Developing a Complete SEO Plan for 2025
This guide outlines how to develop a comprehensive SEO plan for 2025, covering each stage of an effective campaign.
1. Keyword Analysis and Prioritization
The first step is to download your existing keyword profile from a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs. Navigate to Organic Research > Positions, and export all keywords. Paste this data into a Google Sheet.
Next, perform a keyword gap analysis. In SEMrush or Ahrefs, identify your top competitors (this may require additional research beyond the suggested competitors list). Use the Keyword Gap tool, entering your competitors. Click "Compare" > "Position" > "Competitors" > "Top 10." This isolates keywords where your competitors rank in the top 10 but you don't. Export this data and add it to your Google Sheet.
Now, prioritize your keywords. Start with your existing keywords.
-
Relevance: Add a filter to your sheet. Eliminate keywords where you already rank #1. Use conditional formatting to highlight keywords relevant to your products or services. Create a formula with your core keywords (e.g., "training," "courses") to quickly highlight relevant terms. This identifies "critical" keywords that directly relate to your offerings. Note that keywords with different intents will likely require dedicated pages.
-
Supporting Keywords: Once you've identified your critical commercial keywords, focus on supporting keywords. These don't directly drive revenue but build topical authority around your commercial pages. Analyze the URL column in your sheet. Look for "intent mismatches"—keywords ranking poorly on a page because the page's topic isn't a good fit for the keyword. These mismatches represent opportunities to create new, dedicated pages.
-
Data-Driven Prioritization: Focus on your critical keywords. Use metrics like position, search volume, keyword difficulty, and cost-per-click (CPC) to further refine your list. Start with keywords ranking between positions 2-15. Prioritize keywords with higher search volume. Eliminate keywords with zero CPC, as these often indicate low value. Further refine by keyword difficulty, targeting keywords you can realistically rank for given your site's authority. This process quickly narrows down your keyword list to a manageable number of high-potential targets.
2. Ranking Diagnosis for Existing Pages
Once you have your prioritized keywords and pages, conduct a ranking diagnosis for existing pages, especially those ranking between positions 2-15 and aged 4-6 months. This checklist helps identify weaknesses:
- On-Page Optimization: Ensure your page is fully optimized for your target keyword.
- Backlink Authority: Analyze the backlink profile of competing pages. Determine the median number of referring domains to top-ranking pages. Compare this to your page's referring domains. A significant gap suggests the need for more backlinks.
- Domain Strength: Compare your domain's authority to your competitors'. A weaker domain often necessitates more backlinks to compete effectively.
Services like Search Intelligence's digital PR can help acquire high-quality backlinks to close this gap.
3. Creating SEO Content from Scratch
This section outlines building new content for untapped keywords:
-
Keyword Research and Content Outline: Use a tool like Rankability's Content Optimizer to analyze your chosen keyword and generate NLP keywords. Input these keywords into ChatGPT along with your target keyword and word count to create a content outline and a first draft. Note that this AI-generated draft will likely register as 100% AI content.
-
Content Rewriting and Optimization: Write a custom introduction. Rewrite several sections of the AI-generated content to reduce AI detection. Ideally, rewrite the entire piece for maximum quality and originality. Integrate NLP keywords naturally. Focus on covering the topic thoroughly, rather than keyword density. Use Hemingway Editor to improve readability.
-
Content Formatting and Publishing: Format your content within your CMS using short paragraphs, headings, bullet points, numbered lists, custom graphics, videos, and "pattern interrupts" like statistics or quotes to enhance engagement.
4. Website Crawl and Analysis with Screaming Frog
Integrate APIs like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Ahrefs, and OpenAI with Screaming Frog for a comprehensive crawl. Configure prompts to analyze intent, sentiment, and E-A-T standards. Paste the crawl data into a Google Sheet for analysis. Key areas to focus on include:
- 404 Errors: Identify 404 errors with internal links, traffic, events, or backlinks. Implement 301 redirects to appropriate pages.
- Thin Content: Sort by word count to identify pages with minimal content. Assess whether the content serves a purpose or requires expansion/removal.
- Crawl Depth: Identify pages buried deep within the site architecture (more than three clicks from the homepage). Restructure navigation to improve crawlability and indexation.
- Internal Links: Check the number of unique internal links to each page. Pages with few internal links might need more topical support.
- Traffic and Impressions: Identify pages with no traffic or impressions. These pages may require re-optimization or removal.
By following this process, you can develop a comprehensive SEO plan for 2025, optimizing existing content and creating new, high-performing assets to drive organic traffic and achieve your business goals.
{# 
{#