5 Challenges of Implementing an SEO Strategy — And How to Overcome Them

Do you find SEO challenging? The good news is, it doesn’t have to be.

Honing in on SEO may be an essential part of building your brand’s reputation, but that doesn’t mean coming up with a foolproof strategy is easy! Here are a few of the most common hurdles that companies face along the search engine optimization journey, and our tips for overcoming them:

1. It’s Difficult to Work with the IT Department to Execute SEO Strategy

There’s no doubt that your IT department is essential to your day-to-day operations. But just because your in-house tech gurus come in for the save every time your server is down, doesn’t mean they’re equipped to handle each and every one of your website-related issues. In fact, that brings us to complaint #2:

2. It’s Hard to Build a Good SEO Team

As we’ve already mentioned, just because SEO is a quintessential business practice doesn’t mean just anyone can do it. In fact, if you’re doing it right, your SEO strategy should be nuanced, complex, and data-driven — something that can only be accomplished with the help of highly-trained (and skilled) employees.

What’s the best way to address these personnel hurdles? That depends entirely on your budget. If you have the overhead to hire an in-house online marketing expert (our several), go for it! Otherwise, outsourcing your SEO to a content marketing agency is probably the most cost-effective long-term solution.

3. You Don’t Have Time to Analyze the Data

If you’re a small business or a startup, chances are your business model is of the “all hands on deck” variety. And that’s great! But just because you’re trying to maximize your resources doesn’t mean you can gloss over the little things. If you’re not monitoring your results, you’re not getting the most out of your SEO strategy — simple as that. So if you really want to handle your SEO in-house, make sure you’re using data analysis software (like Authority Labs or Google Analytics) to monitor your progress.

4. You Lack the Right Tools

Speaking of data analysis software, it should come as no surprise that search engine pros rely on more than their expertise alone to improve their SEO rankings. If you don’t have the tools of the trade, a good SEO strategy can be really difficult (if not impossible!) to implement.

Once again, since these tools require a significant investment, you might want to consider outsourcing your search marketing efforts. If not, consider hiring a consultant or putting together a series of mandatory staff training sessions to ensure that everyone is using the software to optimal effect.

5. You Aren’t Connected With the Right Service Provider

Not all SEO services are created equal. So even if you do decide that outsourcing your efforts is the right choice for you, it’s important to make sure you’re receiving the consideration you deserve from the company you partner with.

If you’re worried that your provider isn’t delivering the results they promised, it’s always useful to understand how to analyze basic SEO data (click-through rate, and so on) so you can judge the efficacy of their strategy yourself.