Once you turn your engine on, it runs all by itself. Sure it sometimes makes weird noises and you need to get it looked at, or you need to get the occasional tune up, but as long as it is running properly you are in good shape. For the most part all an engine needs is someone to keep an eye on it; unless you want to increase your performance,then you put a bigger and better engine in. SEO works the same way.
When Your Need To Get It Looked At
This is when something is broken, sparks are flying and you really need to get it fixed. When you are not ranking for keywords that you used to rank for. There could be several underlying things causing this, but no matter what they are you need to adjust your SEO accordingly. When you change links on your website or have broken landing pages, you need to make sure you change your SEO. When you search for your company and can not find it. This is never good, you should be ranking and easy to find when you type your name into a search engine. These are all some signs saying you need to fix your SEO.
When It Is Time For A Tune Up
This time usually comes when things are going just fine, but one small thing needs fixed. One example of an issue is when a new online competitor enters the market. You do not want to lose your ranking to a new competitor, so make sure your SEO strategies are cutting edge. You need to have clear keywords you are going after with rich content supporting those keywords. When one of your pages is ranking for another product or service that is not good. Good that you are ranking, bad that it is for the wrong thing. Match your keywords with the content on that page.
When You Are In Good Shape
This is a pat on the back; keep doing what you are doing because everything is running smoothly. When you are ranking first for every keyword you have. Okay, this will probably never happen, but it is a good goal to have. When you are ranking on the first page for several of your keywords. When your interior pages are ranking multiple times on the first page. The more landing pages ranking under a keyword, the better. When you are ranking under images as well. These are all things you should be proud of, and you need to keep up the good SEO work.
When You Can Increase Your Performance
This is a trick category, you can always improve! Since Google is constantly editing their algorithm in how sites are ranked, you should be constantly working on your SEO to make it better. There is one golden rule in all of this; content is king! You can use keywords, internal and external link building all day, but at the end of the day it is well written content that is rewarded.