5 Steps to Guiding and Trusting Your

Developers

5 Steps to Guiding and Trusting Your

DevelopersKeith L. Goode

SEO Technology LeadDCSG, Dell

Keith L. GoodeSEO Technology Lead

DCSG, Dell

Your PresenterYour Presenter

Keith L. Goode• 15 years of Online

Experience• Prior employment

– AMD– HomeAway– Builders Digital

Experience

• Dell (2 ½ years)– SEO Technology Lead,

DCSG (formerly eDell)– Technical SEO Instructor

• Presentations– Clarity ‘13– Pubcon Vegas– Pubcon Austin

Twitter: @keithgoode

Standard Presentation StatementStandard Presentation Statement

The ideas and statements in this presentation do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dell Inc. but are based on my personal experience in the SEO Industry.

Tl;dr: Keith is not Dell.

The Challenge of Current-state SEOThe Challenge of Current-state SEO

The Challenge of Current-state SEOThe Challenge of Current-state SEO

• Do More With Less

– Budgets are always an issue and generally only get worse

– Algorithm shifts have generally eroded what “direct” control we have over ranking

– Quality and technical capability expectations are higher amidst decreasing budgets

The Democratization of

SEO

The Democratization of

SEO

The Democratization of SEOThe Democratization of SEO

• Content

– You get what you pay for– Cheap content = Bad Rankings,

Poor Engagement, No Social Promotion

– Use your internal SME’s to promote your product or service

The Democratization of SEOThe Democratization of SEO

• Development/Architecture

– Prepare– Teach– Communicate– Monitor– Recognize

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEOTHE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEO

PreparePrepare

PreparePrepare

• To Teach, You Must First Learn

– If you’re not technical, become technical

– Start with HTML as a basic skillset, then CSS, XML, etc.

– Learn about your site’s architecture– Understand and plug in to the

development process– Brewskis work, but so does food,

snacks, and banter

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEOTHE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEO

Teach

TeachTeach

• Get Executive Buy-in, Approval, and Prioritization

– Show the financial benefit– Get prioritization– Integrate into Individual

Development Plans

TeachTeach

• Develop Your Training Materials

– Customize your training materials per specialization

– Use real-world examples– Update regularly

TeachTeach

• Establish your Classes

– Medium and Large Businesses• Full course curriculum• Lunch and Learn refreshers

– Small and Medium Businesses• Lunch and Learn Classes• Individual Sessions

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEOTHE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEO

Communicate

CommunicateCommunicate

• Update your knowledge regularly

– Blogs (moz.com, Inbound.org, searchengineland.com, etc.)

– Webmaster Help Videos– Google Developer and

Webmaster Blogs– Forums (WebmasterWorld.com)– Meetups and Conferences

CommunicateCommunicate

• Share your updated knowledge

– Filter industry updates to what’s meaningful

– Relate industry changes to existing or future projects

– Communicate regularly but meaningfully• Updating to just update can

devalue your communication efforts

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEOTHE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEO

Monitor

MonitorMonitor

• Use Analytics to look for sudden, unseasonal changes– Google Analytics– Omniture

MonitorMonitor

• Monitor Indexation and Ranking– Google Webmaster Tools– SEO Platforms (seoClarity, Brightedge,

Conductor)– Ranking Software (Advanced Web Ranking, Rank

Tracker, etc.) – USE WITH CAUTION

MonitorMonitor

• Recognize that mistakes happen. It’s not personal or intentional.

Monitor – Bonus TipMonitor – Bonus Tip

• Plug In to Regular (Core) Development Team Meetings – Attend Project Scrum sessions, if necessary– Even if you’re just listening mostly, listen for

potentially impactful issues• Work with your Product Manager

– Prioritize technical requests– Look for new opportunities– Share learnings

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEOTHE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SEO

Recognize

RecognizeRecognize

• … In Personal Thank-You Notes• … In Your Post-Launch Notes

– You are doing post-launch notes … right?• … In Quarterly Recognition Awards

– In lieu of recognition awards, comment to the developer’s manager or director

• … In Your Regular SEO Updates

ConclusionConclusion

ConclusionConclusion

• Meet Your Developers / Architects Where They Are

• Customize and Personalize Training Materials As Necessary

• Communicate Industry Changes as Well as Success Metrics Around Updates

• Monitor for Issues and Successes• Recognize the Effort to Encourage Future

Participation

ConclusionConclusion

• Questions?• Follow Me Here:

– twitter.com/keithgoode– google.com/+KeithGoode– linkedin.com/in/keithlgoode