Building a business culture for digital success. A Stickyeyes Webinar, 9 March 2016
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Mike McDougall discusses the evolution of SEO and the need for a business culture that embraces digital transformation. He emphasizes the importance of integrating SEO into the core strategy, focusing on user engagement, and adapting hiring and education practices to foster a collaborative environment. The document also highlights challenges organizations face in implementing effective digital strategies and suggests the establishment of a center of excellence to promote education and interdepartmental communication.
Building a business culture for digital success. A Stickyeyes Webinar, 9 March 2016
- 1. Building a Business Culture for Digital Success Mike McDougall - Head of SEO March 9th 2016
- 2. With over 14 yearsin digital,I’ve helpedbuild teams and worked in a varietyof rolesin agencies in the UK & NorthAmerica. I have led and built search marketingteams for a numberof leadingagenciesand have also worked client-sidefor a number of prominent onlinebrands,includinglastminute.com. In my current role I head up the Searchteam, ensuringStickyeyes’clientsare leadingthe way with forward thinking,content-leddigitalstrategies and drivingdigitalchangewithintheir businesses. A bit about me
- 3. SEO out of the Silo • Delivering great SEO is harder now that it’s ever been • No longer a “Bolt-On” • Search must be considered in the planning stage • Let data and insight drive decision making Can you guys “SEO” this for me please? We need some “SEO” copy Make sure “SEO” are ok with it
- 4. Digital as a disruptive force • More customer-focused and digitally agile businesses are winning • Long-established brands have been over-taken • Brands like Netflix are a prime example • ESPN lost an estimated 7.2 million subscribers as more people “cut the cord”* • Uber shows how a brand can solve consumer problems and change traditional behaviours • Relying on your brand strength, operational scale and reputation could be disastrous *Source:Nielsen
- 5. Are we approaching a “Search Singularity”?
- 6. On-Site Technicals Functional Content Engaging Content Brand Authority Link Profile Quality User Engagement Mobile Capability Machine Learning Google is changing • Google serves as an example of digital evolution and change. • Constant change and flux has drivenit forward. • It has sought to hone the search engine experience. • The elements that effect organic rankings are hugely diverse. • Machine learning &AI key to the future of algorithm.
- 7. What is “RankBrain”? • “RankBrain” is Google’s machine learning technology. • Google set to announce that “RankBrain” will soon be the key component of it’s ranking algorithm. • Expected to “dial down” human tweaked elements of their algorithm. • Machines are starting to understand context and think like humans. • This contextual layer will change and personalise the search experience.
- 8. Historically Divergent Strategy It wasn’t abnormal for site’s to have different strategies and content for end users and search engines. Customer Strategy Search Engine Strategy • Flash / Ajax elements • Image driven • Focus on Search • Offer / campaign pages • Link lists in footer • Hidden / buried content • Keyword stuffed text • Thin / dupe content
- 9. A Singularity of Purpose • Needs of search engines & end users have never been closer! • 9 times of 10, if something is good for end user then it’s likely to be great for search engines. • This leaves the algorithm less open to manipulation. • Links, and content that existed only for search engines, is now irrelevant and even damaging.
- 10. Changing Ranking factors The last 18 months have seen a significant shift in the Google algorithm placing much greater emphasis on user engagement factors. Time on site is now #1. 240 260 280 300 320 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 AverageTimeonSite(s) Ranking Position Average Time on Site – Ranking Correlation
- 11. What does this mean for you as digital experts?
- 12. A new digital practitioner • SEO’s are losing the “techie” image and coming out of the basement. • Digital practitioners need to be well rounded marketers with acute business acumen. • Demands on SEO professionals have become more broad covering content, UX, PR as well a technical bread and butter. • This new practitioner is geared up to evolve with digital change.
- 13. The evangelist and teacher The role of the “SEO guy” is a million miles away from what it used to be. • An evangelist – can they sell the digital dream internally and win hearts and minds? • Inspirational presenter and good orator. • A teacher – vital to be able to educate internal teams and stakeholders to create a new legion of digital believers. • Convincing senior stakeholders is not easy – force of personality needed
- 14. A shift in language and vocabulary • Antiquated concepts like “white hat” no longer part of a modern digital language • Demystification of SEO as a “dark art” or a “black box” – it’s not • Losing the obsession with Google and “gaming the system” – quit trying to outsmart the smartest people on earth • Replacement of phrases like “link building” with classic marketing concepts like “owned, earned and paid”
- 15. Adapt your hiring strategies • Need to think about how they’re going to fit your organisation – will they mesh with other departments. • Technical skills alone won’t cut it! • Acatalyst for change – will they have the passion and drive to “evangelise” digital? • Tenacity and commitment – organisational change is hard, faint hearts need not apply.
- 16. Organisational Culture holding Digital back It’s not easy – operational complexity & structure, large staff headcounts across multiple languages, cultures & time zones, multiple external agencies and stakeholders all cloud the waters. The challenges facing organisations can be categorised into 4 key areas.
- 17. Technical – “it’s too difficult to do” • Technical challenges can slow down transition within large organisations. • Legacy platform limitations, system infrastructure, out-dated CMS systems and e-commerce platforms. • Systems not build to meet the demands of modern digital strategy. • Developing them is hard, time consuming and expensive. • Code freezes and Dev queues make business unresponsive.
- 18. Resource – “There’s nobody to do it until…” • Digital now spans the breadth of organisations – touching most departments. • Digital now everyone’s remit – traditionally not the case. • Department collaboration is much more necessary. • SEO, e-commerce, PR, Content, UX – all key players for digital projects. • Schedules are already stacked – adding digital responsibility can meet resistance.
- 19. Vision – “We don’t see the value in doing this” • Making the business case for digital strategy is one of the biggest challenges. • Not everyone is a digital native who “gets it”. • Getting executive level buy-in is vital. • Change is part of the process in creating a digitally focused brand. • Failure to convince leads to delays and poor digital performance
- 20. Corporate Inertia – “That’s not how we do things here” • Inertia leads businesses to remain in a state of normality. • Challenge existing processes, structures and visions to adapt to modern consumer habits. • Lack of digital proficiency within the business. • Many brands are led by people from traditional, non-digital backgrounds. • Natural to focus on areas where they feel most comfortable.
- 21. The Centre of Excellence Concept Companies aren’t in a position to necessarily hire 10 specialists across multiple sites so how can we ensure this knowledge is at the heart of business-wide decision making?
- 22. The Centre of Excellence Concept
- 23. Purpose 1: Education • Absolutely key to the success of the Centre of Excellence model. • Market the Guardian role as one to develop & broaden skills. • Tailor training levels to suit your audience. • Make education programs engaging and accessible.
- 24. Purpose 2: Process • Place digitally trained eyes and ears in key positions within your business. • Put a clear communication and issue escalation process in place. • Onus is on Guardians to flag issues and communicate departmental news / projects. • Don’t over-load Guardians responsibility outside of day to day work.
- 25. Purpose 3: Collaboration • Break down walls & ensure inter-department communication. • Get regular meetings in place with COE members. • Keep the focus and ensure that issues are caught in timely fashion. • Understand where issues are likely to occur – learn from previous mistakes.
- 26. Case in Point: Adidas Excerpts taken from an Adidas presentation delivered in 2014.
- 27. Case in Point: Adidas Excerpts taken from an Adidas presentation delivered in 2014
- 29. Creating A Digital Roadmap • You need to know exactly what you’re trying to achieve – build a detailed plan. • Breaking down into bite-sized chunks makes change less daunting. • Use data and projections - what does that digital opportunity look like in 6, 12 and 18 months? • Communicate this to a high level – create robust business cases for the “why”. • Search is sometimes intangible.
- 30. Build a team for success • Use training & education to Identify key talent and stakeholder to convince. • Identify traditional blockers and put a plan in place to remove and open up comms. • Gear up for change – long term plans will shift in the digital space so be agile. • New digital converts will help to push through change & combat natural inertia. • Open your eyes an consume information – follow Moz, set up a tweet deck of search influencers etc.
- 31. Thanks for listening If you have any additional questions feel free to get in touch: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=7370476 Tweetme: @mikeymcdougall