In a client/agency environment, the Decision Maker could well be your main point of contact or the client SEO lead, supported by the agency.
Visual Communications
Torino Scales
Organizations like NASA traditionally use the Torino Scale to assess the potential threat of near-Earth objects (NEOs), like asteroids and comets.
At the April 2024 edition of BrightonSEO, I introduced them as a tool for communicating and assessing the “potential impact hazard” of Google updates, emerging technologies, and changes to legislation…you could visually map anything that you would identify through a PESTLE analysis on a Torino Scale.
Torino Scales can be a useful, visual tool in communicating potential risk.
For example, a high rating on this scale would indicate significant potential changes to organic search performance, warranting close attention and possible strategic adjustment.
As this is a visual aid, you can update it between meetings and provide context in your scheduled stakeholder meetings as to why certain things have been upgraded or downgraded in terms of risk to the business and organic search performance.
Google Updates Vs. Seasonality
Seasonality affects most businesses, and sometimes, non-marketing stakeholders can confuse seasonal trends with a decline in organic performance or the adverse effects of a Google update between the periods being compared.
The only way to resolve this is through education, and by using year-on-year traffic and sales data, you can show consumer and market trends.
Screenshot from author, August 2024
Overlaying data in this way helps educate stakeholders who may not be familiar with the consumer acquisition side of the business or are external consultants with specialisms outside of marketing.
Showing the average demonstrates anomalies in the data outside of the general seasonality and helps set performance expectations.
This data also helps educate stakeholders on why certain SEO (and other) marketing activities are being prioritized to reach the highest volume of audience members showing intent.
Visualizing traffic or revenue data over time, even at a high level, can be invaluable in educating non-marketing stakeholders within the business. In the example I provided earlier, aside from anomalies, there are consistent month-on-month declines in June, July, and October.
Many industries operate with a certain rhythm, and this visualization helps illustrate that pattern.
By understanding these natural fluctuations, businesses can avoid misallocating resources to identify root causes when, in reality, the issue may simply be that a smaller percentage of your Total Addressable Market (TAM) is actively buying or converting during those periods.
Communications Delivery
Timely, concise, and relevant updates build trust and empower C-level leaders to make well-informed decisions that can drive long-term success for both the client and the agency.
There are several ways, outside of the standard reporting and account management cadences, that allow you to communicate algorithm updates and other market factors effectively.
Centralized Wikis
By consolidating the latest updates, best practices, algorithm changes, and case studies in one easily accessible location, agencies can provide clients with real-time insights into factors that may impact their digital presence.
These Wikis also then serve a dual purpose, as anyone new to the business (or client) has a repository they can refer to for back history and information that otherwise may have been lost or buried in the BAU comms of the relationship.
Instant Messengers (IMs)
I’m not a big fan of normalizing IMs for client communications, as they tend to create single points of failure/stress points on an account.
To me, they can serve the purpose of delivering a message quickly and effectively, with further information to follow – much like Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride.
By creating dedicated channels or groups for each client or specific topics, agencies can ensure that relevant information is delivered directly and promptly.
These updates can then be expanded on through calls, or more comprehensive updates.
Clear Is Kind, And So Is Brief
Clear communication is challenging in SEO. You have a lot to cut through — not only the complexities of your work internally but also the messaging that people consume externally.
Frames of reference play a critical role in ensuring your communication is clear and delivers your intended message. C-level executives and non-marketing stakeholders are a specific audience with unique challenges and intents. You must communicate with them in a way that serves their needs.
Approach communication as a service that helps key stakeholders make informed decisions. This approach builds trust and helps you advocate for impactful resource allocation.
More resources:
Featured Image: fizkes/Shutterstock