Internal Challenges in Improving Website SEO

As an in-house SEO analyst, I have been facing several internal challenges in improving our website and website SEO. Since November 2021, I have made the following core recommendations:

• We need to update the "Theme version" as our current theme has expired.
• We need to update our authentic images for all the subpages.
• We need to improve the content on our service pages.

In November 2021, our website activities manager went on maternity leave, and a new manager who is not related to website technicalities took over. Despite my recommendations, the new manager did not focus on improving our website and instead worked on a new business that was not our core and not very active. The design and development activities for our website were assigned to a new manager, leaving us with limited resources and team members to work on our core business website.

We completed the design and content for the new business's website in a hurry, with most of the elements copied from industry top sites and search competitors. The new manager then forgot about the second business website. Now, our management has assigned a new task to split our core services into different subdomains, which I do not recommend due to the disadvantages it poses. However, we have started working on the dev website environment for the subdomains.

I have requested that we update our website content, use our own original images for our services, and update our theme and design. However, the new manager has not approved any of my recommendations.

It took us six months to partially complete the main website and one subdomain with the help of a freelance content writer. However, the content was not satisfactory as the writer took it from search competitor sites. We have not yet started working on other subdomains, which we cannot live or migrate without completing. Additionally, we cannot make 301 redirects without completing the other subdomains.

We need to map each service into respective subdomains. However, the subdomains concept and work have been put on hold. The old manager, who returned from maternity leave, has been working with us for two days a week to help improve the current website. However, the web developer left the company, and we are currently working with an ex-employee as a freelance developer who has suggested that the design is not approved by the manager. It is now March 2023.

I have sent reminders to our team that the annual subscription for the Astra theme will expire soon and that it would be a shame to lose out on its benefits. I believe that the Astra theme is a secure, lightweight theme that offers good loading performance.

Overall, our website struggles highlight the importance of effective management, communication, and allocation of resources. As an SEO analyst, I will continue to work towards improving our website and addressing these challenges.

Conclusion: In-house SEO analysts often face internal obstacles in improving website SEO, including changes in management, lack of resources, and competing priorities. In the case described above, the new manager was focused on a new business and neglected the existing website, leading to delays and incomplete work. Despite these challenges, the SEO analyst remained committed to delivering the best possible outcome and learned the importance of clear communication and alignment with other departments. Additionally, the experience highlighted the disadvantages of splitting a website into subdomains and the importance of updating themes and authentic images for improved SEO. Overall, this case study underscores the importance of a collaborative and supportive work environment for effective website optimization.