30 second summary:
- SEO is important to brand success, and there are several key roles that contribute to this
- Some of these roles are obvious, but others are ones you might not immediately associate with SEO
- Each of these roles has a different but important contribution to make
- An effective multidisciplinary SEO team will have good communication, clear roles and responsibilities, and realistic expectations
- By following these tips, you can set your team up for success
SEO is more than just a one person show. It takes a team of dedicated professionals working together to achieve success. In this article, we will explore the different key roles for building the brand in 2022.
Whether you are a CEO who wants to understand why SEO is important to your corporate branding or an SEO professional who wants to build a case for improving SEO processes in your business, we have what you need.
Why is SEO important for brand success?
There are many reasons why SEO is important to brand success. Here are some of the most important:
1. SEO helps you reach new customers
Customers who actively search for businesses like yours are more likely to convert than those who accidentally stumble upon your website. In fact, organic search is one of the most effective channels for generating leads in 2022.
Source: Statesman
2. SEO builds trust and credibility
When customers see that your website is at the top of search results, they will automatically perceive your brand as more trustworthy and credible. This is especially important for small businesses competing with larger, established companies.
3. SEO drives traffic to your website
The higher your website ranks in search results, the more traffic it will receive. And the more traffic you have, the more opportunities you have to convert leads into customers.
4. SEO helps you stand out from the competition
If your competitors aren’t investing in SEO, then this is a great opportunity to differentiate yourself and get an edge over them.
5. SEO is an ongoing process
Unlike other marketing channels (such as paid advertising), SEO is an ongoing process that you need to work on regularly to maintain and improve your rankings. This means that it can provide you with long-term results, essential for any successful business.
Business roles that are the key to SEO success
There are many different roles within a company that contribute to SEO success. Some of them might seem obvious, but some of the others might be roles you wouldn’t immediately think of when considering your SEO. This shows that SEO strategy is something that can be woven into business operations at all levels.
Here are my first six roles:
1. CFO (or other senior executive who holds stock exchange strings)
How come? because without a portion of your marketing budget being set aside for SEO, nothing else matters. Your company’s CFO or other senior decision maker needs to understand the importance of investing in SEO. Without an SEO budget, none of the other roles on this list will be able to do their job properly.
2. Brand designer
This is perhaps obvious, but your brand designer shouldn’t be overlooked – the person responsible for designing your brand identity should have a good understanding of SEO. This is because they need to create a branding strategy that includes keyword research and other SEO best practices.
Your brand name is also important, because it’s an opportunity to get important keywords in your website domain and web pages, and can also be used as anchor text when other websites link to yours.
Side note: You should make sure SEO becomes part of your neighbor brand review.
3. SEO Consultant
The person in charge of your overall SEO strategy must work to build your brand.
An SEO consultant is responsible for developing and implementing your overall SEO strategy. This includes keyword research, website content optimization, and link building. But it goes even further. A good SEO consultant will also work on building your brand by creating a strong online presence and ensuring that your website is visible to your target audience.
4. Content Marketing
The person who has one foot in the SEO field and one foot in the marketing field. This could be an internal role at your company or it could be a service you outsource.
A content marketer is someone who understands both SEO and marketing. This person is responsible for creating high-quality content that not only ranks well in search results, but also resonates with your target audience.
5. Web designer
How come? Because the person who decides what the website design looks like will have a big impact on the website’s SEO compatibility.
The web designer plays a crucial role in determining the SEO compatibility of your website. This is because page design, navigation decisions, and site architecture will all have a huge impact on SEO performance.
6. Web developer
Why technical SEO has never been more important.
Your web developer is responsible for the technical aspects of your website, such as the code and structure. This is incredibly important for SEO because it can affect things like site speed and crawl.
This is one of the many reasons why using a standard website builder is not a viable option for a company serious about its web presence.
7. Head of public relations
Because this person needs to know how to get the maximum SEO impact from promoting the company in the traditional PR sense.
A PR manager must have a good understanding of both SEO and link building. This is because they need to promote your business in a way that helps you earn high quality links.
Your PR person will naturally always be looking for ways to get your business mentioned by other publications and websites. This lends itself perfectly to a clever strategy of building backlinks to your website.
Tips for effective multidisciplinary SEO teams
Now that we’ve covered the various roles that are important to successful SEO, let’s talk about how to build an effective multidisciplinary team.
- Make sure everyone is on the same page by holding regular meetings and communications. This will ensure that everyone is aware of the latest changes and developments.
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities. This will help avoid duplication of effort and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.
- Encourage collaboration between team members. SEO is a complex field and it is important for different people with different skills to work together.
- Set realistic expectations. SEO takes time and it is important to set realistic expectations of what can be achieved.
Following these tips will help you build an effective multidisciplinary SEO team that can help you take your brand to the next level.
Final thoughts
SEO is a complex and ever-changing field. But one thing is certain: it will become more and more important in the years to come. If you want your brand to be successful, you need to make sure SEO is a key part of your overall strategy.
The roles we have discussed in this article are all crucial to successful SEO. So, if you’re serious about your brand’s online presence, make sure you have the right team in place.
Joe Dawson is Director of UK-based strategic growth agency Creative.onl. It can be found on Twitter @jdwn.
Sign up for the Search Engine Newsletter Watch for insights into SEO, the search landscape, search marketing, digital marketing, leadership, podcasts, and more.
Join the conversation with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.