Build a Complete SEO Strategy

From Knowledge to Strategy

In the previous lesson, we explored analytics, tracking, and continuous improvement. Now let’s build on that foundation. You’ve spent seven lessons building SEO skills: keyword research, content optimization, technical SEO, topic clusters, competitor analysis, and analytics. Each lesson gave you tools and techniques.

Now it’s time to combine them into a single, actionable strategy for YOUR website. Not a generic plan. A specific 90-day roadmap built on the research and analysis you’ve done throughout this course.

Your SEO Strategy Document

Let’s build your strategy document piece by piece. This becomes your operating playbook for the next quarter.

AI: "Help me create a comprehensive 90-day SEO strategy
document for my website.

About my site:
- URL: [URL]
- Niche: [Description]
- Current organic traffic: [approximate monthly sessions]
- Number of existing pages: [approximate]
- My role: [solo creator/marketer/business owner]
- Available time for SEO: [hours per week]

What I've learned from this course:
- My target keywords: [top 10-15 from Lesson 2]
- My topic clusters: [from Lesson 5]
- My technical issues: [from Lesson 4]
- My competitor gaps: [from Lesson 6]
- My current metrics baseline: [from Lesson 7]

Create a strategy document with:
1. SITUATION ANALYSIS (where I am now)
2. GOALS (realistic 90-day objectives)
3. STRATEGY (how I'll achieve the goals)
4. TACTICAL PLAN (week-by-week actions)
5. MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK (how I'll track progress)
6. RISK FACTORS (what could go wrong and how to respond)"

Setting Realistic SEO Goals

SEO goals need to be specific, measurable, and realistic:

90-day goals that make sense:

Goals that aren’t realistic in 90 days:

• “Rank #1 for [highly competitive head term]”
• “10x my organic traffic”
• “Get 100 high-authority backlinks”
• “Outrank [major competitor with years of authority]”

AI: "Help me set realistic 90-day SEO goals.

My current baseline:
- Monthly organic sessions: [number]
- Keywords on page 1: [number]
- Keywords on page 2: [number]
- Average CTR: [percentage]
- Content published: [number of pages]
- Domain age: [how long]

Based on these baselines, suggest:
1. Three specific, measurable 90-day goals
2. Why each is achievable
3. What success looks like for each
4. What would indicate I need to adjust the goal
5. Leading indicators I can check weekly"

Quick Check

Have you written down your SEO baseline metrics? Without a starting point, you can’t measure improvement. If you haven’t done this yet, it’s your most important action item right now.

The 90-Day Tactical Plan

Here’s a week-by-week framework. Customize it based on your situation:

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-3)

Focus: Fix what’s broken and optimize what exists.

Week 1: Technical cleanup

• Fix critical technical issues identified in your audit
• Submit or update your sitemap
• Fix broken links and redirect issues
• Verify mobile responsiveness

Week 2: Content optimization

• Optimize your top 5 existing pages (titles, descriptions, headings)
• Fix any CTR issues identified in analytics
• Update outdated content on your most important pages
• Add internal links between related content

Week 3: Foundation content

• Publish your first pillar page (or optimize an existing one)
• Create 2 cluster pages that link to the pillar
• Set up your keyword tracking system
• Establish your content template and workflow

Phase 2: Growth (Weeks 4-8)

Focus: Create strategic content and build authority.

Week 4-5: Content creation sprint

• Publish 2 pieces per week from your content calendar
• Focus on long-tail keywords with clear intent match
• Build internal links as you publish
• Begin competitor gap content

Week 6-7: Optimization round

• Review performance of content published in weeks 1-5
• Optimize underperforming pages
• Expand content that’s gaining traction
• Continue publishing 1-2 pieces per week

Week 8: First major review

• Full analytics review
• Compare to baseline metrics
• Adjust strategy based on what data shows
• Identify unexpected opportunities

Phase 3: Acceleration (Weeks 9-12)

Focus: Double down on what works, cut what doesn’t.

Week 9-10: Scale winners

• Create more content in clusters that are performing
• Expand successful pages with additional sections
• Build more internal links to growing pages
• Start targeting slightly more competitive keywords

Week 11-12: Optimize and plan

• Full content audit and optimization round
• Comprehensive analytics review
• Document what worked and what didn’t
• Create your next 90-day plan

Content Production Workflow

Make content creation sustainable with a repeatable process:

AI: "Create a content production workflow for SEO-optimized
articles.

My process needs to include:
1. RESEARCH (keyword validation, intent analysis, competitor check)
2. OUTLINE (structure based on search intent and topic coverage)
3. DRAFT (AI-assisted with my expertise and experience added)
4. OPTIMIZE (on-page SEO elements, internal links, readability)
5. PUBLISH (technical checks, schema markup, promotion)
6. MONITOR (track rankings and traffic for 30 days)

For each step, specify:
- Estimated time
- AI prompts to use
- Quality checkpoints
- Common mistakes to avoid

Total workflow should fit within [X hours] per piece."

Building Links Naturally

While this course focuses on content and technical SEO, backlinks still matter. Here’s how to earn them without buying or begging:

Create link-worthy content:

• Original research or data
• Comprehensive guides that become references
• Useful tools or calculators
• Unique frameworks or methodologies
• Expert roundups or interviews

Promote strategically:

• Share in relevant communities (where you’re a genuine member)
• Reach out to people you’ve cited or mentioned
• Guest post on relevant sites (quality over quantity)
• Create content that journalists and bloggers want to reference

AI: "Based on my content strategy, suggest 5 types of
link-worthy content I could create in my niche of [topic].

For each suggestion:
1. Content concept
2. Why it would attract links
3. Who would link to it
4. Estimated effort to create
5. Promotion strategy

Focus on approaches that build links as a natural
byproduct of creating genuinely valuable content."

Handling Algorithm Updates

Google updates its algorithm constantly. Major updates happen several times a year. Here’s your game plan:

Before an update: You can’t predict them. Focus on creating genuinely helpful content, and you’ll be on the right side of most updates.

During an update (rankings fluctuate): Don’t change anything for at least two weeks. Fluctuations during a rollout are normal and often resolve.

After an update (sustained changes):

AI: "Google released a [core/helpful content/spam] update
and my traffic has [increased/decreased] by [percentage]
over [timeframe].

Affected pages:
[List pages with significant changes]

Help me analyze:
1. What type of update was this and what was it targeting?
2. Based on my affected pages, what pattern do I see?
3. What should I do about it? (Specific recovery actions)
4. What should I NOT do? (Common panic mistakes)
5. Timeline: When can I expect to see recovery?"

Building Your SEO System

Long-term SEO success is about systems, not one-time efforts:

Daily (5 minutes):

• Glance at traffic trends (any major anomalies?)
• Check for Search Console alerts

Weekly (30 minutes):

• Review top queries and pages for changes
• Plan content for the coming week
• Check on recently published content performance

Monthly (2 hours):

• Full analytics review with AI analysis
• Content audit of top pages
• Competitor check
• Update keyword tracking
• Plan next month’s actions

Quarterly (half day):

• Strategy review and adjustment
• Technical SEO re-audit
• Content gap re-analysis
• Goal setting for next quarter
• Review and update your strategy document

Common SEO Mistakes to Avoid

Your Implementation Checklist

Complete these before starting your 90-day plan:

• Google Search Console set up and verified
• Google Analytics configured
• Baseline metrics documented
• Target keywords researched and prioritized
• Topic clusters mapped
• Technical audit completed
• Content calendar created (first 30 days minimum)
• Competitor analysis completed
• Content production workflow documented
• Keyword tracking system set up

Course Summary

Over eight lessons, you’ve mastered:

1. Modern SEO fundamentals – E-E-A-T, helpful content, and how AI changed search
2. Keyword research – Intent-based targeting and long-tail opportunities
3. Content optimization – On-page SEO that serves both humans and search engines
4. Technical SEO – Fixing the foundation that content sits on
5. Content strategy – Topic clusters that build compounding authority
6. Competitor analysis – Finding and exploiting gaps in the market
7. Analytics – Data-driven decision making for continuous improvement
8. Strategy building – Integrating everything into an actionable plan

The Long Game

SEO is a compounding investment. A blog post that ranks #3 today and gets 500 visits per month doesn’t stop working. It keeps generating traffic month after month, year after year – often improving as your site’s authority grows.

The work you do in your first 90 days lays the foundation. The second 90 days build on it. By month six, you’ll have a content library working for you around the clock. By year one, organic traffic becomes a reliable channel that doesn’t depend on ad spend.

The marketers who win at SEO aren’t the ones who know the most tactics. They’re the ones who execute consistently, measure honestly, and improve relentlessly.

Final Exercise: Your 90-Day Commitment

Write down your strategy essentials:

1. My primary SEO goal for 90 days: _______________
2. My publishing cadence: _______________ pieces per week
3. My focus topic cluster: _______________
4. My first technical fix: _______________
5. My measurement schedule: Weekly quick check every _______________, monthly review on _______________

Now execute. Review this plan on day 30, adjust on day 60, and evaluate on day 90. Then build your next plan.

The strategy is done. The traffic is waiting.