{"id":18883,"date":"2021-04-08T08:14:20","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T08:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/https-www-nobraineragency-co-uk-blog-blog-how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T12:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T12:18:17","slug":"how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"18883\" class=\"elementor elementor-18883\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-76732f64 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"76732f64\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-355ceeed\" data-id=\"355ceeed\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1668d50 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1668d50\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 05-08-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RyanJones\/status\/1352326585865613313\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3850 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ryan-jones-tweet.png\" alt=\"Ryan Jones tweet about the SEO industry\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a>Whether you\u2019re working in-house or at an agency, at some point in time you\u2019ve probably had to explain why SEO is important \u2013 and that\u2019s the easy part. But the (sometimes) constant up-hill struggle of transforming a brand or company that just \u201cdoesn\u2019t get it\u201d into one that does, is something a lot of SEO experts can empathise with.<\/strong>\n\nWhatever is blocking you, whether it\u2019s lack of team knowledge, internal politics or perhaps the sheer level of resource, it\u2019s bloody tough to rally the troops and deliver growth in organic search without wider company support and buy-in. But remember, you are not alone.\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3849 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/amalia-fowler-tweet.png\" alt=\"Amalia Fowler tweet about the challenges of being an SEO\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" \/>\n\nI\u2019ve tackled this challenge at multiple organisations during my career, so I wanted to share the tips and tricks that really helped me to overcome some of the common obstacles and hurdles that ultimately gets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/\">SEO services<\/a> embedded within an organisation. Even if you\u2019re just starting your journey into SEO, or you\u2019ve been doing this for some time, hopefully this\u2019ll help!\n\n<strong><em>Where to begin?<\/em> In a nutshell: Start marketing SEO to your colleagues, and yes, even the Executive team<\/strong>\n\nBefore you can start \u201cmarketing\u201d SEO, you need to understand your audience and how best to market to them. So, whether you \u201cget\u201d marketing or not, I hate to break it to you, but you\u2019re in the thick of it now. Whether you&#8217;re looking at ecommerce SEO or your ultimate goal is generating quality leads through your site, the principles on getting buy-in are the same.\n<h3>Our 5-step process to get buy-in for SEO (and prove its value)<\/h3>\nBased on my experience, and using a few handy tools, we\u2019ve shaped a five-step process for you to use to get that all-important approval, build long-lasting alliances and even transform your biggest blockers into SEO champions.\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3805\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo-flowchart.png\" alt=\"Process flowchart: How to get buy-in for SEO\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/>\n\nAlthough it is simple, each step requires time, effort and patience before you\u2019ll reach the finish line \u2013 after all, you\u2019re changing both hearts and minds here. <em>Let\u2019s get started\u2026<\/em>\n<h2>Step 1: Know your audience<\/h2>\nFirst things first, let\u2019s think about your target audience: When something is so clear and obvious to us techies, it\u2019s sometimes easy to forget that, to others, you may as well be speaking a different language (Klingon anyone?).\n\nWe also forget that while we\u2019re battling on with our own agenda, it\u2019s forgivable to overlook that others are going through their own challenges. Take that example and overlay a lack of knowledge, especially if they don\u2019t see it being useful to them \u2013 that can make it a tough sell, and that\u2019s no-one\u2019s fault. But &#8211; <strong>that\u2019s where you have an opportunity to find common ground<\/strong>!\n\nSo, while you didn\u2019t necessarily sign up to become an \u201cSEO champion\u201d, waving the flag and jumping up and down like a maniac; at some point soon, you\u2019ll have to fire up PowerPoint, dust off your marketing skills and start speaking their language.\n<h4>How to understand your audience: Setup a \u201cStakeholder matrix\u201d<\/h4>\nBefore you can begin to turn people to your way of thinking, you need to get an understanding of <em>who<\/em> exactly it is you need to get \u201con side\u201d. One thing I found particularly useful was a stakeholder matrix (inspired by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Content-Strategy-Toolkit-Guidelines-Templates\/dp\/0134105109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Content Strategy Toolkit<\/a> from the talented Meghan Casey).\n\nIt\u2019s a simple spreadsheet that lists each person that you believe is pivotal to getting SEO embedded, what their role is, whether they\u2019re a blocker or an ally, and what\u2019s important to them. Having this laid out will you to tailor your \u201cpitch\u201d for SEO so it connects with them, speaking their language &#8211; but I always find it useful to gets things clear in your own head on how to market to them.\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1z9R8XQKHGbDQyWEd0OS8l8rBAvuWfoJS6Ryv6sxEYXI\/edit#gid=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3808\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/stakeholder-matrix-screenshot-2.jpeg\" alt=\"Stakeholder Matrix - Free template\" width=\"1843\" height=\"496\" \/><\/a>\n\nI\u2019ve set up a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1z9R8XQKHGbDQyWEd0OS8l8rBAvuWfoJS6Ryv6sxEYXI\/edit#gid=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">free stakeholder matrix spreadsheet<\/a> to get things started \u2013 feel free to make a copy and tweak it to suit you (it\u2019s Google Sheets)!\n<h3>How to use the stakeholder matrix<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ol>\n \t<li>List your stakeholders, by both name and title, these should be the key people who you need \u201con-side\u201d<\/li>\n \t<li>Map out their <strong>roles<\/strong> in your mission:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table style=\"border: 1px solid #bfbfbf;\" cellpadding=\"15\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #bfbfbf;\">\n<td><strong>Type<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Details<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Decision maker<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>The person who ultimately calls the shots and are responsible for overall performance \u2013 this could be the CMO and CTO, Marketing or IT Director or someone else entirely.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Influencer<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">They have the ear of the Decision Makers and could help push things forward. Heads of Departments (or similar) tend to fit into this, but don\u2019t exclude their direct reports either.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Gatekeeper<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>This person could be key to unlocking those important relationships or hold helpful access or data (perhaps it\u2019s the Head of Development, Scrum Master or someone with a personal connection that you could get to help support your cause).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Other<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">If they don&#8217;t meet the above, stick them in the \u201cOther\u201d bracket for now! (But make a note as to why they\u2019re important)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n \t<li>List the <strong>type <\/strong>of role they have:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<table style=\"border: 1px solid #bfbfbf;\" cellpadding=\"15\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #bfbfbf;\">\n<td><strong>Type<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Details<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Strategic<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Are they the people who formulate the strategy to meet objectives and goals? If so, then they\u2019re in this category.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Expert<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">These are your friendly neighbourhood Subject Matter Experts &#8211; like CMS editors, developers or specialist product owners.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Implementer<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Very helpful dudes! Get to know these people, they&#8217;ll likely be implementing your SEO strategy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n \t<li>Add some more details to the other columns, including:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n \t<li>What <strong>concerns<\/strong> they may have around SEO i.e., PPC gives immediate results, the level of resource required is too high, or is it that there\u2019s too many \u201cunknowns\u201d that concerns them.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Topics<\/strong> &#8211; What would be good to chat through in a one to one? For example, what are the challenges in their role right now? Have they recently been promoted? How is meeting their objectives going?<\/li>\n \t<li>And finally (most importantly) &#8211; <strong>objectives<\/strong>: It could be \u201cto continually drive an increase in conversions\u201d or something more specific like \u201cX website conversions by X date\u201d. Hopefully, you have an organisation that gives that level of clarity on marketing objectives, but if not, keep it general to their role i.e. a Marketing Director will value more sales but for less and brand awareness (hello brand-terms), whereas a Head of Development may be looking to increase traffic to their website and keep it healthy.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Status<\/strong> \u2013 the one you\u2019ll need to keep coming back and keep up to date (based on your efforts above). But for now, take a look at the table below and assign them a status that best fits for now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"border: 1px solid #bfbfbf;\" cellpadding=\"15\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #bfbfbf;\">\n<td><strong>Type<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Details<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Champion<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Woo! This person not only gets SEO, but they\u2019re also passionate about how it can help meet strategic objectives. This status is the ultimate goal for all of your stakeholders.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Gets it<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">Wow. You&#8217;ve cracked this one &#8211; they get why SEO is important and how it can help them. You just need to think about what it\u2019d take to upgrade them to Champions!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Improving<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>You&#8217;ve started discussions and learning more about this person, helping them understand more about SEO. They&#8217;re a work in progress.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Derailer<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">These people need your help. They could be blocking important strategic growth, but it may be tricky to navigate &#8211; best ensure you have as much info as possible, so you can nudge them into improving and move upward from there!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<strong>Phew \u2013 you\u2019ve completed the majority of the matrix now and should have a clearer understanding of how best to crack it! Now let\u2019s go further\u2026<\/strong>\n<h2>Step 2: Assessing the landscape<\/h2>\nBefore we get into the pitch, I wanted to highlight another consideration that is worth you making some notes on: You\u2019ve understood the person, now understand the landscape they\u2019re working in. The example focus here would be in a corporate landscape \u2013 and from my experience, it has the most complex variety of factors and challenges.\n\nI\u2019ve boiled it down to 4 landscape-related factors, and they\u2019re rooted in:\n<ol>\n \t<li><strong>Resource <\/strong>(teams with no time for SEO)<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Politics<\/strong> (opposing views between departments that you need to be working together i.e., Marketing and Development teams)<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Budget <\/strong>(small budgets, or those who want to know the risk vs reward)<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Knowledge<\/strong> (gaps that can hinder your work (or is lost on them!))<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>How do you combat barriers in a corporate landscape?<\/h4>\n<h5>No resource available<\/h5>\nThis is a tricky one because you\u2019re not only trying to get them to pivot their strategy \u2013 you\u2019re potentially asking them to recruit, and that is a long process that is hard to get over the line.\n\nInstead, focus on how the business could work smarter and consider:\n<ul>\n \t<li>Could they get an SEO agency to help support you?<\/li>\n \t<li>Could a good freelancer help in the short term to demonstrate value before investing more significantly?<\/li>\n \t<li>Can you drill down into your plans and give a view of impact vs resource?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Politics and SEO don\u2019t mix<\/h4>\nUgh, politics. It\u2019s another tricky one to navigate, especially if you\u2019re new to the business. There are always added complexities in dealing with politics, because at their core, it\u2019s often personal. Whether it\u2019s the brand team and the developers not seeing eye to eye, or maybe there\u2019s invisible friction between some of the Exec team \u2013 keep on making notes, and tread carefully. Never try to solve the politics or problems, you just need to get a few people on the same page because, essentially, it\u2019ll make them look good (and who isn\u2019t on board with that?).\n\nThat being said, your stakeholder matrix will get you in front of the right people, but if \u201cpeople\u201d aren\u2019t your bag (maybe you\u2019re a bit introverted), then make sure you have a solid plan of attack for each person you\u2019d like to become an SEO champion. But be reassured that the matrix will be a great foundation to make sure you can easily (and confidently) connect with your audience &#8211; even the scary ones. So, take a deep breath, get all the facts in front of you, know that this <em>will <\/em>take time, and just be yourself. You\u2019ve got this.\n<h4>No budget for SEO?<\/h4>\nWe\u2019ve all been here, right? The quickest way of addressing this is to leverage what you know about the stakeholders (see the matrix), then get an understanding of where their budgets are being spent now \u2013 and importantly, if SEO could do better. Along with this, consider how SEO can help other existing channels and how they can benefit SEO e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/digital-pr\/\">Digital PR<\/a> activity for new products can work with an ecommerce SEO strategy.\n\nFor example, if they\u2019re spending the majority of their acquisition budget on PPC\/Paid Search, then there\u2019s an opportunity for you to demonstrate market share, competitor analysis, forecasting (especially the important CPA differences). It only needs to be presented in a handful of slides (5 max) \u2013 keep it concise and as impactful as you can.\n\nNot sure how to do an SEO forecast? Moz has a great <a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/blog\/seo-forecasting-in-google-sheets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">free SEO forecasting template<\/a> that generates a forecast for you (based on historical traffic).\n<h4>Knowledge \u2013 where there\u2019s gaps<\/h4>\nOrganic search is a \u201cgiven\u201d to a lot of companies, they take it for granted, and as SEOs it\u2019s a frustration that we\u2019re used to. But besides the initial frustration, there\u2019s a cause to that effect \u2013 a lack of knowledge. That\u2019s where you can help (see the next step).\n\n<strong>Add some of these considerations to your <em>pitch<\/em> and notes sections \u2013 boy, will it help!<\/strong>\n<h2>Step 3: Identifying the next steps for individual stakeholders<\/h2>\nNow you have a good understanding of who your stakeholders are, and what it\u2019d take to get their attention (and become an ally!), you need to start thinking about the best route to success.\n\nFirst, identify those in your stakeholder matrix that you\u2019ve set a status for. Do you think they\u2019d get the most out of a workshop or official training \u2013 but perhaps the first port of call would be a one to one: To sit down, demonstrate your understanding of their needs and how SEO can help them hit those all-important objectives. If that lights a fire in them, move them into a workshop or training session \u2013 but it\u2019s vital you keep them engaged, understand where they\u2019re at (knowledge-wise) and keep building on that. After all, with great power comes great responsibility!\n<table style=\"border: 1px solid #bfbfbf;\" cellpadding=\"15\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #bfbfbf;\">\n<td><strong>Type<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Details<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>One to one<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>A one to one is important for those who need to be guided more closely, discuss things in detail or if a tailored &#8220;pitch&#8221; was required<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\"><strong>Workshop<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f1f1f1;\">A group get-together (like a &#8220;lunch and learn&#8221;) where you can up-skill teams and key stakeholders<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Training<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>If a workshop just won&#8217;t cut it, they may need official training i.e., HTML, JavaScript etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Step 4: The pitch process (closing the deal)<\/h2>\nAll that brilliant work is about to come to fruition, so let\u2019s make sure the pitch is bang-on.\n\nLeveraging those topics, concerns and objectives: think from your stakeholders\u2019 perspective and how SEO can become the solution (or part of it) to their challenges and objectives.\n\n<strong><u>But remember:<\/u><\/strong><strong> Always back things up, or lead with data \u2013 no-one can dispute the facts (it may even surprise and delight a few folks).<\/strong>\n\nAsk yourself:\n<ol>\n \t<li>Based on <strong>topics<\/strong>, is there something that you can tie back to SEO? For example, if brand awareness is in decline, would a Digital PR campaign (that\u2019s aligned to your strategy too) get them engaged? Are there examples you could show, ideas you\u2019ve had \u2013 or even something more tangible like a concept and forecasted impact?<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Concerns<\/strong> are a bit trickier; this is where you need to put your psychologist\u2019s hat on. Are they concerned about timings, budget or maybe resource? How can you combat that, or show ROI for SEO? A typical one is Paid Search vs. Organic \u2013 people often see it as a risk. After all, PPC can deliver immediate benefits. But you could perhaps forecast the reduction in Cost Per Acquisition if they\u2019d invested in SEO, and that it pays longer-term (even showing the PPC value of traffic that organic can\/does deliver). Another consideration could be the competition \u2013 are they in a highly competitive market? Can your research demonstrate just how much they need SEO in order to crack the market? I\u2019ve found this one, in particular, to be hugely impactful.<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Objectives<\/strong>. This is the <em>slightly<\/em> easier one! However, you may need to think outside the box a little and explore (even brainstorm) how SEO can help them achieve them. Need more brand visibility and\/or awareness? There\u2019s an SEO\/link building campaign that can help. More website visits that convert \u2013 organic search and link building should be a key driver here (think high purchase-intent keyword strategies and forecasting).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<strong>This pitch is only your first iteration:<\/strong> With every conversation you have with your stakeholders, you should pivot, adapt, tweak or completely redefine the pitch to make sure you\u2019re well prepared for each interaction (and can keep fighting the good fight).\n\nRemember that this is going to take time, and more often than not, lots of time. So don\u2019t beat yourself up if it\u2019s taking months. You should expect that. The most important thing to remember is that you\u2019re moving a business forward, you\u2019re going to make a difference. <strong>You will get there!<\/strong>\n<h2>Step 5: Circling back with good news<\/h2>\nThis step is for when you\u2019re further down the line and have a few allies that have helped execute some of your strategy that\u2019s delivered some measurable impact \u2013 so it\u2019s time to start showing them some results (if you can). But don\u2019t worry if you\u2019re not there yet!\n\nAlways remember to try to anchor the good news in what\u2019s important to them. If their objective was to increase website traffic, and you\u2019re able to demonstrate that\u2019s happened due to the work you\u2019ve done together on SEO \u2013 share it with them! Whether it\u2019s a couple of slides, a screenshot, or walking them through it in a one-to-one. <strong>Celebrate the win together. <\/strong>\n\nThis should not only make them happy but may very well give you an even more engaged stakeholder who perhaps could unlock a lot of doors with that information. They\u2019ll be talking about it, how it\u2019s anchored in SEO, and get your name in the mix. A real win-win.\n\nBy doing this with your stakeholders, when next year\u2019s budget comes around, make sure you\u2019ve had plenty of conversations with them \u2013 especially on how you could deliver more if you had XX% more budget (share a new forecast based on that!).\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7650 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/solution-for-inhouse-seos-1.png\" alt=\"in-house SEOs solution\" width=\"2245\" height=\"1587\" \/>\n<ul>\n \t<li><strong>Know your audience<\/strong> &#8211; use the stakeholder matrix<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Lead with data<\/strong> \u2013 forecasting, competitors and market share insights all go a long way<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Have meaningful conversations<\/strong> \u2013 make sure you\u2019re aligning to their objectives<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Work together<\/strong> \u2013 set next steps and check in with them regularly<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Win together<\/strong> \u2013 showcase how your collaboration is smashing targets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<strong>Now you know how I got buy-in for SEO from my previous (work) lives, and hopefully it\u2019ll help you too. By marketing SEO at work, you\u2019ll be transforming how others think strategically, you\u2019ll have gotten people to see its value and by doing so, making your own (work) life easier. It may take time and patience, but this is a big win. Go you!<\/strong>\n\nJust to finish, there are some common questions or challenges that I often hear about on this subject, and you might find it useful to have a concise answer to hand if they come up as part of the process of trying to get buy-in for SEO in your business or organisation.\n<h3>How to get stakeholders on board with SEO<\/h3>\nBy understanding the individual stakeholders specific to your circumstances and getting to know their thoughts on SEO before you start trying to convince them of anything, you can develop a pitch or business case that directly addresses their concerns or hesitancy to this type of activity.\n<h3>Why do SEO if other channels are working well?<\/h3>\nOne of the major issues with relying solely on channels like paid search or paid social is as soon as you stop paying, the leads or sales dry up instantly. With SEO, results can be sustainable in the long-term if the strategy is right and implemented properly.\n\nResults that last and can bring in quality traffic for months and years to come, as well as helping to turn existing customers into repeat customers with a much higher lifetime value, can give a much greater return on investment than a standard CPA model with paid activity.\n\nIdeally, it&#8217;s not so much a case of either\/or when it comes to paid vs organic search marketing or other channels, but more a case of understanding how they can work together to produce the best possible results in your specific situation and improve overall ROI. The benefits of SEO in digital marketing alongside other coordinated channel activity shouldn&#8217;t be underestimated.\n<h3>Is SEO measurable?<\/h3>\nSEO is highly measurable, which is great when you&#8217;re trying to use data as part of your argument for getting SEO buy-in in your company or organisation. While some data is withheld by the search engines, there are still multiple ways to monitor and measure performance.\n<h3>How do you measure SEO results?<\/h3>\nThere are many ways to measure SEO results, depending on your specific business objectives. The key is in determining what metrics will best give you the information you need to demonstrate the value of SEO in your setting.\n\nWhether it&#8217;s organic traffic increases, conversion or sale figures, quality of leads generated, appearing in more people&#8217;s searches, a more engaged audience, basket size increases for organic customers, more return visits or any other positive difference that has a real business impact, it can be measured using easily-available free tools.\n<h3>How can SEO benefit your business?<\/h3>\nThere are many potential benefits of SEO to a business, but some of the most common reasons include an increase in online visibility for searchers with intent, improves brand awareness, delivers a good ROI and works well in tandem with other channels.\n\nWhile explaining to the decision-makers why your business needs SEO, or more resource for an expanded SEO strategy, it can be useful to show competitor SEO activity and how it is benefitting them, whilst you might be getting left behind. This can be a big motivator!\n\n<strong>I\u2019d love to hear how your \u201cbuy-in journey\u201d is going \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lauraherself\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chat to me on Twitter<\/a> (and feel free to ask any questions), we\u2019d all love to help!<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re working in-house or at an agency, at some point in time you\u2019ve probably had to explain why SEO is important \u2013 and that\u2019s the easy part. But the (sometimes) constant up-hill struggle of transforming a brand or company that just \u201cdoesn\u2019t get it\u201d into one that does, is something a lot of SEO [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO - No Brainer Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We&#039;ve been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We&#039;ve been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"No Brainer Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Rudd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lauraherself\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Rudd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Rudd\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d43ad9b298e532dfb827ca094387b202\"},\"headline\":\"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\"},\"wordCount\":3475,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"SEO\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\",\"name\":\"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO - No Brainer Agency\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We've been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg\",\"width\":1900,\"height\":715},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SEO\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/category\/seo\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/\",\"name\":\"No Brainer Agency\",\"description\":\"Search-driven Content Agency\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"No Brainer Agency\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/new-no-brainer-agency-logo-2025.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/new-no-brainer-agency-logo-2025.png\",\"width\":928,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"No Brainer Agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d43ad9b298e532dfb827ca094387b202\",\"name\":\"Laura Rudd\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84df1aefd25fd90429c4f88f416bbe453ccdf847d0509dd9b8fb6ae50d6ef736?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84df1aefd25fd90429c4f88f416bbe453ccdf847d0509dd9b8fb6ae50d6ef736?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Rudd\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019ve worked in digital and content marketing for over 20 years, specialising in SEO since its inception. My career has spanned both agency-side and in-house roles, working alongside brands like HomeServe, Taking Care, Checkatrade, and AO.com. My expertise centres on SEO and content marketing, where I\u2019m passionate about audience-first strategies that drive long-term organic performance.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/laurarudd\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/lauraherself\"],\"award\":[\"UK Search Awards\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"SEO\",\"Content Marketing\",\"Digital Marketing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Head of SEO & Content\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/author\/laura-rudd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO - No Brainer Agency","description":"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We've been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)","og_description":"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We've been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/","og_site_name":"No Brainer Agency","article_published_time":"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1900,"height":715,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laura Rudd","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@lauraherself","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Rudd","Estimated reading time":"16 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/"},"author":{"name":"Laura Rudd","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d43ad9b298e532dfb827ca094387b202"},"headline":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)","datePublished":"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/"},"wordCount":3475,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg","articleSection":["SEO"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/","name":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO - No Brainer Agency","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-04-08T08:14:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-28T12:18:17+00:00","description":"Learn how to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO. We've been there and got the t-shirt, sharing our winning process to gain buy-in in 5 easy steps.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/featured-get-seo-buy-in.jpeg","width":1900,"height":715},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/how-to-get-buy-in-for-seo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SEO","item":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/category\/seo\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How to get stakeholder buy-in for SEO (in 5 steps!)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/","name":"No Brainer Agency","description":"Search-driven Content Agency","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#organization","name":"No Brainer Agency","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/new-no-brainer-agency-logo-2025.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/new-no-brainer-agency-logo-2025.png","width":928,"height":250,"caption":"No Brainer Agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d43ad9b298e532dfb827ca094387b202","name":"Laura Rudd","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84df1aefd25fd90429c4f88f416bbe453ccdf847d0509dd9b8fb6ae50d6ef736?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84df1aefd25fd90429c4f88f416bbe453ccdf847d0509dd9b8fb6ae50d6ef736?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Laura Rudd"},"description":"I\u2019ve worked in digital and content marketing for over 20 years, specialising in SEO since its inception. My career has spanned both agency-side and in-house roles, working alongside brands like HomeServe, Taking Care, Checkatrade, and AO.com. My expertise centres on SEO and content marketing, where I\u2019m passionate about audience-first strategies that drive long-term organic performance.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/laurarudd\/","https:\/\/x.com\/lauraherself"],"award":["UK Search Awards"],"knowsAbout":["SEO","Content Marketing","Digital Marketing"],"jobTitle":"Head of SEO & Content","url":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/author\/laura-rudd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18883"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23844,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18883\/revisions\/23844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}