When Do We Want Our SEO Modifications Done? Yesterday!
SEO is a fast-paced job with many moving parts. It can be frustrating when we can’t see results quickly because change requests are stuck in the developer queue.
Patience is a virtue for SEOs, but waiting for changes due to development backlogs and inflexible CMS systems can take time and effort.
Historically, the relationship between SEOs and developers could have been better, often due to poor communication and a lack of understanding of each other’s needs. However, there is a way to bridge the gap.
You may speak different languages and have different agendas, but here’s how to build a bridge with your development team to produce faster results for your SEO clients or your website.
Understand a Developer’s Priorities
Developers often face numerous change requests from all areas of the business. Unfortunately, SEO is often not at the top of their list, and our requests can take a while to be seen or heard.
Two-thirds of surveyed SEOs said they wait a month or more to implement their changes, and 40% of those changes are never executed.
It helps to acknowledge this and avoid approaching with demands. Instead, could you try to understand their current priorities and how they fit into the broader context of company operations and your needs? Showing empathy and understanding their pressure can help strengthen that relationship.
Educate Developers on the Importance of SEO Changes
Once you’ve connected and understood their work and priorities, could you explain the importance of your SEO changes?
A lack of knowledge is one of the most common barriers to progress when working as a team. Developers often sideline SEO tasks because they need to understand the consequences of not performing them quickly enough. Could you walk them through the benefits of timely SEO implementation and get them on your side?
While developers are likely familiar with search principles and maintaining a functional website, they may need to learn all the intricacies of SEO. Invest in their education by sitting down with them, perhaps over a coffee, to explain the critical on-page factors and their impact on performance, using examples of what happens when changes are or aren’t made.
Take the Lead with Reversible SEO Implementation
Now that you have better communication, you can set up a clear and straightforward process for making the necessary changes.
Tools like PageImprove allow SEOs to adjust the site version that Google sees, evaluates, and indexes without requiring hard-coded backend changes.
With a simple Chrome extension and some JavaScript, you can implement your SEO optimizations when you need them without waiting for developer availability. This will reduce your workload, as you can let your colleagues know you can handle these tasks yourself.
PageImprove creates a downloadable .csv file with all the changes that need to be made to the backend. Could you send this file to the developers along with a recap of your earlier educational discussion, reminding them that all changes are reversible if needed?
Stop Waiting Around for SEO Changes
Bypass the bottleneck with fundamental, reversible SEO changes.
Leave Your Developers to It
Once you’ve made the necessary changes for your clients, you can monitor Google picking them up and report back on the (hopefully) positive results. There’s no waiting on developer backlogs or emailing clients to say the work is ‘in progress.’
You’ve taken the initiative and made the updates without hard-coded website changes. This allows developers to update the backend in their own time.
Please keep your communication open and open, letting developers know precisely what you’ve changed so they can mirror it. This approach keeps developers happy because you’ve solved an issue together without encroaching on each other’s priorities, and your clients are happy because they’ve seen faster SEO results.
Enjoy Your Newfound Collaboration with Developers
Through better communication and the power of tools like PageImprove, you can develop a more cooperative and efficient relationship with your developers. Gone are the days of waiting weeks, months, or years for SEO changes to be made—this new approach puts SEOs in charge of SEO and developers in charge of development, with complementary workflows.
Historically, the relationship between SEOs and developers could have been better. Two-thirds of surveyed SEOs stated they wait a month or more to implement their changes. Still, developers may need to learn all the details of SEO. Tools like PageImprove allow SEOs to modify the site version that Google sees, evaluates, and indexes without making hard-coded backend changes. This keeps clients happy with faster SEO results.
