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What is SEO-first thinking?
Most companies consider themselves “SEO-first” because they understand its impact on product, marketing, and development. But, the SEO-first journey is limited to the understanding of the concept. While making decisions for a digital marketing strategy or the website development process, SEO expert professionals are given a token hearing or a notification to run checks after project completion.
SEO-first thinking is the process of prioritizing SEO considerations from the early stages of website development or digital marketing. It executes SEO best practices and optimizes content, design, and technical elements. The goal is to get higher rankings in search engines and drive relevant traffic to the website.
Why is it so important to think SEO-first?
SEO is a long-term strategy. Achieving results through this technique requires six months to a year. Having an SEO-first approach is advisable for several reasons. SEO-first thinking can boost a company’s growth significantly and help to achieve a rank first in Google.
Mistakes are expensive
SEO is vital for building brand awareness, managing reputation, and driving leads and revenue. Any decision impacting SEO negatively can take a considerable amount of time for rectification. SEO can be damaged by the work of other departments, and repair can take quite a long time. A coding mistake can hamper a website’s performance, but it can mostly be reversed on the same day. A PPC campaign posted incorrectly can be turned off immediately and posted again after editing. However, spotting SEO issues is not always quick. As a result, there can be a drop in rankings, thereby reducing revenue.
Rewards can be big
A business can invest in many forms of marketing – digital, PPC, email campaigns, etc. But SEO is the only type of marketing with a vast and long-term impact. If you don’t invest in PPC, the adverts stop appearing. Likewise, if you don’t send out emails, consumers will forget about your brand. With an effective SEO process, you can create a continuous flow of highly converting traffic for several years without any additional expenses. The strategy enables you to build brand awareness, drive relevant leads and conversions, manage your online reputation, and generate revenue with sustained efforts.
SEO takes a community
Search engine optimization involves several aspects. An SEO team cannot accomplish the business goals single-handedly. Thus, there is a need to work with content writers, developers, and managers. Content writers must create copy based on relevant keywords and user intent. Similarly, developers must take into consideration technical aspects of SEO to avoid Google penalties and website performance issues. SEO expert professionals must have an agreement from clients, product owners, and leadership before proceeding with an idea. SEO-First thinking helps in bringing the stakeholders together on SEO recommendations.
How can you promote an SEO-first mindset?
An organization can encourage SEO-first thinking through various strategies. Training and educating the marketing and development teams is the first step. They must know about the importance of SEO and its effect on business growth. Fostering collaboration between the development, content, product, and marketing teams is also beneficial. Their collaboration ensures the integration of SEO considerations in website design, digital marketing strategies, and content creation processes. Performing a competitive analysis and keyword research to identify the target audience and the competitive landscape can also promote SEO-first thinking. The derived data can be used to make website design, content creation, and development decisions.
Identify key stakeholders
Key stakeholders play an active role in imbibing SEO-first thinking in an organization. If stakeholders do not agree on implementing the best SEO practices from the beginning, the teams won’t view it as important either. These include internal and external stakeholders whose work can impact SEO.
Identify departments and teams
Many teams and departments within an organization can help or hinder SEO strategies. You must identify all such departments and teams to ensure their efforts are aligned with your SEO goals. This can include teams responsible for branding and customer service, along with engineering and content teams.
Prioritize teams by impact on SEO
Each team in your organization represents a level of opportunity and risk. Evaluate the level of every team and department. Create a matrix and plot the teams based on how much their work impacts the outcome of SEO in the organization. Give more importance to teams with a higher impact.
Identify SEO champions for each team
Spot SEO advocates in each team or department who are in the “medium” or “high” risk category. These individuals will help you encourage SEO-first thinking in the organization and also promote changes in the SEO process. They are your SEO champions and will lead people within their team to contribute to your SEO efforts.
Motivate from the top of the team
Colleagues start paying attention to SEO when their managers and leaders care about it. Educate the department head about the risks and outcomes associated with SEO, and all your employees will contribute to helping you fulfill your SEO objectives.
Train them in the importance of SEO
It is possible to promote SEO-first thinking only when every team and department understands the importance of SEO. Study the department-specific outcomes of SEO. Help the Content Head understand how keyword research and content optimization can improve search intent and conversions. Give every stakeholder reasons to care about SEO.
Link SEO to their success
When teams learn the link between their work and the company’s success, they are motivated to support your SEO ideas moving forward. Allow the leaders and their teams to view the work of SEO and the impact it has on key results.
Bake SEO into their processes
Apart from educating and training the in-house or clients’ teams, make sure they bake SEO into their processes. What does that mean? Incorporate SEO considerations into their templates. For instance, the content team must have copy briefs. Make every effort to remain aware of the activities that can threaten the success of your SEO strategies.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive digital landscape, it is a must to have SEO-first thinking for boosting a company’s growth. Giving SEO considerations the utmost importance from the early stages of website development and digital marketing has many benefits. Businesses can improve search rankings, drive organic traffic, and increase conversion rates. A company can encourage SEO-first thinking in several ways. This includes the identification of key stakeholders, departments, and SEO champions in each team. Prioritization of teams by their impact on SEO is also useful. Staying abreast with trending practices and improving SEO strategies enable ongoing company growth.
