Want to build a simple, effective free DIY SEO strategy, even if you’re a complete beginner? I’ve got you.
In this post, I’ll walk you through five clear, actionable steps to help you build a foundational SEO strategy for your website, no paid tools, fancy software, or tech expertise required.
If everything about SEO still feels like a foreign language, I highly recommend reading this post first: SEO Basics in 10 Minutes or Less. It breaks down the essentials so these next steps actually make sense and stick.
Let’s create your strategy together!
1. Create your Free DIY SEO strategy: Set Clear, Specific Goals
Every strategy starts with a goal. Without one, you’re just guessing. Setting clear goals helps you understand where you want to go and gives you a clear roadmap for your next steps.
Use the SMART method to set clear and precise goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Vague: “I want more traffic.”
- SMART: “I want to reach 5,000 monthly visitors in 6 months.”
But here’s the thing: every business owner with a website wants more visitors, right? That means if you really want to create a strategy that makes a difference, you need to go a step further.
Yes, you want traffic. But why? What do you want to do with all those visitors?
- Do you want to convert them into buyers?
- Do you want to monetize your website with ads or affiliate marketing?
Don’t see traffic as the end destination. Traffic is a road that leads to your true goal.
Let’s say you sell shoes online and just set up your store. You want an SEO strategy that drives traffic to your site.
But why?
To increase your sales. That’s a bit generic, though. Using the SMART framework, you might say:
- Sell a minimum of 500 pairs of shoes within 4 months.
See the difference? Now you’re working toward something measurable and meaningful.
Create as many goals as you need. I will only use one for our core example. But you will need to sort all your SMART goals into short-term, middle-term, and long-term goals so you can have a bigger and clearer picture.
2. Define Your Target Audience (Even If You Think You Know Them)
You might think you know your audience, but do you really? Never assume you know everything about them.
Start by asking these two questions:
- What are you offering? Is it content, a product, or a service?
- Who benefits most from it? Who needs it?
Create a client persona; an imaginary, ideal customer with a name, lifestyle, and goals.
Be as specific as possible. Don’t be afraid to niche down on demographics. Trying to speak to everyone is the same as speaking to no one.
Let’s continue our free DIY SEO strategy with our shoe store example:
James, 24, college student. He loves walking, nature hiking, running, and goes to the gym three times a week. He’s very active and needs high-quality shoes because he uses them often. He wants to invest in shoes that last because he doesn’t want to keep buying new ones. He can’t afford big names like Nike or Adidas but wants performance and style, the best of both worlds.
This persona becomes the compass for all your future messaging. Your content should feel like a one-on-one conversation with him.
3. Create your Free DIY SEO strategy: Audit Your Website
Now that you know your goals and audience, check where your website currently stands.
You don’t need to be an SEO expert to run a simple audit. Here’s what to look for:
- Domain check: Search your domain name in Google. If your site is over three months old and doesn’t rank for your own domain name, something’s off.
- Keyword visibility: Type into the search bar the keywords you want to rank for. Check if your key pages appear for these terms.
- Mobile responsiveness: View your site on different screen sizes. Does it hold up?
- User experience: Ask a few friends to browse your site. Is it easy to navigate? Is the text readable? Are buttons obvious?
- Tracking tools: Use free tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to monitor visitor behavior, traffic sources, time on site, top-performing pages, and more.
Do your Reporting
Create a simple spreadsheet:
1.What’s working
2. What needs improvement
Then connect each insight back to your goals. These are your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), the metrics that actually matter.
Example:
After auditing your shoe store, you discover that since launch, you got 1,000 monthly visitors. Not bad. The homepage is the most visited page, but only half of the visitors click through to the products page.
Remember your SMART goal: selling at least 500 pairs in 4 months.
Now, start asking the right questions:
- Why are only half of the visitors reaching the products page?
- How can you make it more accessible?
- How many visitors start filling a cart?
Tracking monthly visitors isn’t enough; you also need to audit and track purchase behavior, like time spent on product pages and cart abandonment. You know that your homepage is compelling enough to attract visitors, but it doesn’t guide them where you want them to go to make sales, your e-commerce page.
-What’s happening between the moment your visitors visit your homepage for the first time and the moment they scroll. What’s keeping them from going to the e-commerce page?
That’s what you will need to figure out and fix. It can be an accessibility issue, a technical issue, or a user-experience issue. If you’re not sure, you can always do a survey. Some technical problems may require an SEO expert or developer, such as crawling or indexation errors. But don’t skip this step.
4. Build a Keyword Strategy
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. Simple as that. They are the bridge between what you offer and what your audience is searching for.
Start by brainstorming:
- What words do you use to describe your business?
- What words does your ideal customer use when searching?
Find the overlap. That’s your sweet spot.
Example:
You want to rank for:
- Best affordable shoes
- Quality shoes for students
But your keyword research shows your ideal client persona ( remember James) actually searches for:
- Long-lasting shoes under $50
- Durable gym shoes for college students
Great! Now use these insights to update your keyword strategy :
- “Affordable gym shoes under $50”
- “Best long-lasting shoes for college students”
Long-tail keywords are more specific, less competitive, and will bring you the right traffic.
5. Create a Content System
If you want consistent SEO results, you need consistent content.
Set up a space on your site, a blog, news section, or case study hub, where you regularly publish valuable content. You can even create a newsletter or lead magnet. The goal is to solve a specific problem for your audience.
Here’s how to build your content system:
- Do keyword research to uncover what your audience is searching for. Use tools like Keyword Planner, Keyword Finder, or Answer the Public.
- Analyze your competitors’ content to find gaps you can fill.
- Build a content bank of topic ideas tied to your keywords.
- Create a calendar so you always know what’s next.
The goal isn’t to post daily, but to post consistently. Once a week, twice a month, whatever works for you. Just stick with it and build momentum.
Don’t forget to update your core pages regularly: Homepage, About, Service, and Contact page.
Bonus: Distribute Your Content
Publishing content isn’t enough, you can’t just cross your fingers and expect people to find it. You also need to promote it.
Here are three simple ways:
- Post on social media: Share carousels, quotes, reels, LinkedIn posts, any platform where you’re active. If your content is useful and you explain why your audience should care, they’ll come check it out.
- Repurpose your content: Turn one piece of content can become a newsletter, podcast episode, Pinterest pins, YouTube shorts, or social media posts. It’s a great way to test your content in different formats.
- Engage: Connect with people in online communities or groups where your audience hangs out. Join relevant conversations about topics in your niche.
Content distribution helps you reach more people, get backlinks, and boost your SEO performance without reinventing the wheel every time.
Done-for-you SEO strategy
Creating an SEO strategy sounds easy. But the real challenge is staying consistent: monitoring performance, updating content, uncovering issues, and staying on top of your audience’s needs takes a lot of time, strategy and energy.
If you have the time and patience to learn, go for it! A good SEO strategy always pays off over time.
But if you want to focus on growing your business instead of constantly tweaking your website, let’s make SEO one less thing to worry about.
You’re already wearing too many hats.
Let’s turn your website into a traffic machine, so you can focus on what you do best.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start seeing results, without burning out, let’s build a content and SEO system that works for you. Let’s get started and book a free SEO and Content Marketing strategy session now!
