hit.

Link-Building

Link building is all about earning high-quality backlinks from other websites to yours - ideally from relevant, trusted, and authoritative sources.

These backlinks act as digital “votes of confidence”, showing Google (and other search engines) that your website is credible, valuable, and worth ranking higher in search results.

Although domain authority alone isn't a ranking factor, securing backlinks should form an integral part of your SEO strategy as a strong backlink profile will help show Google that your website is worthy of appearing high up in search results.

That said, not every link needs to come from a big-name publisher. Having backlinks from high-authority sites can help boost your own site's authority, however links from sites with a lower domain rank are still beneficial if the referring web page is relevant to your page topic!

Digital PR

Think of digital PR as the modern evolution of link-building. Instead of chasing backlinks for the sake of it, digital PR is about earning them - by creating stories, insights, and campaigns that naturally attract attention.

When journalists, bloggers, or industry sites reference your content because it’s genuinely useful, you get the best kind of link: one that’s relevant, credible, and trusted by both users and search engines.

Digital PR can take many forms - from data-led campaigns and expert commentary to original research, helpful tools, or industry insights. The key is value. If it’s interesting, useful, or newsworthy, people will link to it.

Beyond improving your search engine rankings, digital PR also builds E-E-A-T signals (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) - something both SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) rely on heavily. High-quality coverage increases your chances of being featured in AI Overviews and Featured Snippets, helping your brand appear wherever your audience is searching.

4. Develop a Content Strategy
 

Content is still the beating heart of any SEO strategy - and always will be.

Randomly peppering your page with keywords won’t get you anywhere (in fact, Google might even penalise you for it). What actually works is a well-thought-out content strategy that’s relevant, helpful, and genuinely valuable to your audience.

A strong content marketing strategy should cover your entire brand presence - not just SEO. From your blog and social media to emails and landing pages, your key messages and tone of voice should stay consistent wherever your audience finds you.

Once you know who you’re speaking to, spend time understanding what they need. How does your product or service solve their problem? What content would genuinely help them - a how-to blog, a product guide, a video tutorial, or a comparison article? This is where content planning meets search intent.

When you strike the right balance between useful, well-written content and solid SEO best practices, you’ll not only boost your search engine rankings, but also build long-term trust with your audience.

And don’t forget to keep it fresh. Regularly updating your blog posts, guides, and landing pages signals to Google (and humans) that your content is accurate and up to date - something that’s more important than ever for both SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation).

 

Search Intent

Also known as user intent, this refers to the purpose behind someone's query on a search engine. Every keyword represents a question, problem or need. Understanding why someone’s searching is just as important as what they’re searching for.

Informational intent - they want to learn about this topic or they're looking for an answer to a particular question
Commercial intent - they are far along in the buying cycle and want to purchase a product or service
Transactional intent - the user is looking to take a specific action such as making a booking Navigational intent - the user is looking for a particular website or page such as their favourite blog or recipe hub

Match your content to the right intent and you’ll see your click-through rates and conversions naturally improve.

5. Local SEO

If your business offers products and services to a specific geographic location, local SEO should be a key part of your overall SEO strategy. Local SEO is the process of optimising your website and content to appear higher in local search results, helping you reach people searching for products or services near them.

Put simply, it helps you get found by the people most likely to buy from you.

Think of the last time you searched for something like “places to stay near London” or “dog-friendly hotel in Berkshire” - that’s local SEO in action. Businesses that show up in those results didn’t get there by luck. They’ve actively optimised their sites and listings to appear in those geo-targeted search queries.

Mobile searches and voice search have made local SEO even more important, with users expecting instant results. And now, with the rise of AI Overviews, local visibility is no longer just about maps - it’s about being recognised as a trusted, relevant business within generative search results too.

To boost your local presence, make sure you’ve got the essentials covered:

• Keep your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) up to date with accurate details, engaging photos, and regular posts.
• Maintain consistent NAP details (name, address, phone number) across your site, social channels, and directories.
• Encourage and reply to customer reviews - they’re one of the strongest trust signals for both people and search engines.
• Create location-specific content, like blog posts, landing pages, or case studies that speak directly to your local audience.
• Add local schema markup to help Google understand your service area and business type.

Strong local SEO isn’t just about showing up on maps anymore - it’s about showing up everywhere your customers are searching, from Google Maps to AI Overviews. When done right, there's so many benefits of a good Google Business profile. It builds trust, drives footfall, and boosts conversions from people right on your doorstep.