I am writing this post in regards to a recent article I read on HubSpot.
Mike Volpe’s lists 7 reasons why marketing can’t trust the Webmaster with SEO. I agree with all 7 reasons but I feel the view from the Webmasters eyes needs to be known as well.
I have been a web developer for the past 6 years and just recently have started working with an in house SEO specialist. It took a good amount of time for us to work out an efficient process. Allow me explain. In the development world we are more concerned with design, functionality and structure. As Mike points out, “The Webmaster does not know your best keywords or your customer personas.” Of course not, that is not our job. However, our job as developers is to learn as much as possible about how SEO works.
I find the biggest pitfall between the SEO specialist and the developer is communication and process. Let’s start with process.
Process: Without a solid process the distance between SEO specialist and developer will simply continue to widen.
When a new project is added to our queue and before the developer touches the project, it is the SEO specialists job to have all keyword relevant content, headlines, title tags, image alt tags and a plan on how to gain exposure for the client whether through social bookmarking, forums or blogging. So many times in the past these important elements are not relayed to the developer before development started. This is a major no no! If a site has already been developed, especially a large scale site, and major SEO related edits are needed due to a breakdown in the process, the efficiency of the process is shot right out the window and can be very costly. Having a well defined process is key. In the future look for a post about tips that have helped our company on developing this process.
Next we need communication.
Communication: Staying in constant communication with the SEO specialist throughout the project is just as important as the process itself. As we all know, issues seem to pop up out of the woodwork all the time. A developer who educates themselves with SEO knowledge will know what questions to ask should an issue arise. I try to read as many SEO related articles as possible. I find it helps my relationship with the SEO specialist and the chance of something being lost in translation is brought to a minimum.
Great article Mike, it sparked me to put some thought into this subject.
Please leave a comment as I would love to hear how other people in the industry handle communication between marketer and developer.
