Bringing SEO In House - Insight from the Experts Part 5
Manoj Jasra - Thursday, June 28, 2007
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Our series continues with Aidan Beanland giving us his thoughts on bringing SEO In house.
Aidan Beanland is the Regional SEO Manager at Yahoo - Aidan is also a frequent speaker at Search Engine Bootcamp in Australia.
What is the biggest advantage for an organization to bring Search Marketing In-house?
The biggest advantage would be understanding. Having worked in agencies and in-house I've learned immersing oneself in products, platforms and content affords a depth of understanding no out-sourced expertise can match. It takes time to get to know how things work, and more importantly, how the people in the company function individually and as a team. I see myself as an internal consultant, advising at every step of production and liaising with almost every department; programmers, web developers, designers, content editors, project managers, sales and marketing. Educating each stakeholder is a vital factor in success, illustrating the benefits of SEO, teaching best practices and passing on knowledge to create a culture where sites are designed to accommodate human users as well as search engines.
On a personal level I relish this bird's eye view of the whole operation, I'm intimately involved with the business which fuels my enthusiasm and allows me to contribute to strategic development, providing value beyond my core SEO role.
What is the biggest challenge in accomplishing a transformation to In-house SEO?
I would suggest communication is one of the biggest challenges. Effecting change in a large company requires diplomacy, clear processes, patience and strong communication skills. The in-house SEO manager must be able to clearly illustrate success that's closely aligned to the true business goals - it's all very well ranking highly for a specific keyword phrase, is it meeting the right targets? You need to show how your efforts and advice have made a difference. Use whatever reporting tools you have available to track performance over time, and if possible, translate this into financial terms.
Once you have buy-in from all departments, people should proactively seek your advice and willingly implement it. Aim to empower your colleagues and share in each others' success.
It's also wise to take a look outside your usual sphere, keep your skills sharp and avoid becoming too comfortable with the same sites. Try to think objectively, don't be afraid of a second opinion, challenge yourself and try fresh approaches to familiar problems.
The rest of the In house SEO Series:
Part 1 - Chris "Silver" Smith - Net Concepts
Part 2 - John W. Ellis - ResortQuest
Part 3 - Rudy DeDominicis - Time Inc.
Part 4 - Jennifer Mathews Somogyi - Formerly at Classmates.com
Aidan Beanland is the Regional SEO Manager at Yahoo - Aidan is also a frequent speaker at Search Engine Bootcamp in Australia.What is the biggest advantage for an organization to bring Search Marketing In-house?
The biggest advantage would be understanding. Having worked in agencies and in-house I've learned immersing oneself in products, platforms and content affords a depth of understanding no out-sourced expertise can match. It takes time to get to know how things work, and more importantly, how the people in the company function individually and as a team. I see myself as an internal consultant, advising at every step of production and liaising with almost every department; programmers, web developers, designers, content editors, project managers, sales and marketing. Educating each stakeholder is a vital factor in success, illustrating the benefits of SEO, teaching best practices and passing on knowledge to create a culture where sites are designed to accommodate human users as well as search engines.
On a personal level I relish this bird's eye view of the whole operation, I'm intimately involved with the business which fuels my enthusiasm and allows me to contribute to strategic development, providing value beyond my core SEO role.
What is the biggest challenge in accomplishing a transformation to In-house SEO?
I would suggest communication is one of the biggest challenges. Effecting change in a large company requires diplomacy, clear processes, patience and strong communication skills. The in-house SEO manager must be able to clearly illustrate success that's closely aligned to the true business goals - it's all very well ranking highly for a specific keyword phrase, is it meeting the right targets? You need to show how your efforts and advice have made a difference. Use whatever reporting tools you have available to track performance over time, and if possible, translate this into financial terms.
Once you have buy-in from all departments, people should proactively seek your advice and willingly implement it. Aim to empower your colleagues and share in each others' success.
It's also wise to take a look outside your usual sphere, keep your skills sharp and avoid becoming too comfortable with the same sites. Try to think objectively, don't be afraid of a second opinion, challenge yourself and try fresh approaches to familiar problems.
The rest of the In house SEO Series:
Part 1 - Chris "Silver" Smith - Net Concepts
Part 2 - John W. Ellis - ResortQuest
Part 3 - Rudy DeDominicis - Time Inc.
Part 4 - Jennifer Mathews Somogyi - Formerly at Classmates.com
Labels: Search Marketing In House, SEO In House
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