The 7 Essential SEO Actions to Take Every Month

SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. To see long-term gains, marketers must take consistent, strategic SEO actions every month. In this post, we’ll cover the seven most important monthly SEO tasks that should form the backbone of any optimization schedule.

1. Publish New Content

Fresh, optimized content is essential for search engines to understand what your site is about. Aim to publish at least one long-form, thoroughly optimized piece per week. This could be in the form of blog posts, case studies, guides or more. Over time, a steady stream of new content fuels organic traffic growth.

2. Essential SEO Actions – Build Links

Outreach for relevant backlinks is a core SEO action. Each month, research potential link partners, create compelling outreach messages and pitch 1-2 backlinks per week. Focus on both new links and opportunities to strengthen existing ones. Links are the most powerful ranking signal, so consistent link building is key.

3. Analyze Performance

Take time each month to analyze your SEO performance data. This includes metrics like organic traffic, rankings, backlink profile and more. Identify what’s working well to double down on, and find new opportunities for improvement. Performance analysis keeps your optimization efforts targeted and impactful.

4. Conduct Technical Audits

Check for and resolve any technical SEO issues like broken links, slow page speeds, duplicate or thin content problems. Also ensure your XML sitemaps and metadata are optimized. Regular technical audits eliminate ranking barriers and keep your site functioning at peak performance for search engines.

5. Improve Site Architecture

Assess your internal linking, URL structure and content organization. Make enhancements like consolidating duplicate pages, adding internal links or simplifying navigation. Proper site architecture lays the foundation for a user-friendly, fully crawlable site structure.

6. Refine Keywords

Review your target keywords against latest search data and trends. Refine lists by removing irrelevant or uncompetitive terms in favor of newer opportunities. Also claim/verify search listings. Keeping keywords fresh optimizes your optimization efforts over the long run.

7. Engage Users

Drive social shares, comments and other user engagement markers that signal authority and popularity to search engines. This could mean running contests, boosting blog posts or answering forum questions. User engagement is a strong secondary ranking signal worth cultivating regularly.

Conclusion

SEO is a long game that requires dedication to monthly optimization. But staying consistent with these seven essential actions positions your site for steady traffic increases. Remember – focus on quality over quantity, and be patient as results unfold gradually. With the right monthly SEO regimen, you’ll keep climbing search rankings year after year.

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