7 Main Goals of SEO

What are the main goals of Search Engine Optimization and what are some tips to optimize for each?

1. Raw Traffic

The obvious main goal of optimizing a site for search engines is to generate organic site traffic. You want to get as many users as possible on your site for various reasons. To increase raw traffic, there are many strategies. On such strategy that is both important and effective is publishing frequent, high-quality blog posts with keywords and trending topics.

2. E-commerce Sales

A common reason to want users on your site is because you’re selling something. The goal is to convert organic traffic into paying customers. To do this, ensure you optimize product descriptions and images with relevant keywords, improve site navigation, and target commercial-intent keywords like “buying running shoes online”.

3. Mindshare/Branding

Another reason to get people onto your site is just so they know who you are. Even if they don’t buy something now, they will remember the brand based on their impression of the website. Your tactics here should include creating authoritative, trustworthy content to create a positive appearance. Additionally, use user reviews and posts to appear reputable to the algorithm and to other sites.

4. Lead Generation/Direct Marketing

The goal here is to get a user on the sales path. This may be more common for services or larger purchases, rather than just buying a t-shirt off of a website. The site should guide the user onto the sales track, showing them why they are better off with the service than without. Optimizing CTAs (call-to-actions), creating high-value content, or creating free version of your tools to capture emails will help generate leads.

5. Reputation Management

Reputation Management involves controlling what appears in search results when people look up you or your brand. The goal is to suppress negative content and promote positive content. To do this, optimize what positive content you can, then publish high-authority content and use PR and guest posting to decrease negative search results.

6. Ideological Influence

Another reason to get people on your site is simply to spread ideas and influence public opinion. This involves creating content that educates on a particular content. This content should be well-researched and authoritative so that it is ranked as more trustworthy and therefore higher. Also, encourage social sharing and discussions to amplify your content’s reach.

7. Generosity

SEO for generosity focuses on providing free value to users, like free tools templates, and educational resources, building goodwill and trust. To do this, besides offering these free services, ensure your how-to guides and FAQs are optimized, support community-driven content, and encourage sharing and backlinking to your site.