The corporate SEO balance
As an SEO professional, one of the first things I look for when doing a site evaluation is the layout and make up of the site in questi0n. As strange as it may sound, site evaluation and preparation for SEO integration on a site that has been slapped together as a temporary fix can often be easier to work with than more established sites.
I find that when working with companies whose websites have been around for a long time and haven’t seen a lot of change, it can be tough to convince them to change certain elements of the site, let alone persuade them to make wholesale, site-wide changes if the site was built in un-spiderable code. When a company has a site that has been around for a while and hasn’t seen a lot of visual and code updates, decision makers are not very likely to support wholesale change unless they’re fully convinced of the benefits of SEO. Put simply, it’s comparable to why people are more likely to want to prevent losing money than they are to make more money. People get into habits and routines and are not the most willing to break out of their comfort zone.
This is one of the challenges for an SEO firm. We need to show customers that what we can do with a website is so much better than what the website is now. Coming full circle, this is why it is often easier to work with smaller-scale projects and businesses than it is for more established enterprises. Startups and small businesses have an easier time approving site changes on a much quicker timeline than larger businesses.
A note to large business – the longer it takes your company to:
1. Decide you need SEO (you do);
2. Find an SEO company;
3. Discuss initial SEO recommendations and proposed changes;
4. Approve the changes on the site.
The longer your competition will have the upper hand on you.
In the corporate world ever little edge you can get over your competition can make a world of difference. The longer you stall, the more you stand to lose. I suppose this may come off as a bit anti-bureaucratic, which it is in no way intended to do. In fact, if anything it is pro-corporation. I’m relaying this message to every business of any size that has a website:
Don’t waste time ‘thinking’ about who you need to hire and what you need to do to make changes on your site. Make this a top priority – the amount you spend on SEO will far outweigh the losses felt by procrastination. Also remember this – you can’t pay Google any amount of money to have them update your search ranking quicker. This is where procrastination will kill you. So, when it comes to SEO, live by this mantra: “Get it done right, and get it done NOW.”
Not too sure how I found this blog but glad I did.
Very informative post. Thanks!