8 Ways to Convince Your Boss You Need an SEO Strategy

Your company’s site is nowhere to be found on Google. You’re certain that search engine optimization can help, but what if your boss disagrees? Here are 8 great ways to strengthen your argument for SEO.

1. Explain SEO’s Cumulative Benefit

Don’t start the conversation with industry terms and rankings. You’ll quickly work up to these topics, but they won’t win your boss over right away. Business owners love to see the possibility of growth and ROI, which is how you should start your pitch.  Fortunately, the right strategy with SEO can produce an increasing return long term, as visitors, leads and customers build over time. This is always a great example of money well spent!

2. Don’t Lose Them in the Terminology

If you’re in a specialty industry, then you already know that industry jargon is inevitable. SEO is no different⁠—sometimes the terminology involved can throw off newcomers. Don’t let your boss go numb during your pitch. Start the conversation prepared to educate them on different terms and how they apply to an SEO strategy. Some of the most commonly misunderstood terms in SEO include:

• Organic Traffic
• Conversions
• Keyword Stuffing
• SERPs
• SEO Itself!

You read it right! One of the terms we see get questioned the most is what SEO actually is! Take your time, do your research and prepare to explain important terminology at a level you know they’ll understand. 

3. Have the Myths in Mind and Bust Them!

Your boss has probably heard about SEO but hasn’t pulled the trigger because of the many myths in our industry. Be ready for “Doubting Thomas” and have the facts to back yourself up!

• Yes, things like URLs, title tags, headers and image alt text still have a big impact on Google rankings.
• No, your keywords don’t have to be exact matches, but you must have good, relevant content. That’s what your visitors are coming to your site for!
• No, SEO isn’t a cure-all or “snake oil” for your brand. Success is based on experience and trust between you and your marketing team.
• No, your Facebook page alone isn’t enough for a successful strategy. 

There are so many rumors floating around about digital marketing agencies and SEO that it’s no wonder some bosses may be dubious. Don’t let them deter your drive and be prepared to dispel any myths that concern your management.

Remind Them There are Free SEO Tools

Everyone loves free stuff! Fortunately, when it comes to optimization there are a ton of free tools available for your team to implement strategies and track success as you go! Some examples of the free tools you can pitch to your boss are:

• Bing Webmaster Tools
• Keyword Magic
• Google Search Console
• Google Pagespeed Insights
• Screaming Frog
• and more!

While free may be a way to initially entice your management, remind them that there are also affordable paid tools like SEMRush that will further help cement your brand’s successful SEO strategy.

Pull Up Your Current Analytics

Take your tools idea a step further and examine your website’s analytics. If you’ve already discussed important terms like metrics and what your brand can do to benefit from SEO, show them how they are faltering without it! Give your higher-ups the information they need to understand where audience engagement drops off on your current site, where content must be optimized, and how much business you’re losing to competitors who are already invested in SEO.

Your Competition is Already a Step Ahead

Especially when it comes to local search, your brand can’t afford to play a constant game of catch-up with the competition. If you aren’t already using SEO as a marketing tactic, then the chances are high that every competitor outranking you on Google has a strong SEO team behind their online presence. Although you won’t see results overnight, if you keep consistent with search engine optimization services, your brand will eventually make some great digital strides against local competitors. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Prepare to Pitch to Multiple Audiences

Depending on how your initial pitch to your boss goes, you may be in for a string of pitches to the different departments of your business. SEO means different things to different people, so it’s important to have ideas in mind directed to the right target audience.  Let’s face it, the IT and marketing teams aren’t too concerned with how much money you could save by implementing an SEO strategy. Know your audience, speak their language, and explain why SEO would be valuable to them. For example, your IT folk would love to get into the technical aspects of SEO. Let them know the behind-the-scenes workings of the process and what types of kinks will need to be worked out of your current website. However, the biggest sell for SEO in this department is how much it cuts down the site messes they’ll have to manage in the future. Your marketing department, on the other hand, will be concerned about how SEO will attract the right audience for your brand and how it can transform and support their current marketing strategies.  Speaking the right language for the right audience will help boost the support for your SEO ideas and could be the move that gets your SEO strategy rolling!

Hire a Digital Marketing Company that Delivers Results

Finally, it’s best to keep in mind that SEO is an ever-evolving entity. Google algorithms and changing trends are things your brand will ultimately have to keep up with in order to maintain and improve search engine visibility. While the idea of SEO may seem feasible through an in-house team you’ve put together, the reality is, SEO success is only truly experienced with the help of an expert. An experienced SEO team like Dallas SEO Dogs can help your business ride out the roller coaster of changing trends and come out on top! Contact us today to find out more about the services we offer and how we have helped businesses like yours succeed in the past.