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Amol Ghemud Published: August 14, 2018
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In the world of SEO, you will find a lot of influential people talk about things that you can do to rank on the first position in Google SERPs. They share basic techniques that have been in use for the past so many years.
This article is not about the techniques, but the approach.
Let’s talk about how SEO can actually mean business.
SEO is a practice, and a step-by-step guide about this process can help you build better rankings for your website in the long run.
But, the steps are never the same for two different businesses! I like to call it the SEO Relay Race Method!
Let’s look at an example. XYZ.com is a branded website for a local business. They offer services to a very niche customer base in a small town and face a moderate competition in the market. This is how the scenario looks like for almost all the small/medium scale businesses before they start with their SEO.
Case: Usually, such SMEs work with freelance SEO folks or small agencies to get their website amongst the top search results. As always, the agencies will promise a lot of things to be done for the website’s SEO, starting from an extensive site audit, keyword research, competitor keyword and backlinks analysis, and so on.
But, when it comes to showing results or highlighting how their efforts have actually helped the business, there’s hardly anything that is presented.
It is rightly said, “The more you talk, the less people remember“!
Problem Statement:
Is there a formula to track SEO success?
My Solution Statement:
My approach might differ from what other experts suggest, but I know this formula works wonders.
We know, there are multiple levels in organic growth, starting from understanding or capturing user intent, to getting a user from a social media group page to fill a form on your site. If we use the relay race method in our SEO strategy in the following way, there is a high possibility of success. Here’s how.
Player 1: (Starting line) – Set up the pace and the foundation
This can give you a head start in the race.
– This process actually starts even before the website goes live.
– Website architecture plays an important part in the success of your overall SEO efforts, and remember, nobody wants to rework on a site after it goes live.
– Navigation and code optimization is easy, if done at the developmental stage.
Player 2: (After getting in business) – Analyze your competition and understand if you need more pace
– You will have a better understanding of the competition at this stage, as you are now aware of your competition and your position against them.
– This is the ideal time for an extensive audit.
– This stage is the most important, as it decides your further actions.
Player 3: (Consistency is the key) – “Games are not won by short-lived aggression, but long-lasting consistency.”
– This is your trump card, as you get to decide in which area you need the most support, be it building links or creating traction on social media for engagement.
– Depending on what suits your business portfolio, you will be deciding who plays the role here!
– This is the stage where you have your goals set and reporting requirements set.
– You now know what success is for you! And believe me, it is not “More traffic” always!
Player 4: (Finishing in style to make a Mark!) – Here, you actually show off!
– Analyze, measure, report, again analyze and follow a simple strategy of what needs to start, stop, and/or continue.
Do you want to optimize your website, drive more traffic and deliver higher conversions? This is a checklist that we follow, and can get your site to rank consistently on top of search engines.
Download this ultimate SEO Checklist which includes On-Page SEO as well as Off-Page SEO techniques that will help you rank well on the search engines.
Finally, it is not a job of a single person or a strategy to win the SEO race. It’s a collective effort done right on time to create the maximum impact for better returns.
Watch: The Relay Race Methodology for Winning in SEO
For Curious Minds
The SEO Relay Race Method is a strategic framework that treats organic growth as a multi-stage process, rather than a single, continuous effort. It ensures that specific actions are taken at the right time, aligning SEO with the business's lifecycle and preventing the common problem where agencies perform activities without showing tangible results. This approach provides a clear path from foundational setup to sustained growth, making it ideal for businesses like XYZ.com that need structure and measurable outcomes.
The method is broken down into four distinct stages or 'players':
Player 1 (Foundation): Focuses on pre-launch essentials like website architecture and code optimization.
Player 2 (Analysis): Involves a deep dive into competitive analysis and auditing after the business is operational.
Player 3 (Consistency): Executes a focused strategy, such as link building or social engagement, based on clear goals.
Player 4 (Measurement): Emphasizes continuous analysis and reporting to refine the strategy.
This phased methodology helps you allocate resources effectively and define success beyond vague metrics like "more traffic." The full article details how each player hands off to the next to build momentum.
The SEO Relay Race Method redefines success by tying it directly to your specific business objectives, moving beyond generic vanity metrics. Instead of simply aiming for higher traffic volume, a successful outcome might be an increase in qualified leads, form submissions from a target social media group, or improved conversion rates on key service pages, which are far more valuable for a business like XYZ.com. The 'Player 3' stage is pivotal because it is where you explicitly set these goals and reporting requirements.
This stage forces you to answer the question, 'What does success look like for us?' By doing so, you transform SEO from a technical checklist into a business-driving function. This clarity allows you to focus your consistent efforts, whether on link building or social media, on activities that directly support those predefined goals. This ensures every action is purposeful and that agency efforts can be measured against outcomes that matter to your bottom line. Discover how to set these meaningful goals by reading the complete guide.
A conventional, checklist-based SEO strategy often applies generic tactics without considering timing or competitive context, leading to wasted effort. The SEO Relay Race Method, in contrast, is a dynamic and sequential framework that builds momentum logically, making it far more adaptable. The key difference lies in its emphasis on strategic timing and context-aware action, which is especially evident in the 'Player 2' analysis phase.
While a checklist approach might suggest 'perform a competitor analysis' as a one-off task, the Relay Race Method positions this step after your business is operational. This timing is crucial because you have a clearer understanding of your market position. The insights gained from this extensive audit directly inform the 'Player 3' strategy, allowing you to pivot based on what your competitors are doing, what backlinks they have, and where the opportunities lie. This makes your strategy resilient and responsive rather than static. The full post explains how to use these competitive insights to win your specific race.
For a local business like XYZ.com, the SEO Relay Race Method provides a clear, actionable path to beat moderate competition by assigning distinct roles to each phase. This structured approach ensures that foundational work is not skipped and that ongoing efforts are strategic, not random. It connects every action to a long-term business outcome, avoiding the trap of just 'doing SEO' without a clear purpose.
Here is how each player would contribute:
Player 1 (Foundation): Before XYZ.com's website goes live, this player ensures the site architecture and navigation are optimized for local search, setting a strong base.
Player 2 (Analysis): Once operational, this player analyzes local competitors' keywords and backlink profiles to identify specific weaknesses to exploit.
Player 3 (Consistency): Based on the analysis, this player decides whether to focus on building local citations and links or creating neighborhood-specific content for social engagement to achieve defined goals, like more appointment bookings.
Player 4 (Measurement): This player regularly reports on keyword rankings for local terms and conversion rates, deciding what to start, stop, or continue to maintain momentum.
This methodical progression ensures that resources are used efficiently at every stage. Explore the complete methodology to see how these stages work together in more detail.
The decision in the 'Player 3' stage is critical and must be based on the insights from 'Player 2' and your unique business model. Your choice should align with where your target audience spends their time and what actions drive your primary business goals. It is not about doing everything, but about achieving long-lasting consistency in the right channel.
For example, consider two different business portfolios:
A B2B service provider, like a local accounting firm, would likely prioritize building links. High-quality backlinks from industry publications and local business directories would build authority and trust, directly supporting a goal of generating qualified leads from organic search.
A B2C business, such as a local cafe or boutique, might find more value in creating traction on social media. Consistent engagement on platforms like Instagram can build a community, drive foot traffic, and support a goal of increasing local brand awareness and direct sales.
This strategic choice ensures your efforts are not diluted, focusing your resources on the channel that delivers the most impactful results for your specific portfolio. The full article provides more guidance on making this pivotal decision.
The disconnect between SEO activities and business results is a frequent issue, often because success metrics are never clearly defined. The SEO Relay Race Method directly solves this by embedding goal-setting and reporting into its core structure. It shifts the focus from a list of tasks to a series of strategic phases aimed at achieving a specific, pre-agreed outcome.
The solution lies in two key stages:
Player 3 (Consistency is the key): This phase demands that you define what success means for your business. Before executing tactics like link building, you establish clear reporting requirements and goals, such as increasing qualified leads by 15% or boosting online bookings. This aligns your team or agency around a shared objective.
Player 4 (Finishing in style): This stage is dedicated to analysis and measurement against the goals set in Player 3. The simple strategy of 'start, stop, continue' ensures that you are constantly refining your approach based on what is actually working to drive business value.
By following this results-oriented framework, SEO becomes a transparent and accountable part of your growth strategy. Learn more about implementing this reporting structure in the complete text.
The SEO Relay Race Method prevents the costly problem of retroactive optimization by dedicating its entire first phase to foundational work before the website launch. 'Player 1' acts as the crucial starting leg of the race, setting the pace and ensuring the technical and structural elements are correct from the outset. This proactive approach saves significant time and resources compared to fixing a poorly built site later.
The key activities in this stage include:
Website Architecture Planning: Structuring your site logically so that both users and search engines can easily navigate it.
Navigation Optimization: Creating clear pathways to your most important pages to improve user experience and crawlability.
Code Optimization: Ensuring the underlying code is clean, lightweight, and follows best practices for site speed and performance.
By integrating these tasks into the developmental stage, you build SEO into your website’s DNA rather than treating it as an afterthought. This gives you a critical head start on the competition. The full article elaborates on how to execute this foundational phase perfectly.
For an existing business, the 'Player 2' phase is the perfect time to pause and strategically assess your market position before scaling your efforts. This stage provides the critical data needed to make informed decisions in 'Player 3'. Instead of guessing, you will act based on a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and your website's current health.
Here is a stepwise plan to implement this phase:
Conduct an Extensive Site Audit: Use tools to analyze your website for technical issues, on-page optimization gaps, and content quality. This forms your internal baseline.
Perform In-depth Keyword Research: Go beyond your current keywords to understand user intent and discover new opportunities.
Execute a Competitor Analysis: Identify your top three to five organic competitors. Analyze their top-ranking keywords and, most importantly, their backlink profiles to see what strategies are working for them.
Synthesize the Findings: Consolidate the data to identify your biggest opportunities and most urgent weaknesses. This synthesis will directly inform your action plan for the consistency phase.
This audit is not just a report, it is the blueprint for your next strategic moves. Read on to find out how to translate these findings into a winning strategy.
The very metaphor of the SEO Relay Race Method powerfully reframes SEO as a collaborative team sport, not a solo endeavor. Each 'player' represents a distinct phase requiring different skills and focus, dispelling the myth that a single person or a single strategy can win the race alone. This holistic and sequential perspective highlights the need for different expertise at different times, from development to analytics.
For example:
Player 1 (Foundation): Requires collaboration with web developers to ensure the website architecture and code are optimized.
Player 2 (Analysis): Demands an analytical mindset to conduct deep competitive and keyword research.
Player 3 (Consistency): May involve content creators, social media managers, or outreach specialists for link building.
Player 4 (Measurement): Needs data analysts to interpret performance, report on KPIs, and inform strategic pivots.
By illustrating SEO as a collective effort where each player hands off the baton, the framework shows that long-term success depends on coordinated action across multiple disciplines. Dive deeper into the article to learn how to build your winning SEO team.
The 'Player 4' phase is designed specifically to address the ever-changing nature of search, making the SEO Relay Race Method a future-proof framework. This final stage is not an end point but a continuous loop of 'analyze, measure, report, and repeat.' This iterative process ensures that your strategy remains agile and responsive to algorithm updates, shifts in user behavior, and new competitor tactics.
Instead of sticking to a rigid plan, this phase encourages you to constantly evaluate performance against the goals you set in 'Player 3'. By regularly asking what needs to start, stop, or continue, you can:
Start new tactics that data suggests will be effective.
Stop activities that are no longer delivering a positive return on investment.
Continue and scale the strategies that are proven winners.
This built-in feedback loop transforms your SEO from a static campaign into a dynamic, learning system, ensuring you can sustain top rankings and adapt for long-term success. The full article explores how to create this cycle of continuous improvement.
The SEO Relay Race Method provides an invaluable framework for resource allocation, which is critical for businesses with limited budgets. Its phased nature prevents the common mistake of spreading funds too thinly across all activities at once. Instead, it guides you to make focused investments at the most impactful moments, ensuring a higher return.
You can strategically allocate your budget by focusing on one 'player' at a time. A smart approach would be:
Invest Upfront in Player 1: Allocate a portion of the development budget to get the website architecture and technical foundation right. This is a one-time investment that prevents much larger, costlier fixes down the line.
Conduct Player 2 In-House: Use free or low-cost tools for the initial competitive analysis to save money while gathering crucial data.
Focus Remaining Budget on Player 3: With a solid foundation and clear data, you can confidently invest the bulk of your ongoing budget into the one or two tactics (like content creation or local link building) that promise the highest impact for your specific goals.
This sequential investment strategy ensures that every dollar is spent with purpose. The complete guide offers more insights into optimizing your SEO budget.
The SEO Relay Race Method is inherently designed for the future of digital marketing, where integration and customization are paramount. As search engines grow more sophisticated, generic checklists are failing because they ignore business context. This framework prepares you for the future by shifting the focus from 'what to do' to 'why you are doing it' at each specific stage of your business's journey.
The forward-looking value of this method is its insistence on a bespoke strategy. By forcing you to define success in 'Player 3' based on your unique portfolio, it aligns SEO with core business objectives like lead generation or sales, not just rankings. This goal-first, tactic-second approach ensures that your organic search efforts are always relevant and directly contribute to the bottom line. As AI and personalization continue to shape search, this ability to build a purposeful, adaptable strategy will be the key differentiator between businesses that merely rank and those that truly grow. Explore the full article to build a strategy that lasts.
Amol has helped catalyse business growth with his strategic & data-driven methodologies. With a decade of experience in the field of marketing, he has donned multiple hats, from channel optimization, data analytics and creative brand positioning to growth engineering and sales.
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