Perhaps you already have a good grip on search engine optimization (SEO). With your personal website, you’ve done a good job on the little things, like optimizing on-page elements, building high-quality backlinks, and writing evergreen content.
The tricky thing is … enterprise SEO isn’t just SEO. Search engine optimization is different for an individual or small business website than it is for an enterprise level website.
That’s because enterprise companies may have hundreds of landing pages residing in a thoughtful URL that’s hosted on an enterprise-level server. Also, enterprise SEO decisions may come from multiple business units rather than just one.
Therefore, apart from building a dynamic B2C/B2B community and a strong reputation, things like protecting your server would also be included in enterprise SEO, as a cyber attack could easily jeopardize your on-page and off-page search optimization efforts, putting a dent in your corporate digital marketing strategy.
So how do you approach enterprise SEO? Here are some actionable measures you should take:
1. Establish governance
An enterprise has several business units that may run different SEO campaigns or have different agendas for improving the search rank of the enterprise website.
Governance is needed to ensure there is no competition among internal units. For example, no business units should be competing in bids for the same keywords.
Governance is also needed to ensure that backend (servers) are running well. Server health is important because a cyber attack could easily destroy your company’s website and optimization efforts.
IT support in Ottawa and tech support services in other regions of Canada, U.S., etc. are an option enterprises can look into for server governance. Reliable IT support involves a series of checks, balances, and workflows that contribute to maintaining server health.
Service providers will also examine what software and hardware should be monitored, the expected failure points, status of the firmware, and more.
2. Improve online reputation
Online reputation is going to support your SEO efforts because when your website shows up on the first few pages of the search results and people read positive reviews about your enterprise, they’re going to spread the word, which would earn you more links, referral, etc. A non-existent reputation, even if your website ranks high in search engines, may make customers have second thoughts.
Search engines themselves love to see that the websites they’re displaying have a positive reputation. The simplest way to improve your online reputation is to get positive reviews for your company.
Make sure any reviews you receive are recent, real, and of quality. Point your customers towards review pages (internal and external) after they land on your website and have finished performing their desired action.
3. Streamline communication
Some business units may get territorial and not share their SEO plans with other departments. Given such risks, you need to create a communication strategy that facilitates SEO discussions.
For example, you can create a multi-functional search engine optimization team with a representative from each business unit. The team can coordinate goals and challenges to create an overall strategy, then share it with the members of their respective departments.
The other option is to create a platform with the help of tools like Trello and Asana where business units can see each other’s goals and selected strategies. In addition, you might want to pick a representative from each department and train him/her on using the tool.
Enterprise SEO has its own challenges, but if it is supported with these measures, it can unlock the full potential of online traffic for your company.