February SEO checklist

It’s the start of a brand new month and that means it’s the perfect time to create yourself an SEO checklist and to do list to ensure your new website design is as visible and well ranked as possible. SEO is an ongoing project so consistency is key to success. Getting organised now at the beginning of a new month is the perfect way to remain accountable and on track. Read on for our checklist suggestions…

1. Keyword research Search patterns and user habits are constantly changing and that means that new keyword opportunities are emerging all the time. Regularly being on the lookout for new keywords is an important part of SEO. Longer tail search terms are often a treasure trove of untapped opportunity and could result in much more targeted and relevant traffic hitting your new business website. Use tools like Google Trends to see what people are searching for and which keyword phrases are emerging then incorporate these where appropriate. 2. Page speed test Page loading speed is an important part of mobile SEO and with more than half of the search results now driven by the mobile index, it’s wise to keep an eye on how fast your pages are appearing. You can use the free Google speed test and it takes just a few moments to perform plus it will give suggestions for improvements if needed. 3. Target a relevant featured snippet Featured snippets are often called position zero of the search engine results page because they appear before the top ranked organic result. The featured snippet is a box which appears at the top of the page with text within in. This usually answers a question such as ‘What is…? or ‘How do you…’. The key to targeting this spot is to create content that’s based around those questions. The content should be useful, relevant and provide a concise answer or explanation. 4. Try a new link building tactic It can seem like it gets harder and harder to build links – especially if you’ve been doing it a while, which is why it’s important to mix and match your link building approaches through the course of the year. Run a link report on a competitor to create a gap analysis – this shows links from domains your rivals have that you don’t. You can the target those same outlets to build new links this month.