SEO for marketing teams

Kick-off and setting up cooperation with the marketing team means precisely setting the rules that allow the subsequent SEO work to be carried out efficiently and in a predictable way. At this stage I establish the scope of activities, the communication channels and the meeting rhythm. We also clarify how changes are approved, so that it is clear when and in what form decisions are made on the marketing side. In parallel, we identify what access to data and systems is needed to carry out the analyses and later validate the implementations.

As part of the kick-off we also agree the conditions that affect the pace of delivery and of results, namely the availability of implementation resources. The work may require the involvement of marketing, IT/dev and copy for corrections, publications and technical implementations. That is why, right at the start, we establish who owns each area and what the task delivery cycle looks like. These arrangements are the basis for moving on to the SEO audit and the later iterations.

The (initial) SEO audit is a review of the site and its current visibility, carried out to identify barriers, quick wins and the areas that need an implementation plan. As part of the audit I verify the technical elements, the structure and navigation, the content and the way the site is presented in the search results. The aim is to gather specific observations that can be turned into tasks for marketing, IT/dev and the content team. On that basis it is easier to determine which actions are worth carrying out first and which require larger changes to be prepared.

The outcome of the audit is a report and a list of problems, in which each item has a description of its impact, a recommended fix and a designated owner within the organisation. The document becomes the input for prioritising tasks by impact and cost, distinguishing quick wins from changes that require IT support. Next comes the SEO backlog, i.e. a list of tasks with a description, acceptance criteria, a priority and an assignment to a team. This arrangement makes it easier to work in sprints or iterations and brings order to the approval of next steps.

• Identifying the barriers that limit indexing, visibility or the effectiveness of landing pages.
• Pointing out quick wins that can be implemented in a shorter iteration.
• A list of topics and areas that need an implementation plan, and the division of responsibilities (marketing/IT/content).

Prioritising tasks and building the SEO backlog means organising the work so that the marketing team, IT/dev and content carry out activities in an order justified by impact and implementation cost. Based on the list of problems from the audit report, we choose what is to be done first, separating quick fixes from changes that require IT support. We translate these arrangements into iterations or sprints, which makes it easier to plan the work and approve changes in a steady rhythm. As a result, the scope of work is set out as specific tasks instead of general recommendations.

The SEO backlog is a list of tasks prepared for delivery by specific teams, with a clear description and acceptance criteria. Each backlog item has a priority and an assigned owner in marketing, dev or content, so it is clear who is responsible for implementation and who takes part in verification. Recording things this way supports the coordination of corrections, publications and technical implementations, and reduces the risk of tasks getting “stuck” without an owner. The backlog is also the basis for further planning and updates in the following work cycles.

• Setting the order of activities by impact and implementation cost (including the distinction between quick wins and changes that require IT).
• Dividing the work into sprints/iterations, taking into account the owners in marketing/IT/content.
• SEO backlog: task description, acceptance criteria, priority and assignment to a team.