SEO or search engine optimization is one of the most important digital marketing tools to increase website traffic and visibility in search results. Until a few years ago, traditional SEO was designed and implemented based on a static and stable approach, which focused primarily on improving a website’s ranking for targeted keywords. But today the digital world is changing at a very high speed. Users’ behavior changes and search engine algorithms are constantly optimized. In this dynamic situation, the traditional SEO approach is not able to respond to these rapid changes and there is a need for an agile approach to continuously adapt to new conditions. Now you might ask, what is agile SEO?
Agile SEO tries to introduce elements such as compatibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement in the SEO process, inspired by the agile methodology used in software development. In this approach, large SEO projects are divided into smaller tasks (Tasks) so that they can be done in shorter time intervals. In this article, we are going to review the agile SEO training and the steps of implementing agile in SEO step by step.
Table of Contents
What is Aglie?
Agile is a project management methodology; that is mostly used in the software development industry. The main principles of this methodology include adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Unlike traditional approaches that plan the project from start to finish, Agile divides the project into several short-term parts (mini-projects) to deliver a usable version (MVP) at each stage. There is also a focus on teamwork and continuous feedback to improve the project. You may have heard the name Agile in software development and product management. For example, suppose a project management program is to be developed:
In the traditional approach, first, all the software requirements were defined and then the development started. But in Aglie, first, only the ability to manage users and create user accounts will be developed to provide a minimal version. Then, in the next section, the possibility of editing projects is added. In this way, the project is gradually completed. This approach ensures that something is delivered at each stage and the project improves gradually.
What is Aglie SEO?
Now we get to the answer to the basic question: What is Aglie SEO? Inspired by Agile principles, Agile SEO tries to design the SEO process based on these principles. Therefore, Aglie SEO plans SEO activities partially and gradually so that feedback can be continuously obtained from the results obtained and the SEO approach can be improved. In Aglie SEO, large SEO projects are divided into smaller tasks so that they can be completed in shorter time intervals. These intervals are called sprints. Also, the cooperation between the SEO team and other members of the organization is improved.
Suppose the general goal is to change the website architecture of an online store:
In the traditional approach, all the details of the changes in URLs, page titles, explanatory texts H1, H2 titles, etc. should have been prepared for the main page, category pages, and products.
But in the Aglie SEO approach, first, the task of optimizing the home page title is determined, which is a small task and can be implemented easily. After implementing and seeing traffic increase, similar tasks can be done for category pages and gradually other pages as well.
Aglie SEO principles
- Tasks should be prioritized based on their importance and impact.
- Big projects should be divided into small and measurable tasks.
- Tasks should be checked regularly and necessary amendments should be made.
- Agile should cause cooperation and communication between teams.
For example, in Aglie SEO, big projects such as content creation or backlinks should be divided into small tasks and then prioritized based on importance and impact. The SEO manager or strategist constantly monitors these steps and makes corrections. In specific time intervals (sprints), he plans coordination meetings between the content, SEO, technical, etc. teams so that this collaboration is done in the best way.
Aglie Approach to SEO
Until recently, long strategy documents were written for SEO. As we know, SEO is constantly changing; And the algorithms are constantly updated. This may call into question the research and writing of lengthy SEO strategies. But by using SEO tools, you can manage the SEO of the site in the best way and increase the efficiency and performance of the project by dividing the project into several small projects.
For example, suppose one of the tasks in Aglie SEO is to change the meta description and title of the product page. This is very short and easy. No? You do this and 3% of the organic traffic of this page will increase. Because the task was short and simple, it was quickly added to the program, it was completed and it had a good output. Now you do the same for the rest of the pages, products, categories, etc. Because you got a good result from this work. You have proven that this technique works; The technical team also performs these small tasks more easily.
Steps to perform SEO
So far, we have learned about the importance of Aglie in SEO. In this section, we will review the implementation steps of Aglie SEO and then explain each one separately and in detail:
Development of Aglie SEO strategy
At this stage, the general goals, target group, keywords, and used tactics are defined. The strategy should be flexible and changeable. Because agile SEO is a repeatable system and in the future stages, changes in the Aglie SEO strategy will be made with feedback and a review of KPIs.
Break projects into smaller tasks
Big projects such as content production, backlinks, technical SEO, etc. are divided into small tasks that can be done in specific short-term times.
teamwork
All content, technical, SEO, etc. teams work together so that SEO is integrated and all tasks are done correctly and on time.
Testing and measuring
Reviewing and measuring SEO KPIs is a vital step in SEO. By continuously reviewing and measuring results, the company can make data-driven decisions for growth.
Analysis and improvement
The data and KPIs of the previous stage should be examined and researched. By using this stage in Aglie SEO, we can make the necessary changes and amendments in the first stage correctly so that the projects continue with full efficiency.
repetition
The final stage of Aglie SEO is to repeat these trends. The SEO strategy is arranged, tasks are defined and assigned to people, we test and measure, and finally, we perform analysis and improvement. This process is constantly repeated to reach our goal in SEO.
Aglie implementation in SEO
Above we mentioned the steps of SEO. In this section, we want to explain how to implement these steps. Before we begin, we need to answer these questions:
- What has been done so far?
- What is being done?
- What should we do?
- What ideas do we have for SEO?
Having an Aglie SEO calendar helps a lot to do these steps.
Date: As you can see in the picture, 2-week intervals have been selected. This standard timeframe is sprint time among Aglie software development and product management teams. Sprint means a certain period (one week, 2 weeks, one month, etc.) in which the tasks of people are determined and assigned to them.
Changes: We write the changes that we want to be done in this sprint for the SEO of the site.
Task Description (Tactic Brief): If we have a document or description for the requested task, it will be placed in this section.
Responsible (Sign Off): The person who is in charge of this task. You can also write the name of the person who will finally check the task.
Outcome: What output and changes did this task have on the site’s SEO KPIs?
Backlog: All ideas, future tasks, or previous tasks that have not been done in their sprint are written in this section. This part is very important because it makes it easier to plan, review, and analyze future sprints. We know what important tasks from previous sprints, ideas we didn’t implement, or programs we need to do.
We make this table clearer with an example:
Suppose that our project is to improve the speed of the site pages. After brainstorming and specifying the tasks we need to do, we write them in the backlog. Now with team meetings, we remove them from the backlog and determine their completion in different sprints for people. For example, in the first sprint, we assigned Mr. Rahmani the task of changing the optimization of page X images and putting the reports related to GT-Metrix or Lighthouse in the brief column. After doing this, Mr. Rahmani puts the output of optimizing the images, which is the improvement of scores related to site speed or any other KPI, such as increasing visits, sales, etc.