Enterprise SEO
Are you responsible for handling search optimization for a large company's Web site? Here are factors to consider.
Are you responsible for handling search optimization for a large company's Web site? Here are factors to consider.
I recently spoke at Incisive Media’s SES NY on the topic of enterprise SEO – search engine optimization for large businesses or organizations. First, I’d like to reiterate what Mark Jackson said in his recent SEO column on ClickZ: “Our industry is so dynamic that missing out on a year’s worth of conferences (if you’re not keeping up with your reading on a regular basis) can leave you in the dark ages.” So, stay current and attend SES at least once a year. That’s what I require my team to do.
So how is SEO different for large companies, large sites, and those businesses using multiple languages in different countries vs. smaller companies or sites? If this is what you struggle with each day, read on!
The key issues we face include: (count how many fit your situation)
When talking to key stakeholders, remind them why organic search is important. It’s where users click the most. In fact upwards, of 90 to 95 percent of clicks on a SERP (define) are on organic links not paid ones. This has been borne out in various online studies.
Start with your business goals. Here are mine:
Next, prioritize the key enterprise-type issues you face. For example, in my case:
Finally, once you have prioritized your key issues, choose your primary enterprise SEO tactics:
1. Content: It’s always king, and especially so in SEO. It can help you version your material to avoid duplicate content issues but you need to know “how to write” for SEO.
2. Keyword clusters: We undertook a significant keyword cluster research project to help us prioritize the hundreds of keyword clusters we have. If you plot these on axles of volume and value, you’ll quickly see which ones stand out as offering the most opportunity.
3. Mapping content to your keywords: This will help you understand which content-specific priority keywords should point to. (It may well not be the case today.) So review your existing content that you consider key. This exercise will allow you to identify your “content gaps” where you have high value or priority keywords but no content that they naturally should map to today. Undertake a content development approach to address the gap.
4. Localization/translation: Suffice to say, you must have key and unique content in local language translated by local talent and reviewed by your local marketers to succeed in your key markets.
5. Links: Approach these as inbound global vs. local links. Be sure to use a social media tactic like “AddThis” to generate thousands of deep links in customers’ own language. It will add an important breadth and dimension to your SEO efforts.
6. Duplicate content: Canonical tagging is key here, especially if you are not yet able to take full advantage of your ccTLDs (define). This will tell the engines which duplicate page is the “master” page to flow all that SEO value toward.
7. Tools:
8. Training and education. Finally (and this is so important that I have recommended we focus on it at SES events worldwide), how do you devise and execute a training and education program for all those stakeholders you deal with every day so you don’t have to start each call or project with a one hour search 101? Don’t you hate when you’re ready to really do some great work in detail and someone says, “So, remind me, what’s the difference between this SEO stuff and that keyword bidding stuff?” You must identify all your key stakeholders – upstream and downstream and even “cluster” them into content, technical, and publishing groups and then custom design training programs for them. Get them to take the courses (some companies even require you to be “search certified”) and then when you have that kickoff call – they’ll be asking you: “Hey, which keywords will perform best for this page, product, or initiative and how do we get the pages to perform better? It will be refreshing!
So, to wrap up, here are three key takeaways:
You can follow Crispin on Twitter at @crispinsheridan