What Makes your SEO Fail (and how to fix it)

#seosuccess by @aleyda from @orainti for #brightonseo
WHAT MAKES YOUR SEO FAIL  
(AND HOW TO FIX IT)

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When I started
working as an SEO at
an agency, I felt I was
handling too many
clients to go as in-
depth as needed…

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Then I worked  
in-house but got
minimum development
support to execute
due to resources /
timing constraints

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Then I moved to
another in-house
position, assured tech
resources… but got
business model
constraints

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Then I worked  
at another agency with
far less clients, mostly
big brands, with high
bureaucracy and very
slow execution pace

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Thanks @WillmannTobias! https://twitter.com/WillmannTobias/status/1154113730894008320
Achieving
SEO success is
complex

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Need of
multidisciplinary
& cross-
departmental
support
Complex to
understand
High
dependability on
external factors &
resources
On-going and
yet flexible
process
SEO success is difficult  
because of the nature of SEO
Long-term
results

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#seofail by @aleyda from @orainti for #brightonseo
https://twitter.com/aleyda/status/1163809007854747650
But which are the
causes for SEO
processes failure?  
I did a survey!

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https://docs.google.com/forms/d/104st26vG1MQjgYMOwAA3gGfD2j4BQRaHbz7Oel6kGqg/
With the option to add any additional cause too

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I got 534 answers with their  
top 3 causes of SEO failure

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Let’s take a look at the  
Why SEO Processes Fail survey results

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Notice the difference between the top 2 causes,
which are about resources vs. the rest

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In fact, the top 3
causes are related
to budget/
resources issues!

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The top 5 failure
causes have to
do with SEO
execution
challenges

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The first SEO
analysis cause is
in No. 7

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When
organizing per
type, the top
causes are from
budget, client
management,
and restrictions
issues

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Avoiding these top issues will likely  
minimize SEO failure!
Lack of Budget
and resources for
content, technical
and link building
implementation
Client/Project
Communication
Management issues
through the SEO
process
Implementations
restrictions and
lack of flexibility to
execute
recommendations

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But, are all these really part of an  
SEO specialist/consultant job?

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They’re causing your SEO failure so you better
learn how to fix them! Let’s see how.

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Validate that there’s
a real fit and
alignment with
client/decision
maker for an SEO
process
1.

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The lack of resources and restrictions issues start
when the SEO process is qualified and sold
Is there real fit
for SEO?
Are the
expectations
aligned?

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There are 4 fundamental criteria to qualify by  
identifying fit and align expectations in SEO
There should be
budget to invest and
team involvement to
support in content,
development and link
building
There should be
flexibility in the used
Web platform and
established processes
to implement SEO
actions
There’s acceptance
that results will be
tied to execution
and context, so
results might need
to be updated, along
actions priorities if
these change
There should be
willingness to wait
long-term and
execute at an on-
going basis to see
results
Resources Flexibility Goals Context

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solution_selling
Diagnosing
customer needs
Crafting a
potential solution
Establishing
value
Understanding
the buying center
/ decision making
unit (DMU)
Positioning
proof, ROI and
the total solution
Negotiating a
win-win solution
Following up to
ensure customer
success
Prospecting
Follow a solutions sales process, in which an SEO
specialist and decision makers should be involved

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Although ideal scenarios are unlikely, we can
maximize the chances to have w/ “better clients”
Thanks @rebelytics!

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Afraid you will
never close a new
SEO client or find
a new job?

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Position yourself in the SEO market to attract the
right clients (what makes you the best for them?)
What’s your
specialization? SEO
area, sector, platforms,
company size
Why they should
trust you vs. others?
Establish trust based
on your experience
and past results
Why is
easier to work
with you? Make it
more convenient by
developing your own
tools, frameworks to
facilitate the
process

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Like Els in UX & CRO

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A great fit and alignment w/ the decision maker is
fundamental, so they can become your champion

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Otherwise there will be more chances  
to end up in these SEO failure scenarios
Thanks @IRGwebsites!

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Low number of great clients > High number of bad clients
Remember that it should be about  
a positive ROI, not raw clients numbers

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Follow @aprildunford and read https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
Follow @aprildunford and read Obviously
Awesome to learn about positioning

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Facilitate execution w/ actionable, prioritized,
incremental, validated recommendations
2.

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Your SEO process success
relies in your capacity to
get your recommendations
executed

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Although there might be always factors  
out there that are not under our control…

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Not showing
how the issues
impact the site
growth
Too long and
difficult to read
document
Not connecting
with site ultimate
business goals
Not
prioritizing
based on the
impact and
criticality
Focusing on
the issues
without specifying
solutions
Lack of
continuous
communication
and validation
during
execution
Lack of
continuous
monitoring of
execution
impact
… you can also facilitate SEO execution & growth
by avoiding one-time reccos with these issues

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…while following certain principles that will
facilitate their implementation & maximize impact
Strategical
Contextual
Segmented
Prioritized
Actionable
Incremental
Iterative

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SEO audits shouldn’t be just a checklist  
validating isolated optimization issues
YOUR SITE
LINKS
POPULARITY
TECHNICAL CONFIGURATION
CRAWLABILITY & INDEXABILITY
CONTENT
RELEVANCE

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YOUR SITE
LINKS
POPULARITY
CONTENT
RELEVANCE
CONTEXT
CURRENT RANKINGS
STRATEGY
COMPETITION RANKINGS
AUDIENCE SEARCH BEHAVIOR
SERPS CHARACTERISTICS
WEBSITE BUSINESS MODEL
BUSINESS & MKT GOALS
MARKETING ACTIVITIES
OTHER DIGITAL CHANNELS
But the analysis that takes into consideration
context & strategy to drive the SEO process

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1. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE X
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE SITE RANKINGS?
WHERE HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS GENERATED?
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nshot
SCENARIO 1
HOW CAN IT BE FIXED?
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nshot
SCENARIO 1
Scree
nshot
SEO EFFECT
OPTIMIZATION STATUS
IMPLEMENTATION DIFFICULTY
IMPLEMENTATION RESOURCES
BUSINESS IMPORTANCE
Defining actions w/ importance, difficulty, resources
showing how to fix each meaningful issue
1. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE X
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE SITE RANKINGS?
WHERE HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS GENERATED?
Scree
nshot
SCENARIO 1
HOW CAN IT BE FIXED?
Scree
nshot
SCENARIO 1
Scree
nshot
SEO
Effect
Affected
Areas
Business
Importance
Optimization
Status
Execution
Difficulty
Required
resources
Priority
High Paginations Medium Low Low Technical High

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Making them easy to follow with examples,
screenshots and actionable wording
Type A
Type B
Scenario 1: Update the canonicalization tag to self-refer to URLs without /

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Showing how the issue is affecting the site current
rankings/traffic/conversions vs. competitors
YOUR SITE

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X TYPE OF PAGES WHICH ARE  
ERRONEOUSLY CANONICALIZED
TO WHICH PAGES
ARE THEY
CANONICALIZED?
FROM WHICH PAGES
THEY’RE LINKED?
WHAT’S THE SIMILARITY
WITH THE PAGES THEY’RE
CANONICALIZED TO?
HOW MANY LINKS GO
TO EVERY PAGE?
ARE THE PAGES TO
WHICH THEY’RE
CANONICALIZED
INDEXABLE?
ARE THE LINKS
FOLLOWED?
Segmenting and attaching affected pages of each
scenario including data to facilitate implementation

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HIGH PRIORITY  
HIGH IMPACT WITH LOW DIFFICULTY
MEDIUM PRIORITY 
HIGH IMPACT WITH MEDIUM DIFFICULTY 
MEDIUM IMPACT WITH LOW DIFFICULTY
LOW PRIORITY
MEDIUM IMPACT WITH MEDIUM DIFFICULTY
HIGH IMPACT WITH HIGH DIFFICULTY
DON’T PRIORITIZE
MEDIUM IMPACT WITH HIGH DIFFICULTY
LOW IMPACT
IMPACT
1
3
2
+ DIFFICULTY
+
-
2
3
Establishing an implementation priority based on
the impact and difficulty of each recommendation

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RECOMMENDATIONS AFFECTED AREAS SEO EFFECT
BUSINESS
IMPORTANCE
CURRENT
OPTIMIZATION
CONTENT
SUPPORT
TECH
SUPPORT
LINKBUILDING
SUPPORT
IDEAL
PRIORITY
NOINDEX AND BLOCK
CRAWLING OF INTERNAL
SEARCH RESULT PAGES THAT
GENERATE CONTENT
DUPLICATION
INTERNAL SEARCH
RESULT PAGES
HIGH LOW LOW NO YES NO 2
INDEX THE PAGES OF
COLORED FILTERS WITH
SEARCH VOLUME HIGHER
THAN 100
COLORED
FILTERED PAGES
OF SUB-
CATEGORIES
HIGH HIGH LOW YES YES NO 1
301 REDIRECT OLD PAGES
WITH 404 HTTP STATUS
PAGES ATTRACTING
EXTERNAL LINKS
OLD BLOG POSTS
FROM PREVIOUS
BLOG VERSION
MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW NO YES NO 3
DIFFERENTIATE SUB-
CATEGORIES pages TITLES
INCLUDING THE SUB-
CATEGORY NAME IN THEM
SUB-CATEGORY
PAGES
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO 4
X Page A LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD
Y Page B MEDIUM LOW MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD
Z Page C LOW LOW MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD
Putting in context in a recommendations matrix
documenting their characteristics and priority

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RECOMMENDATIONS AFFECTED AREAS SEO EFFECT
BUSINESS
IMPORTANCE
CURRENT
OPTIMIZATION
CONTENT
SUPPORT
TECH
SUPPORT
LINKBUILDING
SUPPORT
IDEAL
PRIORITY
SEO
ITERATION
TO INCLUDE
IT
NOINDEX AND BLOCK
GENERATE CONTENT
DUPLICATION
INTERNAL SEARCH
RESULT PAGES
HIGH LOW LOW NO YES NO 2 1ST
INDEX THE PAGES OF
THAN 100
COLORED
FILTERED PAGES
OF SUB-
CATEGORIES
HIGH HIGH LOW YES YES NO 1 1ST
PAGES ATTRACTING
EXTERNAL LINKS
OLD BLOG POSTS
FROM PREVIOUS
BLOG VERSION
MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW NO YES NO 3 2ND
DIFFERENTIATE SUB-
INCLUDING THE SUB-
SUB-CATEGORY
PAGES
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO 4 2ND
X Page A LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD NONE
Y Page B MEDIUM LOW MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD NONE
Z Page C LOW LOW MEDIUM YES YES NO TBD NONE
Keeping only those to be ideally included in the  
initial SEO iterations due to their high priority

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Why is important?
How does it affect the site rankings?
Where it has been found and how is generated?
Screensh
ot
Scenario 1
How can it be fixed?
Screensh
ot
Scenario 1
Screensh
ot
Efecto SEO
Areas
Afectadas
Importancia
Negocio
Estado
Optimización
Dificultad
Ejecución
Recursos
Ejecución
Prioridad
ALTO
PAGINACIONE
S
MEDIO BAJO NA TECNICO 1
1. Recommendation to improve X
Screensh
ot
Why is important?
Screensho
t
Scenario 1
Screensho
t
Scenario 1
Screensho
t
Efecto SEO
Areas
Afectadas
Importancia
Negocio
Estado
Optimización
Dificultad
Ejecución
Recursos
Ejecución
Prioridad
ALTO PAGINACIONES MEDIO BAJO NA TECNICO 2
2. Recommendation to fix Y
Screensho
t
Why is important?
Screensh
ot
Scenario 1
Screensh
ot
Scenario 1
Screensh
ot
Efecto SEO
Areas
Afectadas
Importancia
Negocio
Estado
Optimización
Dificultad
Ejecución
Recursos
Ejecución
Prioridad
ALTO PAGINACIONES MEDIO BAJO NA TECNICO 3
3. Recommendation to improve Z
Screensh
ot
START
WITH
HIGHEST
PRIORITY
Organizing your SEO recommendations  
starting with the highest priority one

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RECOMMENDATIONS
AFFECTED
AREAS
SEO EFFECT
BUSINESS
IMPORTANC
E
CURRENT
OPTIMIZATI
ON
CONTENT
SUPPORT
TECH
SUPPORT
LINKBUILDIN
G SUPPORT
IDEAL
PRIORITY
PAGE
NOINDEX AND BLOCK
GENERATE CONTENT
DUPLICATION
INTERNAL
SEARCH RESULT
PAGES
HIGH LOW LOW NO YES NO 2 1
INDEX THE PAGES OF
THAN 100
COLORED
FILTERED
PAGES OF SUB-
CATEGORIES
HIGH HIGH LOW YES YES NO 1 5
PAGES ATTRACTING
EXTERNAL LINKS
OLD BLOG
POSTS FROM
PREVIOUS
BLOG VERSION
MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW NO YES NO 3 10
DIFFERENTIATE SUB-
INCLUDING THE SUB-
SUB-CATEGORY
PAGES
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO 4 15
Using the recommendations matrix as a summary  
and index to facilitate going through them

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RECOMMENDATIONS
AFFECTED
AREAS
SEO EFFECT
BUSINESS
IMPORTANC
E
CURRENT
OPTIMIZATI
ON
CONTENT
SUPPORT
TECH
SUPPORT
LINKBUILDIN
G SUPPORT
IDEAL
PRIORITY
IMPLEMENTAT
ION
DIFFICULTY
VALIDATE
D
PRIORITY
PAGE
NOINDEX AND BLOCK
GENERATE CONTENT
DUPLICATION
INTERNAL
SEARCH RESULT
PAGES
HIGH LOW LOW NO YES NO 2 LOW 1 1
INDEX THE PAGES OF
THAN 100
COLORED
FILTERED
PAGES OF SUB-
CATEGORIES
HIGH HIGH LOW YES YES NO 1 MEDIUM 2 5
PAGES ATTRACTING
EXTERNAL LINKS
OLD BLOG
POSTS FROM
PREVIOUS
BLOG VERSION
MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW NO YES NO 3 MEDIUM 4 10
DIFFERENTIATE SUB-
INCLUDING THE SUB-
SUB-CATEGORY
PAGES
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO 4 MEDIUM 3 15
Presenting the recommendations, while validating
their difficulty, feasibility & priority w/ stakeholders

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YOUR SITE
CONTENT
RELEVANCE
LINKS
POPULARITY
HIGH
MEDIUM
LOW
PR
COPYWRITING
DEVELOPMENT
Verifying together the availability of the connected
resources that will be required in each SEO area

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Is there anything critical not doable to execute?
Why? Find alternatives with similar outcomes!
VIA XML
SITEMAP?
VIA HTTP
HEADER?
VIA GTM?
VIA EDGE
SEO / CDN?
HTML HEAD CAN’T
BE EDITED TO
IMPLEMENT
HREFLANG

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Use the matrix to set a feasible execution calendar
validated with stakeholders
RECOMMENDATIONS
AFFECTED
AREAS
SEO
EFFECT
BUSINESS
IMPORTANCE
CURRENT
OPTIMIZATION
CONTENT
SUPPORT
TECH
SUPPORT
LINKBUILDING
SUPPORT
IMPLEMENTATION
DIFFICULTY
VALIDATED
PRIORITY
PAGE
PERSON IN
CHARGE
IMPLEMENTA
TION DATE
LAUNCHING
DATE
NOINDEX AND BLOCK
SEARCH RESULT PAGES
THAT GENERATE CONTENT
DUPLICATION
INTERNAL
SEARCH RESULT
PAGES
HIGH LOW LOW NO YES NO LOW 1 1 MARIA 01/08/2019 15/08/2019
INDEX THE PAGES OF
THAN 100
COLORED
FILTERED PAGES
OF SUB-
CATEGORIES
HIGH HIGH LOW YES YES NO MEDIUM 2 5 MARIA 15/08/2019 30/08/2019
PAGES ATTRACTING
EXTERNAL LINKS
OLD BLOG
POSTS FROM
PREVIOUS BLOG
VERSION
MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW NO YES NO MEDIUM 4 10 JAVIER 30/08/2019 15/09/2019
DIFFERENTIATE SUB-
INCLUDING THE SUB-
SUB-CATEGORY
PAGES
MEDIUM MEDIUM MEDIUM YES YES NO MEDIUM 3 15 JAVIER 15/09/2019 30/09/2019
WHAT WHY
WHERE WHO WHEN

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PRE-LAUNCH
VALIDATION: OK?
IMPLEMENTATION
YES
NO
YES
CONTINOUS
VALIDATION
LAUNCH
NO
FIX
POST-
LAUNCHING
VALIDATION:
OK?
YES
NO
FIX
FIX
CONTINOUS
VALIDATION: OK?
EVERY TUESDAY EVERY THURSDAY CONTINUOUS
Agreeing on an on-going implementation and
validation process that aligns w/ existing workflow

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Deepcrawl, Ryte, Botify, OnCrawl
Setting recurrent crawls to continuously validate
the optimization status after each release

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Developing  
SEO trainings,
Webinars,
manuals, protocols
and Wikis for
better SEO
understanding &
alignment across
team members

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To minimize the
chances of
misunderstandings
Thanks @lilyraynyc

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LittleWarden and Contentking
Setting real time
SEO monitoring
and alerts
systems, to be
warned if
anything changes
unexpectedly

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Because you want to cover your back and identify
issues fast in case things don’t go as expected

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Thanks @Chrisgreen87! https://twitter.com/chrisgreen87/status/1157019788729827333
It’s about simplifying and prioritizing to facilitate
execution by avoiding overwhelming stakeholders

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While being prepared with alternatives  
and covered for worst-cases scenarios

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Minimize restrictions with a fluid and agile
communication with clients/stakeholders
3.

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Thanks @areej_abuali! https://www.slideshare.net/areejabuali/restructuring-websites-to-improve-indexability-140072104
Remember that as an SEO you  
become other people’s consultants

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Thanks @thecoolestcool and @sam_marsden
Learn to communicate SEO value and win people
support by showing how you can help them

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Everything is far easier
if you have an internal
SEO champion among
the decision makers
Thanks @leximills and @Chrisgreen87

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#auditoriaseo en #seoday por @aleyda de @orainti
Thanks @izzieonfire! https://twitter.com/izzionfire/status/1160920277703897092
Communicating with
ambiguity and
technicalities won’t
help

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Thanks @stekenwright https://twitter.com/stekenwright/status/1163690546961035264
Like Stephen Kenwright proposes here

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KPIS YOU MONITOR
REVENUE
TRAFFIC
RANKINGS
INDEXABILITY
CRAWLABILITY LINKS
Personalize your reports based on stakeholders  
and what they're responsible (and care) for
KPIS YOU SHARE WITH DEVELOPMENT TEAM
INDEXABILITY
CRAWLABILITY
KPIS YOU SHARE WITH PR TEAM
LINKS
KPIS YOU SHARE WITH MARKETING TEAM
REVENUE
TRAFFIC
RANKINGS
TRAFFIC

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X % REVENUE GROWTH IN X & Y AREAS IN N MONTHS
X % ORGANIC TRAFFIC GROWTH IN X & Y AREAS IN N MONTHS
X % OF RANKINGS VISIBILITY GROWTH FOR Z TOPICS IN N MONTHS
X % ROI IN N MONTHS
WHAT HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED?
WHAT WE WILL DO NEXT TO IMPROVE?
Y ACTION WITH X RESOURCES DURING Z TIME
Z ACTION WITH N RESOURCES DURING Z TIME
Make your reports actionable, with specific actions
to take based on what you inform about

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Learn to word & format your messages based on
audience to be relevant, actionable & get support
Recommendations
Presentations
Follow-Up Calls
Reports
…
Why
should this
matter to the
other
person?
What’s the
issue and
expected
outcome?
How can
this person
help to make
it happen?
What are
the next
steps to
take?
…
What are
the
alternatives?

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https://www.crystalknows.com
You can use tools
like Crystal to
better understand
stakeholders
personalities to
craft your message

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https://www.crystalknows.com
Like, learning how to persuade 
Kelvin Newman to take action

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Read these books to learn how to better  
communicate, connect and influence others

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SEO Issues
SEO Opportunities
It’s about refining how
you communicate SEO
to get more support
& understanding

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Ready to be a more effective SEO?
Positioning Prioritization Communication

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I reckon these might not be popular topics  
but they’re critical to succeed in SEO
Thanks @MyNameIsTylor

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Because for experienced specialists,  
SEO is an execution, not a knowledge problem
Thanks @kevin_indig

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https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/search-engine-optimization/successful-seo-consulting-tips/
One of the reasons
why I started my own
SEO consultancy, to
have more control
with whom I work
with and how. Here
are more tips that you
can take a look at!

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#strategicalseo by @aleyda from @orainti for buyma
* SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti
* SEO Speaker at +100 Events in +20 countries
* Crawling Mondays YouTube SEO Series Host
* Author “SEO. Las Claves Esenciales.”
* Blogger in Search Engine Land & Search Engine Journal
* European Search Personality of the Year in 2018
I’m Aleyda Solis, International SEO Consultant  
& Founder at Orainti. Thanks!

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What Makes your SEO Fail (and how to fix it)

What Makes your SEO Fail (and how to fix it)

DDavydoff

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