How to Develop a Public-Facing SEO Strategy

Do you treat keyword research like a checklist? Find keywords → Map to pages → Done. This is a half-baked SEO strategy. You CAN be doing so much more. Every product deserves its own funnel. Let's say you sell face sunscreen. Most would target "face sunscreen" and call it done. But your REAL keyword map should look like this: Bottom funnel (Product/Collection pages): - Mineral face sunscreen - Organic face sunscreen - Natural face sunscreen SPF 50 (ONLY hit purchase intent keywords with these) Middle funnel (Comparison content): - Best natural face sunscreens - Mineral vs chemical sunscreen - Face sunscreen reviews - Product comparison guides Top funnel (Educational content): - How to apply face sunscreen - Benefits of mineral sunscreen - When to reapply face sunscreen - Skincare routine tips You will NEVER compete with Amazon on one main keyword. But Amazon is too bloated and spread thin to build topic authority through multiple entry points. This is your opening to outrank them. And before you go crazy with this, remember to complete ONE full funnel before moving to the next product. Here's how to go about it: 1. Start with bottom funnel (money pages) 2. Add middle funnel content 3. Create top funnel content 4. Link everything together strategically The end result is an ENTIRE content ecosystem that attracts real buyers on autopilot.

Obsessing over keywords is so 2003. Focusing on your audience's needs is the real key to SEO success. When you create content that genuinely helps people, you'll naturally attract more organic traffic, build a loyal following, and improve your search rankings. Here's how to put your audience first: ✅ Understand your target audience: ↳ Conduct thorough research to identify their pain points, interests, and search habits. Use tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, and AnswerThePublic to gather data. ✅ Create valuable content: ↳ Focus on providing solutions, answering questions, and offering unique perspectives. Don't just regurgitate information that's already available online. ✅ Promote your content strategically: ↳ Share your content on the platforms where your target audience hangs out. Engage in relevant communities and build relationships with influencers. Here's what to avoid: ❎ Keyword stuffing: ↳ Cramming keywords into your content will hurt your rankings and turn off your readers. Focus on natural language and user experience. ❎ Ignoring search intent: ↳ Don't just target keywords with high search volume. Make sure your content aligns with what users are actually searching for. ❎ Creating content for search engines, not humans: ↳ Google's algorithm is sophisticated enough to detect thin, low-quality content. Write for your audience first, and search engines second. Put your audience at the heart of your SEO strategy, and you'll reap the rewards. What's your biggest challenge when it comes to understanding your target audience? Share in the comments! #SEO #ContentMarketing

I’m always surprised by how many SaaS companies focus on short-term wins like PPC or paid social but overlook the compounding power of SEO. Here’s the thing: PPC is great for quick results, but the moment you stop spending, the leads dry up. SEO, on the other hand, is harder to get right—but the rewards are long-lasting. The key to sustainable growth isn’t just doing SEO. It’s building what I call an SEO moat—a competitive advantage so strong, it’s almost impossible for others to catch up. Here’s how to start building your moat: Step 1: Find underserved search queries. Most companies go after high-volume keywords. But the real opportunities are in long-tail, high-intent queries that your competitors aren’t optimizing for. For example: Instead of targeting “best CRM software,” focus on “best CRM for SaaS startups with remote teams.” When you own these niches, you’re not just ranking—you’re becoming the trusted source for your target audience. Step 2: Create topic clusters. Publishing one blog post won’t make you an authority. You need a system. 1 - Start with cornerstone content—a deep dive into a core topic. 2 - Then build supporting posts around it, answering every related question your audience might have. 3 - Interlink them to create a web of content that signals authority to search engines. This is how you dominate an entire topic, not just a single keyword. Step 3: Build backlinks consistently. Your competitors can copy your content, but they can’t replicate your authority. That’s why backlinks are critical. -Partner with industry blogs or publications. -Publish data-driven content that others want to link to. -Consistently earn links to strengthen your domain authority over time. Here’s the reality: Building an SEO moat isn’t easy. It takes time, strategy, and consistency. But once it’s in place, you create an advantage that keeps growing. #SEO #SaaS #DigitalMarketing

If you had to build an SEO strategy with zero tools, how would you start? No Ahrefs. No Semrush. No fancy dashboards. Just your brain, Google, and time. Sounds impossible? It’s not. In fact, it might be the best SEO lesson you’ll ever learn. Here’s how I’d start 1. Start with the searcher, not the software. Before tools, there were people. Open Google and start typing what your target audience might search. Notice the autosuggestions, “People also ask,” and related searches. That’s your real-time keyword research. Google literally tells you what your customers want. 2. Study the SERPs like a detective. Look at the top-ranking pages. → What formats do they use (guides, lists, videos)? → What language do they speak (technical, conversational)? → What intent are they satisfying (learn, buy, compare)? You don’t need a tool to see patterns, you just need curiosity. 3. Build topic clusters manually. List out your core product or service themes. Then map related searches you found under each one. That’s your topical architecture created the way Google sees it. When you understand connections, you understand authority. 4. Optimize content through common sense. If you write a page and it answers the question better, clearer, and faster than everyone else, you win. Forget keyword density. Write like someone searching desperately for an answer and finally finding yours. 5. Measure through signals, not software. Watch your impressions grow on GSC. Notice if users spend time, click deeper, or share your page. These are human signals and Google’s too. SEO didn’t start with tools. It started with understanding how people search, think, and decide. The best SEOs can build a strategy on a whiteboard before they ever open Ahrefs. Because tools amplify intuition, they don’t replace it.

Your 2025 SEO strategy checklist: Phase 1: Audit Crawl your website with a tool like Screaming Frog (connect GA/GSC/other data) and export as a CSV. Enter each URL into Search Console or Ahrefs and find its best-ranking keywords. Add them to your spreadsheet. Audit each blog post and assign actions (Leave, Merge, Delete, Update, Rewrite). Phase 2: Quick Wins Identify technical fixes in your audit like internal linking, canonical tags, 301 redirects, sitemap, etc. Find ways to optimise your existing pages for the keywords found in your audit (new sections, updates, headings, snippets/AI Overviews). Phase 3: Customer Research Talk to, survey and/or interview your customers to learn: - Problems before finding your product - Features they bought it for (and use) - Why your product vs other solutions - Other solutions they considered - How it solves their problems Phase 4: Topic Research Enter your competitors' websites in a tool like Ahrefs and export their keywords to reverse-engineer their SEO. Identify ‘seed’ keywords from your customer research and use general brainstorming to start your research. Enter your ‘seeds’ into a tool like Ahrefs and use the ‘Matching terms’ report to find topics to target. Identify topics to build landing pages around the different features or solutions your product offers. Identify bottom funnel topics like competitor comparisons, competitor alternatives, and best-of guides. Identify middle funnel topics like how-to guides, templates, tips, and anything relating to customer problems. Identify top funnel topics like glossaries (e.g. ‘what is X'), topic vs topic, ‘ideas’ lists, and anything to capture awareness. Phase 5: Content Plan Collate all identified topics into a simple spreadsheet to execute over the following months. Prioritise your content ideas by ease of ranking, commercial intent and potential traffic. Strategy done. - Fix your technical issues - Optimise your existing content - Create new content from your plan - Scale content production with AI (like Byword) And don’t stop.

You will greatly improve your SEO strategy and results if you are able to map out structure. Multi-level structures in particular. Look at the main nav for clues on major sections. Reference the home page and even the XML sitemap(s) as well bc sometimes the main nav can miss something! And as always, find your Wayfair (read my full post on this: https://lnkd.in/enXij5eM) With an understanding of the major sections that should make up the site, map them out in detail. It's common to have simple 2-level structures but if there's a chance to go beyond, that's where this gets really powerful (and important). Here's a great example: multi-location businesses. One of the major sections will be the locations themselves. Start with a hub page for these: "Locations." This should link to counties (optional) and cities. Next, move on to the second level. This *can* be the county level (I often like to do this to add more structure) but should certainly be the city level. Ex: Roofing contractor in Evansville, IN On to the third level. Roofing includes repair, installation, replacement, and maintenance. Ex: Roof repair in Evansville IN, roof installation in Evansville IN, etc. Do this for all cities and services. Point internal links in both directions and consider breadcrumbs. Whether you're a multi-location business, a wedding venue site, e-commerce, etc., this best practice - of mapping out structure - keeps your site tightly organized, easy to interpret, and crawlable. Plus, you'll send targeted signals for a far greater number of queries versus trying to have single pages doing all the heavy lifting (i.e., trying to rank for too many terms). If you spot the opportunity, make this a priority - you'll see big results.

I have over 15 years of SEO experience, But if I had to start from scratch in 2025, Here's exactly what I'd do: (Warning: This is NOT for agencies or those chasing vanity metrics, but for SEO strategists looking to attract real, high-quality leads without spending all day on SEO). 1. Forget chasing keyword rankings every day → Focus on high-quality content that serves your audience’s needs. → SEO is a long-term game, and consistency over time will get you results faster than obsessing over ranking shifts. 2. Stop over-complicating your SEO strategy → Document your SEO journey. Share real wins and failures—people value authenticity over perfection. → People are more likely to connect with you if they feel like they’re getting the inside scoop. 3. Ditch the fancy SEO tools for now → Use your own experience and your client’s pain points as a starting point. → Write about what you’re learning, not just what you think others want to hear. People love real stories and actionable insights, not jargon-filled tips. 4. Forget perfection on website design or visuals → Focus on text-based posts that offer value and clear takeaways. → Professional pictures > fancy design work. Your expertise is your value, not the aesthetics. → Share screenshots of actual SEO work to show the process. People love behind-the-scenes looks into real business work. 5. Implement this 20-minute content system → 10 mins: Write about 1 thing you learned today about SEO (whether technical or content-related). → 5 mins: Edit for clarity using a tool like Claude or any AI editor. → 5 mins: Add a hook + CTA (call to action). The truth? Most "SEO experts" will tell you to spend hours perfecting every detail. But after helping several business owners level up their SEO strategies, Here’s what I’ve learned: The ones who succeed treat SEO like a conversation, not a sermon. It’s not about rankings, it’s about genuine connections and providing value. That’s it. That’s the “secret.” P.S. - Now that you know it, what are you going to change? Follow me, Kapil Ochani, for all things SEO. #SEOForLeads #SEOInsights #RealSEO

After 7 years of building SEO and content strategies for B2B brands (including one that grew organic traffic value by $682K per month) I can tell you this: the best SEO strategies don’t start with keywords. They start with revenue. Your SEO strategy should mirror your sales funnel. Each content cluster should move people closer to the pipeline: awareness → interest → conversion → loyalty Start with your highest-value product or service. Identify the pain points it solves. Then build content and keywords that bridge pain to product. Your SEO shouldn’t just attract traffic. It should attract intent. SEO isn’t about chasing algorithms. It’s about connecting purpose to profit. 

If you're new to a market or just opened your business, I recommend this one powerful strategy immediately. Not later. Not when you're "more established." Now. Here's why: Being new is your biggest SEO/AI advantage. And most businesses waste it. When you're new to an area: Opening a new location... Launching a new business... Moving into a new market... Breaking ground on a new building... ...You have a story local media actually wants to cover. "New [Business Type] Opens in [Area]" is newsworthy. The strategy? The optimized press release. Here's what happens: - Local news sites pick it up. - Industry blogs link to it. - Local directories cite it. - Chamber of Commerce mentions it. Each creates a high-authority backlink to your website. This is the foundation of: - Brand building - Reputation management - Organic link building - AI search visibility And you only get this ONE chance!!! Six months from now, nobody cares that you opened. But right now? You're news. Most businesses wait. They think: "Let's get settled first." By the time they're ready, the news angle is gone. But if you publish a press release in your first 30 days: Local media is hungry for community news. One press release can generate: - 5-10 local news backlinks - Social media shares from publications - Embedded links in "new businesses" roundups - Citations in local directories - Content for your website and social media This isn't just PR. It's strategic marketing. Google sees: "New business. Already cited by 10 local sources. Must be legitimate." AI search sees: "Multiple trusted sources mention this business. Worth recommending." Your competitors who've been around for years? They may have missed this opportunity. You can capitalize RIGHT NOW! The strategy... Week 1: Write the press release Announce your opening Explain what makes you unique Mention community impact (jobs, services, partnerships) Ensure you have a backlink to your site Week 2: Distribute it Submit to local news outlets Send to industry publications Post on PR distribution sites Share with Chamber of Commerce Week 3: Amplify the coverage Share any news coverage on social Embed articles on your website Thank the publications publicly Week 4: Measure impact Check backlinks in Google Search Console Track ranking improvements See if AI search now cites you One press release when you're new. Multiple high-authority backlinks. Instant credibility. Most businesses miss this window. They're so focused on opening that they forget to announce they opened. Three months later, you can't go back and reclaim "newness." But if you're in your first 30 days, you still have it. Use it! Are you new to your market? Or do you know a business that just opened? Write the press release this week, not later.