<Decoding/> the Language of Devs - We Love SEO 2024

the Language of Devs focuses on bridging the communication gap between SEOs and developers to improve collaboration. The talk explains how to clearly present SEO requirements to dev teams, break down common barriers, and work together to meet shared KPIs.

This session with Oncrawl at We Love SEO provides actionable insights into creating a smooth workflow, ensuring technical implementations align with SEO strategies, and fostering a collaborative environment for mutual success.

Transcript

1. <Decoding/> the Language of Devs. Nikki Halliwell Director of TechSEOAudits.com | Technical SEO Consultant | Technical SEO Manager @ Journey Further
2. 01 Do you Struggle to Communicate with Developers? Question 1 nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
3. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Communication Between Devs and SEOs is Fundamental in Tech SEO
4. 📊 Shared KPIs require alignment. 📞 Lack of regular comms leads to delays and poor results. 📈 THE GOAL: Create workflows that drive mutual success. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com The <Importance/> of Good Dev Comms
5. But itʼs not always that easy, right? nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
6. Most tech SEO recommendations take 4-6 weeks to get implemented. SEOFOMO nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
7. Most SEOs only see 40-60% of their tech SEO recommendations implemented. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com SEOFOMO
8. + Barriers to Effective Collaboration nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
9. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Speaking Different <Languages/> SEOs have a reputation for speaking in marketing jargon; while developers often use more technical terms.
10. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Priorities are not Aligned Across Teams While one team prioritises the speed of implementation, the other focuses on completeness and being technically sound.
11. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com <Technical Backlogs/> and Lack of Time Developers often have overloaded schedules with huge backlogs of work leaving little time for SEO requests.
12. This is how we can overcome this… nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com +
13. The Keys to Dev Comms nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Use Simple and Precise Language 🔑 Avoid jargon. 🔑 Don’t over-explain the solution. 🔑 Get to the point. 🔑 Only include what is necessary.
14. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com The Keys to Dev Comms Avoid Assumptions 🗝 Clarify technical terminology & abbreviations. 🗝 Be specific with detail & what you need. 🗝 Show examples of the issue. 🗝 Find examples of what “good” looks like.
15. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com The Keys to Dev Comms Focus on the “why” 🔑 Emphasise business impact (£/$/€) 🔑 What do you want the outcome to be? 🔑 Don't tell developers how to do their job. 🔑 Set a clear priority order.
16. 02 How Can We Set Priorities? Question 2 nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
17. 1. Be transparent in your priority order. 2. Invite them to be part of the process. 3. Agree on a priority that works for all KPIs. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Remember, don’t tell devs what to do
18. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Red (Critical or Severe) Urgent, high-severity issues that pose significant risks to site functionality or SEO performance, requiring immediate attention. Amber (Moderate) Medium-priority issues that impact the site but are less urgent, with manageable risks that can be addressed in the near future. Green (Low) Low-severity issues that are minor and have minimal impact on the site's performance, to be resolved when resources are available. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com <RAG/> is Widely Understandable
19. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com 1. High impact, low effort items 2. Quick wins and optimisations 3. Long term and ongoing plans 4. Refinements are low priority. <Priority Matrix/> Covers all Tasks+Teams
20. What revenue do they risk losing by not implementing the fixes you recommend? What is the revenue at risk? <Revenue/> is a Big Motivator nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com PRIORITY NAME REVENUE AT RISK High Issue 1 £200,000 High Issue 2 £150,000 High Issue 3 £100,000 Medium Issue 4 £80,000 Medium Issue 5 £50,000 Medium Issue 6 £45,000
21. Conservative - Potential earnings by improving by an average of 3 positions Forecast Different <Scenarios/> nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Optimistic - Potential earnings by improving by an average of 5 positions CURRENT CONSERVATIVE (+3) OPTIMISTIC (+5) Non-brand clicks 1,444,955 3,599,135 8,372,356 Non-brand revenue £2,037,387 £5,074,780 £11,805,022
22. + Internal Communication and Workflow Issues are Common nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
23. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Miscommunication Causes Delays Clear communication is often lacking, especially when conveying the technical requirements or importance of SEO tasks.
24. 1. Schedule regular touchpoints and catch ups. 2. Prioritise tasks that align with shared goals. 3. Track progress openly and with transparency. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com <Decoding/> Dev Comms
25. 03 How we Speed Up Tech Ticket Implementation? Question 3 nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
26. We need to create clear and actionable tech tickets nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
27. What Specific ask or fix. SEO impact or KPIs. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Why Optional, if appropriate. How
28. + What Does This Look Like? nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
29. A concise and actionable request that and clearly outlines the specific task to be completed. It is logged in a project management system like Jira, Trello, or Asana for a developer. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com What is a Tech Ticket?
30. For example: A tech ticket might request the implementation of a canonical tag on a specific page or group of pages to resolve duplicate content issues. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com What is a Tech Ticket?
31. The canonical ticket would include: ➔ The exact URL(s). ➔ The canonical URL to be used. ➔ Why is the change needed? ➔ Any supporting links. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com What is a Tech Ticket?
32. A tech ticket should not be a long, multi-page explanation of SEO elements like canonical tags, how they work, or how search engines interpret them. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com What a Tech Ticket is NOT:
33. ➔ The key to an effective tech ticket is clarity and precision. ➔ Think actionable, not academic! nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com What a Tech Ticket is NOT:
34. My Tech Tickets Include ➔ Page(s) and Scope ➔ Purpose / Issue ➔ User Stories ➔ Steps to Reproduce the Issue ➔ Technical Specs ➔ Severity / Priority ➔ Success Criteria ➔ KPI’s ➔ Images of the Issue
35. Clear Clear, concise tickets reduce delays by eliminating back-and-forth. Tickets with specific requests keep tasks easy to implement. Including all necessary details ensures immediate action. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com <Good Tickets/> Speed up Implementation Focused Context
36. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com 50% less time to implement tickets for our clients
37. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com 70% more likely to be prioritised and completed on schedule
38. 04 How Important is it To Work Closely with Devs? Question 4 nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
39. As Tech SEOs It is Our Job to Fix Issues and Make Sites Work Better! nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com
40. Before… nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com - ➔ Vague tickets with unclear objectives and insufficient detail. ➔ Developers often had to follow up for clarification. ➔ Multiple revisions required.
41. After… nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com + ➔ Requests are clear from the start. ➔ The changes align with team goals. ➔ Fixes implemented in the first iteration
42. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com ✅ Reduced total workload, ✅ Accelerated project timelines, ✅ Smoother collaboration.
43. Communication is a 2-way street. Good tickets save time & build trust. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Delivers better results & shared wins.
44. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com <Decoding/> the Language of Devs ➔ It’s about understanding what matters to them. ➔ What motivates them to do their job? ➔ What tickets do they generally focus on and why?
45. ➔ Working with devs becomes a lot quicker, ➔ Is much more more productive, ➔ And causes less headaches. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Once you nail this…
46. nikkihalliwell.com | techseotips.co.uk | techseoaudits.com Use <This Tech Ticket Template/> To Speak the Language of Devs Scan me nikkihalliwell.com/seo-speaker /we-love-seo-2024/ Or visit this
47. Hey, I’m Nikki, I can help you get tech SEO tickets implemented. + Let’s Connect nikkihalliwell.com https://speakerdeck.com/nikkihalliwell