“Oh, the site is now launched. Let’s consider instituting SEO efforts.” Nails-on-a-chalkboard. Bummer central. If there is one thing that will make an internet marketer twinge, it’s this. As if this marketing channel is expected to produce results overnight and can be implemented with the flip of a switch – post-development. Search engine optimization is definitely not the fast-food of internet marketing. And having it live apart from the development process is not only a shame but a missed opportunity. Whether you are the in-house SEO or the agency, providing guidance to your fellow marketing crew around these efforts should not be forgotten. Here are the top five that I believe are essential to the development process – I encourage you to add to the list in the comments! (Because we all know this list could be much longer!)
1. Check out the Site Navigation – Site Map It!
Take a good look at how pages are connected, what lives in main, secondary and tertiary navigation. This helps determine the level of importance. And you will need a site map as an added element to ensure your site is search engine friendly.
Bonus: Site navigation, page priority and elements like the URL structure are often forgotten but very important parts to the SEO process. Take your time determining the structure and ask yourself how you want your visitors to navigate and convert.
2. Keyword Research
Look at the hierarchy of those important or high priority pages and perform the necessary keyword research.
3. Check out the internal linking structure
How are these new pages going to co-exist? Where are you leading your visitors? When are they expected to convert?
4. Get that tracking added – and tested!
Sure getting your analytics, webmaster tools, and SEO services set up is important, but so is testing it to ensure that it will be tracking those ever-important goals and conversions. Test, test, test!
5. Create a custom 404 page
Make sure that when a visitor accidentally lands on a non-existent spot on your site, they are served a custom 404 error page. Pages move, things get entered incorrectly, and you need to need to let visitors and the search engines know that you are there to help solve the problem.
What would you add to the list? Share in the comments!
