Almost a month ago (time flies, doesn't it?) I had the opportunity to share a story at MozCon about SEO Project Management (seoPM) with guidelines to enhance the management of the SEO process and achieve more effective results. Since I know you're all quite busy and may need a reminder on the topic, I wanted to check in to see if you're really following the guidelines I shared... in a very fun way, of course. I present to you: an seoPM challenge!
Prepare yourself first with Yoda's seoPM advice from MozCon
For those who did not attend MozCon or skipped my SEO Project Management (seoPM) presentation on Friday morning (too much party the night before, perhaps?), take a look and prepare yourself for the seoPM Jedi challenge by checking out Yoda's seoPM advice:
Test your seoPM Force by taking the seoPM Jedi Challenge
Do you want to save it, print it, or share it? You can download this image or a higher resolution one.
There may be additional seoPM guidelines to be followed, but these are the most important principles and tips shared during MozCon. I'll share additional seoPM guidelines in future episodes, along with challenges that you will be invited to take to keep your seoPM Jedi Master status.
My seoPM Jedi Challenge Results
As it is said in Spanish, I will preach with the example: After taking the tests the result I got is that I'm an seoPM Jedi Master.
Don't get me wrong, this result doesn't mean I haven't made seoPM mistakes. Remember that you need to answer according to you latest seoPM experience, so the status can change easily. This is intentional so that you always keep following the seoPM guidelines.
The truth is, I've experienced many different situations that I've learned from along the way. I've been doing SEO since 2007 and have had a variety of different roles since then. I've worked on the agency side as an SEO consultant and afterwards as the head of the SEO department. I've also been an In-House SEO and an external freelance SEO consultant.
As you imagine, most of the stories shared by our SEO stormtrooper consultant friend at MozCon are mine, too, in some way or another. Nonetheless, I can say that after I started following Yoda's guidelines (and that are tested in the seoPM Jedi challenge), the SEO projects I manage are more effective, my clients are happier, and, of course, I'm an even happier SEO:
Disclaimer: These photos were not taken exactly at the time when the described events happened... but I promise my reaction was very similar.
This doesn't mean that if you don't follow the seoPM guidelines, you won't be able to achieve sucessful seoPM projects, or if you do, your projects are going to be perfect and issue-free. However, I'm positive that if you take these guidelines, customize them to your situation, and follow them in your every day SEO work, you will achieve your results more effectively.
Now it's your turn: Share your seoPM Jedi test results and challenge an SEO friend
I hope that we all start taking these guidelines into consideration, identifying our own situations with them, and challenging ourselves and our SEO friends to follow them.
So, as I need to challenge another SEO to get this going... I want to challenge Gianluca to take the test, share his seoPM results (and experiences) with us, and then challenge another SEO (who hasn't taken the test before) to give it a try.
Here are the different seoPM challenge badges so you can publish them along your results:
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Good luck with your seoPM Jedi Challenge tests. I look forward to learning about your results and stories!
ah! challenge accepted.The result is Jedi Master.
but not all that glitters is gold, and i must admit that i answered no to a couple of questions. My personal weakness is what i call iteration of the principles. with that i mean that sometimes you have to recap the strategy goals, because if not middle term ones will make you loose them. great post Aleyda. i loved it live at Mozcon, and even more now. Rand, what about your test? :)
Thank you for taking it Gianluca :D I'm happy about your results! Congratulations.
Reaching the Jedi Master status it's definitely harder than it seems, especially in technically complex projects, competitive sectors that require more aggressive actions and that can change really fast, working remotely or when the team is geographically distributed, for example.
I like that you've challenged Rand... I hope he also takes the tests and shares his results too! I bet he has a lot to share :)
Ha! My padawan skills are surely lacking :-) Honestly, most of the consulting I do today is walking into a meeting room, chatting with some real SEOs and walking out. I don't even remember to bill anyone (because we dropped consulting in 2009, and the only "consulting" I do is helping folks pro bono). Pretty sure I'd fail this one miserably.
BTW - terrific post and process Aleyda. I wish I'd read and observed it back in my paid consulting days.
Thank you for commenting Rand :) Would have been great to see your results back in your consulting days!
+1 I love the use of the LEGOs!!
Hola Aleyda, great idea for a post: I agree with David, very enjoyable. Lego + Star Wars always win! Now I can brag with my colleagues, asking them to call me seoPM Jedi Master! :)
Good job! Cheers from Barcelona!
Thanks Paolo! That's a nice idea... you can even print the seoPM Jedi Master badge and place it in your desk so they all know how they should call you ;)
This is just awesome! There is a lot to be learned here, beyond the excellent checklist. I love the way you took existing content and turned it into something interactive, share-worthy and truly unique. We're going to get a BIG print of this and post it in the office. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words Chris! I'm happy you have found it useful, took it and shared it :) When I started preparing the MozCon preso I realized I needed to be a bit creative on how I presented the topic since project management it's not the most attractive topic in SEO, but very much needed and useful. You're feedback it's a mission accomplished for me :D Thanks again!
Very truly blog post! Thanks for sharing your own experience. I just love your presentation with Star Wars heroes here ;) Keep it on.
Thank you for reading! Look forward to see your seoPM challenge results :)
I like it. Only got a 4-3 score in my favour on the third tier though, so fell short of Jedi Master status. On the bright side, it's good to have something to work on.
Love the execution of this idea. Good work.
You're an seoPM Jedi Knight then! That's a great start, congratulations... and hope you keep taking seoPM guidelines into consideration to achieve the Master status soon ;)
I like the way you reused your content. Its smart and makes good reading. You are the seoPM Jedi Master!
Thanks Sangeeta :) I'm glad you liked it
You had me at Padawan. ;)
Seriously great post, and great use of an infographic.
Thanks for taking it! If you keep working hard I expect you reach the Jedi Knight level soon :)
Thanks, is really nice to read an imaginative and useful post like this
Sweet idea :-) I think it' s a good checklist to complete project management processes in SEO relevant undertakings.
Nice infographic :). Great idea and an awesome way to present the seoPM guidelines from your session!
Thank you George! I appreciate it :) Look forward to hear about your results
Ok, finally had time to run through the test. I'm an seoPM Jedi Knight.
Things I need to work on immediately that will help me in the future: create a closed environment for testing; create an SEO repository (I really like this one); provide more screenshots and mockups with my recommendations; and finally, I need to automate my reporting and tracking.
Nice start George and congratulations! It's great that you have really identified well the aspects that you need to push more... Look forward to hear about your advancements :)
Aleyda que buena presentación, muy creativa y divertida... jaja con una de mis sagas favoritas mejor aún. Felicitaciones, que bueno saber que el mercado hispano y el SEO en español tiene buenos embajadores.
Un saludo desde Colombia.
Muchas gracias! Me alegra que te haya gustado... espero que tomes el test también, que sea de utilidad en el día a día y que compartas la fuerza con otros SEOs :) Un saludo desde Madrid
Aleyda,
This post is great.. Love this at first as I was reading my thoughts where hmmm after taking the test I was gave myself a pat on the back ; )
Also started working inhouse a few years ago and worked my way up to #seoPM
Wanted to add one thing...
We like to hold a daily 30 minute meeting with everyone in the office to discuss our projects on our white board. Brainstorm ideas and more importantly set goals. One thing that we discovered with the team is that if we do not have a daily meeting things can off track... The daily meeting also gives me time to inspire my team. At the end of every meeting we give the team incentives: If we reach this goal (#2 for this term), everyone gets to go [bowling, movies, bar, lunch, dinner, $100 bonus, vacation, school trip, etc..]
Motivating the team keeps everyone happy and focused.
Hi Donnie, thanks for your comment! What type of Jedi are you? :) Also, thank you for sharing your experience! A continuous and fluid communication and a good incentive system is key (gamification can be also a good idea). Remember the most fundamental aspect about seoPM that Yoda shared in slides No. 77 - 79 of the preso: an SEO Project is ultimately about the people! It's fundamental to understand, interact and pay high attention to the team.
Hi Aleyda,
Excellent post! I fell short of Jedi Master :-( I am not the most organised person in the world and not very good at documenting all of my activities. Also, I need to start learning agile project management, I've been spoilt by our awesome AM's that I pay little attention to the PM side of things. But it's definitely an area I need to work on. I will be taking a printout of the infographic and will pin it at my desk.
Also, I'm looking forward to meeting you and listening to your presentation at BrightonSEO..
Hi Shaad, thanks for your feedback and taking the tests!
Congrats on the Jedi Knight status, I expect your results to be impressive when you start focusing more on seoPM as you're planning :) I'm not the most *naturally* organized person myself and that's one of the main reasons why I really need to have some working guidelines and a system, that are flexible enough for SEO but that keep me on track of what I need. The principles and tips presented in the preso have helped me to do it so I hope they help you too!
Look forward to meet you at BrightonSEO!
Great post. Managing expectations is crucial - many who are not familiar with the long-term objectives of SEO may expect instant, unattainable results. Also, monitoring / sitting in on a salespersons pitch may not be necessary if there are guidelines set in place.
Thanks Dan! Managing expectations is fundamental, because of the timing, the type of results, the resources you will need, the restrictions there could be, etc. Also, for me providing pre-sales support (whether it's at an agency or in-house, at an internal project "selling process") it's fundamental: For an early qualification and identification of possible opportunities, risks and restrictions that could be too technical or complex for someone who's not an SEO -like a salesperson-, also to verify that the expectations are effectively transmitted. Adding that extra validation aspect has never hurt me for sure :)
I think I'm one point off the Knight level, but we do some of the Knight-> Master bits! Not sure what you mean by 'sample validations' however?
Definitely going to bookmark and take down all these principles and see what can be applied to our current and future SEO client base :-) Thanks!
Hi Martin! Thank you. Congrats on the *almost* Jedi Knight level.
To learn more about "sample validations" take a look at slides No. 46 - 48 of the preso. It's about how instead of giving a recommendation and wait for its full implementation to validate (and then launch it), you ask to validate a sample of it when the implementation is starting, so if something is in the process of not being well implemented you can identify it early, not after it has been fully done, when fixing the mistake will require much more work and time. Hope it helps :)
Yep that helped, thanks very much - will go over the slides in more detail soon. Thanks again!
I guess being a Jedi Knight is not too bad! I will need to brush up on your seoPM.
Great post, thanks again.
Hey Aleyda, thanks for sharing this fun stuff. StarWars and SEO is a great combination. :-) I'll take the challenge later and will post my grade. One thing that came to my mind: Wouln'd it be awesome to have this as an interactive feature/test?
Thank you for the comment :) I look forward to hear about your results! The interactivity would be an awesome next step ... will surely keep it as a possibility in the future, it might attract more people to take it.
Oh, looking forward to this. Keep us updated and may the force be with you. :-)
Even the best fall down sometimes. We taught we already did our best but yet for others it still isnt enough. Everyone made mistakes but whats important is that have we stood up despite our fall. This article is so meaningful - communication is somehoaw the key to succes. The following guidelines will definitely help us achive more positive feedbacks. May the SEOPM force be with us all.
Very funny Aleyda, thank you very much!! ;)
gracias David majo :) I expect to see the results of your tests!
Awesome presentation, really enjoyable and informative.
Regarding reporting, I find one of the biggest challenges of SEO/SEM is in educating and communicating benefits to clients, and reporting is a huge part of that. When a client receives a GA export they can see that little-to-no effort on our behalf is required to produce them, they are what they are, automated exports. And since the format has changed each report you include is individually attached as a PDF, which I believe makes for a poor experience for the client. On their own they don't effectively communicate anything to most clients. I've personally always found customised reporting to be the best option as half the job is educating the client, repetitively. We'll also frequently walk the client through their reports to make sure they understand what they're receiving, it has been eye-opening to learn that most of them did not. So, sure, reporting takes up quite a bit of my time, but they have ended up being worth every minute in client education and retention.
Hi David, totally agree, reporting is fundamental, please take a look at slide 66 of the preso. The thing is, while is important that you automate data gathering for yourself (and optimize your time) you should build personalized reports that are easily digestible and targeted to the people you're sending them to (and not send the reports that a tool generates automatically or by default since they usually are not really including all what they should have and can be easily misinterpreted). Also, the reports you send to a marketing director are not going to be the same than the ones you send to a product manager, each report should include relevant KPIs for the person who's going to read them, that can be really used to make decisions (which is the final purpose of data analysis and reporting), along with your own recommendations and description on how to interpret the information there. I hope you've also taken the tests... look forward to hear what type of seoPM jedi are you!
This is a great checklist! Just fell a couple short of being a Jedi Master (love the level scale by the way!). Definitely gives me something to strive for to get better as an SEO.
That's excellent Martin, great start! I hope you share the seoPM force by challenging an SEO friend :D
I missed Mozcon this year so I didn’t get to hear your presentation but what a great read. Top notch info graphic too, I’m sure this will get a lot of sharing!
Thanks Kyle, a pitty you didn't go to MozCon, it was great. I hope that you take the challenge too!