Creating SEO Awareness Using Live Sessions to Build a Larger Search Organization

Introduction

X: @keithgoode Mastodon: mastodon.social/@keithgoode Keith Goode • SEO Product Director for Dealer.com, Cox Automotive • Over 15 years In-House SEO • Vrbo • Dell • IBM • Cox Automotive Group • Various startups • Conference speaker • Podcast host/guest • Austin Otaku • Webcology • Search Engine Journal • … and many more • Certified Scrum Master • Featured in Majestic’s SEO for 2022

Dawn of the Internet Moved to ATL – Internet Startup Graduated University NewEra Co. Job First Layoff Second Layoff Learned more tech Third Layoff Holy crap! I know SEO! Moved to AUS Fourth Layoff HomeAway BDX SpareFoot Dell seoClarity NewEra Co. Job, Part 2 Started speaking at conferences Fifth Layoff IBM More speaking gigs SEJ Master Class My Journey in Search AMD CAPG First Patent Freelance Copyediting and Technical Writing Computerjobs.com

Presentation Disclaimer Opinions expressed herein are my own. No forward- looking statements regarding Cox Automotive, Dealer.com or any subsidiary of Cox Enterprises have been included. None of Cox’s data, revenue, or secret sauce have been revealed. Statements made in this presentation have not been tested by the FDA. Use at your own discretion.

My Goals for this Session • Identifying opportunities for training for consistent problem areas • Selling and setting cadence for live training and open office hours • Establishing SEO Awareness as a first line of defense

When you have no budget to do so, the greatest way to build an SEO team is to create interdepartmental allies and build SEO Awareness into your organization with training, open office hours, and regular updates

Identify Your Consistent Problem Areas Where Is Training Most Desperately Needed?

Technical Issues Changes to the site are released without SEO involvement These may show up after the fact as blips in: • Crawl reports • Changes and Errors in GSC • Inexplicable changes in traffic and conversions

Content Issues Content is released without intent analysis, optimizations, or keyword focus These issues may show up as • An increase in pages being crawled but not indexed (Quality issues)* • An increase in pages receiving little to no traffic • An increase in traffic but a drop in conversions Search Off the Record: The effect of quality on Search: https://youtu.be/6JdbDdjnbkg

X: @keithgoode Mastodon: mastodon.social/@keithgoode PR and Linking Issues • Promotions, press releases, and announcements are released with generic links to the homepage • These represent lost opportunities to get legitimate links to the most valuable pages

Selling and Setting Cadence for Enablement Live Training and Open Office Hours

Sell the Need by Aligning Goals • With the right executive backing, you COULD force training on other departments • OR, you could align your objectives to their goals • Alignment with best practices and standards • Mutually beneficial revenue goals • More traffic and conversions • A rising tide lifts all boats

Establishing SEO Awareness The First Line of Defense

Open Office Hours • Regular Cadence (Monthly) • Invite the teams who you know have had questions in the past • In the absence of questions, bring news and updates • These can be discipline-specific or open to anyone

Live Training Sessions • Discipline Specific • Technical • Content • PR • Prepare with pertinent real-world issues you’ve seen • Let your audience edify your training • Cadence • Technical (Annually or Semi- annually) • Content (Quarterly or Monthly) • SEO (Monthly) • PR (Quarterly)

Building Your Front Line Increase the Number of People Avoiding Potential SEO Pitfalls

The Goal of Enablement and Training • We’re not looking to convert people to SEOs (Although some people may want to switch disciplines after being trained.) • The goal is to expand the company’s SEO Awareness so that: • In the beginning, people may simply ask, “Could this affect SEO?” And then reach out to you to forewarn you • As time goes on, people will know what to do and what not to do

Key Takeaways

X: @keithgoode Mastodon: mastodon.social/@keithgoode Recap: Demystifying SEO with Enablement • Identify consistent problem areas and teams that need some help • Sell and set cadence for training and open office hours that work for each team’s needs • Reduce your own headaches by increasing vigilance across the company

Thank you! Keith Goode