Who is in charge of your SEO and why?

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a very diverse and mystical art form that is totally misunderstood by most managers. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) often has its own manager and its own budget in big companies. In small companies SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is treated as a marketing project with its own stand alone staff that fall within the IT (Information Technology) or marketing departments.

In small to micro businesses SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is left in the hands of the web master and does not receive the attention that it deserves. in micro companies and organizations with less than 50 employees SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation) is generally not discussed unless the company focuses on IT  (Information Technology services).

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a marketing strategy within the online marketing of any business / organisation and needs to be fully integrated into the whole marketing strategy of the company / organisation from the beginning. For this to happen managers need to understand what Search Engine Optimisation is, and the mystique associated with the art of ensuring that a companies information is found online needs to be removed.

First one needs to understand what is the purpose of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). The answer to this question is very simple and once clearly understood will make many other decisions an awful lot easier.

The purpose of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is to ensure that your online information is found by your target market.

So who should be in charge of this? simple answer your marketing manager, or a person delegated by your marketing manager.

How much power should your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) manager have ? Quite a bit, as this person needs to ensure that your marketing is integrated at all levels. This means that your online marketing needs to be integrated with
1) your print media marketing
2) your radio marketing
3) your TV marketing
4) your Social Media marketing
5) your web site and all related online publications
6) your telephone-marketing
7) any other marketing avenue that your company may use.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is not a quick fix to get visitors to an individual page, but a marketing strategy to ensure your information is found online by your target audience, and not the wrong crowd that have no interest in your product, service or information.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is not about big numbers of visitors to your online pages, but about ensuring quality visitors to your online portfolio who make use of your products, services or information in a manner that generates a return on your investment.

Your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) manager needs to be a very strong minded person who is capable of leading as this person will be in a very demanding position that requires a deep understanding of team efforts and influencing several different teams in a manner that ensures the complete integration of information relating to the total management of your online information. There is no place for favoritism, and each team member needs to understand where their part of the puzzle belongs and what it does so that copy writing and choice of words used are constant and reflected equally at all levels.   

Back to our original question Who is in charge of your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and why. read this article  on Search Engine Land   and think about the answer to this question. This needs careful evaluation and considerable thought. The person in charge of this section of your company will influence your entire marketing strategy and needs a very deep understanding of your company aims, objectives and purpose.