Effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t just about chasing ratings, it’s about attracting more visitors.
However, the power of SEO is only as strong as the strategy behind it. It is one of the most effective digital marketing channels, but only if your company is managing it properly. This is why finding the right way to manage your SEO work is critical.
SEO Project Management
Process of coordinating and managing tasks to improve a website’s visibility and ensure it ranks high in search engine results.
Importance Of SEO Project Management
What is project management and why is it important? Project management is when a company provides a clear scope of what projects and tasks need to be done in order to complete the project on time. In general, project management is important because it ensures projects are successful and completed on time, within budget, and meets standards. In fact, a study conducted by CoSchedule found that marketers who use a project management software are 426% more likely to report success.
How can an SEO project management plan help my business? Every successful SEO strategy has a team working on and managing SEO projects. However, the hard part is keeping the team in line and focused on the project at hand. Incorporating project management tactics in your SEO process can make your team more efficient and successful. Without SEO a good project management plan, the entire team and project could fall apart.
What Does SEO Management Entail?
SEO management is all about making sure things are running smoothly and your website’s content is ranking high in search engine result pages. But what exactly does it entail?
Keyword Research
Research keywords and phrases that potential customers type into search engines when looking for the services or products a website offers.
Glofox is a software fitness company that writes blogs about conducting business in the fitness industry. They perform keyword research to find terms related to businesses and fitness. “Online fitness business startup,” “fitness industry trends,” or “gym management software” would all be keywords that they would use.
Content Creation
Create content such as blog posts, social media posts, infographics, and engaging videos to draw in visitors and resonate with their needs.
An outdoors company such as Outdoor Element makes blog content about outdoor activities including “How to Safely Dispose of Used Camping Fuel Canisters” or “Our Favorite Under-the-Radar National Parks to Visit”.
Fixing Technical Issues
Fix technical issues such as loading times, clear site structure, and ensuring that the server returns proper responses so that the site is a pleasure to visit.
Content King is a tool that tracks the performance of your websites SEO performance. It can fix issues such as broken links, missing information, and security concerns.
Link Building
Build links to get high-quality backlinks from reputable websites. This helps the website get a higher ranking in search results while gaining visibility through other reputable websites.
This is an example of a CoSchedule blog that uses a backlink to redirect visitors to other influential business websites.
Monitoring And Reporting
Monitoring and reporting website performance using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs.
Ahrefs is an SEO tool that tracks a website’s insights. They also do link building, keyword research, competitor analysis, and rank tracking. If you’re looking for a software that can do it all, this is it.
Best Free SEO Tools
Finding the right SEO tool is important. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, it will likely take a couple tries to really find one that resonates with your business. Here’s a list of free reputable SEO tools that we recommend:
Hire Mia
Best for any kind of business- Hire Mia is an AI driven tool that optimizes your content strategy for improved visibility and traffic.
- 500+ AI prompt templates
- Generate keywords for Google, Bing, Youtube, and more
- Write SEO-friendly meta descriptions
- Generate blog posts
Google Search Console
Best for any kind of business- Google Search Console provides website performance insights and helps identify SEO issues.
- Measure site’s search traffic, performance, and fix issues
- Optimize content with Search Analytics
- Submit sitemaps and URLs for crawling
- Receive alerts and fix site issues
- Understand how Google sees your pages
Google Trends
Best for any kind of business – Google Trends helps research trending topics and keywords.
- Real-time trending topics insight.
- Clustered trending topics display.
- Curated insights by News Lab.
- Current US search trends overview.
- Story ideas from trending topics.
Semrush (Free tier)
Best for small businesses – Semrush offers limited features for keyword research, site audits, and competitor analysis.
- In-depth keyword research
- Fix technical SEO issues
- Daily SERP rank monitoring
Rank Math (Free version)
Best for small businesses and WordPress users – Rank Math provides basic SEO optimization for WordPress websites.
- 15+ built-in modules for customization
- Measure/track keyword rankings
- Detailed SEO analysis
- Easy one-click imports
- Compatible with WordPress Gutenberg & Classic Editors
Best Paid SEO Tools
Sometimes finding the right fit means you have to pay a little extra for it. The extra cost can be worth it for the extensive benefits. Here are the best paid SEO tools that we’ve found:
SEO Ranking
Best for small to medium businesses – SE Ranking offers a comprehensive set of SEO tools for keyword tracking, site audits, and competitor analysis.
- SEO/backlink monitoring
- Keyword rank tracker
- Website Audit
- On-page SEO checker
SEO PowerSuite
Best for small businesses – SEO PowerSuite is an affordable one-time purchase for SEO tasks like site audits and backlink analysis.
- Keyword research methods and metrics
- Website Auditor
- Automated link building
- Backlink analytics
RankIQ
Best for small businesses and bloggers – RankIQ is an easy-to-use SEO tool with features for keyword research and content optimization.
- Advanced keyword research
- Analyze/check rankings
- Optimize old posts
- SEO title analysis
Ahrefs
Best for any kind of business – Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO platform with powerful features for keyword research, competitor analysis, and link building.
- Analyze competitors
- Audit/optimize your website
- Keyword research
- Track rankings
Eight SEO Project Management Templates
Take your SEO project managing game to the next level. Try any of these eight templates from different sites around the web:
1. CoSchedule’s SEO Project Management Template
Use the CoSchedule SEO Project Management Template that gives you the tools you need to navigate through SEO projects. This template includes steps to managing all aspects of your SEO campaigns, from keyword research to content creation and link building. This layout is simple to follow and the steps clearly set out so that nothing falls through the cracks.
2. Backlinko SEO Marketing Plan Template
Developed by SEO expert Brian Dean, the Backlinko SEO Marketing Plan Template is a go-to resource for digital marketers who want a well structured approach to SEO. This template guides you through the process of creating content and getting it to rank higher in search results. It includes detailed instructions on how to conduct market analysis, define target keywords, and measure success. Blacklinko also has a vast list of other SEO templates that are free to use.
3. Click Minded SEO Strategy Template
The Click Minded SEO Strategy Template is made for marketers who want to create a scalable and repeatable SEO strategy. It breaks down each element of SEO into components that help you to build a strategy that aligns with your business goals and drives organic traffic effectively.
4. Teamwork.com SEO Campaign Planning Template
The Teamwork.com SEO Campaign Planning Template is a great tool for coordinating your team in SEO campaigns. It give guidelines for clear communication for tasks among team members, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards common objectives.
5. Hubspot Keyword Research Template
Hubspot’s Keyword Research Template is another tool that is great when finding high-impact keywords that can drive traffic to your site. It helps you to analyze keyword difficulty, search volume, team collaboration, and help you find insights needed to optimize your content for search engines.
6. Ahrefs SEO Checklist Template
The Ahrefs SEO Checklist Template is like a roadmap for beginners and seasoned marketers. It covers all the key aspects of SEO, including on-page optimization, link building, and technical SEO, ensuring that you cover all bases in your strategy.
7. Story Chief Content Creation Workflow Template
Make the content creation process easier with the Story Chief Content Creation Workflow Template. This template helps you to plan, create, edit, and publish content with ease, integrating with your overall SEO strategy to maximize your content marketing efforts.
8. Backlinko SEO Audit Template
The Backlinko SEO Audit Template is made for analyzing and improving your website’s SEO health. It covers everything from technical SEO to content optimization, to providing recommendations that will enhance your site’s performance in search engine results.
