In-house SEO management — Sebastien Edgar // Square, Inc

Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead at Square, discusses how to build and manage an enterprise SEO team. When it comes to managing and developing the individuals within an SEO team, managers have a lot of work to do. Especially in cases where team members are working in other parts of the world, managers have to find that balance to ensure everyone is included and has all the tools for productivity. Today, Sebastian talks about in-house SEO team management.
About the speaker

Sebastien Edgar

Square, Inc

 is a little camera shy

Sebastian is Global SEO Lead at Square

Show Notes

  • 03:00
    Developing in
    Theres the question of being an individual contributor vs managing people. Provide task variety while ensuring that people work according to their strengths and practice promoting internally.
  • 06:57
    Taking someone out of their comfort zone vs leveraging their strengths
    What it comes down to is finding the balance between the two to avoid burnout. Ideally, when talking out of their comfort zone, they should still be able to leverage their strengths to complete those tasks.
  • 13:01
    Handling challenges when managing an SEO team
    Theres the challenge of managing team members in different time zones. Its important that everyone feels included and has opportunities to grow and learn.
  • 18:32
    Work schedule flexibility to encourage productivity
    Its important not to micromanage where or when the work gets done as a manager. Instead, it's your responsibility to appeal to what works best for individual team members.
  • 22:45
    Hiring in accordance with the companys growth
    If youre expanding in a specific market, its best to hire people within that market. Not only will it provide differences in perspectives, but you also gain access to first-hand local market understanding.
  • 26:28
    Internationational SEO and focusing on CRO
    In the early phases of internationalization, ensure that your strategy focuses heavily on CRO. Focusing on CRO will help with learning how users interact in that market.

Quotes

  • "Figure out the right balance of making sure that people have work that adheres to their strengths. But, they always have opportunities to learn something new and grow." -Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead, Square

  • "Where applicable, promote internally. Other people in the company can see that if they get work done, and theres an open position in the team, theyll be considered." -Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead, Square

  • "Some people are adamant about working late at night. They say, I may not be online at 4:00 PM, but I'll be on from nine till midnight. Once your work gets done, who am I as a manager to say no?" -Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead, Square

  • "If you are expanding in one market, look into hiring in that specific market. It's cool to have differences in perspectives and you can hire people with an understanding of the local market." -Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead, Square

  • "If you look at the conversion flow of one market versus another, youll notice consumers behaving very differently. In these earlier phases, you should look at SEO and CRO through a similar lens." -Sebastian Edgar, Global SEO Lead, Square

About the speaker

Sebastien Edgar

Square, Inc

 is a little camera shy

Sebastian is Global SEO Lead at Square

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