About the Author
Corey is the owner and President/CEO of Voltage. He has spent 18 years working in strategic and leadership roles focused on growing national and local client brands with award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies. He's a recent recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award.
Setting the right SEO goals is essential for driving measurable success and aligning efforts with business objectives. Without clear goals, SEO teams may struggle to track progress, allocate resources effectively, or demonstrate ROI.
In my article for Search Engine Land, I outline key strategies for defining, tracking, and achieving SEO goals that support both short-term performance and long-term growth. Below is a preview of some critical steps. For the full breakdown, be sure to read the complete article.
Key Steps to Setting Effective SEO Goals:
1. Be Open and Collaborate
SEO benefits greatly when firm ROI aspects and goals are known and shared removing guess-work, such as:
- Increasing organic traffic to improve brand awareness.
- Boosting conversion rates to drive revenue.
- Expanding local search visibility for location-based businesses.
By ensuring SEO goals align with overall business KPIs and not just vanity metrics or those that leave it up to be interpreted their impact on company revenue, teams can measure their true impact.
2. Have a Healthy Understanding of SEO
Not everyone needs to be an SEO subject matter expert and in the technical weeds, but it really helps when a base level is common across everyone involved (including you, if you’re not an SEO). The benefits include:
- Be able to speak the same language and not have subject matter experts or people involved in misalignment over technical and nuanced tasks, tactics, and data.
- What the KPIs are and how they serve as leading indicators to the defined business outcome and ROI goals.
- How the SEO world is rapidly changing, what the impacts are on our team’s performance, and how to evolve expectations.
3. Prioritize Goals Based on Available Resources
Not all SEO goals can be tackled at once. Consider:
- Time and budget constraints when setting priorities.
- Which optimizations will have the biggest impact on rankings and conversions if they can’t all be done at the same time.
- What tools and personnel are needed to achieve success.
Other Essential Factors for SEO Goal-Setting
In addition to these key steps, my full article discusses:
- The role of AI in the disruption of SEO tactics.
- How to balance short-term wins with long-term SEO growth.
- Why cross-team collaboration (SEO, content, web development) is critical for success.
By setting the right SEO goals and tracking them effectively, teams can maximize results and continuously improve their strategy.
Final Thoughts & Full Article Link
SEO success depends on clear, well-defined goals that align with business objectives. By using common language, prioritizing tasks effectively, and measuring progress with the right KPIs, SEO teams can stay focused, optimize performance, and demonstrate long-term value in alignment with broader business goals.
For a detailed guide on setting and tracking SEO goals, read the full article on Search Engine Land:
🔗 How to Set Goals for Your SEO Team