Are you struggling to hit your SEO targets? Do you wish you had a dedicated team to take care of all your search engine optimization needs? Then it’s time to start thinking about building an SEO team.
Creating an in-house SEO team can be a game-changer for your website. Instead of relying on external agencies or freelancers to boost your online presence, you can have a team of experts analyzing your website, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing winning SEO strategies. Here’s what you need to know to get started.
What Does an SEO Team Do?
Before we dive into how to build your team, let’s first discuss what an SEO team does. The primary focus of an SEO team is to increase your website’s visibility and rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). They do this by optimizing your website’s content, technical infrastructure, and external links, among other factors.
Some of the tasks that an SEO team may take on include:
- Conducting keyword research to identify strategic target terms
- Optimizing website meta titles and descriptions
- Creating new content or optimizing existing content for search engines
- Performing technical audits of your website and making necessary updates
- Implementing link building and other off-page SEO strategies
- Analyzing website traffic data and user behavior to make strategic decisions
Now that you have an idea of what an SEO team does, let’s discuss how to build your team, step by step.
Step 1: Determine Your Needs
Before you can start building your SEO team, you’ll need to determine what your needs are. This will depend on the size of your website, the amount of traffic you receive, and your current SEO strategy.
Consider the following when determining your needs:
- What specific SEO tasks do you need help with?
- How much time do you have available to manage your SEO strategy?
- What resources (tools, budget) do you have available?
- What are your current rankings and traffic numbers?
Once you have a good understanding of your needs, you can start thinking about the roles that you need to fill on your team.
Step 2: Define Your SEO Team Roles
There are several roles that you may need to fill when building an SEO team. Consider the following options:
Team Leader/Manager
Your team leader or manager will be responsible for overseeing your SEO strategy, delegating tasks, and providing direction. This person should have a solid understanding of SEO best practices, as well as team management skills.
SEO Specialist/Strategist
Your SEO specialist or strategist will be responsible for creating and implementing your SEO strategies. This person should be well-versed in keyword research, content optimization, link building, and technical SEO.
Content Creator/Writer
Your content creator/writer will be responsible for creating or optimizing content for your website. This person should have a strong understanding of SEO best practices and be able to create engaging content that ranks well in search engines.
Web Designer/Developer
Your web designer/developer will be responsible for making technical updates to your website to improve SEO. This person should have a strong understanding of website design and development, as well as technical SEO best practices.
Of course, depending on your needs, you may need to create other roles beyond these. Once you’ve defined your roles, you can start thinking about who you want on your team.
Step 3: Hire the Right People
Building an SEO team isn’t just about finding the right people; it’s about finding the right people who can work well together. When hiring, look for candidates with complementary skills and personalities who can work collaboratively to achieve your SEO goals.
You may choose to hire full-time employees or work with freelancers. Depending on your budget and needs, you may find that a mix of full-time employees and freelancers works best for your team.
Step 4: Set Goals and KPIs
Before you start implementing your SEO strategy, set goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your progress. This will help you determine whether your team is on track to achieve your SEO goals.
Examples of SEO goals and KPIs include:
- Increasing website traffic by a certain percentage
- Improving rankings for specific target keywords
- Increasing click-through rates for search engine results
- Improving engagement metrics (time on site, pages per session, bounce rate)
Set both short-term and long-term goals, and regularly review progress with your team to make necessary adjustments.
Step 5: Provide Resources and Support
To ensure that your team can achieve its goals, provide them with the necessary resources and support. This may include:
- Access to industry-leading tools
- A budget to run paid advertising campaigns
- Training and professional development opportunities
- Regular team meetings and communication channels
Regularly check in with your team to ensure that they have all the resources they need to be successful.
Step 6: Measure and Optimize
Finally, be prepared to continually measure and optimize your SEO strategy. This means reviewing traffic and engagement metrics regularly, and making adjustments to your strategy as necessary.
Optimization may involve tweaking content to improve rankings, adjusting your link-building strategy, or making technical updates to your website. The key is to remain flexible and open to change as you work toward your SEO goals.
Conclusion
Building an SEO team can be a valuable investment for your website. With the right people, resources, and strategy in place, your team can take your online presence to the next level. Remember to regularly measure your progress and make necessary adjustments, and your SEO efforts are sure to pay off.