What is your approach to developing an SEO strategy

An effective SEO strategy starts with understanding what your client's business actually needs from organic search. This isn't about ranking for every conceivable keyword or chasing vanity metrics. You need to identify which search queries will drive qualified traffic that converts—whether that's leads, sales, or whatever the client's actual business goal is. This means diving into their analytics, understanding their sales cycle, and talking to their sales team about what kinds of prospects move the needle. A local plumber and a SaaS company need completely different approaches, so your strategy has to reflect their specific market, competition level, and existing customer acquisition channels.

From there, I build the strategy around three interconnected pillars. First, technical foundation: you can't rank without solid site architecture, indexing, crawlability, and Core Web Vitals. This is unglamorous but non-negotiable, and it needs attention upfront because it enables everything else. Second, content and keyword targeting: based on actual search demand and buyer intent, you map content to each stage of the funnel your client operates in. This means identifying content gaps where they're currently invisible and determining whether you're optimizing existing pages or creating new ones. You're not trying to rank for 500 keywords—you're being surgical about which ones matter. Third, link profile and topical authority: you develop a realistic outreach strategy and content plan that builds domain authority in the specific areas where your client operates.

The execution differs depending on whether you're working with an existing site that needs recovery, a newer site building from nothing, or a competitive market where you need to be strategic about resource allocation. Some clients need a deep technical audit first. Others need quick wins through low-hanging optimization before you invest in bigger content projects. You also need to establish what success looks like with metrics tied to actual business outcomes—not just rankings, but traffic quality and eventual conversion impact. This means setting up proper tracking from day one so you can report accurately and adjust your strategy based on what's actually working, not what you predicted would work. The strategy document itself should be directional, not a rigid script—you'll learn things during implementation that change your priorities.