At the enterprise level, it takes more than just functional expertise to run a successful SEO program. Much of your time, energy and effort must be focused on building relationships, educating and communicating with non-SEO experts in your organization. In December 2014 at the annual Digital Summit in Dallas, I shared my first-hand experience in launching an in-house SEO program and tips on how to approach gaining buy-in for your strategy.

1. Selling An SEO Strategy
How to Gain Trust and Win Buy-In
Presented By: Melissa Walner
Director, Global SEO
Hilton Worldwide
December 2014

2. Agenda
• SEO @Hilton – The First 3 Years
• Factors for Success
• Key Takeaways

3. The First Three Years

4. Year One
 Launched in-house eCommerce program to support digital marketing for all 3,500 hotels in the Americas.
 Formed first ever in-house SEO team
 Unveiled fully redesigned website and new CMS
 Established dozens of internal SEO standards
 Wrote over 16,000 unique title tags
 Claimed and optimized 2,100 Google local business listings
 Delivered 3 trainings per month for 6 consecutive months
 Rolled out Enterprise SEO performance tracking tool
 Formed partnership with Content Management team – our second set of eyes
 Lost a lot of sleep, but delivered on every deadline.


5. Year Two
 Expanded SEO support to encompass the
entire global enterprise
 Reconfigured Enterprise SEO reporting tool
 Kicked off SEO “State of the Union” roadshow
for cross-functional teams
 Developed more custom training and reports
 Shook more hands, made more new
connections

6. Year Three
 Gathered feedback from cross-
functional partners and made
adjustments where needed
 Analyzed what was working
and what was not
 Re-structured team to better
support and align with the
needs of core business groups
 Received C-suite stamp of
approval for our #1 SEO
initiative

7. Factors For Success

8. Make Friends, Not Enemies
 Show gratitude towards others. Send “thank
you” notes and let their boss know they did a
great job.
 Be willing to be flexible. See things through the
eyes of the other person.
 DON’T be a know-it-all. Be transparent when
you don’t know something.
 Listen to others and seek information about
their goals first.
 Remain positive even if you have to point out
something wrong. Start off by sharing what is
good.

9. Frame SEO As A Multi-Team Goal
SEO
Content
Management
Marketing &
Branding
PR
Web Design &
Development
Product
Development
Successful SEO is the result of a lot of departments doing things correctly….not
the implementation of any one tactic.

10. Drop the Tech-Babble And Be Relatable
 Speak in layman’s terms - it’s
less intimidating.
 Lighten up your language
with humor and wit.
 Keep it simple – boil down
complex topics into easily
absorbed points.
 Analogies are awesome….use
them a lot.

11. Analogies Are Awesome
Example: Brand team wants more traffic and visibility for their off-domain blog,
but hesitant to move it over to the main domain.
Main domain is like a big mall –
variety of stores to shop in, attracting a
larger pool of customers
Off-domain blog is
like a separate store
down the road,
attracting a smaller
pool of customers
“The separate store (blog) will get more traffic if they move into the mall (main domain), than if they stay
in their current location down the road.” – Nathan M., Global SEO Manager
www.hilton.com
www.hiltonmomvoyage.com

12. Analogies Are Awesome
Example: Content team wants to delete an old version of a landing page that has
since been redesigned at a new URL.
“Redirects are the online version of mail forwarding, with each piece of mail representing a
popularity vote for you. If you want to continue getting mail and keep all your votes, you
have to redirect them to your new address.” – Scott S., Global SEO Manager
Old Home New Home
Vote
VoteVote
Vote

13. Analogies Are Awesome
Example: Hotel decided to modify their name two months ago, and are frustrated
by the loss of their rankings in organic search results.
“With organic search, changing the name of your established business is the equivalent of
digging up an established plant and planting a new seed to replace it. It will take time for
that new seed (your business) to grow into an established plant that everyone can see
again (in organic results).” – Ashley J., Global SEO Manager
1 mo. 9 mo.6 mo.3 mo. 12 mo.

14. Use Images To Attract Interest
People absorb images much faster than words.
Visual elements are more memorable.
Charts and graphs are your friend. Use data visualization
to get your point across.
Wow and persuade others through storytelling.

15. View A Website Like A Search Engine
Human View Search Bot View

16. Storytelling Through Data
Added “drop down”
content to a national
campaign page in June to
help tell users and search
engines what the page was
about.
Since then, the campaign
page has experienced a
+74% increase in visibility
within Google’s top 3 search
results pages, and ranking
on Page 1 for high volume
phrases such as “hotel
weekend getaways” and
“destination getaways”.

17. Competitive Share-of-Voice Data
Everyone wants to be #1. Show them a visual representation of how you stack up
against your top competitors.
27%
41%
12%
6%
14%
Google Page 1 – Generic Keyword Visibility
You
Comp. 1
Comp. 2
Comp. 3
Comp. 4
Disclaimer: The example above is for illustrative purposes only and is not representative of Hilton Worldwide or their competitors.

18. Holistic SERP Visibility Data
When SERP changes occur, holistic visibility data can help put things in perspective.
Keyword/Search Type Carousel Organic Listings Hotel Finder Ads
Chicago Hotels None 10 None None
Downtown Chicago Hotels None None None 7
Hotels in Downtown Chicago IL None 7 None None
Chicago IL Hotels None 9 None None
Chicago Hotels on Michigan Ave 1 4 N/A N/A
Disclaimer: The example above is for illustrative purposes only. Actual results may be influenced by personalization; also ad position can fluctuate each time depending
on your competition at that moment. N/A – no listings are generated for a given query. None – a site does not produce any ranking in a given search type.

19. Constant Communication & Education
 When major SERP changes occur, tell
EVERYONE
 Share even the small victories from low
hanging fruit initiatives.
 Identify SEO champions on other teams to
help get things done.
 Establish a “one stop shop” for all SEO
information (and keep it updated).
 One size does not fit all. Train other teams
on the basics, as it relates to their role.
 Keep training short – no more than 2
hours.
 Wash, rinse, repeat – education and
communication never stop.

20. SEO Hotspot – Toolkits and Blog Posts

21. Team Inbox – Educating Others AND One Another

22. Quarterly Team Newsletter
Puts names with faces
Highlight KPI’s, success
stories and say “thanks”
Share industry news and
factoids

23. Key Takeaways
• Always come to the table prepared to sell your strategy to other
teams. SEO isn’t their priority, it’s yours.
• Be the best person to work with. Uphold the values of empathy,
partnership, humility, and patience.
• Tie your SEO initiatives to other teams goals/projects. Ask yourself
who else this impacts and focus on how it benefits the business as a
whole.
• Keep the technical jargon to a minimum. Replace complicated
concepts with sensible analogies.
• Use images to add clarity to your story and present data in visual
format.
• Communicate early and often. Train, train and train some more.