John Denny outlines his journey in building an in-house SEO department, emphasizing the importance of SEO in marketing over costly paid search. He discusses the challenges of hiring qualified SEO talent and suggests collaborating with recruitment partners, noting the various skill sets needed in the field. Denny also shares insights on structuring the department, balancing in-house expertise with external vendor management.

1. The Basics of Building An In-House
SEO Organization
John Denny
@johnhdenny

2. Who I am (and how I traveled down
the path of creating an SEO Dept)
• 25 years in marketing, early career spent at NY
ad agencies leading brands like
Staples, Sony, Royal Caribbean cruise lines
• Spent tens and hundreds of millions for these
brands on mass media– primarily broadcast
TV
• First search experience: AltaVista in 1996

3. Who I am (and how I traveled down
the path of creating an SEO Dept)
• Currently head up marketing for Advance
Digital (division of Advance Publications, Inc)
• Wear 2 hats
– As a Marketer (in
many cases spending
$$ with media
companies)
– As a Media Seller (helping to develop strategies to
sell products & services to people like me)

4. Our Path To Creating An SEO Dept.
• 10 years ago team used
many media channels to
promote
– TV, Radio, Newspaper,
Online Display
• Began experimenting with paid search
• Learned key role search marketing plays as
part of overall marketing mix.
• But…. Paid Search expenditures started rising
rapidly- started exploring SEO

5. Paid Search vs Organic Search
• Renting a house (PPC) vs Owning
a house (SEO)
– Paid search is immediate, but once you stop paying, the
results end. In contrast, SEO is an investment you own.
– Paid search = market pricing (your costs can go up at any
time).
– 56% of Google Queries don’t show any paid ads at all
(source: comScore).
– Organic listing on page 1 is between two and six times
more visible than a paid listing (source: Enquiro).
– 77% of search users choose organic over paid listing when
searching (source: Content Marketing Institute)

6. 33% of the
clicks go here

7. 33% of the
clicks go here
67% of
the clicks
go here

8. 33% of the $19.1 Billion
clicks go here spent here
67% of
the clicks
go here
Search spend source: Forrester US Interactive Marketing Forecast, Sept ‘11

9. 33% of the $19.1 Billion
clicks go here spent here
67% of
the clicks
go here
$2.2
Billion
Spent
Here
Search spend source: Forrester US Interactive Marketing Forecast, Sept ‘11

10. Organic Search is Still
Undiscovered Country

11. Building an SEO team: Finding Talent
• Finding the right SEO talent is both the critical
factor in driving results, and incredibly difficult
• Recommend you have partners in the recruitment
space to help you.
• The way you work with them dictates what you
get out of the relationship.

12. Building an SEO Team:
Finding The Right Talent
• Challenges to hiring the right team
members:
– There are so many aspects to SEO
(content, link-building, site architecture) a
candidate might know one, and think he
knows all he needs to know about SEO
– Typically only 10% of candidates are fully
qualified (no matter how many buzzwords
they use).

13. Building an SEO Team:
Finding The Right Talent
• You have to find people who have a passion
for the craft

14. Building an SEO Team: Budgeting
• Very useful: Salary Guide by Onward Search
– http://www.onwardsearch.com/SEO-Salary/

17. Building an SEO Team:
Structuring The Department
• Two broad ways to approach the dept.
– Hire people capable of doing the majority of
work in-house
– Bring in experienced “Quarterbacks” to identify
and manage vendors.

18. Local Media: Thoughts on Shifts in
Spending in local Markets

19. Thank you!
Follow me on Twitter: @johnhdenny
Blog: JohnHDenny.com