The document outlines a strategic framework for planning an SEO strategy for a new website, using a fictitious example of a dog-friendly travel site. It emphasizes a structured approach through methods like the SOSTAC framework, the 10 P's of SEO, and essential situational analysis using tools like PESTEL and SWOT. Key points include understanding the target audience, setting SMART objectives, and employing a blended marketing strategy to enhance visibility and user engagement.

1. 6-7, NOVEMBER 2019
HOW TO PLAN AN
SEO STRATEGY FOR
A NEW WEBSITE
Dawn Anderson
CEO of Bertey

2. “The Essence of Strategy
is Choosing What NOT To
Do” (Michael Porter)

3. TOO many marketing choices… It is easy to take the wrong
path

4. & waste both
time & money

5. It’s easy to get started
quickly without knowing
where you are going… or
why

6. Or who you are trying to talk to…

7. Or what you are
trying to say…

8. Pause… Take a good
look around at the
current situation

9. Before you start your journey

11. Also… Meet Bert and
Tedward

12. Today’s Topic:
Planning an SEO
Strategy for a
New Website

13. A new site === blank
canvas & minimal
legacy baggage

14. “Hooray”

15. We can use appropriate insights & models &
take the right paths from the start

16. Let’s pretend… ‘Travels with Bert’ – A
brand new site for people who want to
go places with their dog in the UK

17. It’s not a real site

18. The most important focus is “dog friendly”

19. Strategy has a tightly focused plan & a top down view

20. 10 Ps of SEO Marketing Strategy
Product – The
target URLs / terms
Price – What’s the
budget we have to
invest in SEO?
Placement – Which
neighbourhood /
target audience?
Promotion –
Outreach / content
strategy
People – How is the
campaign team
structured?
Priority – Where
are the priorities?
Planning – The
overall plan
Process – The
campaign systems /
schedule / actions
Positioning – How
are we pitching this
campaign?
Performance –
Measurement
(traffic /
impressions)

21. We can use the
SOSTAC PLANNING
MARKETING
FRAMEWORK
(P.R.Smith, circa
1999)

22. SOSTAC
Situation Analysis
Objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Actions
Control

23. We can adapt SOSTAC For SEO
Situation Analysis –
Where are we now?
Objectives – Where
do we want to be?
Strategy – How will
we get there?
Tactics – The details
of how we get there
Actions – Who does
what, where & when
from the detail of
getting there
Control – How will we
know we got there?
(measurement of
progress)

24. Take note though... Siloed SEO is
rubbish

25. Mix it up - Take
a blended
channel
approach

27. Users don’t just hang around in
search result pages on desktop …
and neither should we

28. BE AWARE:
A website is
now just
one data
layer

29. Google My
Business
• Products
• Photos
• Videos (soon)
• Agency management
ability
• Questions & answers
• Offers
• Events
Apps

30. 10 blue links is now
a very small part of
the search universe

31. We have many rich opportunities with
images, video, Q & A’s & featured snippets

32. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS = Where
are we now?
PEST(EL)
Marketplace
SWOT Analysis
5S Analysis Market Trends
Consumer
Insights
Links EAT
Capabilities &
Resources
Rankings
Clicks &
Impressions
Competitive
Analysis
Social
Presence
SEO Audits

33. Explore possible factors from wide
narrowing to most relevant / granular
PEST(EL) - Wider external conditions
(MACRO) situation
SWOT – Competitive analysis, SEO specific
& market insights (MICRO) situation,
audience insights, market specific trends
NEAREST (Within organization) - Internal
resources & capabilities – 5 S analysis –
industry relationships & connections

34. P.E.S.T.(EL) (MACRO ENVIRONMENT)
– Matters to EVERYBODY
Political Economical Sociological
Technological Environmental Legal

35. POLITICAL (Brexit, elections)
ECONOMICAL (Recession, housing market,
disposable income, austerity, local)
SOCIOLOGICAL (Social media, societal change
in behavior, values, morals & ethics)
TECHNOLOGICAL (mobile & technological
advances, AI, ML)
ENVIRONMENTAL (Climate change,
conscience on air travel, carbon footprint)
LEGAL (GDPR, privacy, compliance)

36. Trust & privacy matters to EVERYONE

37. TECHNOLOGICAL – Emerging -
Assistant + Home + Discover +
Search App + Desktop

38. Multi-devicing (hugely so at home)

39. Mobile screens are mostly small

40. Our phone experiences are gamified / entertainment
sources

41. LESS IS MORE – EXPERIENCES NEED TO BE FUN / EASY

42. UX
Matters to
EVERYONE

43. KEEP IT
SIMPLE
STUPID
(K.I.S.S.)
• Mobile design is highly visual, goal and
task driven (across several sessions /
subtask). Simplicity is key.

44. SOCIOLOGICAL - The modern shopper is time poor, research
crazy & constantly connected via mobile

45. THE ATTENTION
ECONOMY
Information overload
Too much content
We are all researchers
Agile task-driven searchers
‘Noisy’ information systems

46. • “The Brain
processes visuals
60,000 times faster
than text”
• – 3M Corporation
Research

47. • TECHNOLOGI
CAL &
SOCIOLOGICA
L - The move
to a more
image &
video based
information
consumption

48. Images (&
video) matter
to EVERYONE

49. Ethical
Marketing
MATTERS to
EVERYONE -
Brand
values,
causes &
conscience

50. Speed & Security Matters to EVERYONE

51. Be fast & secure from the start

52. Mobile Optimisation is a Given

53. SOCIOLOGICAL
–
Personalisation
is increasingly
important

54. Our site MUST pass mobile-friendly tests

55. People may still manage their lives on desktop in this
“dog friendly” market

56. Local Matters - “”NEAR ME”… it’s now about finding
a specific thing, in a specific area, and in a specific
period of time. “(Lisa Gevelber, Google, 2018)

57. But… It Depends …

58. Travels with BERT is ‘online only’ (no bricks & mortar)

59. The entities
within
‘Travel with
Bertey’
might be
bricks &
mortar
‘local’
things
Pubs
Hotels
Beaches
Cafes
Restaurants

60. So…
Schema ‘All
The Things’
X 3
implementation
YoY

61. What can we take from the
MACRO factor PEST(EL)?
Mobile friendly
test
Fast loading HTTPS
About Us /
Contact Us
Privacy &
Security Policy
GDPR &
Cookies
Plenty of
Images / video
Signals of Trust
/ Social Proof
Great UX
Elements of
Personalisation
Schema

62. We now have some ‘Must Haves’

63. MICRO ENVIRONMENT -
Things that matter to you,
your target audience &
competitors

64. What about
MICRO factors?
Narrower “dog
friendly” market
factors?

65. 'Dog Friendly’ web search interest is still growing

66. Pets are Family

67. The ‘humanization’ of the family pet

68. Pomeranians of Instagram

69. User Generated Content

70. Dog Friendly image search demand is rising

71. Summer UK ‘Staycations’ on the increase

72. “We’re going to need a place to stay”

73. “The intelligence is coming together”

74. What does the competitive landscape look like?

75. Probably not
the same as
your
traditional
competitors

76. Let’s take an example UK competitor

77. Similar Sites & Competitors

78. Competitors include a diverse set of sites

79. Very diverse blend of competitors
Vets Hotels
Travel
aggregators
Other pet
friendly sites
Pet
magazines
Pet food
suppliers

80. Travelodge is their
number 1 competitor
across ‘Share of
Voice’, but we only
want to win on ‘dog
friendly’ places

81. “Where are competitors getting traffic from?”

82. Traffic Sources by Channel

83. Search Traffic By Split

84. 5 S Competitive Analysis – How
do we fare?
SELL – Sales / Rankings / Traffic
SPEAK – Dialogue & trialogue
SERVE – Customer service / reputation
SAVE – Wastage / efficiency
SIZZLE – Audience engagement / content

85. What are your internal capabilities & resources versus
competitors?

86. Internal Resources & Capabilities v Competitors
COMPETITORS V YOU EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL MANPOWER GOVERNANCE LEGACY ISSUES
Means Do you have
strong experience
of the vertical? Do
you already have
established
industry
relationships?
Reputation?
Do you have
realistic
expectations of
what can be
achieved with the
finances available?
Can you raise
finance if needed?
Who do you
have available
from a
manpower
perspective?
Do you need
external help?
Specialists?
Are there layers of
governance which
prevent you or
competitors from
being agile?
Are you regulated
e.g. by FSA or Law
Society?
Are there
legacy issues
which may
cause
generational
cruft / delays /
internal politics
/ bottlenecks?
You
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3

87. Who are your audiences?

88. Of course, it’s broadly going to be dog lovers

89. It’s likely to be a dual sided model
Broadly Dog lovers
Broadly Leisure Establishment
owners / managers

90. “Where are they hanging our socially?”

91. A good place to start is probably Facebook

92. “What are they saying?”

93. “What are they reading
about? Who’s advertising
in print?”

94. What are
the big
things
that
matter?
THINGS TO DO PLACES TO GO
PET CARE PLACES TO STAY

95. S.W.O.T. (Marketplace Analysis)
Transfer the collected data to here
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats

96. What can we take from the
MACRO & MICRO factors?
Mobile friendly
test
Fast loading HTTPS
About Us /
Contact Us
Privacy &
Security Policy
GDPR &
Cookies
Plenty of
Images
Signals of Trust
/ Social Proof
Great UX
Elements of
Personalisation
Schema
Dual sided
model
Location based
entities
Dog lovers
Establishment
owners
Facebook
community
Growth market
Humanisation
of pets
Instagram /
images
Diverse
competitor set
Things to do Places to go

97. OBJECTIVES
Where do we want to
be?

98. What’s the BHAG? (Big, hairy, ambitious goal)

99. Now… Get S.M.A.R.T

100. SMARTY
PANTS
OBJECTIVES
S - SPECIFIC
M - MEASUREABLE
A - ACTIONABLE
R - REALISTIC
T – TIME-BASED

101. Better Still… Map 5 S
to SMART Objectives
SMART
for each
SELL
SPEAK SERVE
SIZZLE SAVE

102. OBJECTIVES = Where do we
want to be (5S’s & KPIs)?
SELL •SELL objective
SAVE •SAVE objective
SERVE •SERVE objective
SIZZLE •SIZZLE objective
SPEAK •SPEAK objective

103. 5 S OBJECTIVES (Smith & Chaffey, 2000) – Are we there yet? (Started Q1)
OBJECTIVE FACTORS
SELL SERVE SPEAK SAVE SIZZLE
S Increase traffic to x target
URLs from organic search
on non-brand generic
terms
Improve click through
to faq pages NOT
phone calls
Identify &
connect
with
influencers /
key
customers
via social &
email
Stabilise bounce
rate on
transactional
pages
Create
interactive
‘best of’
guides for
locations
M From 0 visit pcm to 1k
visit pcm
Reduce calls by 50%.
Visits to help centre
up by 50%
From 0 to 50
influencers /
key
customers
from 72% to
48%
300 shares /
comments /
likes
A Yes - Achievable Yes Yes Yes Yes
R Yes - Realistic Yes Yes Yes Yes
T By Q4 (9 months) By Q3 By Q4 By Q4 (9
months)
By Q3

104. Identify interim KPIs for
the roadmap
Rankings
Impression count
CTR
Dwell time
Micro conversions

105. STRATEGY
How will we
get there?

106. Ansoff Matrix For SEO – What kind of
strategy is it?
Market
Penetration
Product
Development
Market
Development
Diversification
No
content, no
contacts
and no
current
rankings
Some
contacts &
target
visitors but
no rankings /
visits for
terms yet
Some content,
some
contacts,
some
rankings.
Need to
improve
overall
Some rankings,
few contacts,
not the right
type of content
for new target
market
informational
needs

107. It’s going to be
an acquisition
and market
development or
diversification
strategy

108. You are not a
brand (yet)

109. Hierarchy of brand as
solution consciousness
Unconscious
competence
(mostly ‘brand as
solution’ aware)
Conscious competence
(solution aware)
Conscious incompetence (problem
aware)
Unconscious incompetence (problem unaware)

111. “1 in 3
smartphone users bought from a brand they
didn’t intend to because they met ‘in the
moment’ information needs” (Google, 2015)

112. Strategic
Elements
Segmentation
Strategy
Communications
Strategy
Content Strategy
Information
Need Targeting

113. How can we segment the audience?

114. You can’t make everyone happy…
You’re not cake

115. Segmentation Strategy
Primary
Persona
Secondary
Personas
Members of
Decision-
making Unit
Segmentation
rationale?

116. Audience identification… Viable
segments & personas

117. Audience Segmentation
Geographic
Demographic
Psychographic
Behavioural

118. What do your primary &
secondary personas look like?

119. Hubspot
Buyer
Persona
Tool

120. What matters to our segments /
personas & when (Intent)?
Problem unaware
Problem aware
Solution aware
Solution brand aware

121. Information Needs Targeting
TASK & MICROTASK
MAPPING
INTENT MAPPING EMOTIONAL NEEDS TEMPORAL &
LOCATION BASED

122. Humans forage for information (like bears)

123. Consumer behavior is task-driven

124. Tasks !=
Sessions

125. Task Driven Consumer Behaviour

126. Consider very carefully
the tasks and subtasks of
the target personas

127. Task Driven Content Planning

128. Ask customers, staff & panels

129. Kantar’s NeedScope
What is the emotional need of the user?
SURPRISE ME HELP ME REASSURE ME EDUCATE ME
IMPRESS ME THRILL ME

130. Consumer Cross Stitch Model (Coloring In Department)

131. Are there temporal & location
based factors to consider?

132. TOP-TASK IDENTIFICATION

133. Keyword Research
/ Information
Needs Mapping

134. Search
Demand Curve
(img attrib:
ahrefs)

135. A balance between “Is it
worth it?” and
“Expensive vanity terms”

136. Dog Friendly Major Themes

137. Dig deep with Answer the Public

138. Word clouds & keyword research

139. Find out what matters to your audience also with ‘phrase extension
keywords’ (Dog friendly +) word clouds

140. Pull out the
big themes
& identify
‘top tasks’

141. BCG Growth Share Matrix (Use for
Queries)
Question
Marks
Stars
Dogs
Cash
Cows
?
? ??

142. Communications
Strategy (What are
you saying and
where?)
Transactional
content
Informational
content
Hygiene
content
(brand)
Influencer /
key advocate
outreach
content

144. Just what is the
right information
need for the right
user at the right
time?

145. Since ‘relevance’ to one persona is
not ‘relevance to another

146. Matching ‘content’
with ‘intent’ requires
increasing precision

147. Identify the temporal, sequential &
emotional nature of user ‘tasks’ & task
timelines

148. Be timely

149. Be timely – Days of the Year

150. Be timely – Dog shows

151. Content
Strategy
(Types /
schedule)
Content
Marketing
Matrix
Temporal
Elements
Location
Based
Content
Emotional
Needs
Targeting

152. Blended
content mix
• Inspire
• Educate
• Entertain
• Convince

153. Make sure
you mix it
up well

154. How is the Information Need Served by
Google’s Results?

155. Answer The
Questions

156. Dog Friendly People Also Ask

157. Extract phrases ‘people also ask’ Chrome extension

158. Dog Friendly Image Search gives entity and classification clues

159. TACTICS
The detail of how
we get there

160. TACTICS = The detail
of getting there
Communications Mix
Technical Audit
On-page Optimisation
Content Plan
Contact Plan (digital PR & social colab)

161. TACTICS = The detail
of getting there
Map chosen messages to content
Ideate & create chosen content types
Identify outreach targets / influencers
Build the blend of content
Site architecture & navigation / findability mapping to needs
Launch & post launch audits
Collaboration with other channels
Utilise common / shared cross-channel data
Take an image led approach

162. In S.O.S.T.A.C. – The
‘Tactics’ and ‘Actions’
are at letters number 4
and 5 for a reason

163. Since too many jump
straight into the details
without a proper plan

164. Confusing
strategy
with tactics

165. Umbrella strategic
elements with UX &
Findability Focus

166. What are our comms
messages mapped to
information need
meeting paths?…

167. It’s just like gathering & organizing
books in a library system or using
an old card index system

168. Think about the
different ways people
seek information
Some browse
Some search
Some berry-pick

169. And helping personas find the way

170. Map what matters to ‘Top Tasks’ navigations

171. Types of navigational systems
Chronological
Alphabetical
Audience defined
Matrix
Hierarchical
Steps
Internal site search

172. Findability
is ‘King’
Global
Submenu
Sectional
Signposting
Top task paths
Focused informational views

173. UTILISE SIGNPOSTING

174. Group Similar & Related Things Together

175. Categories & subcategories’

176. Help persona’s complete their
tasks
AUTO COMPLETE
FORMS
UTILISE PERSISTENT
COOKIES (AUTO
LOGIN)
MAKE TELEPHONE
NUMBERS READY TO
CALL
MAKE EMAIL
ADDRESSES READY TO
ACTION
CONTINUALLY REVIEW
INTERNAL SEARCH
RESULTS
LINK TO MAPS &
DIRECTIONS
ADD SCANNABLE
CARD PAYMENT
DETAILS

177. Use clear structure in pages to emphasise importance of key points. Think
accessibility first

178. Focus on your topics

179. Gamify with Interactive content

180. Involve the visitor

181. An Example of a
Structured
Website
• Hierarchical nature of
a website
• Tree structure
• Well sectioned and
including clear
containers and meta
headings
• An ontology map
between semi and
structured

182. ACTIONS = Who does what, where
& by when from the detail?
Responsibilities & structures
Processes & systems
Map internal skills & resources
Allocate / source external suppliers
Use Gantt charts & project management systems
Deadlines
Break tactics down into bite-sized actions & allocate

183. Break down all of the
tactics into bite sized
chunks and allocate
them as actions

184. SOSTAC ACTIONS
TASK WHO WHAT WHERE BY WHEN 5 S TYPE
Identify
influencers
Outreach /
SEO Exec
SPEAK
Keyword
research
SEO Exec /
Assistant
SELL, SERVE
Persona task
mapping
SEO
Strategist
SELL, SPEAK,
SERVE
Content
creation -
text based
Copywriter
Content
creation -
visual
Graphic
designer
Tech SEO
audit
Tech SEO

185. Gantt Charts & Project Planning

186. The Project Management and
Planning Part of the Project & BAU
Asana Monday Trello
Basecamp Slack

187. CONTROL = How do we
know if we got there?
Who monitors what & when?
Analytics
KPI reviews
5 S status reviews – how often?
Dashboards
Reporting – Frequency? Automation?
Google Search Console

189. It’s very easy to go off course

190. Measure
well from
the start

191. Add site to Google Search Console immediately

192. To Setup -> Google Analytics
‘The House Model’ (Coloring
In Department)https://thecoloringindepartment.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/The-Account-Setup.pdf

193. Switch data retention to don’t expire automatically

194. Configure
organic
search
sources

195. Setup Dashboards

196. 5 S REVIEW (Smith & Chaffey, 2000) – Are we there yet? (Started Q1)
OBJECTIVE FACTORS
SELL SERVE SPEAK SAVE SIZZLE
S Increase traffic to x target
URLs from organic search
on non-brand generic
terms
Improve click through
to help centre NOT
phone calls for self-
service & to reduce
customer service
costs
Identify &
connect
with
influencers /
key
customers
via social &
email
Reduce bounce
rate on
transactional/
money pages
Create
geolocated
interactive
‘best of’
guides for
locations
M From 0 visit pcm to 1k
visit pcm
Reduce calls by 50%.
Visits to help centre
up by 50%
From 0 to 50
influencers /
key
customers
from 72% to
48%
300 shares /
comments /
likes
A Yes - Achievable Yes Yes Yes Yes
R Yes - Realistic Yes Yes Yes Yes
T By Q4 (9 months) By Q3 By Q4 By Q4 (9
months)
By Q3

197. Consider automating reporting

198. Connect Google Search
Console to Data Studio

199. Connect Google Search Console to Data Studio

200. Repeat SOSTAC
periodically
Situation
Analysis
Objectives Strategy
Tactics Actions Control

201. Thank you
Keep in touch
@DawnieAndo
@BeBertey

202. Sources,
References,
further
reading

203. References

204. Appendix

205. Control
factors
Who monitors what and when?
Who is responsible for reporting?
What is the reporting frequency?
Who needs to know what metrics?
What are the interim KPIs?

206. 5 S Analysis For SEO
COMPETITORS V YOU SELL SERVE SPEAK SAVE SIZZLE
Means How are the
transactional pages
ranking? / traffic
levels? / Is the right
page ranking? /
Sales generated? /
Intent correctly
aligned with page?
How are the
informational/
hygiene pages
ranking / traffic
levels
Is digital PR / content
amplification underway
and is there a dialogue or
trialogue with
community? / Social
presence / Influencer
connections?
Is there wastage in
their current
strategy / SEO
campaign?
Chasing vanity /
low priority terms?
Is there brand
’buzz’ and more
authority / EAT
factors / Great
content which
excites the
audience?
You
Competitor 1
Competitor 2
Competitor 3

207. PESTEL - -Things that
matter to a HUGE
amount of people
(maybe even
EVERYBODY)

208. Query Classifications - There are some we know of already

209. Test your structured data

210. UX - Use informational clusters &
working memory chunking

211. SOSTAC For SEO
Situation Analysis – PESTEL / SWOT /
Rankings / Traffic / Conversions /
Impressions / 5 S KPIs / Market Trends
/ Competitive Analysis
Objectives – Rankings / Traffic /
Conversions / Impressions / 5 S KPIs
(SELL, SPEAK, SAVE, SERVE, SIZZLE)
Strategy – Ansoff Matrix / Comms
strategy / Content strategy /
Acquisition or Retention?/ Boston
Growth Share Matrix / 10 Ps of SEO
Marketing Strategy / Information
needs analysis / Persona & Segment
selection / Influencer comms strategy /
Content ideation (Content marketing
matrix) / Stock and flow content plan
Tactics – Information architecture / site
structure build. Keyword research.
Intent to URL mapping. Content
marketing matrix. Content creation.
Tech & on page SEO audits. BAU audits.
BAU & hero project content creation.
Graphic design & dev task overviews
Actions – Map actions / tasks to people
with deadlines (Gantt) – Project
management (Trello / Monday / Asana
/ Basecamp). Who? What? Where? By
When? Activity frequency (BAU and
project).
Control – Reporting and KPI monitoring
+ reviews / dashboards / Rankings /
GSC / GA monitoring / Data
integrations – Did we get there yet?
Are we still on course?

212. Breadcrumbs
• Global
• Sectional

213. Jump Pages For humans and search
engines alike

215. Look for content
opportunity
‘patterns’ in
search volumes

216. Find out what matters to your audience also with ‘related keywords’
word clouds

217. New ways to satisfy
information need are
growing in relevance

218. Be mobile first &
foremost – personalise
where you can BUT there
are SEO considerations

219. Different
features
matter to
users more
dependent
on the
domain
News (freshness)
Jobs (salary, job title,
location)
Restaurants (location,
cuisine)
Shopping (price)

220. Ansoff Matrix
Market
Penetration
Product
Development
Market
Development
Diversification
New
product for
new
market
New
product
for existing
market
Existing
product
for existing
market
Existing
product
for new
market