What SEO Strategists Do And How They Help Business Owners

How do some websites always show up on the first page of Google? That’s not luck — it’s strategy from an SEO strategist. Unless businesses have worked with an SEO strategist before, they may not fully understand their role. Chances are that a good portion of medium-sized companies and up have either hired an internal search engine optimization specialist or worked with an external one.

However, most do not understand all that strategists do, nor how that work helps businesses grow online. To help out, we have created the following overview. We’ll review the responsibilities of an SEO strategist, the skills they have, and why every business needs one

What Is an SEO Strategist?

Before we start, let’s define what an SEO strategist is. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. A search engine is a website that indexes numerous other websites and uses an algorithm to rank them from most to least relevant based on the user’s query. Periodically, search engines update the algorithms that determine how websites are indexed and ranked. As a result, optimization is a constantly moving target.

A strategist is someone with skill and experience in planning, especially in military, political, or business matters. Another way to define a strategist is someone who can assess the current state of things, identify the goals, and create a plan to move from point A to point B.

TL;DR: An SEO strategist is someone skilled at helping websites rank high on search engines like Google.

Now, let’s look at the responsibilities of the strategist.

The four main responsibilities of being an SEO strategist involve research and analysis, strategy development, implementation oversight, and measurement & adjustments. It’s easy to just come up with a plan, but it’s a lot harder to come up with the right one and ensure its execution. So, the roadmap for a strategist is to learn, plan, do, and adjust.

Learn: Research & Analysis

Before starting any well-thought-out plan, research must be conducted. Too often, well-meaning SEOs glance at a website, make a snap judgment, and apply a cookie-cutter optimization plan, resulting in minimal improvements and consuming large amounts of capital. However, what phrases people use to search, what competitors are doing, and checking out what the market is doing are all key factors before creating a plan.

Keyword Research and Intent Analysis

First, a great SEO strategist will conduct keyword research and intent analysis. Recently, experts have debated whether keywords are still relevant due to the rise of AI and other technological updates. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Keywords show how the average internet user searches. Beyond the actual words that are searched, the strategist will look into why the keyword was searched in the first place. Questions to ask include:

• What type of content was the searcher expecting?
  • Content includes blog posts, product pages, service descriptions, videos, reviews, photos, infographics, and more.
  • On search engines, are the search terms (keywords) typically answered with a list, a tutorial, or a comparison?
• What was the point of the search?
  • Is the person trying to learn something new (informational)?
  • Are searchers trying to get to a specific site using a search engine (navigational)?
  • Are people looking to buy a product or employ someone for a service (commercial)?
  • When the keywords include “where to buy”, those people are ready to make a purchase but don’t know where to buy (transactional)
• In what stage is the searcher in the Buyer’s Journey?
  • Awareness – where they know they have a need
  • Interest – wanting to explore solutions to the need
  • Consideration – evaluating specific brands or services
  • Decision – buyer is ready to purchase, call, or sign up.

Competitor Analysis

Second, a great SEO strategist will analyze what the competition is doing. This approach provides insight into how the niche or industry attracts customers, enabling the strategist to replicate effective tactics or enhance them for better results. After all, a great business stands out from the rest, but there must be a baseline against which to measure that distinction. Some specifics that the SEO strategist will look at include:

1. Identifying direct and indirect competitors.
2. Obtain basic competitor information.
3. Audit their websites and user experience.
4. Analyze their website performance.
5. Look at content marketing strategies.
6. Evaluate their social media presence.
7. Review any paid ads.
8. Discover their online review and reputation.

Now, the savvy online marketer may look at this list and realize that some of the points above are beyond the scope of an SEO strategist, but a good strategy doesn’t stop with just one service. A good strategist fits a strategy into the overall marketing strategy of the company. So, if a client hires an agency solely for SEO, they should still review all aspects to ensure that the messaging, branding, and imagery are consistent.

Market And Trend Research

After thoroughly reviewing competitor activity, the next step is to examine how the overall market is responding to the product or service. Even if all the competitors are doing one thing, the market may be shifting, and it’s beneficial for both the client and the SEO strategist to be ahead of the curve. One important area of research is regulatory and economic factors. International relationships can cause significant fluctuations in supply chains, which in turn impact product pricing and the cost of goods sold.

Additionally, new policies can prohibit certain goods, such as artificial dyes and specific children’s products. New regulations can influence the economy as a whole, leading to declines in the purchase of goods classified as luxury or discretionary. Cultural influences and endorsements from popular figures can shift consumer opinions so rapidly that a product or service launch projected to be profitable may instead suffer and lose all profitability.

Some examples include movie stars that alienate the audience before the release of a movie, an influencer exposing the usability of a product, or a politician stating an opinion as fact. A great SEO strategist will recognize all of these factors and incorporate them into the website’s optimization strategy and its role within the overall marketing plan.