ays to grow SEO in enterprise organizations with limited resources
It can be difficult to maximize your SEO strategies with limited resources.
There are some simple, cost-effective ways to overcome common obstacles in resource-constrained enterprises.
Using AI in order to save time, and improving communication between departments for greater efficiency are two effective measures.
Jessica Bowman and Sara Resnick shared 30 tips and techniques that you can implement immediately at SMX Advance.
1. Use AI to differentiate yourself
Add unique facts, data and expertise that your brand has to the AI content rather than having it recycle generic information, which your competitors may also use.
2. Use AI as your Content
Consider AI as a student intern who is gathering information. Add your own content by using proprietary data, new angles and expert polish.
AI is a great way to get started, but when combined with human creativity it produces unique content that stands apart.
3. AI-based content assistance
AI can help SEOs in a variety of ways, including:
-
Keyword research
- Sort out the query intent (knowing whether it’s navigational, informational or transactional).
- Questions and queries that are related
- Idea generation
- Coding
4. Use AI prompts to HTML assistance
AI can be used to generate headlines and break up articles. It’s important to proofread, and AI should be viewed as a collaborative tool rather than as a replacement for words.
AI also simplifies schema markup, particularly for events. It helps generate schema markup in specific scenarios.
5. Stocking up and recycling content
Follow these steps to perform a content audit, and then refresh it in order to make the content more relevant.
- Look for old content and backlinks.
- Update the content to make it useful to today’s audience.
- If you do not refresh it properly, 301 redirection or 404/410 errors code can be old unwanted content.
- It is vital to maintain high-quality content by ensuring that it is regularly updated.
- Search engines will be able to crawl and find your content if you use XML sitemaps.
6. Linking internal and external
Be sure to use internal linking in order to link priority pages. Team members who may not be familiar with SEO should also be educated on the importance of linking to key pages.
Encourage external partnerships and cross-collaboration on SEO in order to increase brand authority.
Do not forget to check for changes in top navigation links. It is possible that this can change without you knowing it, so be sure to make everyone aware of the importance of anchor text and interlinking.
7. Social Search
Search engine results pages (SERPs) will show your social media presence.
When you conduct a branded search, test how your brand appears across platforms such as Instagram, Facebook TikTok, and YouTube. Be sure to note the differences in mobile and desktop search results.
YouTube is the second largest search engine. To increase your brand authority, make sure that your brand is visible on all of these platforms.
8. Testimonials & Reviews
The addition of E to E E A T is a reference to experience. This is why reviews and ratings are so important. These elements are particularly important on Amazon. They can have a big impact on turning browsers into buyers.
The click-through rate can be significantly increased by using schema reviews markup.
It is also important to combine reviews with customer service and focus on brand queries. Assuring that the right teams are engaged helps maintain brand authority.
9. Branding that is trustworthy
Making users feel secure is vital. Make sure your branding reflects that and highlights its importance in your team.
Remember to respond to unhappy customers. It is not just about customer service, but also impacts your search engine results. This shows that you care for customers and enhances trustworthiness.
10. Automated bulk production and automation
Automation is a powerful tool when you have limited bandwidth.
Consider categories in their entirety, like the background category. Then, identify pages that are related. Analyze associations and prioritize interlinking. Optimize your keyword set on all pages to create a comprehensive strategy.
This is a great way to optimize your strategy. Consider seasonal cleanups for large sites where crawlability may be a concern.
Retire pages that have not been clicked on for 12 to 16 months, then communicate your strategy and make sure no one else wants it.
11. All is connected. Take a look at your entire site
Keep in mind that your website is an interconnected network. Think big when optimizing and work on multiple pages simultaneously. When launching a new collection, make sure to cover all aspects: title tags and descriptions, on-page contents, team communication, and interlinking.
Beware of content overlap. Smartly introduce new pages by identifying topics that are competing and needing interlinks. Retire old elements to keep the site looking clean.
12. Scaling content tips
Three helpful ways to scale content effectively
- Keep non-transactional words handy even if you don’t need them immediately.
- Use your marketing channels like PR, email and paid media, to support your content strategies.
- Influencer-generated and user-generated content can help you to enhance the authority and narrative of your brand.
It is important to adapt your processes so that SEO can be included.
13. Integrate SEO into official workflows and processes
Consider a wider view of the organization in order to identify recurring workflows which may be causing SEO problems and eliminate them. It is important to integrate SEO seamlessly into these processes in order to tackle any problems.
Auditing these workflows will be key. This can mean focusing on development, content creation and other aspects. Think about what SEO requires at each stage, and clarify roles for the SEO group and others.
Here are some common workflows that you should consider:
- Content strategy
- Create URLs
- Sunsetting URLs
- Launching of new pages
- Tackling new, larger projects
14. Product managers should be responsible for certain metrics that are important for SEO
SEO experts don’t need to be SEO experts to understand and act on some metrics that are vital for SEO success. These metrics are indicators of the health of your site.
Here, product managers or developers should take charge. It’s important to add these metrics into their dashboards, and to prompt them to act if something goes wrong.
What is the key? This is the key.
They don’t have to be SEO experts, but they must understand its importance. You’re not just passing the blame, but giving them responsibilities. Consider metrics such as site issues , site errors and core web vitals.
Create dashboards using tools such as Domo and set up alerts when thresholds are exceeded. Don’t forget that delegation is more than just passing the baton. SEO managers who are the best at their job will always be on guard, even when they’re sharing the workload.
15. Teach other roles how to recognize when it is appropriate to bring in the SEO team
Other departments should be trained to know when they need the SEO team for a specific project or task. Create a cheat-sheet to help identify these situations.
16. Automating product development
Test how to speed up your processes using best practices.
If you have a XML sitemap for example, check if your tech team can automate it and if they are constantly checking. AI can be used to help with tasks such as creating schema markup.
Ensure that your product team is also on board, and align the stars to IT rules. Don’t forget about inventory management. It’s important to know what’s available and not.
Automation can ensure that your SEO game remains strong even if a certain element is temporarily absent or has disappeared for good.
17. Every new employee that affects SEO should be trained.
The two shared three ideas on how to achieve this:
- Give VIP treatment to key people like product managers. Consider the people behind your search results and product pages. They are SEO experts.
- Virtual Learning: Create online training modules. You can transform in-person training sessions into online courses. You can also create modules specifically for the online platform. Don’t forget the managers to ensure a smooth rollout.
- Annual SEO Training: Integrate this training into the standard onboarding procedure of your company. Within a year, you will have a team that is well-versed in SEO.
18. All roles should be certified in SEO
After the SEO training, you can certify the people who will have the biggest impact on SEO. Make participation meaningful. Give a reward (such as gift cards) for completion.
19. Train your executives in the right things
Encourage executives to think like SEO leaders. Encourage them to ask important questions during their training.
- What should be their approach to SEO on a leadership level?
- Do their teams boost SEO or hold it back? Or maybe they even affect revenue negatively.
It is important to get them thinking about more than just the basics of SEO. They should also consider how their team fits into the organization.
20. Related SEO elements cheat sheet
Resnick has shared a cheat sheet that can be used for SEO.
Tell your team about the SEO elements, but customize the sheet to suit your business’ needs.
21. Create a chat room for SEO
Create a supportive environment for your team by creating a Slack channel dedicated to SEO. This will ensure that the SEO department can be easily reached, is quick to respond to queries and has backup teammates when you are busy.
22. Send updates on SEO to each role, as and when they are relevant
Update your SEO team regularly. Let them know, for example, that Google is replacing FID with Core Web Vitals and INP.
If you use an internal tracker, make sure that the updates are easily accessible. As soon as the news is released, make sure to inform developers, product managers and other relevant teams and ensure they discuss it in their meetings.
23. You can become a master at SEO ticket writing
It’s important to master the art of writing SEO tickets. This is a critical area in which many SEO teams have problems.
Invest time in improving your skills and creating effective tickets. This will help you to be more efficient and avoid unnecessary delays.
24. Learn to be a master at QA testing
Bowman stated that the best SEO teams perform their own testing. It is important to validate the accuracy of SEO tickets.
SEO teams often struggle with QA tests due to incomplete testing or a lack of expertise and time. Inadequate knowledge, rushing or delayed testing may result in the discovery of critical issues too late.
Some SEO team members may lack technical SEO knowledge while others might be too busy to thoroughly test.
The SEO team must take the lead on comprehensive QA testing. SEO teams are responsible for QA testing. While QA testers can be involved in some tests, the best SEO teams do it themselves.
25. Write user acceptance criteria with ease
Strong QA testing is a key component of this. Your role in an agile environment includes creating the user story, including its acceptance criteria. These criteria are used by developers to ensure that their code is in line with expectations.
To prevent errors, every SEO ticket must include the following requirements and criteria for acceptance. It is important to become proficient in this process to ensure smooth implementation and minimize errors.
26. Get a code monitoring tool if development causes problems
Get a code monitoring tool if you have ever experienced problems (e.g. launching a new feature only to see it disappear a few weeks later due to issues with development). It’s possible that your IT department already has one. This is a great way to save money.
Collaboration with IT is necessary because you will not be able to create tests on your own.
You can also use a tool such as SEO Radar to validate SEO and detect changes. This tool is especially useful when something suddenly disappears from your website, such as the missing hreflang section of my client.
27. Send dashboard alerts
Set up dashboard notifications instead of everyone having to constantly log in an SEO tool. These alerts can be sent directly to teams who are able to address them.
Work with your executives to make sure they are taking action on matters that do not require SEO expertise.
This responsibility can be easily distributed among product owners, managers and developers.
28. Data mashup from different tools
Five different SEO monitoring tools may be on your plate. Grab their APIs to bring all data into one tool. Preferably the one your product managers and developer already use, such as Domo.
It’s easy to hold teams accountable, since they are already used to checking the dashboards.
29. Tracking events and annotations
A lot happens in the world of SEO. Keeping track of your events is important.
You can share a list with your team of Google updates and encourage them to add the events in Google Analytics, or other tracking platforms.
Implementing event tracking on your website is another valuable practice, particularly for new product releases. You can then identify any correlations between the events and observed performance decreases.
30. Maximize your time management
Use your time efficiently to get the best bang for your money. This includes your SEO team as well as your internal colleagues, freelancers, and agencies.
You can leverage the skills of team members by recognizing their strengths, whether they are senior experts or newer ones. Prioritize higher-level tasks in agency collaborations that are aligned with your budget.
Moreover, time management is crucial, especially for projects and launches. For successful execution when working with tight deadlines, it is important to consider the following:
- Establish realistic deadlines.
- Send meeting invitations at the right time.
- Keep a strategic mindset.
This method emphasizes the importance for achieving goals of a good time allocation.
The article 30 ways enterprises can grow SEO with limited resource first appeared on Search Engine Land.