Your SEO Strategy Checklist for 2024

Refine your SEO strategy for 2024 success and boost your online visibility.

As usual, my job is to distill topics into actionable suggestions for your local business. Let's get started with having the same terminology.

SEO, search engine optimization, aims to get you to be on the first page of Google results for your relevant search terms. In other words, to have Google show your website link when people search for what you offer.

There are many techniques to influence this, but all marketing campaigns have to be aligned with business goals and strategies. Otherwise why do it.

Get clarity on business goals for 2024 and beyond

Before going over your SEO strategy, or any other sales and marketing efforts, you must have clarity on where you want your business to go in 2024 and beyond. From strategic moves, new products or services, markets, audiences, etc.

The business strategy goes first. And all campaigns have to support the business strategy.

With that most important first step done, let's dive into some specifics.

Economic or industry trends: Are you informed?

• What is happening in your industry, thinking bigger than SEO or marketing in general? 
• Have any big competitors made big moves in 2023? 
• Are there annual reports you can download and read? What is the industry buzz saying? 

It’s that time of year when all the predictions content comes out, be sure to have your eyes on this. Think of how this information might affect the business’ trajectory in 2024, particularly search.

Your Audience: Has anything changed about how customers search or buy from you?

How well do you know your audience? And how well is this knowledge informing your search strategy? 

Audience understanding should be foundational to your strategy. When did you last map the customer journey? When did you last define (or redefine) your ideal customer?

Are your audience still turning to Google, or are they searching on social? Do they want written content or are they hoping to see audio or video? 

Are you still going after the right audience? Is there a new niche you should focus on?

I know, big questions, but don't let the potential answers scare you. A small pivot can be all you need to really make your business grow.

Competitors: Are you monitoring them?

At the local level, I see most business owners don't do this. They only keep a vague mental list of them, at best. Map out your competitors and be sure you haven’t missed any new players in the market. They might be big or small, or they may not be the ones you're thinking of.

When did you last check competitors to know how they do SEO and marketing? Look at where they are focusing, if they are doing something you haven’t considered and where you see the risks.

You may have a mine of ideas sitting right there.

Analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

With all the research you have done considering the bigger picture, note down what you think your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) are from an SEO and marketing perspective.

SWOT analysis is a great way to do a self check to improve ourselves.

With the business strategy fully considered, you can now dive into your SEO strategy, starting with a performance review and a check-in on your processes, tools and people. 

Best and worst performance from last year

Look at top-performing and worst-performing content from a search perspective, in what format was this content?

If you have a well-defined customer journey, you will undoubtedly understand what role SEO is aiming to play in converting customers, as you’ll know where your focus has been. 

And do a quick check on what didn't work, why? Can it be tweaked easily to make it work? If the answer is not, drop it, don't spend any more cy les on it.

What worked well last year? Does it look it can still work? Do more of it.

And keep track of everything, remember, we can't improve what we don't measure.

Tools: When did you last review what you are using?

We all build habits, and it’s no different with our tools. We go in and use the same reports that we always use. But is there more to the tools you have that you aren’t benefitting from? Do you need some more training from the provider?

Or, are there new tools that might add to your capability, speed up processes or improve the way you tackle your SEO strategy? 

And by tools I also mean services and vendors. We are all tools in helping you grow your business.

AI: Have you embraced it?

2023 was the year of AI. And like I've mentioned in recent articles, it is not just for big business to use. At the local level we can use most of the same AI tools they have, but apply our advantage of knowing the local customers better than them.

Have you considered where AI might fit in for your business? If not, I would recommend carving out some time in 2024 for this. If this AI thing feels overwhelming, just reach out to me, let's talk. It is not as daunting as it seems.

Team and partners: Are you set up for success in 2024?

With the many skills required to deliver an SEO strategy, you will have team members, freelancers or an agency supporting you. I hope they are also doing some of what we’re covering in this checklist. As you build your 2024 strategy, consider if you have the right players in the right positions and ensure they know what their part is.

Keywords: Are they still relevant? What are you missing?

Understanding your audience’s search behavior is crucial for a successful SEO strategy. It’s not just about optimizing what you think makes sense; you need to ensure it aligns with prospect intent. 

Without this knowledge, you risk failing by either having the wrong content for prospect intent despite a good position or having both position and content but failing to guide the user to a conversion.

Knowing the one new search term your potential customers use to describe your product or service can make a big difference in your sales. 

Content: Are your plans prioritized accordingly?

Ensuring you have a content plan prioritized by likely impact will set you up for better success. You also need to ask yourself: 

• Is the format right?
• How does my audience wish to digest this content?
• Am I serving them in the right way to help aid a conversion? 

The right content in the right format will always be well received. Miss one of those two factors and you are adding friction to the customer journey.

Technical SEO: How healthy is your website? When did you last update it?

Technical SEO is integral to an SEO strategy. As business owners we easily forget the impact this has, we get consumed by the daily work. 

Are your products and services properly portrayed and is the technical SEO on your website supporting them? What about that new product or service? Was it added to the website technical SEO?

Takeways

Remember, SEO is most successful when integrated into the wider business strategy. You are using SEO to get more customers, right?

• Map customer behavior, aligning your priorities and work with the customer’s journey. Magic happens when you embrace a customer-first mentality.
• Refine your 2024 SEO game plan, carefully evaluating what has worked, where there are gaps, changes in the market, and alignment with business goals will set you up for success. 

   

Leverage the checklist outlined here as a framework, adapting areas to suit your business priorities. With clarity on the strategy and transparency through tracking and measuring, you can continually optimize throughout the year.

And if you need help with any of the above, seek help in the areas where it's needed. This is how we do better in our business.