How to share responsibility for SEO with developers?
Build relationships, the rest will follow
E-commerce websites have grown into gigantic organisms. Layer upon layer of technology allows customers to buy things fast. With complexity increasing, SEO specialists need to boost their technical skills or rankings will tremble and fall.
High competition and weekly Google updates[1] are enough to keep SEO specialists occupied. The arduous task of search engine optimization does not need the added responsibility of repairing complex websites or janitorial duties.
This is a challenge because search engine optimization requires a multidisciplinary approach. Members from different teams must learn to cooperate for SEO to be effective.
In an earlier post, I addressed why your developers & SEO specialists should work together to keep websites healthy. But how can we create an environment where every member contributes to the system’s health?
The foundation of shared responsibility
Developing an environment of shared responsibility is harder than developing an E-commerce environment because it’s based on human interaction. It’s not a simple if > then, rather a long-winding process, through which we build good work-relationships, where responsibility is viewed as a common goal.
Good relationships and teamwork are the foundation of shared responsibility and require time to establish. We must learn to trust each other, be patient and forgiving to one another and we must engage in a relaxing way. Have fun, socialize and share personal stories.
I’ll share three insights that you can use to build an environment of shared responsibility.
1. Build relationships, the rest will follow
The most effective way to create an environment of shared responsibility is by building better relationships. We are all social-beings, looking for meaningful connections.
There are two great moments to connect with other teams:
- In scheduled meetings where the development team reviews new features
- In social settings where team members have fun and connect on a different level
If you build relationships, the rest will follow. Why does this work? For one, you’ll show that you have an interest in others and the work they did. That you’re invested and that it’s not all about you.
It’s also a great way to discover the priorities of software development teams. What do they deem most important? What do they love to work on? How does it relate to the work you’d like to be done as an SEO specialist?
Finally, once you get connected and become a familiar face, you have a real opportunity to share your knowledge. Did a developer change code for URL patterns? Explain how it could impact rankings. Did the page size change because of a considerable update? Teach about the importance of page speed.
They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel — Carl W. Buechner
The nicest guy in the world
When an update or bug destroys your rankings, you must actively seek a solution with the developers involved. But if developers only see you when mistakes happen, their association with you will be negative, even when you’re the nicest guy in the world.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions
In many scenarios asking questions is more productive than giving answers. You give someone the opportunity to teach and think. We want everyone to have the best possible knowledge and so we must ask questions and invite others to follow their curiosity as well. Once involved, colleagues are more likely to share responsibilities.
I remember a presentation about the basics of SEO. I’d been presenting for nearly 15 minutes when I finally got a question. It was a simple question I assumed everyone knew. You can image my shock when I discovered many others had the exact same question.
Why were they so hesitant? I always try to be inviting to questioners, so why wouldn’t they ask when they clearly didn’t know? Well, it turns out that pluralistic ignorance was the cause:
[It’s] a situation in which a majority of group members privately reject a norm, but go along with it because they assume, incorrectly, that most others accept it. [2]
Since I’ve learned about pluralistic ignorance I try to combat this psychological effect. If someone is looking for an answer to a problem or a challenge I try to be open-minded and whenever possible, I force myself to ask genuine questions.
There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with — Seneca
Not to be smart, but to become smart
As kids, we learned that there are no stupid questions, yet surely feel they exist. Maybe you feel dumb when you ask questions. You’re not alone. I certainly used to feel this way too, until I dived deeper into why I was asking a question. It wasn’t to be smart, it was to become smart. This helped me to ask better questions.
3. Share your knowledge in a humble way
Finally, after connecting with co-workers and asking questions, we can improve shared responsibility by sharing knowledge.
Everyone has a different perspective. It doesn’t matter if you’re an SEO expert or a seasoned developer, you know things that others don’t. The SEO expert and software developer must teach… and learn.
If you’re an expert or specialist it’s reasonable to assume you’ve developed unconscious competence:
It’s when [an] individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature” and can be performed easily [3].
I’ve had this happen so many times: “Why does my colleague ask such a simple question? How can we make such a simple mistake?” Through conversation, it turned out not to be so simple for my colleagues. And so we must be humble in our estimations and assumptions.
Unconscious competence is great for your performance. But it does create a blind spot. It’s tough to imagine that experience has made the complex simple. You believe things are easy, but that doesn’t mean they are. Maybe you’ve become unaware of what it is you know and likewise assume that co-workers, a client or the team have knowledge of ‘this simple thing’.
A Person teaching and a person learning should have the same end in view; the improvement of the latter — Attalus
Have a bite of my knowledge
There are many ways to share knowledge. You could send a weekly e-mail with the latest changes, write blog posts, contribute to Github or give presentations to co-workers. It all depends on what you have to tell and what medium best conveys your message.
Sharing information is great. Knowledge is like a delicious pie that can never be fully devoured. The more we share it, the more we receive. We must share our expertise, so we can improve the entire organization. Expanding knowledge of the teacher and the learner.
How to create an environment of shared responsibility?
Build relationships and the rest will follow. Easy advice to comprehend, but time-consuming to practice. Of course, there are other, forceful ways to create shared responsibility, but then again, is the responsibility really shared?
We’re all humans looking for the same things. Connection and meaning. Therefore we must pursue better work-relationships, even when it takes time and patience and hard work to get there.
The reward is worth it. If we follow this process, we can build complex developing environments that sustain major E-commerce platforms in highly competitive markets.
Bibliography
[1] Google Major Updates, Search Engine Land, 2019
Want more? Read my previous post: Lessons from a raspberry plant, reflections on divergence, perseverance and perspective
