SEO Draft Picks: Which Player Do You Need?

Let’s start with this; I’m not a football fan. However, since I married one, my television has often been commandeered for games and sports show. So last night, like a good wife, while “Grey’s Anatomy” was recording on DVR, I watched the NFL draft.

I’m not even going to try to pretend I understand all of the strategy and machinations that go into the draft. But to get through it, I started thinking about drafting an SEO team. Every position plays a different role on the team and you have to figure out where your weaknesses are, and who you need, to give you the best chance at winning it all. Like the Cowboys went for a Cornerback and the Vikings wanted a Tackle, who would you need for your SEO team and what would the player profiles look like for an SEO draft?

Link Builder

Overview

Everybody knows links are the X-factor for a website. No website has a shot at ranking in a competitive niche without a fairly regular infusion of new link power. So no SEO team is complete without a powerhouse, multi-talented and multitasking link builder.

Strengths

These masters of outreach have an almost intuitive ability to understand what content will appeal to each prospective linker. Link builders can be resourceful, persuasive, clever and inventive with the fearless abandon to approach any individual. They can also spot link opportunities while web browsing at a land-speed, record-breaking pace. In the world of link building, patience is a necessity as are perseverance and a thick skin to handle the frequent rejection. Exceptional typing skills and expert knowledge of keyboard short cuts are a plus.

Weaknesses

A link builder can be easily distracted. While searching for link targets, they can very quickly become sidetracked by pictures of mullets or videos of cats. They may also be hard of hearing from prolonged exposure to loud streaming music. Other drawbacks may include narcolepsy, insomnia and early-onset carpal tunnel syndrome. They are also prone to inappropriately request links from strangers at social events.

Writer

Overview

The writer or writing team provides all of the words that bring a website to life. The link builders need content to build links to. The marketing department needs content to build the brand. And everybody needs copy that’s going to make users convert. Writers help keep a website competitive by providing a spectrum of content. Without a writer or writing team, all of it is just pictures and lorem ipsum.

Strengths

Every SEO team needs the kind of web writer who understands the value of all different kinds of copy. Websites have sales copy, product copy and relevant articles meant to inform and educate. But all of it is a little different; each variety demands different styles and intentions. Great copy can be used to convey both personality and professionalism, while driving your readers toward a call to action. For SEO, the ability to understand the value of keywords and write extensively about narrow subject matter makes for an even greater asset. If you outsource content creation, then a great editor can fill the role of quality control and creating a streamlined voice. So while your product copy writer may not be your blogger, or you may have a dedicated writer or editor, all of them have a legitimate role on the site, and on the SEO team.

Weaknesses

Writers can sometimes be annoying about grammatical issues. They might make you feel bad when your participle is dangling or they refer to a thesaurus during a conversation. While they are sensitive to the use of keywords, they may suffer from depression or anxiety during periods of content optimization. They may also struggle with bouts of writer’s block that cause irritability and avian flu.

SEO Analyst

Overview

The SEO analyst is the heart of the SEO team, the generator all of the intel that directs the focus of the rest of the group. An SEO analyst runs keyword research, site analysis, competitive recon and serves as the central strategist. After creating and executing a plan, this person will also be constantly monitoring rankings and site traffic. Their studies drive the endless loop of tweaking and measuring. They know how well the site is performing at any time and are constantly looking for the next way to keep growing.

Strengths

Someone whose life is spent analyzing SEO has got to really love data research. There are hours to be spent pouring over data that is often fragmented and mysterious. Making connections between seemingly disparate variables and drawing conclusions from numbers and phrases takes an attention to detail and the ability to see patterns, even when they are slight. There’s a gut instinct too that can help an SEO to know the difference between too little and too much, when to push harder and when to change tactics. It also takes a constant monitoring of an ever-changing SEO landscape to stay on top of the latest changes and news.

Weaknesses

These guys can sometimes be perfectionists, and for SEOs, perfection is a constantly moving target. They may also be alarmists with extreme paranoia. Any new Google update could trigger a panic attack and/or flashbacks and PTSD for Panda survivors. Long-term commitment to SEO may also cause ulcers, hair loss, athlete’s foot, sleep talking and vivid dreams of penalties.

Designers and Webmasters

Overview

Without designers, nobody else on the team has a field to play on. The original design of a website must be set up with SEO best practices and flexibility in mind. An SEO analyst may work closely with a web designer, and an outsourced design may be handed off to a webmaster. Either the designer or the webmaster will also be responsible to update the website based on SEO recommendations.

Strengths

Designers obviously need to have the aesthetic vision to create something that is going to be striking. But they also need to understand the fundamentals of SEO and basic principles of usability. The sleekest, sexiest designs are undermined when no one can find them or figure out how to navigate them. Rich Internet applications make for stunning visuals, but without plain text counterparts, it makes for a beautiful site that isn’t search-engine-friendly. So a great designer can create a final product that is balanced, can be updated easily and accommodate the varying technical and stylistic demands of different parts of a website. It is a huge help when webmasters are responsive and have a high tolerance for the regular stream of ideas and requests coming from the SEOs, writers, social team and link builders.

Weaknesses

It can be hard to convince designers to give up fancy but SEO-antagonistic technologies, and the debate process may cause property damage or tantrums. They may also suffer from alt text blindness and a resistance to links and text which may “clutter” a design. These creatures may also tend toward a nocturnal lifestyle and have an aversion to sunlight and a particular inclination toward malted barley and hops.

Social Media Manager

Overview

The social media manager is, for all practical purposes, the face and voice of the company on social media networks. The person in this position has the unenviable task of humanizing your business and creating a relatable personality. Though content distribution, conversation management and strategic networking, they are responsible for building the type of community that will evolve into brand loyalists.

Strengths

Social media only works when people actually care about what you’re saying or offering. So having a person who has their finger on the pulse of what people respond to is invaluable at the social media helm. This person has to truly understand the meaning of engagement and, like link builders, they need to be courageous in their communications. However, they must also have a near-obsessive vigilance to ensure that no new message goes unnoticed and, when things are quiet, they will lead the conversation. These people are responsible for recruiting people to like you, and not just by clicking a button, but genuinely like you, in a repeat-customer, tell-their-friends, grow-the-business kind of way

Weaknesses

Spending so much time socializing may lead these individuals to become overly loquacious in their personal lives. They may be found talking to strangers, animals or inanimate objects, and filming it for YouTube. The also may occasionally say the word “hashtag” as a preface to a snarky comment. Social media immersion may also lead to fish bowl syndrome causing extreme narcissism, megalomania, nervous breakdowns, public crying, vaguebooking and the inability to sustain relationships that do not include avatars. These individuals should also not be expected to communicate in more than 140 characters at an interlude.

There are a lot of positions on the team and the whole unit only works if everyone plays well together. If there’s a hole in your offensive line, maybe it’s time to fill it. So which player does your team need?