How can you use 5W1H to analyze SEO?

Analyzing SEO with 5W1H means using six questions—what, why, who, when, where, and how—to turn vague optimization needs into a scope and actions that can be discussed. Start by defining the core problem, then clarify the objectives and possible causes, relevant roles, timing, and search platforms before bringing everything together into a plan. The point is not to fill in six fields, but to ensure that optimization work addresses the problem. This framework can help organize an analysis, but asking questions alone cannot establish why rankings have changed.

Start with What and Why: What needs to be solved, and why is it worth doing?

SEO uses content and technical optimization to help search engines understand a website and improve its chances of gaining search rankings and organic traffic, rather than paid advertising traffic. An analysis should therefore begin with a clear description of the need to be addressed, not simply a goal of “doing SEO well.”

• What: What task needs to be completed? Examples include planning a new website, optimizing content, or making SEO adjustments when updating an existing website.
• Why: Is the objective to increase brand visibility, reach potential customers, or encourage conversions? If you are troubleshooting a problem, ask separately about possible causes; marketing objectives are not a substitute for analyzing causes.

For example, “We want more potential customers to find the website” states an objective, but does not explain why that goal is not currently being met. Recording these separately helps avoid jumping straight to a solution.

Clarify Who: Who has the need, and who is involved in addressing it?

In an article published in 2025, Welly identifies website administrators, business owners, and marketing professionals as people who need SEO, covering sites ranging from small blogs to large e-commerce websites. When applied to a specific problem, however, Who is not just about listing target users. It also includes those who influence the problem, make decisions, or could help solve it.

For example, when discussing a website update, you could list who decides the direction of the changes and who can handle the content or technical work. This illustrates how to clarify roles; it does not mean every website must use the same division of responsibilities.

Establish When and Where: Where and when should the work take place?

• When: Record when the problem occurred, how long it has persisted, and when it would be appropriate to address it. The source article recommends integrating SEO from the early stages of website development and continuing optimization as content is created and the website is updated, rather than treating it as a one-time task.
• Where: Define the search platform and the scope of the impact. Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Bing are all search environments listed in the source article, but each has its own algorithmic rules. You cannot simply assume that the same approach applies to all of them.

Finish with How: Turn the preceding answers into action

How should build on the problem you have defined, rather than begin with a list of optimization tasks. The source article identifies three areas—technical SEO, content SEO, and off-site SEO—and recommends regularly analyzing data and adjusting strategies. When putting together a plan, map each task to the relevant roles, timing, and platforms to check whether the actions address the original problem. The specific steps still need to be determined by the analysis results.