It's certainly possible to attempt the management and execution of an SEO strategy with only one person at the helm. Theoretically, you can do all the research, set all the goals, and implement all the content writing and optimization on your own-but SEO is a multifaceted and complex strategy, especially as it scales in size, so in most cases, you're better off with a full team.
Unfortunately, there's also a downside to working as a team in SEO. When you connect a number of links in a chain, any vulnerability tied to a single link could compromise the overall effectiveness of the chain. If you want your team to work together effectively, you need to maximize the efficiency of each individual member and optimize communication between members to keep your strategy running smoothly.
Keeping the SEO Team Efficient
Use these six strategies to keep your SEO team operating as efficiently as possible:
1. Formally document your strategy from top-to-bottom. Your first step is to formally document your SEO strategy. That means outlining your goals, your intentions, your brand standards, and how you hope to put all these pieces together. It should define clear expectations for execution and performance, and clarify responsibilities of different departments-even those outside your dedicated “SEO team” (such as your designers and developers).
The purpose of this document is not only to clarify your own vision, which is important, but to have some kind of collective reference that all your team members can access at any time. When in doubt, any member of the team can consult this piece and, hopefully, find a direct answer to their questions on how to proceed.
2. Designate clear individual responsibilities with flexibility. It's also important that you work with each team member to define your expectations for them clearly and precisely. There's a lot of room for overlap in an SEO strategy; for example, there might be confusion over whether it's your content writer or your onsite manager who has the final responsibility of proofreading a blog article. It's in your best interest to identify these possible overlaps proactively and definitively choose who's responsible for what.
The only caveat to this is that you should allow a degree of flexibility-these should be “default” responsibilities, with room for negotiation, delegation, and adaptation over time.
3. Utilize cross-platform software to allow efficient remote work. Most modern businesses have some level of flexibility when it comes to work location. Workers often work from home, from coffee shops, or at a minimum, use multiple devices around the office. If you localize any team member to a single device or location, you'll instantly compromise their effectiveness. Instead, choose products that allow for cross-platform use, such as Hide.me for VPN privacy support, Salesforce for CRM and customer data, or Basecamp for project management. This way, your team can work from virtually anywhere-or off of any device-and you'll never suffer an interruption of work.
4. Institute communication protocols. Your team should have a handful of “communication protocols,” which is a fancy way of saying there should be a few best practices in communication that everyone follows to ensure the effective transfer of information. For example, whenever a task is delegated or assigned, you might require that the assigned team member confirm acceptance of the task with a brief acknowledgment, or you might request that multiple members of the team sign off on a new idea before implementing it on the live version of your site. You don't want to be too precise here or your operation will become too mechanical, but establishing these as loose best practices can reduce miscommunication.
5. Leverage multiple channels of communication. We live in a glorious age of communication; there are dozens of channels for team communication, with phone calls, video calls, IM chats, text messages, and emails often comprising the most common modes. You obviously want your team to communicate effectively with each other, so establish loose rules for how and when to use each medium.
Each team member will have their own unique preferences, but personal preferences don't always dictate the best communication medium. For example, when hashing out a complex problem, phone calls are generally better than IMs or emails, regardless of personal preferences.
6. Tie everything back to goals. Every action, no matter how small, should tie back to a goal in your SEO campaign. We already mentioned the fact that your formalized SEO strategy should document your major long-term goals for the campaign, but break those goals down into smaller, more achievable goals. For example, “double current readership” could be broken down into “post three landmark pieces per week,” which could be broken down into micro-goals to complete each of those pieces individually. Encourage your team to create and follow these goal “threads” so that everything ties back to your overall vision.
No matter how hard you try or how careful you are implementing these tactics, there will always be stopgaps and vulnerabilities in your SEO team. It comes with the territory. Your goal shouldn't be perfection, which is unachievable, but simply a higher degree of operational efficiency. Not only will you have a better chance of achieving your long-term goals, but you'll also maximize the satisfaction of your team.
The post 6 Ways to Make Your SEO Team More Efficient and More Effective appeared first on AllBusiness.com
The post 6 Ways to Make Your SEO Team More Efficient and More Effective appeared first on AllBusiness.com.
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