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The Google Search Console Repeatable Pattern for SEO Success

Difficulty: Intermediate

This is a composite tip so there are many steps to it. Bookmark this page and open each of the related tips in new tabs as you work through the steps.

Before we begin

SEO Triangle by Matter Solutions circa 2015Three SEO Strategies Overview

We're going to look at SEO holistically using a simple mental model and framework we call The SEO Triangle*.

The three key SEO strategies presented on this page will focus on each of these three sides of our SEO triangle. Follow them to improve your website strategically on a regular basis.

We have a single starting procedure called Keyword Opportunities, and from there we follow steps to address all three sides of the SEO Triangle

*Video: Here's a much younger Ben talking about the SEO Triangle (new tab).

1. Content with Keywords

  • Find and choose the right keywords and pages to work on
  • Gather extra data (for use in UX and Links)
  • Decide whether we're adding or editing existing content.

2. User Experience (UX)

  • Look at competitors who rank for these target keywords.
  • Does google suggest questions and answers around these keywords?
  • What is the intent that Google has determined? Might be more than one.
  • Who is the audience? Focus on the ideal one(s) for you.
  • Do the competitors answer the (assumed) intent well? Can you do better?
  • Collate the best bits from multiple competitors.
  • Write something great. Easier said than done, but with a great understanding of who and what the intent is, this should be easier than just a keyword or a page title.

3. Links (Internal)

  • Remember the "other relevant pages" we found?
  • Link those, and mentions of the keywords IN to your new content (edited or added).

3. Links (External)

  • Know someone who should link to your page?
  • Email them, and give them a reason to link to you (bake this reason into the writing).

Origins of the SEO Triangle

This is like the fire-triangle. Without any one of the sides you will find it hard to get Rankings in Google, just like it is impossible to light and sustain a fire without Fuel, Heat & Oxygen.

Back when Ben was learning SEO from Rand Fishkin on 4AM webinars in 2008-2009 SEOmoz (now Moz) published a very basic SEO Pyramid, with Links and Content, this plus years in Scouting meant Ben ended up with his Fire Triangle analogy.

 

Requirements

In this document you will need to have these set-up the following...

Essential

Important - CRAWL

very Helpful (if you have them)

When content editing an analytical tracking tool can be very helpful. They guide you about which keywords to use, where to use them (on the page) and how many times is too many.

Website Speed Checking

  • If you add images it is wise to use GTmetrix before and after to make sure your edits aren't slowing your page(s) down.

About this page

Related tips are linked throughout this document. I've noted these as "ASIDE" and "Related Tips". It'd be wise to

  • Press CTRL+F and search if you want to find these
  • Right click and "open these in a new tab" to keep this article where it is, and use a new tab to read the side-adventure.

Steps

CONTENT WITH KEYWORDS

Find and choose the right keywords and pages to work on
  1. Gather Search Performance Data
    Gather data to find the right keywords, and select a cluster of closely related target keywords
  2. Process data into insights
    Find what keywords and pages currently rank, on your website (if anything).
    Determine what the best immediate opportunities are, and what long term goals are too.Keyword opportunities: Which "nearly ranking keywords" could we move upward?
    Page opportunities: Which "nearly ranking pages" can we improve for one or more Keywords?

Beware of the classic mistake: Don't try to edit too much at once.
Choose a handful of closely related keywords that need to be added

Gather Extra Data (for use in UX and Links)
  1. What other pages on your website rank for the same terms.
    If there are multiple pages ranking for initial keywords make a note of these.Use GSC to
    - Show impressions for a Query
    - Click the "pages" tab
    - Sort by the number of impressions (highest first)You can also do this in Google Search Results with an advanced search:-site:{www.domain.com} "{keyword}"Where the curly braces are replaced by your full website domain, and the keyword is within quote marks. This will search your site and show you which pages are strongest for this keyword. Make a note of these pages.
Decide whether we're adding or editing existing content.
  1. Review your pages with respect to these "initial keyword" ideas
    Check GSC, Advanced Google Search (or both), per step #5.
    Which pages rank for each of these keywords?
    Which page ranks best?
    Look at your "best page", does it include these keywords?Can you add sub-headings and paragraphs about these keywords?If not, you probably need to add a new page, if yes, then you can probably just make an edit.Decide: New content or Editing.

USER EXPERIENCE

Look at competitors who rank for these target keywords
  1. Look at Google from your audience's perspective.
    Use these initial keywords to search Google and make notes about these keywords:-Do related keywords keep popping up?
    Are they interesting? Search and look at the results.
    Check them in Google Search Console, does your website rank for them too, even low-rankings indicate that it could be worth adding to your content.These could be useful secondary keywords.
Does google suggest questions and answers around these keywords?
  1. Questions? Do question-like keywords appear?
    These are Google predicting a next search, i.e. humans ask Google about these keywords.
What is the intent that Google has determined?
  1. Look at your competitors and their pages, especially the ones that rank well.They're the ones who meet the user-intent correctly. Google uses we humans to understand User Experience. For more information you can learn about:-
    - long click -vs- short click
    - dwell time
    - pogosticking (links to video in new tab of ben talking about this in 2019)

Questions and Competitor Pages both give very solid clues about the intent in the minds of the people searching for this keyword. You can go further.

Who is the audience? Focus on the ideal one(s) for you.
  1. Who is searching? Classic Marketing: Know thy audience.
    Not all of the people searching may be valuable to you.
    Those who want free or cheap solutions might be clicks you want to avoid. Think about who, and the intent... but bear in mind some times the outcome isn't just about clicks and conversions.We might specifically want content to rank so that people find it useful and then link to it as a citation. See "Earning Links (External)" below.Think about people who you'd like to focus on.Think about the product or service you have on offer.What in the intent does your target audience have that you can use?
    Can you do it faster, better, with less fuss?
    Can you respond today? Say so!This becomes your UVP, unique value proposition!
Do the competitors answer the (assumed) intent well? Can you do better?.
  1. Can you address the intent too?
    Make a note of this of the intent, and look for allied issues, for your writing stage.

Example: A user trying to find a lawyer in Brisbane will start at Lawyer Brisbane and quickly zero in on the type for lawyer they need and probably a service too, e.g. Wills and Estate Planning Lawyer Brisbane.

The intent is MUCH clearer in the second search so it is far easier to write the content, but thinking about the allied issues helps you plan the content.

  1. Allied issues: What questions does the searcher have?
    As mentioned above, Google often "predicts" and shows us those in the Search Results (SERPs). Use these as sub-headings or FAQs.
Collate the best bits from multiple competitors.
  1. When you review the competitors pick and choose what strikes a chord with you.
    The ranking competitors are worth paying attention to.
    If they showcase past work, you will need to do the same - likely because humans like it.
    If another competitors shows a great diagram of their systems and processes very prominently, perhaps you need to do that to, especially if you have a complex offering that needs to be described visually.There is no hard and fast rule here, consider who does what well when it comes to communicating with your ideal customers.
Write something great.
  1. Definitely easier said than done
    but... with a great understanding of who and what the intent is, and what appears to be working for the competitors this will be far easier than just starting from a keyword and a page title!RECAP you should have...
    - intent of competitors
    - thoughts about who your audience is, and their desired intent
    - what allied issues you can address
    - evolve your text to present your unique value proposition (UVP)

LINKS (INTERNAL)

To be clear "INTERNAL" means links between pages inside your website.

Remember the "other relevant pages" we found?
  1. Links are like sign-posts
    The clickable text of the link is a strong signal, called "anchor text".
    Use the most competitive keyword here (internal)The text around the keyword is a lesser signal, but still significant.

Lets call Page X the destination, i.e. new or improved content.Page A and B are pages that both rank for the most competitive keyword, lets call Keyword #1 K1.
Edit Page A.

  • Scroll through the body text
  • Find the Keyword "K1"
  • Add a link from K1 in the body text directly to Page X

The result will be that a new link with keyword anchor text K1* signals to Google that the destination page (Page X) is MORE about this keyword that Page A.

Caution
  • Page A should not link to Page X more than once.
  • Link somewhere clear + prominent, higher = better.
  • *When linking internally Penguin doesn’t apply.

Ben hands

The words on Page A should support the Keyword (K1) i.e. sing like the new content text, don't just shove a keyword in that doesn't make sense.Repeat for Page B, and any other pages you found.

In this video thumbnail this is how I hold my hands when I'm in front of an audience explaining two pages ranking for same term.

In summary, we are going to sacrifice the lesser ranking to improve the ‘best’ page.

LINKS (EXTERNAL)

Aside: Backlinks are links from other websites into your website. They have been used as a proxy for strength, authority and relevance of websitesd by Google since its inception... e.g. Anatomy of a Search Engine by Larry Page and Sergey Brin long long ago.

If you have created a really great piece of content, particularly something that is helpful and linkworthy, email someone whose website would benefit from linking to it and ask them to.

This could have been added at the start... because it could be that THIS becomes the heart of the idea for the content in the first place instead, i.e. instead of keywords that nearly rank start with an idea of content that people link to, and you can create, then go and do all the above steps to make the content around this attractive topic.

That's a concept known as the Skyscraper Strategy in SEO, and that's for another day, and another Tip. Get in touch if you'd like to contribute to that. In the meantime, here is a video of that much younger and beardier Ben talking about Power Pages for SEO.

Aside: Google Search Console Related SEO Tips, Videos and Posts

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