| Criterion | Check |
|---|---|
| Canvas traceability | Primary cluster term is matched to the hierarchy stage and intent type from the Week 2 canvas; the rationale for choosing it over the head term is stated |
| Cluster evidence | Search volume or relative interest for the primary and both support terms is from a named public tool with query and date; no AI-generated volume data |
| Intent classification | All cluster terms are classified by intent type using the four-category system from the lecture; the classification is justified in one sentence |
| On-page audit completeness | Title tag, H1, H2/H3 structure, internal links, and PageSpeed score are all documented with current values and assessments |
| Authority evidence | Domain authority score and referring domain count are from a named free tool with access date, measured rather than estimated from brand familiarity |
| Local signals | The local signals note checks NAP consistency across the website, Google Business Profile, and any directory listing, or states [NOT APPLICABLE] with a reason |
| Outreach ethics | All five outreach prospects have a genuine, documented topical connection to the content, argued in one sentence each, over being chosen by volume |
| Recommendations specificity | Each recommendation names the specific element to change, the expected impact, and the metric that would confirm the improvement |
| Assumption labelling | All audit elements without tool-verified data are labelled [ASSUMPTION] with a testing method |
| AI prompt log | At least two prompts with AI outputs, evidence links, and student decisions are documented |
| Presentation | The PDF is readable, all cells completed, citations present, and correctly named |
Week 6 Independent Study and Submission
Self-learning SEO Mini-Audit Development
Investigation
1 Outline & Sources
⏱ 60 min
Choose your primary cluster, outline the target page, and list three to five sources.
Production
2 Draft Page
⏱ 120 min
Write 600-800 words of body content aligned to the primary cluster.
Production
3 Snippets & Anchors
⏱ 60 min
Write title and meta description snippet variants, and define three internal link anchors.
Production
4 Local + Outreach Note
⏱ 60 min
Write a local signals note where relevant, and draft an outreach prospect list with ethical caution.
Assessment
5 Build & Submit
⏱ 60 min
Assemble the final PDF and submit by 23:59 MVT.
Your six hours of self-directed study happen outside class across the week. Use the time to draft your page content, define your on-page and local signals, and submit your final PDF. The sections below give you the submission requirements, the formative checklist, review questions to consolidate your learning, and the key takeaways that connect this week to the rest of the module.
Independent Study
Your six hours turn your tutorial decision record into a complete SEO mini-audit another reader can evaluate, challenge, and act on. Use the time deliberately: 60 minutes to choose your primary cluster, outline the target page, and list three to five sources; 120 minutes to draft 600-800 words of body content aligned to the primary cluster; 60 minutes to write title and meta description snippet variants and define three internal link anchors; 60 minutes to write a local signals note (where relevant) and draft an outreach prospect list with ethical caution; and 60 minutes to assemble the final PDF and submit by 23:59 MVT.
NoteWorking from the chapter’s worked example
The Reef Edge Guesthouse SEO mini-audit in this week’s chapter models exactly what a completed entry looks like: a primary cluster with two support terms traced to the hierarchy stage, an H2/H3 structure that works those terms into genuine subtopics, a local signals check with a real NAP comparison, and outreach prospects limited to organisations with a documented topical connection. Hold your draft next to that example and check that your cluster, your local signals note, and your outreach list reach the same level of specificity.
Your Week 6 submission should include:
- Campaign topic and scope, with a one-sentence explanation of which SEO challenge the hierarchy stage and target segment from the Week 2 canvas imply.
- Keyword cluster: one primary term and two support terms with search volume or relative interest, intent classification, and hierarchy stage match; all data from a public tool with name and date.
- Page outline and three to five sources that inform the drafted content.
- Draft page content: 600-800 words aligned to the primary cluster, with the H1/H2/H3 structure working the support terms into genuine subtopics.
- Title tag and meta description snippet variants, and three internal link anchors defined.
- Complete on-page audit for the target URL: title tag, H1, body content, internal links, page speed, and mobile responsiveness; each element assessed with evidence or labelled [ASSUMPTION].
- Authority audit: domain authority score, referring domain count, and tool name with access date.
- A 200-word local signals note (NAP consistency across the website, Google Business Profile, and any directory listing, plus any local page actions needed) where the campaign serves a geographically bounded audience, or a one-sentence [NOT APPLICABLE] justification otherwise.
- A micro-list of five outreach prospects, each a public-facing organisation with a genuine topical connection to the content, with the ethical-caution framing from the lecture applied to each.
- Two prioritised recommendations: one on-page and one off-page or local, each with the specific expected impact and the metric that would confirm improvement.
- AI prompt log with at least two prompts, AI outputs used, evidence links, and student decisions.
- A 150-word reflection identifying the one SEO assumption that carries the highest risk and the evidence that would resolve it.
- A reference list in a consistent citation style.
Formative Checklist
Review Questions
- Information foraging theory explains why search users are a qualitatively different audience from display advertising audiences. What specific implication does this difference have for how you would set the conversion metric for an SEO-driven campaign versus a display campaign?
- A campaign targets the head keyword “guesthouse Maldives” and ranks on page three of the results. A competitor targets the long-tail keyword “guesthouse with house reef access for divers Maldives” and ranks on page one. Which campaign is likely to produce more relevant traffic, and why?
- What is the difference between an on-page signal and an off-page authority signal, and which is faster to improve? What does this imply for a newly launched domain’s SEO strategy in the first six months?
- A page has a keyword in the title tag, the H1, and used fifteen times in the body. The content, however, leaves the questions the audience is likely to have at the intent stage implied by the keyword unanswered. Will this page rank? Explain your reasoning by reference to intent matching.
- A Maldivian guesthouse wants to rank for the query “best guesthouse Malé.” Classify the intent type of this query, identify what content type is most appropriate, and explain why a standard landing page optimised for this query would struggle to generate the external links needed to rank.
- A student generates a keyword list using AI and uses the AI-provided monthly search volume data in their audit. Explain the specific problem with this approach and state what the student should do instead.
- Your domain authority score is 12 (out of 100) and your primary competitor’s score is 54. What is the most efficient SEO strategy for the first six months, and what metric would you use to track whether the strategy is working?
- A client asks you to guarantee a first-page ranking within four weeks. Using information foraging theory and the long tail principle, explain what you could realistically promise and under what conditions.
- A student builds three separate pages, each targeting one of “cheap guesthouse Malé”, “budget guesthouse near airport Maldives”, and “affordable guesthouse Maldives booking”, because each term returned a positive search volume individually. Using the keyword clustering method from the lecture, explain what is wrong with this approach and what the student should build instead.
- A student emails fifty blogs found through a generic “marketing blogs” list, offering a small payment in exchange for a backlink. Using Google’s link-scheme guidelines and the ethical outreach standard from the lecture, identify the two separate problems with this approach and describe a compliant alternative.
TipWeek 6 at a glance
The central theoretical contribution of this week is the connection between search intent and the hierarchy of effects: a query is a statement of where the searcher is in their decision process, over and above being a keyword. Information foraging theory explains why searchers select the queries they do, and the long tail principle explains why small-market campaigns should concentrate on specificity over volume. Clustering turns that principle into a page structure, local signals extend it to a geographic dimension, and the ethical outreach standard governs how you earn the links that follow. In Week 7 you will add pay-per-click search advertising as the complementary paid channel that delivers first-page visibility immediately while organic rankings are being built.
Key Takeaways
SEO positions a campaign in front of an audience that has already decided to search for information relevant to the offering. That audience is qualitatively more valuable than a display advertising audience at equivalent numbers, because search intent is a statement of need that display advertising must first create. The challenge is that SEO operates on a different timescale than paid media: the actions you take this week produce ranking changes in weeks or months rather than days.
A keyword cluster, built from one primary term and two support terms grouped by shared intent, concentrates the authority a single strong page can build rather than splitting it across several thin pages competing for the same audience. Where the campaign serves a geographically bounded audience, NAP consistency across the website, Google Business Profile, and any directory listing extends that authority argument into the local pack, a ranking surface that sits beyond the reach of relevance and off-page signals alone.
The SEO mini-audit you built this week is a diagnostic document, a step short of a guaranteed ranking plan. It identifies where the gaps are, what evidence supports each recommendation, and what would need to be true for the recommendations to produce the expected result. Measure the outcome against the predicted metric and the audit becomes evidence-based SEO; skip that step and the same audit is just SEO on faith. Any outreach used to earn the links the audit recommends stays bound by the same standard: a genuine topical connection to the target organisation, argued and documented, over a volume play against Google’s own link-scheme guidelines.
In Week 7, you will add the complementary acquisition channel to this organic strategy: pay-per-click search advertising, which can deliver first-page visibility immediately while the long-term organic rankings are being built. The keyword research you did this week directly informs the PPC campaign structure you will develop next week.