The following notes come from the Bringing SEO In-house without Missing a Beat session at the MarketingProfs Business to Business Forum (June 8 & 9, in Boston, MA).
Presenters: Bill Scully, Director of eMarketing at Siemens Water Technologies, and Jessica Bowman, In-house SEO Advocate, Founder of SEOinhouse.com, and Member, Sempo Board of Directors. (I had the good fortune to sit next to Bill Scully at another presentation on Monday, and later be at the same table with Jennifer Bowman, at the Monday night dinner. Both were as personable, as knowledgeable.)
Qualities of a Good SEO Person
According to Jessica Bowman, a good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) person is “someone who is flexible, with both technical aptitude and soft skills,” including “the political finesse to get people to do what you want them to do.” In most organizations, Bowman continues, “SEO is still an add-on.” She counters, “It’s not something you add on to a project. It’s the way you design, code, and write.” She notes, “The challenge is to incorporate SEO into the development life-cycle. Everyone in the organization needs training: User Experience, Development, Project Managers, and QA.”
Who Do You Have to Convince?
To get buy-in for in-house SEO, Bill Scully recommends considering these issues:
- Who Holds the Purse Strings?
- Who is faced with the burden of planning and maintaining the program?
- Who else are stakeholders (IT, Operations, etc.)?
- SEO staff should be accountable for managing to goals.
- Do you have enough time to do the SEO busy work?
- Requires an expert on SEO, in-house.
Develop a 24-Month PR Campaign
To get buy-in for in-house SEO, Jessica Bowman recommends developing a 24-month PR Campaign:
- SEO changes/enhancements
- Create an SEO Dog-and-Pony show (Show why SEO makes sense and gets high priority. Give it to anyone and everyone).
- Get details on your plan into the company magazine.
- Offer SEO brown-bags.
- Train everyone on SEO.
- Have regular search marketing update meetings for all levels. (Reiterate what you need from them, and what they agreed to provide. Show where you were, and how far you’ve come.)
Steps to Get Buy In
Bill Scully recommends completing these steps to get buy-in for in-house SEO:
- Test: Do an SEO audit, Get a WordTracker Account, start a program under the radar. (According to Bowman, a customized SEO audit goes beyond the tools and stats provided in a standardized report (for example, reports from NetMechanic). Customized audits should run between 80 and 100 pages, including strategy and recommendations.)
- Roll out a small pilot. Work with early adopters. Meet monthly.
- Expand pilot. Success breeds success. Go after easy wins. Ask for bigger commitment. ($)
- Make business case. Share stats. Share competitive research.
- Ask for buy-in. Market your keyword tools, meet with product/market managers, and go after next year plans.
More Information
For the complete presentation, see the handout. For more in-depth information on getting buy-in for in-house SEO, Bowman recommends reading IBM Press’ Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company’s Web Site, by Mike Moran and Bill Hunt. According to the Amazon site, ”the authors systematically address every issue you’re likely to encounter, while helping you implement timeless strategies for delivering superior long-term results.”
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