How to Create an SEO Action Plan (If You’re Doing It Yourself)

Trying to get better visibility in Google but not sure where to start? You’re not alone.

SEO can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re bombarded with advice from tools, blogs, and conflicting opinions. The solution? A clear SEO action plan – something you can follow step-by-step, based on your site’s actual needs.

In this article, I’ll walk you through how to create your own SEO action plan – even if you’re not an expert. No fluff, no tools you don’t need, just the essentials.

What Is an SEO Action Plan?

An SEO action plan is a prioritised list of tasks and improvements designed to help your site perform better in search engines. It’s not just about spotting problems – it’s about deciding what to fix, in what order, and why it matters.

Why Do You Need One?

Without a plan, SEO becomes guesswork. You can spend hours tweaking titles, rewriting content, or chasing backlinks – but if you’re not working on the right things, you won’t see results.

An SEO action plan gives you:

  • Clarity – you’ll know what’s holding your site back and what to do next
  • Focus – so you don’t waste time on low-impact changes
  • Confidence – whether you’re doing it yourself or briefing someone else

Whether you’re fixing a traffic drop, trying to climb search rankings, or launching a new site, a clear plan makes the work faster, smarter and more effective.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Before diving into fixes, be clear on what success looks like.

  • Are you trying to get more local traffic?
  • Do you want better rankings for your service pages?
  • Are you launching a new product and want it to be found?

Your goals will shape your plan. A local café and a national ecommerce site need very different SEO strategies.

Step 2: Review Your Current Performance

Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to answer:

  • What pages get the most traffic?
  • What keywords are already bringing in visitors?
  • Are there any pages with high impressions but low clicks?
  • Is your traffic dropping, flat, or growing?

This gives you a baseline – and clues about what’s working (and what’s not).

Step 3: Check Your Site’s Technical Health

Use tools like Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs), PageSpeed Insights, and Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check:

  • Can Google crawl and index your pages properly?
  • Are any important pages blocked or missing?
  • Is your site fast and mobile-friendly?
  • Are your URLs clean and structured logically?

Fixing technical issues can often lead to quick wins – or at least remove roadblocks.

Step 4: Review Your Content and Keywords

Start with your most important pages:

  • Do they target a specific topic or keyword?
  • Is the content genuinely helpful and informative?
  • Are you using headings and internal links effectively?
  • Are you matching the intent behind the search?

You don’t need to stuff in keywords – but you do need to make sure the page is relevant and easy for Google (and users) to understand.

Step 5: Look at Your Backlinks and Online Presence

Search for your brand name – what shows up?

  • Are you mentioned in relevant places?
  • Do you have high-quality backlinks, or are they all directories?
  • Are you listed on Google Business Profile if you’re local?

Good links from reputable sites help boost authority. So does having a consistent, visible online presence.

Step 6: Prioritise Your Fixes

This is where the “plan” part comes in.

Sort everything into three buckets:

  1. Quick wins – small fixes with a big impact (e.g. fixing broken links, improving title tags)
  2. Strategic fixes – bigger improvements like rewriting service pages or improving site structure
  3. Long-term efforts – content creation, link building, brand visibility

Be realistic – you don’t need to do everything at once. Start with what will move the needle fastest.

Step 7: Track Your Progress

Once you’ve made changes, monitor results:

  • Are your rankings improving?
  • Are more pages being indexed?
  • Are you getting more clicks and impressions?

Use this data to tweak your plan as you go.

Final Thoughts: DIY or Done-for-You?

Creating your own SEO action plan is possible – especially if you have time, tools, and patience. But if you’d rather skip the trial and error, I offer a one-day, one-off SEO service that gives you a clear, personalised action plan tailored to your site.

No retainers. No fluff. Just expert advice and a plan you can use.

Book your discovery call today.

Want to fix your SEO without committing to a long-term contract?

Book your call and let’s get your website sorted.

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