When I initially started out in digital marketing, the concept of search engine optimization (SEO) struck me as both exciting and intimidating. Like many others, I wanted to see my website appear at the top of Google’s search results. However, as I dug more, I discovered that controlling Google involved more than just putting keywords into articles. It required a strategic strategy, technological expertise, and a trained team of professionals. If you want to conquer Google, you must hire an SEO team with the following five vital skills that I’ll list in this article.
Understanding the Importance Of SEO
Before going into the fundamental skills, it’s important to understand why SEO is so important. SEO is the foundation of internet presence. According to BrightEdge, organic search accounts for 53% of all website traffic. This number alone demonstrates the necessity of having a strong SEO strategy in place. Without it, your website risks becoming lost in the massive sea of internet content.
Key Takeaways
- SEO is crucial for online visibility, with organic search accounting for 53% of all website traffic.
- Essential for an SEO team, including knowledge of website architecture, crawlability, and indexing to improve site infrastructure and rankings.
- High-quality content is vital, with companies publishing 16+ blog posts per month receiving 3.5 times more traffic.
- Different organizations need tailored SEO team structures, from small in-house teams to larger teams with dedicated roles for on-site, off-site, and video SEO.
- Building an SEO team involves setting goals, finding the right talent through job boards, and using task management tools like Asana or Trello to keep the team organized and productive.
5 Important Skills That Your SEO Team Must Have
Having an SEO team with a diverse set of specialized skills is essential to successfully navigating the complexities of search engine optimization and achieving top rankings on Google. Here are five important skills your SEO team must have to ensure your website stands out in the competitive digital landscape.
#1. Technical SEO proficiency
Key Skill: Knowledge of technical issues such as website architecture, crawlability, and indexing.
I once experienced a huge drop in my website’s ranks. After working with a technical SEO specialist, we determined that crawl issues and broken links were to blame. By addressing these issues, we witnessed a significant improvement in traffic and rankings.
Technical SEO entails improving your website’s infrastructure so that search engines can easily crawl and index your material. This covers features like site speed, mobile friendliness, XML sitemaps, and HTTPS security. Backlinko found that websites that load in under two seconds have a much lower bounce rate than slower-loading sites.
#2. Content Creation and Optimization
Key Skill: The ability to produce high-quality, entertaining, and optimized content.
When I changed my blog’s content strategy to prioritize user intent and keyword optimization, I saw a substantial rise in interaction and organic traffic. High-quality content is more than just keywords; it is about offering value to readers.
Content reigns supreme in the world of SEO. Your team should comprise skilled content writers who understand how to create interesting and optimized material that connects with your target audience. According to HubSpot, firms that publish 16 or more blog articles per month receive 3.5 times more traffic than those that generate 0–4 posts per month.
#3. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Key Skill: Ability to analyze and evaluate SEO data to make informed judgments.
I was initially overwhelmed by the volume of data available from platforms such as Google Analytics and SEMrush. However, hiring a data analyst changed our strategy. By recognizing patterns and trends, we could improve our SEO efforts and achieve greater outcomes.
Data-driven decision-making is critical to SEO performance. Your team should be able to use tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other SEO software to measure performance indicators, detect problems, and uncover opportunities. CMO reported that data-driven firms are 23 times more likely to attract clients.
#4. Link Building Expertise
Key Skill: Developing and carrying out successful link-building methods.
I once worked with an expert who implemented a strong link-building approach. We increased our website’s domain authority and search ranks dramatically by obtaining high-quality backlinks from reputable sites.
Link building is still a crucial component of SEO. It entails getting backlinks from reliable websites to boost the authority and ranks of your own website. According to Moz, backlinks are one of Google’s top three ranking determinants. A successful link-building approach can distinguish between a high-ranking website and one that is buried in search results.
#5. Local SEO Mastery
Key Skill: Optimising for local searches to attract nearby clients.
By focusing on local SEO, my small business client was able to dominate the local search results. By enhancing their Google My Business profile and creating local citations, we witnessed a 50% boost in foot traffic to their business.
Local SEO is critical for firms that cater to local clients. It entails enhancing your internet presence to generate more business from relevant local searches. Google reports that 46% of all queries have local intent. This includes optimizing for Google My Business, local keywords, and creating citations.
7 SEO Team Examples For Inspiration
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing an in-house or agency SEO team—each organization has unique needs.
The most important thing to remember is that you must structure your SEO team to efficiently handle the demands of the job.
Let’s look at some examples of SEO team structures so you can get started creating your own.
#1. A Small In-house SEO team.
Here’s an example of a structure that smaller in-house SEO teams have used.
The SEO manager, who possesses a variety of SEO skills, oversees three professionals in technical SEO, content, and outreach.
This structure addresses the fundamentals of SEO. If you were more concerned with technical SEO than link building, you could easily engage two or more technical SEO consultants. Whatever the business’s needs are, you must mirror them inside the SEO team
#2. Large in-house team
Here’s another example of a larger in-house SEO team, graciously provided by NordVPN.
In this example, they’ve divided their team into three categories: on-site, off-site, and video. NordVPN is a large, well-known corporation, so it’s not a surprise that they have a significant team dedicated to on-site and off-site SEO.
It’s also worth noting that they have a dedicated video SEO manager, which is not common in most organizations.
#3. Small agency team
The SEO agencies where I’ve worked have often hired folks with diverse skill sets. This serves as an insurance policy in case somebody unexpectedly departs the company—there is a skill overlap.
And, if a client departs the company, having a diverse skill set makes it easier to reassign the person to another client.
Here’s an example of a team structure from a digital marketing agency I used to work for, with approximately 50 digital marketers.
In my experience, SEOs at agencies are required to master both technical and content SEO. They will have a preferred expertise, but it may not be clear from their job description.
#4. Larger agency team
When it comes to larger agencies, team structures are typically built to meet the needs of enterprise SEO clients.
Here’s an example of a larger SEO team structure that has proven effective. (I’ve simplified it to fit on the page.)
Larger SEO businesses, like the previous instances, will hire specialists—but only if the client has a requirement and there is a skill gap in the company. For example, if the customer requires a Google Tag Manager (GTM) specialist, they may hunt for a dedicated individual for this SEO function.
#5. International SEO team
Here’s an example of a team structure designed exclusively for e-commerce SEO teams operating in various countries (courtesy of SEOmindset). The significant change is the inclusion of a country-specific SEO lead.
#6. Agency pod structure
Here’s another team structure example from the SEO firm Bubblegum Search. The team is organized in a “pod” structure, making it very simple to employ and scale up as a new customer joins.
#7. Flat team structure
Position Digital offers a distinct approach. In this case, the entire agency works together to meet a quarterly goal, and the SEO team is no exception.
Visually, the team structure is flat. Everyone on the SEO team is focused on completing specific SEO duties and accomplishing a common goal.
This goal-oriented strategy ensures that everyone on the SEO team is focused on delivering results rather than simply being there when your client phones or emails.
Now that you’ve seen what SEO team structures look like, let’s talk about how we can put together your SEO ideal team.
How To Create an SEO team
Building an SEO team involves three steps:
- Identifying your objectives and hiring needs
- Finding your skill
- Setting up your task management program to manage everything.
#1. Determine your goals and hiring needs
The size of your team is determined by your goals and available funds.
The first thing you should do before hiring someone is assess your competitive landscape. You may accomplish this with Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer and Content Gap tool. You are trying to figure out three things.
- What kinds of keywords am I going after?
- How competitive are these keywords?
- What positions do I need to fill the most?
For example, if you have a lot of content but it isn’t ranking, you’ll need to increase your link-building budget, especially if you’re targeting extremely competitive keywords. However, if you don’t have much content yet, you should focus on developing a content team.
Ahrefs can help you identify your team’s needs in two quick steps:
- Use the SERP overview in Keywords Explorer to assess whether you need links.
The SERP overview shows you which pages are ranked for a certain keyword and how many links they have. You may also see the Domain Rating (DR) for each page URL.
This tool can help you decide whether your pages need additional links to compete. For example, if we look at the keyword “seo tools,” Ahrefs is now ranked fourth, with 1,872 backlinks from 646 referring domains.
The competitors who are outranking us have thousands more links than us, indicating that we may need to generate more links to rank better for this keyword. (I say “may” since Google’s search algorithm is complex, and we can never be positive that one factor is solely responsible for rankings.)
If you already have a lot of content and, after examining your keywords, discover that you’re not outperforming your competition owing to a lack of backlinks, you should prioritize forming a link development team.
Read Also: Top 10 Keyword Research Services in 2024
- Utilize the Site Audit tool to evaluate your technical SEO.
Ahrefs’ Site Audit gives you a peek inside your website’s technical SEO.
When you perform an audit on your URL, you will be awarded a Health Score that indicates how healthy your site’s technical SEO is. This score is calculated using several elements, including page speed, CSS and HTML, meta tags, and more.
If you do an audit on your website and discover that you have a low score, you know you need to engage a developer to help with your technical SEO concerns. Better yet, you can hand them the audit report. They will understand exactly what has to be done to resolve the difficulties with your website.
#2. Find your talent
Once you’ve decided who you need, you must learn how to find and recruit them.
There are numerous ways to find employees for your organization. These include browsing internet employment boards, asking friends and family, contacting talent agencies, and so on.
Several excellent alternatives include:
- Indeed or Zip Recruiter for generic job listings.
- ProBlogger or Mediabistro to locate authors.
- Upwork or Fiverr to hire freelancers.
You can also look into any of these job boards for marketers. This “job boards” article is aimed at marketers seeking work, but employers can also use the boards.
It’s important to note that the caliber of people you attract from these job boards is directly proportional to the quality of your job posting. Higher-quality applicants will not apply if your listing isn’t interesting and enticing. Feel free to use our SEO specialist job description template.
If you need further advice on how to hire outstanding people, I strongly recommend the book “Who: A Method for Hiring,” authored by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, two serial entrepreneurs who devised a four-step process for locating, acquiring, and retaining top talent.
#3. Set up your task management program.
Once you’ve recruited your team members, you’ll need to keep them organized and productive. This is where task management applications such as Trello or Asana come in.
I have used both. But I prefer Asana since it is more robust. You may create to-do lists, Kanban-style boards, projects for individual tasks or teams, and more.
Here is an example of a board-style project page;
You can establish different projects for different teams inside your business in Asana, as shown in the bottom left corner of the screenshot above. I have distinct projects for each firm, as well as a “personal tasks” project for things I need to handle that my employees and colleagues do not need to see.
You can set up an SEO team called “SEO,” and then build projects for each SEO procedure.
For example, you can create a “Content” project that solely comprises the content team and the impending, in-progress, and finished content; a “Developer” project to assign tasks to and collaborate with your developer; and an “Outreach” project to build links and promote content.
Here’s an example of one of my content planning boards in Asana:
From there, your SEO manager can access and manage each project. They can leave direct comments on the tasks in Asana to keep everyone moving. However, I also advocate creating a chat channel, such as Slack, for real-time discussion that is faster and easier than leaving comments or sending emails.
Need more assistance with Asana? Here’s an amazing video summary of how to set up and utilize it:
Improve Your SEO Strategy with an SEO Template
Using an SEO template will help you streamline your efforts and ensure that you cover all important bases. It enables you to manage critical indicators, develop your content strategy, and assess your progress. For example, our customizable SEO monitoring template may help you quickly track your important indicators and keep your website on track.
How Lamphills Can Help
Lamphills Media specializes in helping businesses navigate the challenges of SEO. Our team of specialists can do complete audits, strategic planning, and regular monitoring to ensure that your website adheres to best practices. We assist you in identifying difficulties, disavowing bad links, and developing a solid SEO plan to stably improve your results.
Conclusion
Hiring an SEO team with these five crucial skills will dramatically improve your chances of conquering Google. From technical SEO to content production and data analysis, each skill is essential in developing a successful SEO plan. Are you prepared to take your SEO to the next level and dominate Google?
Related Articles:
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- SEO Monitoring for Beginners: Why It’s Crucial (And How to Get Started)
- The Best 10 Digital PR Services According to Research 2024 (Updated)
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