How do you set website goals and develop an SEO strategy to match?

To set website goals, first clarify the site’s purpose, target audience, and available resources. Then decide what actions you want visitors to take and build your SEO strategy around them. For a commercial website, orders, inquiries, or membership registrations can serve as conversion goals. Rankings are an intermediate metric, not a direct equivalent of revenue. Strategy also involves more than deciding how many articles to write: the type of website, buyers’ search needs, and the availability of sufficient high-quality data all affect the approach.

Clarify the website’s purpose before deciding on design and content

The Da Vinci article argues that goals should be established before designing and configuring a website. Corporate websites and online stores serve different audiences and involve different processes, so the same SEO plan should not be applied to both.

• B2B corporate websites: If the goal is to generate inquiries, content on product advantages, frequently asked questions, and industry applications can address potential buyers’ needs. If content is available in multiple languages, those languages need to be clearly specified to help search engines index it.
• Online stores: Focus on converting visits into orders, using shopping behavior and e-commerce analytics rather than tracking only how many views articles generate.

Even when the initial aim is to increase traffic, guiding visitors toward requesting a quote or making a purchase creates different requirements for content and website flows.

Turn goals into measurable, time-bound KPIs

Website KPIs can follow the SMART principles: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to the business, and time-bound. Define the conversions to measure before setting growth targets, rather than treating “better rankings” as a complete goal.

For example, an inquiry-focused website could frame its goal as “generate a specified number of inquiries from organic search within a defined period.” The actual number and deadline still need to reflect the website’s circumstances; another site’s growth promises cannot simply be adopted. Keyword rankings can be tracked, but it is still necessary to check whether they generate inquiries or orders.

Choose keywords based on buyers’ needs and create content that supports conversions

Keyword research can start by taking the buyer’s perspective: what terms would buyers use to find products or solve problems? Then analyze those terms using keyword tools, search trends, Search Console, and internal site search records, rather than choosing only terms that are easy to rank for.

Da Vinci recommends starting with low-competition long-tail keywords, then gradually targeting core keywords. This is strategic advice, not a ranking guarantee, and it does not mean all long-tail keywords face little competition. Content also needs to answer questions about product differences, quality, and service, giving visitors arriving from search enough information to decide whether to take action.

When evaluating results, combine organic search, user behavior, and conversion data. If you run Ads campaigns, also compare paid keyword data to avoid judging the strategy’s effectiveness solely by a single ranking.

Assess the available data before deciding to produce content at scale

An article on Neil Patel’s website cautions that programmatic SEO—automatically generating pages at scale—is not suitable for every website. It is better suited to situations where a site can provide unique, relevant data for large numbers of similar keywords while continually maintaining content quality.

Without high-quality data, batch production may create thin, low-value pages. Templates may also be unsuitable when readers expect creative, nuanced, or in-depth content. Before choosing to scale up, assess whether there is enough data, whether each page can offer practical value, and whether the content can be kept up to date, rather than treating automation as a shortcut that eliminates content work.