Audio feed[audio:https://www.polepositionmarketing.com/emp/blog-audio/big-picture-seo.mp3]
I’ve always been a baby steps kind of guy when it comes to SEO. According to Google, they, and probably other engines too, look at over 200 different signals when it comes to analyzing pages for rankings. To attempt to optimize each of these signals perfectly would require a significant amount of work and continuous tweaking in order to find the “perfect” combination. Or let me put it another way, the task of creating the perfectly optimized page is darn near impossible.
Some of these “signals” that the search engines analyze are on the page, some are site-wide, and others are entirely off the page where the SEO has no absolute control, if any at all. The goal of the SEO however, is to try to make all of these things work together. They must leverage those things they do have control over, to complement and/or influence those things they have no control over. The idea then, is to create a synergy with the whole that truly is more than the sum of its parts.
I once heard it said about public speaking that if you have to write out your speech word for word then you don’t know your material well enough. But if you can’t write out your speech word for word then you still probably don’t know your material well enough. The meaning here, in case you missed it, is that you shouldn’t need to write out what you’ll say but you need to be able to.
While looking at every last minute detail of SEO is advantageous, it is effective only to a point. One can’t get mired into trying to get every last little detail right all of the time. To do so often comes at the expense other important things. Instead of focusing on the big picture, you’re mired in the little things that don’t provide the return you may have imagined.