Monthly SEO Services: The Secret to Outperforming Competitors

We’ve all been there: you’re searching for similar businesses to yours, and your competitors keep popping up on the first page of Google. 

The inevitable question crosses your mind—why are they ranking and I’m not?

Make no mistake; this was no accident. Successful businesses are realizing more and more the importance of an ongoing monthly SEO service. In fact, 60% of marketers say that inbound practices (SEO, blog content, etc.) are their highest-quality source of leads. 

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is the process of improving the appearance and positioning of a website on search engines. In other words, the better your website performs, the more visible it is to your target audience. This translates to more traffic to your website, an improved user experience, and higher conversions. Sounds easy, right? 

Well, the world of SEO is complex, and each company needs a customized plan to meet their goals. Once the groundwork is put in place, ongoing optimization is required to keep up with the changing algorithm and to maintain your positioning.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the benefits of monthly SEO services, core components, measuring success, and more. 

What is a Monthly SEO Service?  

Monthly SEO services are ongoing SEO efforts provided and reported to the client on a month-to-month basis that aim to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results. These services are designed to build brand awareness and attract more organic (unpaid) traffic. Most monthly services include technical optimization, backlink building, landing pages, blogs, updates to the website, and more.

A comprehensive SEO plan will look different for each company but should start with an enterprise SEO audit to identify key areas of improvement. Since monthly SEO plans encompass a host of activities, ranging in both time expectations and costs, anyone interested in SEO should discuss their goals and budget with an SEO specialist. 

The Benefits of Monthly SEO Services  

Monthly SEO services focus on driving consistent organic traffic to your website. By continuously adapting to search engine trends, businesses can ensure long-term visibility and success. While it may take longer to see results than Google Ads, for instance, continuous SEO efforts lead to long-term success in your sector. 

90.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google. With millions of websites competing for the highest ranking on search engines, being part of the 9.37% requires continuous maintenance from experts. 

Since many companies have no SEO plan in place or started with SEO and didn’t maintain the effort (this happens more than you’d think), having a monthly plan automatically puts you ahead of the competition. 

SEO algorithms scan the internet and rank websites according to how well they follow written code. This code changes constantly. 

This doesn’t mean that you need to create a new website with each change, but rather adjust when necessary. If not, your website can (and will) drop in ranking. 

Monthly reports are crucial for tracking the website’s performance in search engine results. Not only does it outline what your monthly payments are going towards in terms of services and hours, but it also highlights the progress, insights, and recommendations.

SEO specialists use this report to track progress and make changes accordingly. Since SEO is a long-term strategy, any small changes in the data can offer insight on how to proceed. 

Core Components and Deliverables of Monthly SEO Services Packages  

So, the benefits sound great. But now you’re wondering, what is actually included in monthly SEO maintenance? While personalized plans must be created with your goals in mind, here are some of the core components. 

A solid keyword research plan is the foundation of a great SEO strategy. To keep up with the changing algorithm, SEO specialists must notice changes in a site’s keyword rankings, impressions, and clicks to determine if any action is necessary.

This research allows them to identify what’s working and what should be changed. Since SEO is a long-term plan, catching these changes early on is crucial. 

A well-built website lays the foundation for success. But just as you maintain your home, your website will need to be optimized continuously for the best results. This may mean removing pages that are no longer relevant, updating content that’s not ranking well, adjusting your keywords, optimizing meta tags, and adapting the website according to the results of the monthly analysis.  

This will also help you catch errors before your customers do. For instance, maybe the page isn’t loading well, the URL is broken, or you need to update important information such as hours, contact information, or even special deals. 

Creating and publishing content that has been optimized for SEO is an ongoing task that helps websites rank higher in search engines. This can include monthly articles, landing pages, updates to existing content, pop-ups on the site, and more. 

Content creators create copy with your goals and brand voice in mind. This also helps position your brand as an expert in the industry, therefore increasing trust and authority with potential customers.

High-quality backlinks help search engines understand that content is valuable and relevant to other websites, leading to higher rankings. This helps businesses gain authority, enhance their online presence, and ultimately outperform competitors. This is an ongoing strategy that goes hand-in-hand with creating high-quality content. 

A technical audit evaluates technical aspects of a website’s overall performance, such as structure, speed, crawlability, indexability, and mobile friendliness. These issues could affect a user’s experience with your website and cause it to perform poorly. Since technical errors can occur at any time, they should be evaluated on a monthly basis.

Local SEO services help businesses improve their visibility and ranking in local search results. Monthly services include a local SEO audit, Google My Business optimization and management, and local map search optimization, among others. 

Since the focus is local, the strategy behind it will differ from a global or national SEO strategy. 

How to Choose the Right Monthly SEO Service Provider  

Just as you want your target audience to choose you, there’s a ton of competition among SEO experts, leaving you wondering how to choose a reliable SEO service provider. Take your time to choose carefully; a good SEO company will help you achieve your marketing goals. 

The advantage of living in a technology-driven world is that you can find everything online. Our advice would be this: research, research, research.  

Check out reviews from third-party websites like Clutch and Guru. There’s no better way to understand the quality of a company’s work than by hearing from current and previous clients.

Case studies and a well-rounded portfolio allow you to see real-life examples of customer outcomes. Rather than a company saying they’re good at a certain service, this is their way of proudly showcasing their success stories.

It also gives you an idea of the kinds of projects and industries they work with and helps you understand how they can be applied to your business. 

Professional SEO services are typically paid on an hourly basis, per project basis, or as a monthly retainer. Monthly SEO service rates are based on the type of service and hours you require. If you need a service outside of the regular agreement, then it’s added to your bill as an extra project that month. 

One-time projects typically have a finite contract that specifies the start and end dates. Auto-renewal contracts are for monthly services, as they are ongoing. Make sure to discuss all of the terms with your potential SEO service provider. 

Measuring Success with Monthly SEO Services 

And of course, monthly SEO efforts should result in an improvement in your brand’s visibility and traffic to your website. Here are some key performance indicators and tools that should be considered. 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)  

There are 12 KPIs for SEO to track and measure: 

• Conversions (sales and leads) 
• Customer lifetime value 
• Cost per acquisition 
• Return on investment
• Organic visibility 
• Organic sessions 
• Branded vs. non-branded traffic 
• Keyword rankings 
• Keyword tracking 
• Google business profile metrics 
• Backlinks 
• Organic CTR 
• User engagement

Tools and Analytics  

There are many SEO tools to help you measure success, such as Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Yoast, and more. While you can track the success yourself, many people leave that to the SEO service provider.  

Make sure their monthly report includes specific details from reliable analytic platforms. An in-depth analysis of the findings gives them the necessary information to make recommendations for your site’s growth. 

Realistic Expectations   

Remember the saying, “slow and steady wins the race”? Well, the same applies to SEO. SEO is not an immediate fix and requires time to see results. 

The results depend on how consistent you are in implementing the strategies, how new your site is, and how good the strategy is. With a consistent, high-quality strategy, you may start seeing results within a couple of months. 

Common Pitfalls to Avoid  

As in any industry, there are certain practices that every business should stay away from. If your SEO provider does any of these 3 things, you should consider finding a new SEO team. 

Black hat SEO uses unethical practices that are used to rank a website higher on search engines. These tactics can lead to being removed completely from search results or moved to a lower position. 

Some common black hat tricks include keyword stuffing, cloaking, sneaky redirects, poor quality content, paid links, abusing structured data, blog comment spam, and more. 

SEO is complex and ever-changing, and the strategy should reflect that. Everything should be done based on data analysis. By using the SEO tools mentioned above and having long-term and short-term KPIs in place, SEO specialists can track the success of a project and make changes when necessary. 

If an SEO service provider does not provide you with a detailed report based on data, then you should consider finding a new SEO partner. 

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: SEO is an on-going process. And with constantly changing algorithms come adapted strategies and new ideas based on the evolution of search engines.

If you don’t adapt to these changes, you will lose the positioning that you worked so hard to achieve. 

Final Thoughts 

SEO helps businesses build brand awareness, generate visibility, and increase organic traffic. To fully reap the benefits of SEO, a comprehensive monthly SEO plan should be in place. Since every business has different goals, SEO specialists can craft a plan, especially for your short- and long-term goals. If you’re concerned about Google not showing web results for your website, it’s crucial to understand the common issues that can affect your online visibility.

Remember that a long-term strategy is key to long-term success. If you’re interested in a complete monthly SEO service, contact us today for a free SEO audit of your website.