Best practices for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) might be applied universally, but the specifics of the SEO strategy, and consequently the actions taken, will need to be different for each and every company. And in fact, following the best practice advice can hurt the performance of some websites. So how do you know which advice to follow? And why are SEO strategies different for every website?

So, why should SEO strategies be different for every website?

Different websites should be using their own SEO strategy, tailored to company specific data. This can include:

your target audience demographics
the industry you work in
business goals and aims
website size and structure
ongoing data and performance tracking

Target audience and SEO strategy development

So, how should your target audience influence your SEO strategy? And why? Well, each company is aiming to target a specific section of society. And each target demographic will have their own requirements and expectations about website design and content that meets their needs. This will also have a knock on effect for the type of searches completed, and the type of links they are likely to follow.

For example, if your company is aiming to sell products for high octane thrill seekers (rock climbers, base jumpers etc) then its likely that regular high quality video content, and short form text content is going to meet their requirements, instead of a regular blog, article or research piece. This may make up part of your content marketing strategy, but it will have a knock on effect on your SEO. You will need to use the right optimisation tools and strategies, for the specific type of content you create. And this will differ between websites. But when you get this right, you can achieve have a lower bounce rate, and more time spent by users on your website, which all sends a signal back to the search engines, to confirm that your website is high quality.

Industry areas and SEO

To perform well on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) you will need to make sure that you know what your competition are doing. Take a look at the current results page, and see which unique factors tie the high performers together. For different industries, these unique factors will be different. For websites in the Travel and Tourism industry for example, the unique factors include a high number of images and a high number of internal links. While for websites in the Financing industry, these unique factors include a high word count, and a fast load time. This means you should prioritise the factors that are most relevant to your industry, while also meeting the general basic standards too such as responsive design and site structure.

Business goals and aims

Another key reason why SEO strategies should differ between websites is because every business has different goals. Some companies are focused on generating online sales. Others may be more concerned with lead generation, newsletter sign ups, or driving footfall to a physical location.

Your SEO strategy should support these objectives. For example, an e-commerce website may need to prioritise product page optimisation, structured data, and category page content. Meanwhile, a service based business might focus more heavily on location pages, case studies, and trust signals such as testimonials and accreditations. The keywords you target, the content you produce, and the calls to action you include should all align with what you actually want users to do once they arrive on your site.

Website size and structure

The size and structure of your website will also influence the SEO strategy you should adopt. A small brochure style website with five or six pages will require a very different approach compared to a large e-commerce website with hundreds or thousands of products.

Larger websites often need a carefully planned internal linking strategy, clear category hierarchies, and ongoing technical audits to ensure that search engines can crawl and index pages efficiently. Smaller websites, on the other hand, may need to focus more on building authority, creating in depth cornerstone content, and ensuring that each page is fully optimised for its target keyword.

In both cases, the foundations matter. Clear navigation, logical site architecture, and well organised content will help both users and search engines understand what your website is about.

Ongoing data and performance tracking

Finally, SEO strategies should differ because performance data will differ. Once your website is live and optimised, the data you collect will show how users are actually interacting with your content. This might include which pages have the highest bounce rate, which keywords are driving traffic, and which content leads to conversions.

This information should feed back into your strategy. Pages that perform well can be expanded and further optimised. Pages that underperform can be improved, consolidated, or redirected. Over time, your SEO strategy should evolve based on real evidence rather than assumptions.

For more information, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design. We are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals. We provide valuable web design, SEO, and content marketing solutions to a range of clients, across the North West, including Southport and Wigan, as well as Manchester.

Why should SEO strategies be different for every website?