Bringing SEO in-house has countless advantages – the primary one being a live body walking the halls and available for meetings and impromptu conversations about SEO. However, by bringing SEO in-house, you will also face challenges in pulling it off successfully. Armed with knowledge of the challenges, you can minimize potential problems and recognize clues to prepare for what lies ahead.
Knowing What You’re Up Against: The In-House SEO Life Cycle
We are starting to recognize recurring patterns in the life cycle of an in-house SEO. The cycle begins the moment you decide to take on SEO and hire someone to work inside your office, and resembles an upside-down bell curve.
The life cycle begins at the Courtship Phase, where you try to recruit the best in-house SEO possible. Once the new employee walks in the door, the Honeymoon Phase commences, where everyone is interested in talking to the SEO and getting priority for changes is usually a breeze.
Expect the Honeymoon Phase to last about 3-6 months. Most of the variance in time depends on internal company politics, especially the relationship between the department where the SEO resides and the IT department.
You can leverage this phase to its fullest potential by helping and encouraging your SEO to build relationships with other departments, IT in particular. You also want to make the most of this phase by getting SEO-related changes into projects as quickly as possible.
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