This article is like no other that you will find here at iStrategy.

This article isn’t here to tell you how great we are, brag

about our client list or show-off our various awards. Instead,

this article will tell you why you need to fundamentally

change your marketing approach – before it’s too late.

SEO IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CEO

Digital success now depends on three core

pillars; technical, content and authority

enhancement. These three distinct

elements each have their own individual

skillsets and personalities. The challenge

for you is to get them working together

in complete harmony.

Why has Google done this?

It wants you to be like them.

The fundamental principle of Google

is relevancy. It wants to deliver the most

relevant results to its users; first time, every

time. If you’re irrelevant, Google will give

you the ranking that you deserve. If you

can make your brand the last word on your

chosen niche; the brand that people want

to talk about, you’ll reap the rewards.

It’s easier said than done.

SEO was something that you could happily leave to your IT or e-commerce department and, with a few technical tweaks and some strategically placed meta tags, you could find yourself dining at Google’s top table.

SEO USED TO BE MUCH SIMPLER

But Google is changing – and you have to change with it.

+ Technical

Ensuring that your site is firing on all

cylinders. No digital strategy can succeed

if it is being carried by something with

severe technical flaws.

+ Content

Content provides your customers with

a reason to visit, a reason to interact and

a reason to buy. Offer your customers

something unique, something relevant and

something valuable.

+ Authority Enhancement

The web is littered with companies

that are doing exactly what you

do. Establish yourself as the

last word in your sector and

become the first place that

your customers call.

3 core pillars to digital success:

Then your SEO agency throws in its two

cents and the compliance department

raises more questions than answers. The

net result? Nothing gets done. Vested

interests get in the way and various

stakeholders spend valuable time

coming up with reasons why things

can’t happen, rather than finding

solutions for why they can.

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

Of course, it is right that the IT department

are concerned about site security and

you would expect the PR department to

be concerned about the integrity of the

brand, but these very expectations are

creating a wall of organisational barriers to

your businesses online success. As digital

continues to evolve, SEO will inevitably

touch upon more and more departments,

which all need to have a clear direction and

a consensus on what the business is trying

to achieve. That has to come from the top.

The social department may have an amazing campaign in the pipeline, but the PR department is concerned that the message “isn’t quite on brand” and the IT team is worried about the security implications of adding social media widgets to your archaic CMS.

LET DIGITAL CREATIVE THRIVE

Digital marketing cannot continue to exist

in its own bubble or silo, separate from the

other functions of the business. If you’re

reading this as someone who doesn’t quite

“get” digital, you need to start getting

it – and quickly. The success of your online

operations demands unequivocal buy-in

in the boardroom.

When the board is invested in the success

of its digital marketing, the key

stakeholders have that vision. That vision

allows teams to break organisational

barriers, put aside their individual interests

and embrace change for the better.

Without it, Google will leave you behind.

Digital marketing works when there is a clear vision and ambition for the business. Every single stakeholder, including your agency, needs to know exactly what “success” looks like and be invested into that vision. That direction can only come from the CEO.

1. Stop calling it ‘SEO’Stop calling it “SEO”. Stop calling it “digital marketing”. Start calling

it “marketing”. It might only sound like a semantic change, but this will

be a seismic shift in the culture and attitude towards your online activity.

Stop treating SEO as something that lives in a separate silo and instead,

make it a central component of your marketing.

2. Make it the CEO’s jobSuccess stems from the vision set from the very top. Ensuring that every

employee and stakeholder, from the boardroom to the shop floor,

is bought into the goals and ambitions of the business.

3. Remove the organisational barriersEnsuring your individual departments are working to a common goal is vital.

Make it clear what “success” looks like and keep them on track. Turn your

departments from a team of ‘can’t dos’ into a team of ‘can dos’.

4. Put your audience firstIf audiences are going to talk about you, you have to do something that

they care about. Know who your audience are, know what they like, and

give it to them. Whether they want to be entertained, informed, shocked

or amazed, create something that will get them talking, clicking sharing

and tweeting.

5. Eliminate the fear of changeChange is controversial. Trying to change how things are done is perhaps

the single biggest cause of friction within large organisations. However,

in an age where Google makes around 500 algorithm changes per year,

a fear of change can be crippling.

OUR TOP FIVE KEY ACTIONS

West One, Wellington Street,Leeds, United KingdomLS1 1BAT +44 (0)113 391 2929F +44 (0)113 391 2939

33 Glasshouse Street,London, United KingdomW1B 5DGT. +44 (0)20 300 86501

E. hello@stickyeyes.comW. www.stickyeyes.com @Stickyeyes linkedin.com/company/stickyeyes

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Come and visit us at stand 17 and make sure that you catch Heather Healy’s

invaluable guide to social media crisis management between 12 – 12:40pm

on Monday 30 September 2013.