Want to improve website visibility, drive more traffic, and get found by the right people? This guide by Polly Clover will walk you through how to build and implement an SEO strategy from scratch – for yourself or for your clients.
Want to improve website visibility, drive more traffic, and get found by the right people? This guide by Polly Clover will walk you through how to build and implement an SEO strategy from scratch – for yourself or for your clients.
What You’ll Learn
- What an SEO strategy plan is
- The key components of a plan
- How to implement one
- A checklist for optimizing blog content
- SEO metrics to track and report
- Tips for using SEO to get more leads
- Helpful tools & resources
Step 1: Groundwork
Before you jump into keyword research or start writing content, assess your starting point.
Audit the website:
- Use Google Search Console to review indexing, crawlability, and existing content.
- Check for technical SEO issues (broken links, redirects, speed).
- Review site structure, blog post formatting, and navigation.
Ask questions like:
- Are your blog posts getting indexed?
- Are they ranking?
- Is your current site architecture helping or hurting?
How to see if your blog posts are getting indexed:
1. Do a Site Search on Google
Go to Google and type:
site:yourdomain.com/blog-post-slug
Example:
site:meltzerseltzer.com/how-to-pick-a-niche
If it shows up: It’s indexed.
If it doesn’t: It’s either not indexed yet or it’s blocked (via robots.txt, noindex tag, or technical issue).
2. Use Google Search Console (GSC)
If you have GSC set up, you can:
- Go to the URL Inspection tool.
- Paste in the full URL of your blog post.
- It will tell you whether it’s indexed, discovered but not indexed, or not found.
You can also click Request Indexing if it’s not already indexed.
3. Use an SEO Tool
Some options include:
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free)
- Ubersuggest
- Screaming Frog
- SEOcrawl or Sitebulb
These tools can show you which pages are indexed vs. not indexed or blocked.
4. Check Your Analytics
If your post is getting organic traffic from Google in your analytics tool (Google Analytics, Fathom, etc.), then it’s indexed.
Step 2: Brand Research
Understand the business and its audience deeply. Send your client a during onboarding to get as much of this info straight from them as possible.
- Target audience: Who are they? What do they want or struggle with?
- Offer: Why does this product/service exist, and how is it different?
- Competitors: What are they ranking for that you’re not?
- Performance audit: What’s currently working or not working?
Use surveys, questionnaires, interviews, or analytics tools for insight.
🌟 Pro Tip: Check out reviews and testimonials from your client’s customers to see what their brand is really about.
Step 3: Topic & Keyword Research
This is where strategy starts to take shape.
Find ideas by:
- Brainstorming with the team
- Looking through customer support tickets or FAQs
- Checking what people are searching on Google (use tools like Keywords Everywhere, Keysearch, Answer the Public)
Evaluate topics by:
- Relevance to your audience
- Search volume
- Competition
🌟 Keywords that are green in KeySearch are the easiest to rank for. Start with those wherever possible. Mix in 1-3 orange level keywords per quarter. The red ones will be really tough to rank for as a smaller site and are best left for the big fish.
Step 4: Build a Content Strategy
Now that you know your topics and keywords…
- Choose your content pillars (main themes or services you want to rank for).
- Create topic clusters (a central pillar page supported by smaller blog posts).
- Map out a monthly or quarterly editorial calendar.
Example Cluster:
- Main page: “SEO Strategy Guide”
- Supporting: “How to Sell an SEO Strategy,” “On-page SEO,” “Content Reporting,” etc.
Here’s another example:
🌟 Pro Tip: You can simply send all this info to your client via a Google Sheet – don’t make it complicated! If you like a different tool better, use that! Rachel uses Notion instead.
Step 5: On-Page SEO Tips
Here’s how to optimize individual blog posts or pages:
- Primary keyword in title, intro, headers (1–2% keyword density is fine)
- Secondary keywords naturally woven into the body
- Meta titles = 50–60 characters
- Meta descriptions = 140–155 characters
- Internal links = 2–3x per post (to other articles/pages on your site)
- External links = High-authority sources (Google Scholar, .gov, etc.)
- Headers = Use H1 once, then H2s and H3s to break up the page
Step 6: Analytics & Reporting
Tracking results = knowing what’s working (and what’s not).
Measure:
- Organic traffic (via Google Analytics or Google Search Console (GSC))
- Keywords you’re ranking for (via GSC or paid tools)
- Page performance: bounce rate, time on page, conversions
Send reports to your clients quarterly and adjust your strategy as needed.
Bonus: How to Optimize a Blog Post for SEO
Check out for a complete checklist you can reference while writing!
Applying the Strategy: Client & Inbound Examples
To sell an SEO strategy to a client:
- Show before/after rankings from previous work (even if it’s just one blog, not a whole strategy)
- Estimate ROI
- Present a clear, strategic plan
🌟 Only offer 3+ month contracts (6 months+ preferred). Getting results from SEO takes time. You’ll spend the first 2-4 weeks onboarding and creating the strategy. Then, you’ll create the blogs after that. Keep that in mind!
🌟 Add a clause to your contract requiring the client responds to feedback requests within 5 business days so they don’t hold up your process. Add an initial box next to it in your e-signature software to really set the boundary! (Find Rachel’s template in ).
To use SEO for inbound leads:
- Optimize your blog posts for search
- Add inline forms on every page and/or pop up forms with a freebie to grow your email list
- Link to your offers in CTAs
- Use clear navigation and internal linking
Check out these resources for more:
- for pricing guide templates and examples of pricing guides – including Polly’s! – Rachel & Polly both recommend charging flat rates for packages like these.
- for creating packages
- and/or for help creating the sales page on your website for your services
Q&A + Resources
Tools:
- Google Search Console
- Keysearch - For keyword research and content assistant; use code KSDISC for 20%
- Keywords Everywhere
- Answer the Public
- Google Analytics
- Polly’s Client questionnaire - Update if needed, depending on specific project
- Blog post template - Google doc you can copy and use for yourself
- Blogging course
- Power hour call - One-hour chat to ask me anything (email to book)
Want help with SEO planning or training?