Achieving a high SEO keyword ranking is a significant accomplishment, but it's crucial to maintain that position to drive continuous growth for the business. This involves defending your ranking, which is likened to "building a moat" around a castle. This position of authority attracts more clicks and shares, perpetuating success.
Key strategies for maintaining high ranking include:
- Doubling down on successful strategies such as adding content to a high-performing directory or replicating the style and structure of a successful product page.
- Working with other teams (paid search, social, email, PR) to share insights and capitalize on the SEO equity built.
- Staying aligned with larger business goals to ensure SEO efforts target the most relevant KPIs.
However, there are three common scenarios that can threaten SEO 'wins':
- Complacency: SEO requires continuous effort to stay ahead of competitors, algorithm changes, and SERP changes. It's essential to stay proactive and ready to pivot to maintain your position.
- Rebranding or site changes: These can adversely affect rankings. Mitigation strategies include clear communication about potential impacts, preserving as much language and keywords as possible, and a comprehensive approach to site redirects and updating internal links.
- Non-converting traffic: If traffic isn't converting, consider testing Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) on the page, building a retargeting pool, and developing proxy metrics to show the value of the content.
In conclusion, sustaining SEO success involves leveraging the SEO equity built, staying on top of the SEO landscape, and keeping business KPIs as the guiding star.
