The Business Case for Launching SEO as a Growth Channel at Dovetail 🚀

In a competitive landscape, Dovetail is embarking on an ambitious SEO initiative aimed at driving growth and enhancing customer engagement.

1. Strategic Alignment with Leadership 🤝

Gaining buy-in from leadership is paramount when launching an SEO initiative. At Dovetail, aligning the go-to-market head with the SEO vision was crucial. This collaborative effort ensured that the goals of the SEO project were in sync with overall business objectives, enabling the allocation of necessary resources such as budget and personnel.

The responsibility of aligning with senior leaders involved crafting a proposal that addressed key concerns raised by the CEO and other executives. This preparatory phase emphasized the importance of understanding the company’s strategic priorities and effectively demonstrating how the SEO project could align with those priorities. By structuring the proposal to highlight resource allocation, identify potential risks, and present a well-defined vision for success, Dovetail established a solid foundation for the project's approval.

2. Budget Approval and Resource Allocation 💰

Securing financial resources is often one of the most significant hurdles in performing a successful SEO rollout. At Dovetail, approval for the spend of $XXXXXX AUD over a span of five months was a pivotal step. This investment allowed for the hiring of essential teams, including:

• A technical SEO agency to oversee domain migration.
• A content writing agency (e.g., Verblio) to produce high-quality content.
• A team of freelance editors for thorough content reviews.
• Web developers dedicated to building and testing content pages.

Moreover, reallocating a web developer to concentrate on content pages not only expedited the creation process but also ensured a streamlined effort towards achieving content delivery goals. The decision to engage external agencies and freelancers reflected Dovetail's commitment to leveraging expert knowledge in order to enhance its SEO strategy.

3. Content Strategy: From Baseline to Impact 📈

The core of Dovetail’s SEO project is content creation. By projecting the publication of 500 new pieces of SEO-optimized content, the goal is to significantly increase monthly organic sessions to 500,000 within just six months. With a conservative conversion rate of 1%, this influx of traffic is anticipated to yield 5,000 new sign-ups each month.

In order to establish this ambitious target, Dovetail analyzed the correlation between a website’s content volume and its traffic. Historical data indicated that a site with approximately 1,600 pages could attract 300,000 sessions. By extrapolating this information, the decision to aim for 500 pages was informed by the understanding that this volume could capture significant market share, given that rising traffic can be pivotal in user engagement.

The effective realization of this content strategy involved a timeline that included the commencement of content creation in November, with the aim to launch by mid-January. The phased approach allowed for proper preparation, including competitor analysis—an essential step to identify unique opportunities within the market landscape.

4. Tracking Success: Conversion Metrics and Continuous Improvement 📊

With a well-structured content strategy in place, tracking its effectiveness became a priority. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were established to assess the growth of sign-ups. The foundational metrics included:

• Sign-ups = Sessions × Conversion Rate
• Sessions = Impressions × Click-Through Rate (CTR)
• Impressions = Organic Keywords
• Organic Keywords = New Pages

The straightforward relationship between inputs and desired outcomes highlighted the importance of continuous evaluation. By understanding how conversion rates and website sessions interconnect, Dovetail equips itself to make informed decisions about future investment in growth channels. This data-driven approach drastically enhances the potential for optimizing SEO performance over time.

5. Cultivating a Winning Team Culture 🌟

Throughout the project, fostering a sense of community and morale within the team proved crucial. Celebrating milestones, from the publication of the first article to the acknowledgments of reaching significant traffic goals, became a routine practice. The philosophy adopted was that no news is good news; continual communication ensured alignment and progress tracking within the team.

By recognizing collective efforts and celebrating achievements, Dovetail not only maintained high levels of motivation but also reinforced the commitment to long-term success in SEO implementation. Engaging with a varied team of designers, developers, and content creators provided a robust foundation to innovate and adapt the strategy to align with ongoing market demands.

Conclusion

The journey from zero to one in the realm of SEO at Dovetail exemplifies a meticulous blend of strategic planning, resource allocation, effective content creation, and ongoing performance tracking. By fostering a culture of collaboration among leadership and teams, Dovetail is well-positioned to harness SEO as a significant growth channel, contributing to its long-term success in the competitive digital landscape.