3 Things to Consider When Building an SEO Team

Categories: Advice for HR Professionals, Other, Recruitment Advice, Trends and Learning

Things-to-Consider-When-Building-an-SEO-Team

Businesses need a solid SEO strategy to succeed in today’s digital era. And what’s the big secret behind SEO that keeps brands at the top of the world? A team of SEO rock stars. As they say, “great SEO starts with the right people.”

Hiring the right people with the right background and experience is difficult. More so if you factor in culture fit and attitude. HR officers and recruiters should be meticulous when building a team of SEO experts that can deliver and even surpass what’s expected from them.

As a recruitment consultant or HR officer, it’s your responsibility to figure out the important things to consider before your hire an SEO expert.

1.     SEO Team Structure

Before you start posting a job opening, consider the ideal structure of your SEO dream team. There’s no one size fits all solution for an SEO team structure, but the roles you create should fit the organizational framework of your company.

Here’s a common SEO team structure you can use as a basis:

SEO Manager – the SEO manager is the team leader and project manager. He will spearhead the creation of measurable goals, develop strategies, and properly delegate tasks. The SEO manager or director will make sure that the team delivers the best results. He will organize training and learning opportunities to make sure that team members are updated with current trends and techniques in SEO.

Technical SEO and Data Analytics – A technical SEO employee should have a deep understanding of website architecture to be able to detect both minor and major flaws in SEO. He or she will also be in charge of data analytics and reporting, and provide recommendations to improve SEO.

Content Strategist – Content publishing is an important aspect of SEO. The content strategist should have enough understanding of content marketing and SEO to be able to strategize and plan how to market a business using content and stay on top of the search engines. The content strategist recommends specific keywords to rank for, so knowledge in keyword research and tools is needed.

Link Builder – You can’t rank in search engines if you don’t build links. The link builder should focus all their time and energy in scouring the net for link building opportunities and soliciting backlinks from bloggers, thought leaders, and content curators.

Web Developer – It would be helpful for your SEO team to have at least one website developer who can help the team optimize webpages according to the latest SEO standards.

2.     Things to Ask

Now that you’ve decided on an SEO team structure, it’s time to post the open positions. After you’ve sifted through the submitted resumes, you can now schedule an interview with the shortlisted candidates.

These days, anyone can claim that they’re knowledgeable and skilled in SEO or that they’ve done SEO work in the past.So, it’s important to know the right questions to ask candidates. This can help you determine if they’re the right fit for the position.

Ask about their experience in SEO. As an HR officer or recruitment consultant, you can see how proficient they are in a specific skill when the candidate is telling you about their experiences. This will also show you how passionate they are about their field of expertise.

Ask about their previous cases. Let your candidate talk about a case study. This can be in the previous company they worked for or an independent client they helped. This will give you insight about their work approach and their working capabilities.

Ask them to discuss the three levels of SEO. There are many ways to optimize a business for search engines. The three main levels of SEO are its technical aspect, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. An SEO expert should have an in-depth understanding of these SEO levels.

Ask them how they update their knowledge. SEO trends are ever-changing as Google, and other search engines change the way they rank pages. As new technology comes out, there will be new techniques that will go with it. An SEO professional should always stay up-to-date with the new trends. Whether they stay updated through web forums and communities, it’s important for an SEO expert to remain vigilant about these updates.

3.     Effective Compensation System

A great SEO expert is hard to come by. SEO professionals are highly in-demand nowadays, so you need to create an attractive compensation system to attract the right people and keep them engaged with your company, right from the start.

Aside from a competitive salary package and health benefits, provide additional perks such as flexible hours and the opportunity to work from home at least twice a month. Other perks that some companies offer game rooms, gyms, snack or juice bars, and a dynamic work environment.

SEO is an art, and you need to give SEO experts creative freedom to strategize on their own. That’s why you’re hiring them in the first place.

HR officers and recruiters should be aware that in today’s business environment, most companies cannot thrive without an effective SEO team. As great SEO professionals are hard to come by, they should also take into consideration the level of expertise of their candidates.

Some companies choose to hire candidates with basic SEO knowledge and just train them to be better at SEO. However, if you are looking for immediate results, then you need someone who can get down to business right away – you need an SEO expert.

So, make sure to create a solid SEO team structure, figure out the things you need to ask in the assessment interview, and offer an attractive compensation package to build an SEO dream team that collaborates well with each other to deliver the best results.


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