From Pubcon Las Vegas 2015, in this presentation, Keith Goode discusses the challenge of aggregating, compiling, making sense of, and reporting on the variety of data that in-house SEOs need. Then he discusses the various challenges that in-house teams face when it comes to deciding on whether to use SEO point solutions (SEM Rush, Majestic, Screaming Frog, Tableau) or to invest in an SEO platform. Finally, he finishes his discussion with the 7 habits of highly effective in-house SEOs.

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Point Solutions, Platforms,
and the Politics of In-House
SEO Success
Presented by:
Keith L. Goode
Chief SEO Evangelist, seoClarity

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Your Presenter
20 years of Online Experience
– AMD
– HomeAway.com
– Builders Digital Experience
– SpareFoot.com
Dell (4 years)
– SEO Technology Lead, DCS (formerly eDell)
– Technical SEO Instructor
Currently
– Chief SEO Evangelist, seoClarity www.linkedin.com/in/keithlgoode
@keithgoode
Keith L. Goode, Chief SEO Evangelist
Picture courtesy @chiropractic

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I’m Not This Guy

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THE INVERTED U MODEL OF SEO DATA
Outlining the Problem

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Data Aggregation
33%
Reporting
22%
Research / Analysis
22%
Execution
17%
Education
6%
Data Aggregation Reporting Research / Analysis Execution Education
How In-House SEO’s Spend Their Time

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Data Aggregation
1% Reporting
5%
Research / Analysis
10%
Execution
70%
Education
14%
Data Aggregation Reporting Research / Analysis Execution Education
How In-House SEO’s Should Spend Their Time

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When Will You Know You Need a
Platform?
Effectiveness
?????? – Number of … Pages, Tools, Staff

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Data Aggregation: Paralysis of Analysis

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CHALLENGES FOR SEOS AND THEIR TOOLS
The Politics of In-House SEO Success

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Challenge: Lack of Adoption and the
Learning Curve
• Tools and Platforms are
only as good as their
adoption
• People are Creatures of
Habit
– Changing those habits can be
a huge challenge

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Solution: Demonstrate Success and
Educate
• Don’t limit your reports to
your executive team
• Customize Reports for Your
Peers
• Organize Lunch & Learn
Events
• Individual Sessions

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Challenge: Proving ROI
• Many execs unimpressed
with time-saving benefit
• They want to see new
revenue
• Savings only matter when
there are OPEX challenges

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Solution: Build Your Business Case
• Align your business needs
with the benefit of the
tool/platform
• Most tools/platforms have a
cost/benefit demonstration
• Apply your revenue
estimates to that model
Source: https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/emf-cag/business-rentabilisation/bcg-gar/bcg-gar02-eng.asp

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Challenge: Organizational Consensus
and the Selection Process
• Getting Budget Approval
• Agreeing on Top
Organizational KPI’s
• Surviving the RFP Process

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Solution: Project Manage the Process
• Determine which KPIs are
Most Important
• Determine which data
illustrates those KPIs
• Establish thresholds for
acceptance
• Communicate timelines and
update regularly

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Challenge: Validation of Data
• API keys expire
• Analytics Integration … ‘nuff
said
• Different IP Addresses Can
Show Different Data
• Inside vs. Outside the
Firewall

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Solution: Combine Vigilance with
Democratization
• No doubt – You must be
vigilant
– Don’t wait for the surprises to
come to you
• Democratize
– Others with more specialized
skillsets can keep an eye out
for problems

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7 HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SEOS
And Now, I Will Channel Stephen Covey

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Habit #1: Store ALL Data In Perpetuity
• Ranking Data
• Content Changes
• Global, Page Type and Page
Level Events
• Log Files
• Click Path
• Etc.

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Habit #2: Use Soft Skills (and Bribes)
Liberally
• Buying a developer a beer
goes a long way
• For teetotalers: Lunch
works too
• Lunch and Learns are good
ways to democratize SEO

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Habit #3: Democratize SEO In Your Org
• Social
• Promotion
• Industry Outreach
• Drives Corporate Priorities
• Company Vision
• Voice of the Company
• Proper Merchandising
• Content Best Practices
• Building Content for the User
• Proper Coding
• Responsive Design
• Server Uptime and Speed
• Adapting to Tech Advancements
• Audits
• Analysis
• Education
• Staying up-to-date

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Habit #4: Set Up Alerts! Lots of Them!
• Alerts for Response Code
Changes
• Thresholds for Content
Changes
– Titles
– Descriptions

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Habit #5: Know Your Reporting
Audience/Customize Accordingly
• Custom dashboards based
on reporting preference
– Ask for feedback on reports
– Modify based on feedback
• Custom reports based on
persona
– Executive – Summary
– Specialist - Granular

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Habit #6: Keep Reports Simple
• 2-3 KPIs Per Report
• Choose the KPIs that are
important to your audience
– Revenue
– YoY Trending/Comparison
– Competitive Landscape

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Habit #7: Crawl Often
• Many SEOs don’t understand
the architecture of their
site
• <100,000 Pages
– Xenu
– Screaming Frog
• Enterprise sites

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Bonus Habit: Keep Up To Date
• Yes, you should study
• Read the Blogs
– [Insert long list of blogs here and
hope I don’t offend anyone I
missed]
• Test their assertions
– 98% of people will be anything as
long as you provide a statistic
– Be an active student of the industry
• Connect locally with other SEOs

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@keithgoode
www.linkedin.com/in/keithlgoode
kgoode@seoClarity.net
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