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Section 1. How to Manage an SEO Team for On-Page SEO Optimization
Section 2. How to Manage an SEO Team for Off-Page SEO Optimization
1st Lets Talk About the Foundation Of Managing an SEO Team
Before I get into the specifics of each section, I will first list the foundational guidelines that apply to both on and off page SEO.
1. Management Skills- Being an SEO director of a large team requires management skills. Its one thing to be able to do the SEO tasks yourself but its another thing to teach someone else how to do it and oversee their progress. “Its like splitting yourself up into 30 little pieces and delegating the performance of each part of you to another person in your team.”
2. Communication Skills- Being able to convey the deep understanding of complicated algorithms without over-explaining. If someone asks you, “what time is it?”, you don’t need to tell them how the watch was built, sometimes its best just to tell them what time it is. Otherwise, you could end up spending most of your time and energy trying to teach them how be a SEO instead of actually getting shit done. You need to be clear, concise and confident when instructing your team and always know the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness.
3. Manage Expectations- In the unpredictable world of Google algorithms, being able to predict how and when the search engines will react, is a vital skill. The sole foundation of a company’s finances must rely on your performance and predictions. Never over-promise and you will always end up over-delivering instead.
How to Manage an SEO Campaign for On-Page SEO Optimization
On-page optimization is all about coding and design therefore, you will most likely not be a very popular person amongst your fellow developers at least until they get used to you nitpicking through their work. On-page SEO goes against the grain of how a programmer would normally code a site and since the programmers are usually the highest paid and highest ranked employees of a web-based company, you must be careful not to step on the wrong toes or offend anyone.
1. Use a Project Management Software- Don’t allow any changes to be made to the live site unless they were entered into a PMS and the following procedures are followed…
A. Prioritization- All tasks should have an assigned priority. Certain tasks are simply more important than others.
B. Organization- All tasks must fit in a timeline. Mapping the order in which the tasks should be completed will help with time management and prevent us from having to go back and recode something because it was done in the wrong order.
C. Collaboration- All tasks must be assigned to the appropriate person(s). Some tasks require collaboration from more than one team member so assigning a task to the correct member(s) will help keep everyone on the same page.
D. *Approval- All tasks must be approved. To make sure changes won’t be made that could negatively effect your rankings. Its a tedious job trying to determine the reaction of SERPS but if nothing was logged, it will be almost impossible to troubleshoot cause and effect. Furthermore, if changes are first approved, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. In conclusion, using a PMS and using it correctly, will always result in projects being finished much quicker, smoother and with a lot less surprises in your SERPS.
2. Be a good listener- Most development teams are made up of unique counterparts that each bring their own talents and skills to the table. Examples are front and back-end developers, server managers, graphic artist and conversion specialist. As the old saying goes, there’s no “I” in teamwork and encouraging feedback and suggestions from your whole team will always render better results. Nobody knows everything and everyone is capable of overlooking something so get everyone involved to minimize mistakes and maximize creativity!
How To Manage an Off-Page SEO Team of Link Builders
This section goes back to the foundation when I said, “its like splitting yourself up into 30 little pieces and delegating the performance of each part of you to another person in your team”. That said, if you plan on being an effective SEO manager, you must first be able to do the SEO tasks yourself before you can manage or teach someone else to do it. Otherwise, it’s the proverbial, “blind leading the blind”. If there is something you haven’t mastered yet then take the time to do it yourself that way you can show your agents the right way to get it done. I have split my teams and tasks up into 16 individual link building tasks ranging from writing SEO-friendly articles and answering questions on Q&A sites to social media and running black-hat software. Here’s some important tips for link building task implementation.
1. Delegate Individual Link Building Tasks- Assigning dedicated tasks to individual agents allows them to focus their efforts on just one aspect of the equation and become an expert in their niche. Examples are Q&A, Bookmarking, Blogging or Facebook.
2. Reporting- Use web-based reports like Google Docs or if you are more paranoid about Google spying on your data, then use Office Live Docs instead. Having a centralized reporting system is mission critical.
3. Time Management- There’s always too much to do and never enough time in the day. Keep a set schedule that will draft out your SEO agent’s activities for the entire month.
4. Use Desktop Monitoring Software- DMS products like Spector Pro allow you to track every move your agents make. You’d be surprised just how much time is wasted when your agents spend 20mins here and there on Facebook, YouTube or chatting with their friends. Nobody wants to be an “office Nazi” but when your agents know that their every move is being watched and recorded you won’t have to.
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