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SEO Enterprise Management

by Sean Greally | 05.09.2022

Managing a large enterprise can be an enormous challenge for those of us in SEO. There’s nothing easy about communicating with, and working alongside, a client that features thousands of live web pages. While the principles of SEO remain the same, it’s the scale that causes significant challenges. However, with the right tools and expertise, it is possible to develop ways of working that can improve outcomes and achieve great results for your clients.

Our team of experts believe the best solution is to build a “Centre of Excellence,” where the processes and ways of working are designed to be as effective as possible. From delivery to upskilling, there are plenty of areas where you can excel in your SEO strategy. 

First Things First, Onboarding

Here at Tug, we believe that comprehensive management of a large enterprise begins with an efficient, transparent, and open onboarding process. A great onboarding process helps to build the foundations of a productive relationship between the enterprise and the agency.

The first thing you will want to do is understand the business processes, whether you’re (on the) agency or internal side. This doesn’t necessarily have to be in lots of detail, but you need to understand the fundamentals; like how many teams are actually going to be involved in a project. Further to this, you will want to figure out the company’s structure. Ask the right questions: Are they located in different offices? Maybe they’re an international enterprise, and if so, is there going to be a language barrier that needs to be taken into account?

Once you understand the ins and outs of an enterprise, you can start to focus on the SEO side of things. During this process you should identify the enterprise’s SEO capabilities, including their level of expertise and the extent of their training. This information can help you formulate a strategy and communicate updates in the most effective way.

Developing a Centre of Excellence

Once the onboarding process is complete, you can start to craft your centre of excellence. Your agency’s work needs to complement the client’s existing structures, if possible. Too much immediate change can do more harm than good. You should introduce new ideas to increase efficiency and achieve success, but be flexible. Incorporate what the company is already doing into your broader strategy. 

Working relationships are a pivotal part of creating a Centre of Excellence. From the moment you meet the client’s team, you should prioritise understanding what these people do, what problems they face and, most importantly, how you can help them. Furthermore, you should deduce who the different contact points are to ensure the right people are in touch with one another throughout the process. This prevents miscommunication and misunderstandings, keeping the process streamlined.

Centre of Excellence – The Enterprise Perspective

For those with an enterprise perspective, there are various effective ways to use an agency. For example, you might choose to work with an agency purely for resource support. Perhaps your enterprise’s SEO is not as developed as you would like. This is where an experienced agency can add valuable knowledge and expertise. 

On the other hand, you could bring an agency in as a one-off project to demonstrate the value of SEO to the rest of the business, hopefully earning more budget for your department. 

Alternatively, an agency could aid your team’s development and training processes. For instance, the agency could create training materials or train your team members directly.

An agency is a great tool to get the results you want. There isn’t just one right way to use an agency either. It depends on who you are as an enterprise, and the challenges that you face.

Maintaining a Centre of Excellence

Establishing a Centre of Excellence takes hard work and thorough organisation. Unfortunately, without the right management, a Centre of Excellence won’t last forever. There are plenty of variables in the workplace, from holidays to sick days, to staff changes and technical problems. The very best Centres of Excellence will account for these challenges.

You must consider many factors to keep up the productive work. For one, your team’s resource will change over time, and you might not be able to deliver every requirement. In this situation, you will need to prioritise. It is best to do this with transparency – people are understanding, and there will always be a solution.

There are ways to improve resourcing by working smarter. You should set up your report and monitoring systems early in the process so that everyone knows the expectation and how to complete the task at hand. Data Studio is an excellent tool for reporting, it allows you to replicate reports for multiple markets or projects. This way, your team can utilise the same base document every time, reducing the number of actionable tasks and the impact on your team’s resource. This has the added benefit of familiarity for the client. 

Updates are important. Send out regular email updates about both projects and industry news. This should include any Google Core updates – the significant changes that Google makes to its systems and search algorithms throughout the year. You should also disclose when a client can expect ranking changes if there are any of note. 

When working on SEO for an enterprise, the client is bound to have plenty of questions. Gauge how much information they need and respond accordingly. Face-to-face meetings are preferable; it makes the client feel valued and assures their voice is heard. It also prevents back-and-forth emails. However, this requires a more senior SEO offering from your team. Experience is necessary to respond in real time, and that’s why you should prioritise upskilling within your SEO team. 

Looking to the Future

With proper maintenance, a centre of excellence is bound to last. The important question is how this will guarantee results – now and in the future. A Centre of Excellence is defined by success, so it’s key that the results support the work. However, you need to remember that SEO is a constantly evolving process that requires frequent retraining and upskilling for everyone involved. This means it is more about maintenance and management – while you could get good results one year, a competitor could invest in their SEO – impacting your results the following year. As an ever-evolving environment, there is one certainty. Competitors will carry on and gain from your losses as soon as you stop. With this in mind, it’s clear that a robust strategy should also include preparations to look ahead. Make ongoing adjustments to yours, and help keep those results coming. 

Are you an enterprise? Perhaps you have a number of areas for improvement, but don’t have the budget for all of them. If you’re struggling to identify where an agency can help, reach out to a trusted and reputable agency. Their expertise will support you in finding the best way to achieve the results you’re looking for. 

Tug is a performance, data-driven agency with a knack for creativity. We make advertising work harder by moulding our strategy around who you are as a company and using accurate data to inform our decisions. Learn what Tug’s SEO services have to offer by following the link, or contact us at hellolondon@tugagency.com