SEO Growth Framework 2023

At anew sleep, SEO is a major focus area for us.

We are in an industry with constant development, many competitors, and a product that is gaining more popularity among the Danes.

This also means that the number of searches is increasing every year.

From 2021 to 2022 alone, the number of searches increased by almost 100%. 🤯

That's why we are going all out when it comes to SEO.

I have actively shared our SEO results on LinkedIn. This has led to many questions about how I approach various disciplines.

That's why I have decided to create a guide on how I handle SEO at anew sleep.

In this article we'll cover:
1) Onpage SEO
2) Linkbuilding
3) High Quality Content
4) Our use of SEO tools

Let's get to it. 😎

Onpage SEO

Onpage SEO is all about what happens on your website itself. This includes optimizing titles, meta descriptions, URL structure, content, and more. To make the most of onpage SEO, ensure that:

• Your titles and meta descriptions are clear, concise, and contain relevant keywords.
• The URL structure is simple and easy to understand for both users and search engines.
• Your content is organized in a hierarchy with headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) that make it easier to navigate and understand.
• You use internal links to help visitors find relevant content on your website and improve the page structure.
• You've optimized your site to follow Google Core Web Vitals.

My onpage checklist:

• Meta title and description should contain my focus keyword at the beginning, be relevant, and preferably use CTR-boosters (use the year, "updated", guide).
• URL should be short and precise. For example: https://anewsleep.dk/blogs/soevn/soevnparalyse
• H1 should contain the focus keyword. H2 and H3s should have semantic relevance to the post.
• Internal links are underrated. Start by doing 2 in/out for each post. This means each post links out to 2 other pages and receives 2 from other posts.
• Google Core Web Vitals. It's extremely important and a no-brainer. Start by running a test to see how you fare, then read guides to optimize.

Linkbuilding

Link building is the process of acquiring more inbound links from other websites that point back to your own. Google and other search engines view these links as "votes" for your content and your authority. To succeed in link building, you should focus on obtaining links from relevant and authoritative websites. This can be achieved by:

• Creating high-quality content that naturally attracts links from other websites.
• Networking with industry colleagues and participating in online communities to build relationships and gain natural links.
• Using guest blogging and outreach to get your content and links featured on other relevant websites.
• Finding businesses that sell links and purchasing from them.

I choose to focus my energy on guest blogging for individual links and buying the rest.

My linkbuilding approach:

• Quality and relevance are super important. If we can pick and choose, I'd rather get one super relevant link from a site that only writes about sleep than get 5 links that cover all topics.
• I prioritize sites that have traffic.
• The best links are the ones that come from articles/subpages that already have traffic. We notice the biggest effect from these links.
• We are not afraid of PBNs (private blog networks). They still work incredibly well. Here, we use, among others, Nemlinkbuilding (only for Danish domains). We use this for direct links to anewsleep - but also for tier 2 linkbuilding.
• We use all types of links: news media, relevant media about sleep/health, and PBNs. I believe a good mix does a lot of good.

High Quality Content

When it comes to SEO, content isn't just "king" – it's the entire kingdom.

Without quality content, you have no foundation to build your SEO strategy on. But what does "high quality" really mean in this context?

Let's take a look at it:

1. Relevance: The content must be relevant to your target audience. This means it should solve a problem, answer a question, or fulfill a need that your target audience has. In modern times, we call this addressing the user's "search intent." What's the purpose behind users' searches and how do we respond to it?
2. Originality: Google loves unique content. Copying will get you nowhere. Your content must bring something new to the table; a new perspective, a new solution, or new insights.
3. Structure: A good article isn't just a "wall of text." It should be easy to read and navigate. Use sections, lists, images, and videos to break up the text and make it more digestible.
4. Keyword optimization: Even the best content is useless if no one can find it. Ensure you include relevant keywords naturally in your content. But remember, your keywords should serve the content, not just Google.
5. User-friendliness: The content should be easily accessible on all devices. This means mobile optimization, quick loading times, and no annoying pop-ups.

My High Quality Content checklist:

• Search intent study: Before I write anything, I conduct a thorough investigation to find out what my target audience really wants to know from their search.
• Competitor analysis: I look at what competitors have written about the subject and how I can do it better.
• Keyword analysis: I use tools like Ahrefs and SurferSEO to find the most relevant keywords and incorporate them into my content.
• Content calendar: I plan my content in advance, ensuring it's varied and covers different aspects of my focus area.
• Quality control: Before I publish, I review the content to ensure it meets all the criteria mentioned above.
• SurferSEO: To ensure our content isn't just good, but "top of the class," we use SurferSEO. This tool analyzes our articles and compares them with competitors at the top of Google. It provides us with a detailed report pointing out areas where we can improve – from word count and language use to heading structure. With SurferSEO, we almost always hit Google's first page with our new blog posts within just one week. It almost feels like cheating. 😅

High-quality content is not a one-time effort; it's an ongoing process. This means regular updates, A/B testing of different content types, and constant monitoring of how your content performs.

Our use of SEO tools

In a world where SEO evolves so quickly, it's important to have the right tools to keep up. Here's a brief overview of the tools we trust the most:

• Ahrefs: This is our go-to tool for everything from on-page optimization to backlink analysis and keyword research. It's a complete package that provides us with the data we need to make informed decisions.
• SurferSEO: When it comes to writing content that's not only good but also ranks high, SurferSEO is unavoidable. It gives us clear guidelines on how we can optimize our articles to compete with the best.
• ChatGPT: ChatGPT is fantastic for generating high-quality content quickly, making it a valuable part of our content strategy.
• Senuto: This tool helps us plan our content and keep track of our keywords. It's a great resource to ensure we're always on the right track.

Each of these tools has its own unique strength, and together they form a powerful combination that makes our SEO work both efficient and targeted.

Next step

Now we have covered a lot in this post, from on-page SEO and linkbuilding to creating high-quality content. SEO is a complex matter, but an incredibly rewarding discipline that requires a solid effort and the right tools. But your work with SEO pays off in the highest degree.

Today, anew sleep receives over 10.000 monthly visitors from Google.

A year ago, it was a big fat zero.

But remember, SEO is an ongoing process. It's not something you just "do quickly." It requires constant attention, adaptation, and refinement.

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