How do you organize your SEO campaigns?

9 replies
  • SEO
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Interested in hearing how folks on here stay organized when dealing with numerous clients. Do you outsource? If so how do you organize and coordinate with your outsourcers? Do you use project management software? What is your top tip for streamlining the SEO process from start to #1 rank?

It took me a long time to set up a system that works for me and my team. Basically the process is currently:

We recieve an inquiry and then...

-Initial Interview with the Potential Client
-Creation of Customized Quote

Then we get hired (yeah baby!) and then...

-Keyword Research
-Onsite Analysis and Reccommendations, ok'd by the client then...
-Onsite Work Begins
-Benchmarking of Client's site Vs Competitors (onsite/offsite)
-Completion of my step by step "First Thirty Days" packet with tasks split between my staff and I. We use Google Docs and Skype. (don't laugh lol) Meanwhile ...
-Weekly Progress Reports to the Client
-After the first 30 days: re-evaluation, generation of "Next Steps" and delegation of those tasks

Basically then it's: Monitor, Tweak, Report until we hit #1

Once we hit #1 I give the client the option to:

a) Continue to pay at a discounted monthly maintenance rate
b) Receive basic training and recommendations to do their own maintenance (for a price, of course)

I thought it would be fun to see how other people stay organized. I've considered investing in Project management software but I don't know if there is any advantage to be gained by messing with a system that works for me. I know there will be people that won't want to share and that's understandable but I figured I'd put myself out there and maybe I get some tips or learn something new.

PS- A few weeks ago I posted a thread about outsourcing, asking what (if anything) people were outsourcing. I thought that everyone went out of their way to give some really awesome insight, it helped me make some important decisions. So... Thanks guys!
#campaigns #organize #seo
  • Profile picture of the author Lanx
    i learned ms project and project management in school, so i used whatever online colab was around in 2010 (i honestly forgot) but i got tired of entering stuff... i just... hate being organized electronically (even tho i'm a geek and have every updated gadget).

    so i just print out excel spread sheets full of to-do's/goals/ and completion points... it's really bad from a colab perspective, but it's the way i can work.
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  • Profile picture of the author FakeItTilYouMakeIt
    Banned
    Hey there is nothing wrong with that, works right? And I bet you can't guess which SEO guru on here runs his successful business on a system of color coded post it notes *burn!!!* lmbo

    Everyone has a system, no point trying to implement soemthing you hate.
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  • Profile picture of the author nik0
    Banned
    I have project folders on my desktop, sorted by the month that they are in.

    Inside there are Notepad txt files, a content map, a delivery map.

    For the rest we use the scheduler function from WP

    Then one more general Exceel sheet to keep track of payments.


    Then we also have 5 other folders at the Desktop named:

    - waiting for payment (for the monthly thing)
    - waiting to process
    - waiting for reports
    - end phase
    - completed projects

    Handle orders once or twice a week depending on the size of the batch and then I always know what my workers are busy with. The only hell about it is tracking payments as I have to manually spit through the payment pages in Paypal and enter it into the Excel sheet in the correct month.

    Real old fashioned but it works great for me


    Now the worse part, I totally forgot to keep track of on which domain registrar my private domains are, I do know at which host. But when I have to move things I have to use whois.domaintools.com first to see where my domain is, lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author FakeItTilYouMakeIt
    Banned
    Oooh I forgot, I use Hubstaff to monitor my outsourcers. Can't have them on youtube all day lol We use dropbox for fileshares annnnnnd I think that's it. I think your system is awesome niko, no wonder you are running this joint
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    • Profile picture of the author nik0
      Banned
      Originally Posted by FakeItTilYouMakeIt View Post

      Oooh I forgot, I use Hubstaff to monitor my outsourcers. Can't have them on youtube all day lol We use dropbox for fileshares annnnnnd I think that's it. I think your system is awesome niko, no wonder you are running this joint
      I did test some of the project management softwares btw but cause we work with different packages we need multiple templates.

      I wanted it in such way that my workers could login and see that the work is ready for them so I also wanted to see an overview of tasks with some light bulbs like Red = don't touch , Yellow = In progress, Green = Ready, but most web based tools dont work that way, and going through a list of 50 orders and click each one only to see the status was just too much.

      Some softwares did have the status on the overview pages but didn't support templates for the packages and vice versa. After testing 5 different web based management systems I just gave up. Also the work method of working with templates for packages was often lacking usability. For me it was purely to increase the turn around time of orders but it just didn't work out with any of them and I got tired of keep on trying different ones. Some also charged crazy amounts per user per month.

      Some softwares did almost everything what I wanted but were hell slow to work with and needed way to much details to be filled in, heck creating a Notepad file takes me 2 clicks with the mouse and I don't need the client name , address, and everything, I just need their e-mail, url's and keywords.

      Tools should be there to make your life easier, not turn it into a hell.
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      • Profile picture of the author FakeItTilYouMakeIt
        Banned
        Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

        Tools should be there to make your life easier, not turn it into a hell.
        Well said! I know you have a thriving business so if you are running it on your own system then I think I'll just leave my system alone! I also actually looked into project management software a long while back but didn't buy, mostly because I didn't see anything that I thought I could customize to do what I needed it to do. So I just put together the system I needed and taught other people how to operate on my system.

        I have to say that I'm a great start up girl but the day to day stuff gets to me, I'm learning to let go of that stuff and delegate. I'll create the system but I want someone else to run it so I can work on creating something else. (short attention span I guess). An old boss of mine always said "Make your people do what they are good at" And that's my motto, I have the crazy obsessive organized assistant to deal with the endless paperwork and record keeping and I get to solve problems and have adventures.

        Slightly off topic probably but I was reading a thread earlier, I think in the Mind Warriors forum (whaaaaat I was lost ) and it talked about "stop doing what you hate and be successful" And it's just true.

        You know I haven't washed dishes in like 5 years? lmbo I don't have that domestic thing where I enjoy the homemaker role... I'm just not wired that way I guess. Every Saturday was my own personal hell; cleaning the house, hating it, wishing I was doing 100 other things. So when I could afford it I got a maid. Best decision I ever made as a working woman. Life's too short to get caught up in what we "should" be doing or how we "should" go about it. Find what works, stop doing what you hate and be happy people
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  • Profile picture of the author nik0
    Banned
    Well, I hate processing orders to be honest, as in logging into Paypal, checking the incoming payment, putting it in a TODO file, do the math for how much I have to pay each for their tasks and when it comes back check if all is in place and email it to the client. Sounds like a little bit of work but it easily costs me around 10 hours a week when you add it all up, and I freaking hate it.

    But no way I'm going to give someone access to my Paypal, as that was has to be done each time when an order comes in, so it's hardly splittable in sub tasks that can be outsourced. Oh my god seriously, I'm complaining about a 10 hour work week to make a very good salary lol

    E-mail support is something I like to do though as there you can convince people to buy or not and sorting out issue's when a site isn't ranking is also challenging, not always fun for the client when there is no other solution then to launch up a new site or add a ton of content.
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  • Profile picture of the author FakeItTilYouMakeIt
    Banned
    I don't do my own payroll/payment processing but I wouldn't let an outsourcer do it either. I have my onsite assistant do it and I check her records against the accounts once a week. I know where she lives, so it's cool. But have you considered maybe an onsite person could do it? Or you can add a restricted access User account to your business account with PayPal. You've probably already seen this but what the hey...

    Providing you have a Business Account, you can grant various account access privileges to another person. For example you may have a Business Partner or Assistant or a Developer who only needs limited access to your Account.

    To setup the access privileges:

    Login to your PayPal Account.
    Select "Profile".
    Under "Account Information".
    Select "Manage Users".
    Select "Add User".
    Complete the Form.
    Save.

    When you setup the account for them, you enter their full name, the ID you want them to use and the password you want them to use. Next, assign the privileges and save. You can then logout and test the login ID and password yourself.

    Note, the login ID is "not" an email address, it's just a unique user name you make up. The unique user name is used to log in along with the password you assigned.

    The privileges listed below are the typical business operations that can be performed on PayPal.

    * Send money
    Allows users on your account to pay almost anyone with an email address in the countries that accept PayPal, with no fees.
    * Request money
    Allows users to request that someone send money by email or through invoicing.
    * Add funds
    Lets additional users add money to your PayPal account from your bank account.
    * Issue refunds
    Lets your users send a full or partial refund.
    * Withdraw funds
    Allows the user to withdraw money from your PayPal account to your bank account.
    * Cancel payments
    Lets the user cancel unclaimed payments for you.
    * Distribute mass payments
    Lets another user on your account pay large numbers of people using only the recipients' email addresses and the payment amounts.
    * Set up recurring payments
    Allows the user set up automatic billing cycles for your customers' credit cards or PayPal accounts.
    * View balance
    Lets the user view the available balance shown on your Account Overview page.
    * View profile
    Allows another user on your account to view your profile's settings.
    * Edit profile
    Lets users add, remove, or edit information on your PayPal account for you.
    * Discuss account with Customer Service
    Gives the user permission to discuss your account with our agents. All you have to do is accept our Account Administrator Agreement after you select this privilege.
    * Handle authorizations and settlements
    Lets another user perform this task for you daily.
    * Activate and authorize APIs
    Allows your developer to integrate your website with our products by setting up PayPal secure API credentials and permissions.
    * Schedule and download Transaction History, and run Settlement Report
    Means when you create a virtual agent on your account, these reports will be run and made downloadable daily.
    *Use PayPal shipping
    Lets the user buy U.S. Postal Service and UPS shipping labels online and set up shipping charges and tax, too, so that shipping is automated.
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  • Profile picture of the author nik0
    Banned
    Cool, I wasn't aware of that, will look into it soon, heck then I might even be able to limit my work week to 3.5 hours for answering e-mails only and some forum posting, oh boy
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