There is perhaps no other medium that changes more rapidly than the Internet. This means that those who are involved in businesses related to it must always be on their toes, including practitioners of search engine optimization. The constant evolution of Web technologies, search algorithms, and social trends demands a continuous effort to learn and unlearn. This is extremely difficult to do for any sustained period and those who are unprepared can buckle under pressure. The best way to cope with stress is to put a good management strategy in place – one that would ensure smooth transitions and excellent results.
The Art of Goal Setting
Success can only be measured against the achievement of the goal. Without one, any effort no matter how hard will be aimless and unquantifiable. The first thing one must do before starting a project is to set some goals and make them as specific as possible, though not so rigid as to be limiting. For instance, SEO can be used as a tool towards greater awareness of a charitable cause, increased visitors for a corporate website, or more leads for a subscription program. Each of these will require unique tactics and focused attention, things which are difficult to achieve without a defined goal. After pinpointing the objective, optimization can begin in earnest by selecting the essential keywords, marketing tactics, social media strategies, and the like.
The Science of Project Management
Optimizing a small site with a few pages is pretty easy but doing the same thing for an old and complex site with thousands of pages can be pretty daunting, especially if you have to make revisions every so often. For the latter, having a plan to deal with the scale and frequency of changes is essential. Large tasks can be broken into more manageable chunks and dealt with one at a time. Create a system that would make the process organized such that no pages get skipped or get redundant attention. Make a record of all the tasks and subtasks to be completed for each day and be sure to update this on a daily basis. The process should also be made as efficient as possible so that the job gets finished quickly. This is something that can be perfected along the way, with practical lessons being crucial to improved work flow.
Post Scheduling
People are always looking for fresh content and they tend to subscribe to sites which can offer this on a consistent basis. Businesses should therefore ensure that they always have something new to offer their readers and anticipate trends well into the future. However, this is easier said than done. It can be pretty difficult for bloggers to generate quality content regularly and forcing them to churn out posts right on schedule may only lead to poorly written articles. A better way would be to write a good number of posts during times when inspiration abounds then schedule them for publishing on later dates. Always try to maintain two to three months worth of topics and perhaps a month’s worth of posts ready on cue. Of course, the schedules can be bumped back if a breaking news or hot topic suddenly emerges.
Progress Monitoring
It can take a long while before a whole cycle of changes can be completed and an overall goal achieved. Yet while success cannot be measured with finality in the meantime, progress can definitely be tracked with confidence. Statistical data like those provided by Google Analytics are invaluable in determining whether the project is moving in the right direction or not. Improvements, no matter how small, serve as satisfying victories that can boost morale and rekindle excitement. Just be sure to note the numbers prior to the changes so that they can be compared to the figures after the tweaks. Aside from Google Analytics, there are plenty of third party sites which offer similarly useful services for free and sometimes for a fee. Get acquainted with the tools available on the market and consider whether their utility is worth their price.
SEO is a long, complex and iterative process that requires a lot of patience. Success can be more readily achieved with the proper organizational and management skills.