Selecting an Internet Marketing Team

December 20, 2021

I came across this great quote on BtoBonline.com, speaking about comanies deciding whether to take search engine optimization (SEO) in-house.

“A lot of people say, We can do this internally.’ This is one of those things where you wouldn’t defend yourself in court. We’re far enough along where, if the guy who is fixing your computer is also doing your SEO and SEM, it’s time to shop for a specialist.”
– Chris Hulse, VP Strategic Sales and Business Development at Business.com

Of course I’m a bit biased in this, but markets are coming to realize that “computers” is not one area of expertise. Heck, even the field of SEO is dividing into many subcategories of expertise. What companies will be on the forefront of this next level of specialization, and which will lag behind?

Here’s one way to look at developing an Internet marketing team.

You’re building your dream home. Would you have the framers do the detail work and trim? Would you have the interior decorator pour the foundation? Would you have the plumber come back to sell the home for you when you pack it in and retire to the islands?

True, there are some highly technical aspects of SEO and Internet marketing, but those are easily taught so long as the person has a solid comfort level with computers. Moreover, those aspects are not going to be the clincher that gets us winning results.

I’ve seen way too many great companies that are absolute bulldogs in their flesh-and-blood marketplace miss extraordinary opportunities to lock in markets online by turning over all web activities to IT, or to graphic-based web designers. They end up with a derivative website or a flashy website, neither of which drives sales. 🙁

Makeup of a good team for Internet Marketing

• SEO/Internet Marketer – The quarterback that will help management determine major objectives and keep the team focused. He/she will be responsible for directing the link building, and on-page SEO. They will also need to be masters at analytics, and in maximizing sales conversion rates. If your team is larger, this role will be sub-divided even further.
• Copywriter – Those with direct marketing experience do best here. The Internet sells like a fully interactive direct mail campaign. The multimedia adds flair.
• Web designer – takes info from Internet Marketing team and puts into “flesh.” Does additional graphics.
• IT personnel – Makes sure the site stays running, and meshes dynamic elements with databases, etc.