When I began working with an industrial products company, I quickly realized that SEO was an afterthought. The marketing team had developed a robust content strategy, and the IT team had designed a solid website architecture, but neither had considered how SEO would fit into the equation from the start. This is a common issue in enterprise environments where teams operate in silos, focusing on their specific goals without fully understanding how SEO can amplify their efforts.
Prioritizing SEO in the Early Stages: The Key to Enterprise SEO Success
In my experience, integrating SEO into the content and architecture planning stages is crucial. Waiting until after the content is created and the site is built to work with an SEO Consultant is like trying to retrofit a car with an engine after it’s already on the road. It’s possible, but it’s far more difficult and less effective than if it had been built that way from the start.
Take, for instance, the major car insurance provider I worked with. Their website was designed beautifully, with a strong emphasis on user experience. However, SEO was not prioritized early in the project, resulting in a site that, while visually appealing, was difficult to optimize. The content team had already created hundreds of pages without keyword research, and the IT team had locked down key elements of the site’s architecture, making it challenging to implement changes that would improve search engine visibility.
This experience reinforced a lesson I’ve learned repeatedly: SEO needs a voice at the table from the very beginning. Whether it’s during the content strategy discussions or the technical architecture planning sessions, ensuring that SEO considerations are baked into the project from day one can save time, money, and resources in the long run.
Sculpting Inbound Link Equity: Maximizing Existing Resources
Another challenge in the enterprise SEO space is the often low priority given to link building. Many organizations focus heavily on creating new content and optimizing existing pages but overlook the power of their existing inbound link equity. By carefully sculpting internal links, you can significantly impact the visibility of key assets and funnel pages without the need for an extensive link-building campaign.
One of my most notable successes in this area was with a nationally known financial counseling organization. They had a financial calculator buried deep within their website that was incredibly valuable to users but was not ranking well in search results. Rather than focusing on building new links to this tool, I worked on redistributing the existing link equity within the site. By strategically linking to the calculator from other high-authority pages, we were able to push it to the top of the search results for several key terms in a matter of weeks.
This experience highlighted the importance of internal link structure in enterprise SEO. In large organizations, where building new links can be a slow and resource-intensive process, leveraging the power of existing links can provide quick wins and demonstrate the value of SEO to stakeholders.
Navigating IT Hurdles: The Hidden Challenges of Enterprise SEO
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in enterprise SEO is the complex relationship with IT teams. In many large organizations, the website’s content management system (CMS) is locked down, limiting the changes that the content team can make. Critical pages, including the homepage, are often outside the CMS, requiring IT intervention for any updates. This can lead to a lengthy approval process, where SEO recommendations are delayed or deprioritized in favor of other initiatives.
In the case of the major car insurance provider, the homepage was entirely controlled by the IT department, with changes requiring multiple levels of approval. This not only slowed down the implementation of critical SEO changes but also made it difficult to adapt to changes in search engine algorithms or competitor strategies.
To overcome this, I worked closely with the IT team to establish a dedicated resource for SEO-related changes. By securing their commitment and integrating SEO into their workflow, we were able to significantly improve the site’s performance. This experience taught me the importance of building strong relationships with IT teams and advocating for the resources needed to implement SEO recommendations efficiently.
The Impact of IT Decisions on Site Speed and Performance
Another common issue I’ve encountered is the disconnect between IT and SEO when it comes to site speed and performance. Many IT departments focus on simplifying infrastructure and reducing resource requirements, often at the expense of site speed. For example, serving the website from the same AWS servers as the web application without caching or serving assets from a CDN can have a massive impact on load times.
In the case of the industrial products company, the IT department assumed that because the web application loaded quickly, the website would too. However, without proper caching and CDN implementation, the site was sluggish, leading to poor user experience and lower search engine rankings. By educating the IT team on the importance of these factors and working together to implement the necessary changes, we were able to dramatically improve the site’s speed and, consequently, its search performance.
Conclusion: Collaboration Is Key to Enterprise SEO Success
The key takeaway from my experience is that successful enterprise SEO requires close collaboration between the marketing, content, and IT teams. SEO cannot be an afterthought or a separate initiative; it needs to be integrated into the very fabric of the organization’s digital strategy. By prioritizing SEO early in the planning stages, leveraging existing link equity, and working closely with IT to overcome technical challenges, enterprise organizations can achieve significant improvements in their search engine visibility and overall digital performance.
In my work with various large organizations, I’ve seen firsthand how these principles can lead to tangible results. Whether it’s bringing a financial tool to the top of the search results, optimizing a complex website architecture, or improving site speed through better IT collaboration, the impact of a well-integrated SEO strategy cannot be overstated.
