Search engine optimization (SEO) is a huge deal. Yes, it’s made up of many little details. Some of the dots were linked, while others were not.
Staying on track and on schedule is something we’d all like to achieve at some point or another.
At some time something will go wrong or a resource is unavailable, and it’s inevitable.
As a result of this, several aspects of search engine optimization (SEO) are dependent on problem solving.
It is obvious that there will be SEO blockages and problems, therefore we must be prepared and know what to do in those cases.
Some SEOs excel at strategizing, while others excel in executing. Few people are good at both. Every person is distinct in their ability to generate new ideas, devise strategies, and put those strategies into action on a tactical level.
To be an SEO problem-solver, what does one need to know about the various parties and variables involved in SEO? Become an SEO problem-solver by following these nine simple steps.
See the definitions for further information.
Recognize your key stakeholders (all of them)
It’s common for non-SEOs to criticise SEO success (whether it’s fair or not) and, at the same time, for others to hold back or negatively effect SEO performance.
When you know what to expect, you can anticipate potential bottlenecks, and you have a complete picture of the situation, problem-solving becomes simpler. Even whether it’s because of business politics, a lack of understanding of SEO, or completely different expectations, you need to know all the participants and determine what hurdles may lie ahead of you in order to succeed.
Stakeholder mix and expectations are easier to deal with if you can keep track of all the people involved in the project. “When,” not “if,” is the correct answer. Nothing ever goes as planned, and I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way.
Establish roles and procedures for communication.
People you deal with in addition to the larger group of stakeholders are called “stakeholders.” People on your team, at your agency, in your department, or in other areas, whether at the agency or at the client, may be included.
Unless you are a writer, designer, developer, and approver in addition to being an expert in SEO, you will require the assistance of others in order to be successful.
Assign roles and duties to everyone in the organisation. You should know who your go-to folks are for certain tasks. Find out how they work, then align yours with theirs.
Get a handle on the lead time and turnaround time. Assure them that unexpected demands and events are to be expected.
It’s important to be as specific as possible about what you want and what you could need, as well as how responsiveness and timeliness affect SEO results. Involve allies in your problem-solving and troubleshooting and try to achieve as much agility with resources as possible.
- Retain baselines and objectives.
You want as much objectivity and cause-and-effect as possible in any search engine optimization campaign.
Baselines and goals of where the effort is heading help you stay on track with resources, why something doesn’t go according to plan, and more. There are so many ambiguous and misunderstood areas that you may easily get off track without them.
Achieving your objectives can be accomplished in several ways. If we can’t connect a technical issue to a baseline or an influence on a goal, we might become lost in a rabbit hole.
Taking a step back and realigning our efforts is another option if we encounter opposition or encounter an obstacle, such as learning that a developer update to fix a technical problem may take six months.
Use your strategy and plan to help you achieve your goals
First and foremost, I hope you’ve developed a clear strategy and actionable plan. Take a step back if you don’t already have it, as well as your baselines and goals (mentioned above). Instead of leading the SEO effort, you’ll have to constantly hunt down problems.
With the support of your strategy and plan, you may further develop the campaign’s or cause’s objective aspects.
As I mentioned in the introduction, SEOs might excel at big-picture planning, while others excel at fine-grained implementation (technical vs. content, etc.).
When you have a strategy and a plan in place, you’ll know how hard to press for a specific issue and when to move on to something with a wider impact. You may also change your expectations, though. It’s a red indicator if the content writer or review process is already booked for months in the future, since this might lead to a shift in the timeline for the project and delay its completion.
Use your strategy and any adjustments that occur to manage expectations in order to secure resources or solicit cooperation from others.
Be flexible and deviate from the script.
Even if you have the finest strategy and all the resources at your disposal, things might still go awry and turn out in a different direction than expected. It’s true that we spend a lot of time optimising the title and meta description tags. However, it’s possible that difficulties with duplicate tags or the indexing process still exist.
- Is it time to cross something off our list and move on?
- Is it time for yet another optimization round?
- Do we need to start working on other aspects of the strategy at the same time?
- Is there a demand for a developer or a copywriter?
There are times when things don’t go according to plan, and this is no exception. Forth other cases, it’s necessary to put in even more effort.
The most crucial talent an SEO may have while troubleshooting or addressing problems is the ability to strike the correct mix between altering the strategy and being flexible as you go and sticking to the plan.
The sixth step is to build up your technical abilities and/or resources
When it comes to SEO, knowing the “what” and the “why” is key. Tools and performance concerns aren’t enough to tell us when something isn’t working as expected anymore; we need to go deeper.
It is easier to find out what’s wrong with your site if you can access the XML sitemap, robots.txt, HTML code, or other associated aspects yourself.
You must be able to gather your resources and act like a quarterback in a crisis. The more prescriptive and direct you are with your resources, the more likely you are to obtain an answer that meets your needs and is completed as quickly as possible.
Have a back-up strategy for your material
One of the most common causes for plans and performance to go awry is a lack of substance.
In my experience, few SEOs are still producing or modifying content. SEOs often rely on a customer, another resource, or a business partner to write and produce content for them in most instances. Legal and regulatory regulations have a role in several sectors.
Even if you have a content schedule and known needs, content resources might be filled up.
Suppose your material resource is unavailable, or your project deviates from the original course you had in mind.
Do you have a fallback plan in place?
Does your website’s performance suffer as a result?
When content isn’t performing, it’s one thing to be a problem-solver. One thing is missing when you can’t find the information you require.
Be patient, but don’t be a slouch.
Be a team player and respectful of your partners and resources you collaborate with.
Pushing too much and/or not being tactful won’t help your cause. Give some grace and have patience, but also don’t wait.
If you’re stuck on content (per the section above), or a dev edit, or a technical update or on any specific resources beyond your control, find ways to move things around in the plan.
You can always prioritise link building, tag updates, or some other type of audit or update to keep things moving forward.
It might take some creativity, but don’t sit idle while waiting on others. Keep moving something forward.
See roadblocks as opportunities
My tone has probably been pretty strong because there will be challenges, roadblocks and things to troubleshoot. That’s the nature of SEO and the web in general.
A problem-solver attitude is key.
Accepting this truth and being cheerful in the face of hardship, being a realist and getting people on board with this reality are key.
SEO is challenging for everyone. We’re attempting to be the best possible with our website and approach.
If it were easy, everyone would be skilled at it, and we’d have a different set of difficulties.