What is the definition of an SEO Roadmap

An SEO roadmap is a plan for Search engine optimization that seeks to lay out the easiest and best tactics for SEO to ensure that there is a strong start to SEO success, and that there is also a long-term benefit from the planning. It usually involves an audit of existing SEO variables and components that are included in your digital footprint, and considers goals in at least three timelines: short term, intermediate term and long-term.

Search engine optimization is a methodology that utilizes technical variables and techniques as well as other component parts of Search best practices to help rank your website pages in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) on a given search engine’s index. 

When a searcher types in a query to find results in a search engine, say, for example Google, then the different metrics which contribute to search engine results rankings help to determine where your specific page or content fits in, relative to the best content. In the case of most search engines, the SERP that is first to be ranked and shown to the seeker, is the one that most closely aligns what the search algorithm has determined to be the user intent for that query. 

In most cases, that means the one that has the most credibility shakes out up top. Intent can have a lot of variables. You can see an article explaining how the different contributing factors to SERPs play into the algorithm from a high level perspective – though it should be noted that search algorithms and development of search ranking factors are closely guarded secrets, and Google is the only entity that knows what google places the biggest value on when it comes to relevance for keyword queries, and the related content it ranks in its SERPs.

So What is an SEO Roadmap and what can an SEO Roadmap Help your small business with?

An SEO roadmap seeks to do several things:

1. It seeks to set realistic goals that expand in a mostly linear way based on improving overall SEO value for a website’s pages/posts
2. It seeks to lay out some easy early wins for SEO-facing goals
3. It sets some goals for short term, intermediate term and long-term
4. It lays out important metrics to keep the progress going
5. It takes technical and creative aspects of SEO and lays them out in a way that prioritizes what will will best to achieve goals

An SEO roadmap is usually a combination of the following (constructed by a skilled search engine optimization specialist or company involved in SEO):

1. Keyword research
2. Auditing of the existing digital footprint for a given website or brand
3. Market research and competitor research and analysis
4. Benchmarking metrics 
5. A set of best practices that can help ensure success
6. Realistic goals and timelines to hit 
7. A set of tasks that can help to gain progress along the way

From the perspective of a small business, SEO is usually seen as some sort of back magic that is hard to quantify, and may or may not be the key to business success in the internet age. From the perspective of Digital Agencies, SEO is not as difficult as it may seem, but it does involve certain best practices, and there is not a definitive science to it, because it is evolving rapidly. 

Even companies like Google are making tweaks and changes to their algorithm at least several times a year – often more frequently than that. An SEO roadmap is a living document that is meant to be a good guide to success, but not infallible. And with all types of marketing, SEO needs to be audited for success, real world value and efficacy periodically.

Typically SEO roadmaps require a very broad skillset, or a lot of inputs to properly prepare. A small business could make their own, but may not have access to tooling or insights or experience to do so. As a result, digital agencies and freelancers that function as SEO’s are generally well poised to offer such SEO roadmaps. 

We offer top quality SEO Roadmaps

We offer SEO Roadmaps to small businesses in all types of industries and market sectors. It’s not an easy task, as it is tedious to do the different types of research that are necessary to construct one. But being completely transparent, it’s not a task that takes hundreds of hours to perform either. Usually it’s a 5-6 hour project and sometimes could be more than 10 hours. 

Primarily, the best practices are already somewhat concrete depending on the agency, and the tools and resources available to the small business, while the research and goal setting offers the most tedious part of the deliverable when it comes to an SEO Roadmap.

The benefits of a properly constructed SEO Roadmap are varied and plentiful. 

• An SEO Roadmap offers an easy checklist of tasks to keep you on track
• It’s a good way to run multiple timelines at the same time, so you can ladder results that all seek to provide benefits in different ways
• It offers reminders that help you stay on task and provides a good audit for ongoing success
• Best practices and methodologies are included, that offer even the least acquainted with SEO, a realistic chance at progress
• An SEO Roadmap is a well structured set of best practices, and keyword research that can mark the best route to navigate the SERPs
• SEO Roadmaps are generally constructed by strong SEO’s or those with real world experience that can offer insights to improving your overall Search engine ranking placement

If you’re a business owner that doesn’t have the time or expertise to construct your own SEO Roadmap, working with a reputable SEO agency or other marketing specialist that has unique skills and understanding in the search engine optimization field. 

We recommend that even if you don’t use our agency to perform an SEO audit and construct an SEO Roadmap, that you do get one from a different agency, and utilize it to help you along your way in optimizing your website, pages, posts and other content to ensure success in the organic search space.

We hope this helps to answer the question: ‘What is an SEO Roadmap?‘ for you, and we offer our small business marketing services to you – we’d love to be workign with you.