What is Fully-Managed SEO?

Many companies in today's digital ecosystem claim to sell search engine optimization (SEO) services. But, only a few can tell you what that means.

SEO is composed of a lot of different variables, and it's always changing. For example, Google continually changes its algorithms, which can either benefit or hurt your existing search rankings. Having a reliable SEO partner that fully manages your search presence and understands how to clarify these changes is what you want in an SEO partner.

When searching for SEO companies, you want to hear them use the term "fully-managed." With fully-managed SEO services, SEO companies will fully manage your search presence and handle various tasks associated with doing so.

Let's take a look at what a fully-managed SEO service should consist of.

Keyword Research

Not all websites are the same. And because of this, they need to be researched differently. In the planning phase of an ongoing SEO campaign, it's important to research which keywords you're already ranking for. And if they're close to page one, that is something we call quick-wins, meaning you're close, but with a bit more optimization, we can quickly win those keywords for you. After the quick-win analysis is done, it's essential to identify other keywords to target in your campaign. Usually, it's best to target high-volume, low-competition keywords.

Content Creation

For a website to rank and rank highly in search engines, you must produce high-quality content. And no, we're just talking about one to two articles per year that equate to about 500 words in total. We are referring to a frequent schedule of long-form content that answers questions and adds insight to readers.

By doing this, you're increasing your website's authority and giving Google different content on your website that it can index and rank. For example, if you're trying to target the keyword, local interior designer, create a blog post that outlines the top ten local interior designers with 2,000 words or more. That will be something that gets picked up quickly by Google and a piece of content you can build powerful links back to.

Link-Building

Link-building is probably the most critical aspect of SEO. Depending on your monthly SEO budget, your SEO partner should put most of it towards link-building because if done right, it's what moves the needle the most. Link building is far more challenging than just texting your friend who owns a blog and asking for a link to your site. It's a process and has to be treated as such.

The best way to build quality links is by manually reaching out to relevant blog owners and asking if they accept guest posts and that you'd be happy to work with them on a topic they'd like you to write about. Some will say no, and some will say yes. But, if you don't ask, you don't get. When you get the opportunity to submit a guest post, make sure it's the best quality it can be! As you regularly reach out to blog owners to secure guest posts, you'll see that as your link profile increases, your rankings will increase as well.

Reporting

Some clients want to be involved, and some don't. In SEO, we're not saying you need to be down your agency's throat, but remain involved and ask questions if you don't understand something. The only way to see the progress you're making is if you're being updated, and you can track reports.

In a managed SEO campaign, your SEO partner should provide you with a dashboard where you can track keyword rankings, organic traffic, and deliverables, such as links built. Don't check this every day as you'll drive yourself insane, but make sure that your SEO agency provides you with a reporting tool so that you can check the progress you're making each month. But, also remember that SEO takes time, and it's better to evaluate in three-month increments than in 30-day intervals.

To Sum Up

As you can see, a fully-managed SEO campaign is a lot more than writing a few blog posts and building some links. It's an ongoing evaluation of what's working, what's not, and what progress is being made.

If your business needs a reliable SEO partner to fully-manage your SEO presence, The Dillon Ross Group can help and would be glad to provide you with a free initial consultation to see if we're a good fit to help your company.