Presenting SEO to Your C-Suite Executives

SEO is a familiar term in the digital marketing realm. However, to a C-Suite executive this term may sound foreign. The concept behind SEO may also be difficult to grasp, especially considering how C-Suite executives operate. However, there are ways that you can present SEO to your C-Suite Executive to help them understand the potential benefits and how it can be an asset to their marketing strategy.

Focus on Goals

CEOs are very goal oriented and are not as much concerned with the processes to get to those goals. They often will not have too much time to meet with someone to discuss possible programs, as they have multiple operations to run. This is why discussing finer details could lead to frustration or even confusion. Instead, present the key concepts of SEO and then present how these concepts can provide benefits to the company. These may be in the form of increased traffic or increased revenue. Key concepts you may want to present could include the following.

Be Prepared to Provide Individualization

Two companies, even though they may be similar, may have vastly different goals. There are some goals that may remain constant and others that can fluctuate or grow with the company. SEO tactics are flexible and are able to be individualized to meet the unique goals of a specific company. Once you have learned about the goals of your particular company, plan to draw up several different plans in order to remain flexible with their options.

Leave Vagueness at the Door

One of the worst things you can do when presenting SEO to a C-Suite executive is to settle into vagueness. Vagueness does not provide results. Put yourself in the CEOs shoes and recognize how your plan will help the company reach its proposed goals. Although metrics and data can be difficult to provide before an individualized program has begun running, you can utilize data from previous projects and research. Use these predictions to generate real potential solutions for the company. 

Provide Value

Focus on how you can convince your C-Suite level executive to recognize the value of SEO by utilizing your knowledge. Rob Apatoff, executive director of the kellogg Executive Leadership Institute, explains, “The more I saw leaders that truly were in command of their business, and could speak about potential ideas or innovations, the more rope I gave them”. You may need to prove the effectiveness by focusing on website traffic. Providing value within a company helps the company’s website to gain more traction. Think about what resources, guides, and information the company can provide that will benefit consumers. This will help you to create useful tools and will help to guide your content creation. 

Create Content

Creating valuable content for your company’s audience will help to connect you to consumers and the targeted demographic. This will help potential customers connect with the brand, as well as become familiar with the information, products, and services. Providing quality content will garner the company a trusted reputation among the community and provide them with advantages, both with the public and with Google’s algorithm. There are many different metrics that go into fueling Google’s algorithm. 

Track Conversions and Results

Tracking in an essential step when presenting information to C-Suite executives. Without information, it will be difficult to show how the strategy will perform. Monitor and estimate revenue, as well as track other metrics like customer conversion rates or time spent on the website. A CEO will not worry so much about what and how many keywords are ranking, but more so about the increase in revenue this has provided. Consider this aspect when providing predictions or measured results.

Compare the Competition

When providing results, one of the most beneficial things you can do to present to your C-Suite executive is to provide data metrics on their competition. How does their competition rank in comparison to their company? Gaining insights into the competition can help to instill a sense of urgency to get an SEO strategy started. Although a company may have many varying goals, one key aspect of their business will be to overhaul their competition. If your C-Suite executive is still on the fence about recognizing the effectiveness of SEO, this may be the turning point of the presentation.

Instill a Team Environment 

Success with SEO does not happen overnight. It is a long-term process that requires dedicated from both the SEO expert and the C-Suite level executives. Without this support and communication, implementation may suffer. As the CEO, it will be most effective to communicate your goals clearly to the SEO expert. Outline any issues you are having and detail short-term as well as long-term goals. This could be development of more leads, sales through the site, or an increase in website traffic. Team members that work under the CEO should also have a clear idea of SEO and how it will impact the company. Their dedication needs to be consistent in order to achieve key performance rates. Working internally on these processes with team members, as well as creating incentives, can help to boost efforts. 

C-Suite executives have a lot on their plate and you do not want to add to it. Instead, make it easy for them to understand SEO and help them visualize the benefits. Short lists, visuals, and summaries will make the process more streamlined and will help to clearly communicate not only the goals, but also the processes needed to reach them. SEO allows the company to make connections between the business and consumers. This powerful tool is most useful when it is understood properly and can be implemented as part of a dedicated marketing plan.

Need help with your SEO communication?

Are you a marketing professional that needs to define your marketing and communications? Help is here. Brad has over 25+ years experience working with various enterprise teams and leadership and would be happy to assist you and your business. Let’s talk!