Sara Taher talks with Jason Barnard about SEO strategy mastery: results-driven growth. Sara Taher is an SEO consultant based in Ontario, Canada. She has been doing SEO since 2014 and has worked both on the agency side and in-house with a portfolio of many national and international clients. Sara is also an SEO speaker and author. Previously, she was the founder of a startup and completed the YC Online Startup School Bootcamp. Sara specializes in enterprise, SaaS and ecommerce SEO. Effective SEO is not just about ticking boxes on a checklist, but a strategic measure that requires careful consideration and planning. Each task within an SEO strategy needs to be assessed in terms of its potential impact, the effort required to achieve it and its priority in relation to other tasks. This means that you need to know which actions will benefit your website the most, how many resources you need to invest and in what order these tasks should be tackled to achieve optimal results. In this episode, the wonderful Sara Taher shares insights into her techniques for mastering SEO strategies. Sara emphasizes that SEO is not just a checklist, but requires thoughtful prioritization and planning. She explains this using a t-shirt sized model that indicates effort, impact and priority. Sara discusses the importance of understanding client aspirations, aligning strategies with business goals, and making SEO tactics understandable and accessible to the client. She also gives compelling examples of how to do this in practice. As always, the show ends with passing the baton… Sara passes the virtual baton to next week’s incredible guest, Chris Outlaw. What you’ll learn from Sara Taher 00:00 Sara Taher and Jason Barnard 01:00 Sara Taher’s Brand SERP and Knowledge Panel 03:38 Why is SEO Not Just a Checklist? 04:30 Why Do Businesses Need to Prioritize Their SEO Efforts? 04:52 What is the Most Effective Way to Prioritize Tasks in an SEO Checklist for a Specific Client? 05:11 Which System Does Sara Taher Use to Simplify Task Assessment? 08:45 Why is Simplicity Important When Communicating with Clients? 10:37 Which Conversions to Focus On in an SEO Strategy 11:44 How to Tailor Your SEO Strategy to the Client’s Specific Goals 12:30 Why is Site Hygiene Important and How Does it Fit into the Overall Strategy? 13:16 Why is it Best to Start with Bottom-Of-Funnel Landing Pages When Aiming for Conversions? 15:14 What are the Essential Updates Needed for Category Pages? 16:56 What Does it Mean to Match SEO Tactics with Results? 17:32 How to Measure the Success of More Complex Technical SEO Strategies 19:23 What Strategies Does Sara Taher Use to Gain Clients’ Trust? 21:34 What are the Benefits of Taking Time to Reflect on Your Work Processes? 22:55 How Important is it to Listen to Clients When They Talk About Their Business? 27:29 How Does SEO Help with Branded Search? 28:42 Passing the Baton: Sara Taher to Chris Outlaw This episode was recorded live on video November 28th 2023