How to push the importance of SEO to your boss
It’s a familiar story. The company website is ranking poorly. You know that SEO will help, but the boss won’t hear it. Maybe they’re of a certain generation or maybe it’s simply not on their radar. Sound familiar?
Making your website “search engine friendly” (search engine optimisation, aka SEO) is a low-cost marketing option when compared with traditional forms of advertising. However, convincing the boss to part with their hard-earned money will take knowledge and tenacity. To help you on your way, here are a few tips on how to push the importance of SEO to your boss.
First, get their attention
One sure-fire way of grabbing your boss’s attention is to shock them with reality. Start by asking for five keywords or phrases that they think potential customers use to find your company. Then, Google these keywords and find where your company actually ranks. For a more dramatic effect why not use the big screen in the boardroom.
Consider the competition
Now that you well and truly have their attention, the clincher could be to show the boss where your competitors rank. If they’re on page one or two and you’re on page five, explain that they didn’t get there by accident.
Taking a sneak peak at your competitors’ digital footprint doesn’t hurt, in fact, it helps benchmark performance and can help you differentiate and protect your brand.
Consider brand perception
If this quick exercise showed rankings were low, follow it up with a quick discussion on what that means for the company. When was the last time you actually clicked on a result from page four or five? Not very often. Which means maybe your potential clients aren’t either. Reflecting on personal behaviour is a good way to drive change.
Appeal to their business sense
If SEO hasn’t been a priority in the past and if this exercise has succeeded in grabbing their attention, you can now appeal to your boss’s business sense by demonstrating how success in SEO can be measured.
Tools like Google Analytics let you track website traffic and visitor behaviour. This data can tell you how visitors are moving through your site, how individual pages are performing and ultimately show return on investment. If you have current analytics, talk the results through with your boss. It’s hard to deny the numbers when they’re staring you in the face, and using it will help convince them of the importance of SEO.
Sell them on the benefits of SEO
Maybe you’ve got a boss that needs to know the nitty gritty before making a decision. In which case, here are a few great resources that will help to convince them further:
- What is SEO? The art of engaging SEO for optimal results
- Google confirms links still key in SEO
- How to get 10x more visitors with SEO
Consult an expert for help with your SEO strategy
Engaging an experienced digital agency to execute your search engine strategy makes sense. Not only does it free up your sales team and support staff to concentrate on growing your business, it ensures access to a specialist team of multi-channel marketers.
iFactory is a full-service digital agency with an experienced, professional and passionate team. We can customise a digital marketing or SEO retainer that suits your exact needs. Contact iFactory today on (07) 3844 0577 and start climbing the ranks of Google faster.
