Free SEO Plan Template (With Video Walkthrough)

Ranking successful Google is the aforesaid (or astatine slightest precise similar) for everyone. That’s wherefore it’s indispensable to person an SEO program template you tin usage clip and time again.

So… we created 1 for you.

• Google Docs →
• Microsoft Word →
• PDF →

Looking for a antithetic format? Request it here.

It gives you a proven SEO program based connected however we bash things present astatine Ahrefs. And due to the fact that it’s a template, it’s repeatable. Just spell done it for each caller leafage you create.

Our template is also:

• Easy to travel (each measurement has wide instructions).
• Easy to outsource (send it to an employee, freelancer, or VA).
• Interactive (fill successful each conception arsenic you go).

Our template covers 4 broad areas:

1. Finding the close keyword
2. Creating and optimizing content
3. Building links
4. Tracking results

Follow the steps beneath oregon ticker the video walkthrough.

1. Fill successful keyword ideas

Keywords are the words and phrases radical benignant into Google to find what they want. Unless you people a keyword with immoderate popularity, there’s nary constituent successful adjacent ranking fig 1 arsenic you’ll get nary traffic.

To find keywords worthy targeting, you request to bash keyword research.

If you’re caller to the process, commencement by entering a wide taxable related to your manufacture into Ahrefs’ free keyword generator. It’ll find the apical 100 keywords by monthly hunt measurement that incorporate your term.

For example, if you person a website astir coffee, you mightiness participate “coffee”:

Pick 5 keywords from this database that mightiness marque consciousness for your concern to people and grounds them successful the template:

TIP: Keep the ‘business potential’ of your keyword choices in mind

“Business potential” is however casual it would beryllium to transportation your merchandise (or immoderate third-party products you’re promoting) portion covering a keyword. It’s important to see because, for astir websites, the intent of ranking contented successful Google is to make money.

Here’s the standard we usage to justice a keyword’s “business potential”:

2. Record hunt intent

Search intent is the crushed down the Google search. In different words, what is the searcher looking for? Unless you make contented that aligns with hunt intent, you’re going to person a hard clip ranking for your people keyword.

How bash you cognize what searchers are looking for? Look astatine the existent apical 10 hunt results. The contented types and formats you spot present are usually a bully denotation of what radical want.

Here are the astir communal contented types:

• Blog post
• Video
• Product page
• Category page

Here are the astir communal contented formats:

• How-to guides
• Step-by-step tutorials
• Reviews
• Comparisons
• Listicles
• Opinion pieces

For example, if we cheque the results for “best java makers” successful the US with Ahrefs’ free SERP checker, astir each of them are blog posts successful the listicle format:

If we bash the aforesaid happening for “coffee array with storage,” they’re each merchandise class pages from ecommerce stores:

Record the results for each 5 keywords successful the template. If you’re unsure astir a keyword, take “not sure”.

3. Pick the champion keyword

For each of the 5 keywords connected your list, inquire yourself 2 questions:

1. Can I make the benignant of contented searchers are looking for?
2. Would ranking that benignant of contented beryllium lucrative for my business?

Pick the keyword with the champion equilibrium of postulation and money-making imaginable and grounds it successful the template.

If you’re struggling to reply the questions above, work the proposal below.

Can I make the benignant of contented searchers are looking for?

Let’s accidental that you tally a java blog, and 1 of your keywords is “coffee array with storage.”

You’ll retrieve from supra that each top-ranking results were merchandise class pages from online stores. So, successful this case, the reply to the question is “no” due to the fact that you can’t make this benignant of contented connected a blog.

However, the reply would beryllium “yes” for the keyword “coffee shaper with grinder” due to the fact that each the top-ranking results are listicle blog posts.

Would ranking that benignant of contented beryllium lucrative for my business?

Let’s tally with the java blog example…

If the keyword is “coffee shaper with grinder, ” the reply is “yes” due to the fact that searchers privation a listicle of the champion products. You tin monetize your merchandise recommendations with affiliate marketing.

If the keyword is “how overmuch caffeine successful coffee,” the reply is “no” due to the fact that it would beryllium pugnacious to urge immoderate merchandise oregon work people successful the contented itself. People conscionable privation a speedy answer.

4. Plan your content

It isn’t capable to make the benignant and format of contented radical are looking for. You besides request to marque definite that it covers cardinal subtopics.

How bash you cognize what these are? Look for commonalities among the top-ranking pages.

For example, if we cheque the subheadings for the archetypal 2 top-ranking pages for “best java makers” with Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar, we spot that they some person sections connected the best drip java makers and best pourover java makers:

You would decidedly privation to speech astir these 3 things if you were targeting the keyword “best java makers.”

If you’re an Ahrefs user, you tin find cardinal subtopics much easy utilizing Keywords Explorer. Just participate your people keyword, spell to the Related presumption report, and toggle to presumption keywords that the top-ranking pages “also fertile for” successful the “top 10”:

Look done this database for keywords that look to correspond subtopics, and grounds the apical 5 successful the template:

You besides request to deliberation astir however you’ll marque your contented unsocial and show expertise.

There are a fewer ideas successful the template. Tick immoderate that you program to use, oregon adhd your own:

For example, successful my usher to adept roundups, I covered each the subtopics searchers would expect to see, similar what they are and why they’re important. But I besides shared my sentiment that adept roundups aren’t worthy it, arsenic good arsenic the results of a mates of Twitter polls I did.

5. Publish and optimize your content

Most of the “optimization” happens during the contented instauration process. Still, determination are a fewer things worthy doing to guarantee your contented performs arsenic good arsenic it can.

Follow the checklist successful the template:

6. Plan nexus gathering efforts (if necessary)

Links are 1 of Google’s strongest ranking factors, truthful you’ll astir apt request to basal immoderate accidental astatine ranking precocious for immoderate remotely competitory keyword.

Unfortunately, getting them tin beryllium very challenging.

If you’re wholly caller to the full thing, the easiest starting constituent is to transportation impermanent posts to a fewer sites successful your industry. This is acold from the astir trendy tactic, but it works (probably wherefore it’s the 3rd astir fashionable nexus gathering maneuver according to this 2022 survey).

Here’s a elemental mode to find sites to transportation with Ahrefs’ Content Explorer:

1. Enter a wide keyword oregon operation related to your niche
2. Select “In title” from the drop-down menu
3. Run the search
4. Set your connection to “English”
5. Go to the “Websites” tab

You’ll spot a database of the apical 100 websites with contented astir your taxable by estimated hunt traffic:

Eyeball this for blogs you mightiness beryllium capable to transportation a guest post.

For example, coffeeaffection.com is intelligibly a blog and gets an estimated 426K monthly hunt visits:

For immoderate sites you privation to pitch, you’ll request to browse the tract to find the close idiosyncratic to interaction (usually the exertion oregon owner, depending connected the size of the site). If their email code isn’t connected the site, you tin usage an email lookup instrumentality similar Hunter to effort to find it.

Record the sites you privation to pitch, who you’ll scope retired to, and their email addresses successful the template:

7. Track your results

Google Search Console is simply a escaped mode of tracking however your leafage is performing for your people keyword. Just spell to the Search Performance report, past filter for your URL and people keyword.

If you privation to spot existent ranking positions alternatively than averages (which astir of america do), motion up for a escaped Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) account, past spell to the Organic Keywords study successful Site Explorer and filter for your people keyword. You should spot its existent ranking position.

Either way, don’t get excessively obsessed implicit rankings. Daily fluctuations are perfectly normal, truthful play checks are much than enough.

Both of the tools supra amusement past data, but if you privation to grounds rankings for your records, you tin bash truthful successful the template:

Ranking caller pages is captious for SEO success, but it takes a batch of work. That’s wherefore we besides urge running a contented audit to find existing contented that you whitethorn beryllium capable to amended rankings for easily. These are often low-hanging effect opportunities that instrumentality small effort.

Alternatively, if you already person an existing leafage successful caput that you privation to amended SEO for, work our step-by-step usher to ranking higher connected Google.